The Canon rumor mill was heating up last week with news of a release of a new consumer-focused mirrorless camera; with a lower price and scaled back feature set from the Canon EOS R mirrorless they released late last year. The anticipated feature set was leaked by a reliable online source, and the specs look pretty legit, so I imagine when the actual camera announcement from Canon comes (the rumors are saying it’s around, if not on, Valentine’s Day), will be pretty close to what we’ve read.
In the scheme of things, a lower end consumer model is probably the right move for Canon, but I’m holding out for a pro model in this new mirrorless line.
I absolutely loved shooting with Canon’s original full frame mirrorless camera, the EOS R which was released late last year. I spent two months with it; took it on a number of trips, and I felt it was like a 5D Mark IV but with a lot of the stuff the 5D Mark IV was missing. When Canon asked me to return the loaner, I should have turned right around and bought one myself, but the word on the street is that Canon is going to release a pro model, and I’m hoping it’s this year (I don’t have any insider info; just hoping. OK, praying).
Canon, don’t screw this up (like everybody else has)
Every camera out there has made a compromise; missing some key feature that should have been there, but isn’t. Nobody makes a complete camera. One day, somebody will. Canon, this is your chance — please don’t screw this up.
Let’s start with the Sensor
I just spent five days in Canada with my friend Ramtin Kazemi and all he could talk about was how incredible the sensor was in his Nikon D850. When I’m around my Sony shooting friends, all they talk about is their sensor. Nobody’s mentioned Canon’s sensor quality in years because it hasn’t evolved since the 1Dx Mark II. I’d be tickled if they did nothing more than put the original 1Dx sensor in their new pro mirrorless. They can lower the frames per second; it doesn’t have to be a sports camera, so it doesn’t compete with their sports camera, but it should have at least a good a sensor low-noise wise, and an expanded dynamic range at least as good as the Nikon D850 and the latest Sony’s. It can’t be another “regular” sensor.
Two card slots
I rarely put a second memory card in my 5D Mark IV, so for me, this feature is kind of a non-factor, but honestly, a pro camera without compromise should have two slots (heck, SD slots are thinner than a quarter; no reason not to have two). Also, don’t add some expensive alternate memory card scheme — the world is cool with SD slots, they’re super affordable, so just go with those. If Canon added three slots (maybe two SDs and a CF) it would break the internet. Three would become the “new thing.” Nah, just stick with two.
It’s needs a faster frame rate…
At least a solid 8-fps would be fine. 10 is even better.
Real 4K non-cropped video
When Canon left 4K video out of the massively upgraded 6D Mark II, the missing 4K video was all anybody could talk about. When the EOS R came out, it was “it’s cropped 4K’ so it’s not the real 4K everybody wanted. Please give us the 4K video we (they) actually want.
It needs a few more buttons
Pros don’t have the time to dig through menus. The EOS R is very menu-driven. Add a few more customizable buttons and it will make a big difference.
Please don’t make it 100-megapixels
There are a few rumors out there, ranging anywhere from 100mp to 150mp. I hope they’re wrong. Does a pro-level camera have to replace a medium format camera? Nope. Can you just make it maybe 50-megapixels tops? It’s not like 30-pixels isn’t enough, but you know they have to up it because everybody else has, but please don’t make it too high.
In-body Image Stabilization
Canon has said that in-lens stabilization is still better than in-body stabilization, but the camera world won’t rest until Canon adds it into their bodies (Nikon’s mirrorless already has it), so hopefully, they’ll do it, otherwise the tech reviewers will all glom onto it as the “deal-breaker missing feature” as they did with the EOS R’s single card slot.
Don’t leave any little thing out
It’s gotta keep the good stuff from the EOS R – stuff like built-in GPS (missing on the Nikon D850), and the fully articulating screen (also missing on Sonys and Nikons); it needs to keep the built-in wi-fi — don’t start stripping out stuff because it’s a “Pro camera” as camera manufacturers tend to do when they go “pro level.” Keep the good stuff. Don’t compromise. Don’t let it have that Achilles heel that has hamstrung a number of other cameras that stopped just short of being great. Don’t mess this up.
None of this is ground-breaking stuff….
It’s just that no camera company has put all of this in one camera. They’ve all dropped the ball on one or more of these features. The industry doesn’t need another camera that “isn’t all that.” That stops just short of being great. Canon doesn’t need that either. It’s time for somebody to finally make a killer camera without compromises. Without leaving something key out, or cutting corners. Canon has so many things right — the screen, their UI, the ergonomics of their camera (not a little thing), their color rendition, their auto-focus system; their new mirrorless lens are incredible (with apparently more on the way); and much more. All the piece are there — it’s time to put them together.
I hope my holding out for a pro-level Canon mirrorless pays off. If not, I’m going to buy the EOS R like I probably should have done 5 months ago. I hope Canon proves me wrong. :)
Have a great Monday, everybody, and here’s to a day when we get a camera with no compromises.
Thanks for listening,
–Scott