Canon and Nikon Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras Coming

Things are about to heat up in the mirrorless camera world. For the last few years, Sony has been garnering most of the attention with their mirrorless cameras, especially the A7 series of models.

I have reported earlier Canon is finally getting serious about their mirrorless line and will offer more cameras and lens this year, perhaps including a full frame model to compete with Sony and the Leica SL. Now it seems Nikon is planning to do the same. The game plan seems to differentiate the line between a prosumer and a 'professional' model. Expect late August or early September to be the targeted month for any announcement. This is to tie in with the big Photokina Show taking place in Cologne, Germany on September 20, 2016

Sony Mirrorless Cameras vs Canon and Nikon DSLRs

On paper, Sony cameras offer a lot of bells and whistles. Their mirrorless cameras look especially 'impressive'. Once you brush aside the specs and features and dig a little deeper, you won't find too many photographers making a living using Sony cameras full time. There is a good reason for that. Just go to any major sporting events or take a wildlife photography photo shoot around the globe and you will see what I mean.

Many people don't realize committing to a camera brand is just the beginning of a major decision for those who are serious about photography. When I travel around the globe for wildlife photo shoots, a good camera company must be able to stand behind its products with responsive maintenance and repair service worldwide. This is where the major brands like Canon and Nikon stand out among the others. You can see my equipment bag and works on MichaelDanielHo.com

New Canon Patent - DSLR and Mirrorless in One Camera?

Egami, the Japanese photography blog discovered a most interesting Canon patent that seems to enable a camera to use both the optical reflex and mirrorless systems in the same body. Interesting concept but I can't think of any practical use for it in the real world. Compromises will have to be made to both systems and the result may end up not doing the best job on either. A hybrid car is one thing. A hybrid camera? 

Northlight Images provided the animation above and illustration below on how it might work.

"Short back focus lenses such as EF-M allow you to put the sensor much closer to the lens, reducing body depth. However, unless you choose an EVF, there is no way to get a good optical reflex viewfinder. The patent allows you to swap between a focus screen or sensor close up to the lens.

Perhaps a bit clearer to see in this animation of the short backfocus reflex viewfinder design.

The sensor is red and the focus screen green (other moving part is a mirror)

This allows a reflex optical viewfinder to be used with any short backfocus lens."