Canon pulled the recently released firmware updates for the Canon EOS R6 and Canon EOS-1D X Mark III.
The reasons are not know. Canon states on the download pages:
Thank you for your continued patronage of Canon products.
Software downloads on this page are currently suspended.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers.
We keep you posted in case of news.
In an interview, Canon execs confirmed the company is working on the future flagship mirrorless camera, the EOS R1.
In an interview with French site Phototrend, taken at CP+, a bunch of Canon execs confirms the Canon EOS R1 is on the way. Asked about what is Canon’s current flagship camera, Mr. Go Tokura (General Manager of Imaging Division at Canon) said:
If you look at our portfolio, obviously our highest-end case is the EOS R3. I think we can say that it is our flagship product. But if you look at the EOS-1D, and compare it to the EOS R3, you know it’s worthy of the ‘flagship’ designation because it’s equivalent in terms of Canon’s advanced features.
So, of course, the EOS R3 could already claim the flagship title, but there’s a reason we named it ‘3’…
And you can expect there to be a ‘1’, which is currently being worked on and will be our most premium model. So that’s the kind of interpretation you can do (laughs). I had never mentioned it so clearly before, so that’s probably how you can interpret it!
There is a reason we named it ‘3’ and you can expect there to be a ‘1’ definitely suggest there will be a EOS R1. When, is another story. Rumored since the beginning with various “imminent release” rumors, it’s still not here and is now rumored for 2024 (by the same source previously saying the announcement is imminent).
There is much more in the interview posted at Phototrends. For instance about third parties using the RF mount (see here to learn more about the issue):
Question: Many photographers are eagerly awaiting the opening of the RF mount. At present, Canon is the only brand to maintain the exclusivity of its frame. Will we see RF optics from other manufacturers in the near future?
Tetsuji Kiyomi : It is true that we are approached by many third-party manufacturers. We hear their demands. However, we have no direction or policy as such on this subject.
Naturally, I cannot share more details with you, but what I can say is that if this aligns with our strategy, we will take the necessary action on a case-by-case basis. I can’t tell you more.
Go Tokura : An example of this is the launch of RF optics by Cosina [the Voigtlander 50mm f/1 is the first “third-party” lens to be able to communicate with the body via the RF mount]: we are in the process discussion with other lens manufacturers. This is the situation at present.
About the Canon EOS R50:
Question: The EOS R50 is one of your newer cameras. How was it inspired by the EOS M50? Does it sign the end of the EOS-M range?
Tetsuji Kiyomi : The particularity of the R50 was that we wanted to release a compact and light product. For its part, the EOS M range, thanks to the reduced diameter of the EF-M mount, could be even smaller and lighter.
Thus, compactness and lightness are therefore two common points between the APS-C models of the EOS R range and those of the EOS M series.
However, the size of the M-series enclosures is even smaller, and there is still a strong demand for this from our customers. This means that we will continue to offer the EOS M series as we need to meet this high demand.
Stay tuned.
New Canon firmware for four cameras has been released. I found it on Canon Japan’s site and hence I am linking it because it’s not available yet on the Canon USA or EU sites (will be later on).
Download EOS-1D X Mark III Firmware Version 1.7.0 from Canon Japan:
Download EOS R6 Firmware Version 1.8.0 from Canon Japan:
Download EOS R7 Firmware Version 1.3.0 from Canon Japan:
Download EOS R10 Firmware Version 1.3.0 form Canon Japan:
I guess it was just matter of time before Canon would also release or at least announce some photo editing tool based on artificial intelligence.
Canon presents a deep-learning neural network for image processing. Canon’s motivation (machine translated):
[there might be] unavoidable problems with the image quality of the photos. For example, noise that makes a photo look grainy, moiré that makes a moire pattern that should not exist, and blurring of an image caused by the principle of a lens. There were times when information was reflected. When a wide-angle lens is used, the image quality in the peripheral areas off the center of the lens tends to be blurred due to the deterioration of the optical performance of the lens.As AI technology advances and deep learning technology is being applied in a variety of ways, Canon, as a leading company with extensive knowledge of cameras and lenses, is committed to the inevitability of the principle of photography. In order to solve this problem, he directly tackled the development of deep learning image processing technology himself.
So, how does Canon’s AI technology work?
Canon’s deep-learning image processing technology, aimed at achieving true-to-life photography, covers three areas: noise reduction, color interpolation, and aberration diffraction correction (lens blur correction). Both areas have so far been regarded as problems in principle.
In the first place, the key to achieving high accuracy in the results of deep learning image processing technology is how many pairs of “teacher images” and “student images” (=learning data) can be prepared. Canon has a huge image database that has been accumulated through the development of cameras and lenses so far, covering all imaginable subjects, and storing RAW data with more detailed information such as JPEG. increase. In addition, we were able to collect a large amount of ideal training data using the camera manufacturer’s unique know-how, which is well-versed in how camera settings affect image quality.
Curious? Then have a look here (it’s machine translated but well understandable).
Good news for those looking to an ultra-fast prime lens for the EOS R camera system. A NOKTON 50mm f/1 aspherical lens is coming.
Cosina will soon release a NOKTON RF 50mm f/1 aspherical lens, along with other new prime lenses. Indeed, we expect 5 new lenses, these:
Here are the specifications for the NOKTON 50mm f/1 (thanks Mistral75):
| Focal length | 50mm |
| Maximum aperture | 1:1 |
| Minimum aperture | F16 |
| Lens configuration | 7 groups 9 elements |
| Angle of view | 48.0° |
| Number of diaphragm blades | 12 |
| Shortest shooting distance | 0.45m |
| Maximum shooting magnification | 1:6.9 |
| Maximum diameter x total length | Φ79.3×64.0mm |
| Filter size | Φ67mm |
| Weight | 650g |
| Lens hood | Dedicated screw-in hood included |
| Aperture ring | Equipped (manual aperture) |
| Electronic contacts | Available |
| Exif information | Correspondence |
| Other | Selective Aperture Control System |
No specifications so far. All we know for the time being is that the new Cosina lenses will have electrical contacts to communicate with the camera. Moreover, a mechanical system is used for aperture interlocking, and an aperture switching mechanism for moving images is also present.
All upcoming Cosina lenses pictured below, click to enlarge.
[via Digicame-Info]
Researchers at Princeton University and the University of Washington have presented a camera with the size of a salt grain.
The researchers…
[…] have overcome these obstacles with an ultracompact camera the size of a coarse grain of salt. The new system can produce crisp, full-color images on par with a conventional compound camera lens 500,000 times larger in volume, the researchers reported in a paper published Nov. 29 in Nature Communications.Enabled by a joint design of the camera’s hardware and computational processing, the system could enable minimally invasive endoscopy with medical robots to diagnose and treat diseases, and improve imaging for other robots with size and weight constraints. Arrays of thousands of such cameras could be used for full-scene sensing, turning surfaces into cameras.
A key innovation in the camera’s creation was the integrated design of the optical surface and the signal processing algorithms that produce the image. This boosted the camera’s performance in natural light conditions, in contrast to previous metasurface cameras that required the pure laser light of a laboratory or other ideal conditions to produce high-quality images, said Felix Heide, the study’s senior author and an assistant professor of computer science at Princeton.
Read more about the camera reduced to the size of a salt grain here.
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