30 December 2019

Imaging Resource: “Where’s Canon going with the EOS R? Do they have a plan?”

Yoshiyuki Mizoguchi/Canon Inc: What we believe is “revolutionary” is the EOS R System as a system, not an individual product. We know it is very difficult for almost everyone to understand how capable each mount system is. However, it is true that how a mount system is designed will greatly impact what can be done in the future. When we introduced the EF mount back in 1987, our engineers took all the possibilities into consideration that they could think of and developed it. At that time, before the transition from film to digital, such a high resolution as 50 megapixels and high quality video capture with an SLR [were both unknown]; nobody could predict exactly what would happen in the future.

Now 31 years has passed since we introduced the EF mount, and we sometimes have encountered challenges in the current system when trying to introduce new technologies. That’s the reason we needed to develop the EOS R System, featuring the RF mount. We do not know what will happen in the next 30 years, but we considered many possible scenarios when designing the RF mount, to truly future-proof it as best we could. That’s why we are confident in this new system and believe it is “revolutionary”.

Dave Etchells

This past year I’ve been very negligent of my blog (and reading), so I have a large backlog of old articles to share. This one in particular is almost a year old, but I’m impressed how most of the information presented has materialized in actual launches during the year – and validated by third parties, such as the engineering improvements in the new RF lenses. It goes to show that Canon is committed to improving and expanding the EOS R System, with new camera bodies and accessories, but also by supporting existing bodies with firmware updates. The only thing missing from this roadmap would be a pro-level EOS R body, but I have a strong feeling it will be announced soon, maybe in the first quarter of 2020.

Canon RF zoom lenses

Not that I would consider buying one, as amateur photographer. The EOS RP has started to grow on me though: I had the chance to test it again this December, and to compare it to the EOS 90D as well. I have to say I prefer the EOS RP! Under poor lighting it focused quickly and accurately, the noise levels were better than the last time I tried one, and also noticeably better than the 90D at similar ISO. There’s currently a promotion for the EOS RP, running until the end of January, and I’m seriously considering upgrading – I just hope they won’t announce an improved model right after the promotion ends…

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