Canon Powershot SX60 HS To Be Released Soon (and some specs)

Canon Powershot SX60
Canon Powershot SX50 HS

From a new source (thanks) comes the rumor that Canon will soon release the successor of the popular Powershot SX50 HS IS (price & specs), the Canon Powershot SX60 HS IS. The announcement is expected before summer 2014, possibly in the next two months .

There are some new tidbits on the specification front. The Canon Powershot SX60 HS is said to have a 15MP sensor, and to get faster on the wide end. While the SX50 has a maximum aperture of f/3.4, the Sx60 HS is rumored to have f/2.8. The SX60 HS is also said to be wider, 20-1200 in 35mm equivalent instead of the current 24-1200. That would be a 60x zoom, and it fits with the naming scheme: the SX50 had a 50x zoom, so it sounds plausible the SX60 might have a 60x zoom. Finally, there should be improvements for the auto-focus (which is already pretty quick on the SX50).

That’s all I have for the time being. Stay tuned for more.

Another Tidbit About An EOS 7D Replacement With Hybrid Viewfinder

EOS 7D Replacement

I reported about a possible new Canon EOS 7D (price & specs) replacement with a hybrid viewfinder before. Now another bit of information showed up on the web suggesting Canon’s next APS-C flagship might feature a hybrid viewfinder. While the rumor I am reporting here suggests that the hybrid viewfinder may not make into the final production model, I have been told that it will.

Some news on the specs front too: a sensor just below 25MP (24MP are rumored), dual card slots (SD + CF), and the 7D replacement is said “to have the most features at the software level of any Canon DSLR ever”. That fits with  earlier rumors, especially with those suggesting the 7D replacement will have innovative video features.

Take all with a grain of salt. The rumors concerning the EOS 7D replacement are somewhat contradicting, and so far nothing is sure. Not even the announcement date, which, seconding the latest rumors, should be somewhen during Q2 2014.

[via CR]

Canon DSLR Announcement For NAB 2014 (7D replacement on its way)?

Canon DSLR Announcement

Rumor has it that Canon may announce new DSLR gear for NAB 2014. The NAB show is usually the stage where  Cinema EOS and other videography gear is presented. So the question is: can we expect the EOS 7D replacement to be announced for NAB 2014?

The successor of the Canon EOS 7D (price & specs) is said to have outstanding video features, and it is rumored to be announced before end of Q2 2014. While it is true that NAB is mainly for the professional videographers out there, I wouldn’t exclude Canon could use the show to present their new APS-C flagship to the world. If the rumors about the EOS 7D replacement’s innovative video features are true, then NAB 2014 could be a great stage to introduce such a DSLR.

What else to expect from Canon this year? The usual suspects: new Cinema EOS lenses, the Powershot SX60 (replacement for the SX50) along with other Powershots. It will be interesting to see what exactly Canon will do following their statement that they will abandon the low-priced compact camera segment.

Stay tuned, there will be plenty of leaks in the next months.

[via CR]

Rumor Suggests Implausible Hardware Hack For Canon EOS DSLRs

Canon EOS

I am reporting this since it is making the rounds, but there is more than a high amount of salt needed here.

Rumor has it that there is a “certain company […] getting ready to announce a hardware hack for Canon EOS cameras”. The EOS 5D Mark III (price & specs) is named, but other EOS DSLRs could also be part of the game. In other words, the rumored hardware hack is presented to be the next step beyond Magic Lantern‘s amazing firmware hacks.

I don’t believe this will ever happen. The rumor suggests that you may soon be able to replace the integrated main-board of your 5D Mark III with a custom board. If you follow the intrinsic logic of this rumor, you realise it means disassembling your Canon DSLR, removing the main-board (with integrated CPU), and replacing it with another, third-party made integrated circuitry that is supposed to deliver “greatly improve dynamic range, video sharpness and performance” compared to the EOS 5D Mark III. The hack is said to cost $1000.

Tinkering with camera hardware is not new, people modified their Canon DSLRs to remove anti-aliasing filters. But it is another thing to swap the logic circuitry.

The rumor is wishful thinking, in my opinion. With Magic Lantern already delivering all sort of improvements, who would ever want to let someone disassemble a 5D Mark III to get the main circuitry replaced with custom made electronics?  Not to mention the easiness of the straightforward installation of Magic Lantern. Not to mention all the precision and the engineering skills required to make a high tech sensor work smoothly with all the involved electronics and firmware snippets. Consider that Canon is very secretive about their technologies, and that to replace a DSLR’s main-board you need to have a very deep understanding of the whole design (from all points of view).

Finally, the EOS 5D Mark III is not the new kid on the block. It was announced March 2nd 2012. That’s two years ago. Would you start a company just to mess around with the internals of a $3000 DSLR that’s 2 years old?

[via CR]

Once More A Rumor Suggests The Canon EOS 7D Replacement Could Be Announced Soon

EOS 7D Replacement

Another rumor surfaced on the web, and suggests that the replacement for the Canon EOS 7D (price & specs) could soon be announced. Before the end of Q2 2014, say the latest murmurings.

I have previously posted (see here too) that the EOS 7D replacement could be announced in the next months, and it is nice to see that others are getting similar information from their sources.

That Canon may announce the successor of the EOS 7D before Summer 2014 is truly possible. The EOS 7D replacement is long overdue. However, there have been a lot of contradicting rumors about the EOS 7D replacement. It is not even sure this DSLR will be named “EOS 7D Mark II”.

Truth is that no one really knows what is going to happen. There will be a new APS-C flagship, sure thing, but so far no really reliable specs or features have leaked. Rumor has it that it could be a high-end DSLR with a hybrid viewfinder. The successor of the EOS 7D is a well kept secret.

So far there have been two leaks with possible specs for the EOS 7D replacement. One (apparently) spec list leaked during Panasonic’s presentation of the GH4. This spec list is nothing I would take seriously, since it definitely appears the list was put together by Panasonic’s marketing department with the clear aim to make the GH4 shine when compared to the competition. The other, not confirmed but more plausible spec list is the one below:

  • ~24MP sensor with Dual Pixel CMOS AF
  • Auto-Focus system similar to the EOS 5D Mark III (61 points), possibly the same as 5D3
  • High frame rate, 10-12 fps
  • “high grade” weather sealing, like Canon’s professional DSLRs
  • Dual Digic V+ processor
  • Single card slot
  • WiFi & GPS
  • Innovative video features
  • Price around $2000
  • Very good ISO performance

This is all we know so far about the EOS 7D replacement. Stay tuned!

Canon Lets Go Off The Low-Priced Compact Camera Market

Canon Announcement

According to the Nikkan Kogyo (translated), Canon is considering to abandon the production of low-priced compact cameras, i.e. cameras below $200.

An understandable move, since camera manufacturers are getting increasingly pressure from smartphones. If you consider how good an iPhone is in taking pictures, and that most high-end smartphones feature sensors that get always better, not to mention that these smartphones get equipped with good lenses, then it makes sense.

The occasional shooter is better served with a smartphone that does everything good enough, than carrying around a mobile and a small compact camera. People who is more serious about photography will in any case get a better camera, which most of the time is a DSLR or a good mirrorless camera.

[via slashgear]