Interview with Canon’s Masaya Maeda (4k heat challenges, 4k mirrorless camera, more)

HD Video Pro posted an interview with Mr. Masaya Maeda, Canon’s Managing Director and Chief Executive, Image Communication Products Operations. The interview was taken at NAB 2015.

Some excerpts:

HDVP: Why has Canon been slow in transitioning to 4K for your DSLRs?
Maeda: Because we’re slow (laughing). There are power consumption challenges, as well as heat issues, that we need to solve, so we’re investigating what we can do right now. The DSLR camera will have to be compact in size because, if it becomes larger, it turns into a C300.

HDVP: The mirrorless M-series is no longer available in the U.S., correct?
Maeda: When you look at the Canon sales companies, whether it’s in the U.S. or Europe, they have the right to choose which products they want to carry.
HDVP: So it’s a Canon USA decision?
Maeda: From a Canon Inc. perspective, we would like them to sell everything, but there are still a few stubborn people (laughing).

HDVP: We’ve seen the success of the Sony a7S and Samsung NX1 mirrorless cameras. Do you think there’s a market for a Canon mirrorless 4K camera that doesn’t fit in the Cinema EOS line?
Maeda: I think that’s a promising product, but we don’t like to imitate others, so I think it would be a slightly different product if we release something like that.

The interview has a pleasant tone and is fun to read. Mr. Maeda makes a lot of jokes, and in general seems to take everything with humor. However, he isn’t revealing too much of Canon’s future plans.

[HDVP via EOSHD]

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark II will have more resolution and more FPS than its predecessor [CW3]

Canon EOS-1D X

A new EOS-1D X Mark II rumor surfaces every month, with surprising regularity. Unfortunately, there is nothing exciting or really new coming with the latest 1DX2 rumor. And differentiating wishful thinking from real bits of info is becoming the tough part.

The latest tidbit about the EOS-1D X suggests a 24MP sensor (not a new rumor). Previously, an 18MP sensor was rumored. The other bit says the EOS-1D X Mark II will shoot “faster than 12fps”. Now consider that the EOS-1D X shoots up to 12 fps (14 fps in Super High Speed Mode), and you won’t really be surprised to hear that the 1DX2 will be faster.

Concluding, we have two bits of information: the EOS-1D X Mark II will have a higher resolution than it predecessor, and it will shoot more frames per second than its predecessor. All Canon EOS-1D X Mark II rumors.

Canon EOS-1D X price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA. EOS-1D X specs:

  • 18.1 MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
  • Dual DIGIC 5+ Image Processors
  • 3.2″ 1.04m-Dot ClearView II LCD Monitor
  • Full HD 1080p Video Recording at 30 fps
  • 61-Point High Density Reticular AF
  • Native ISO 51200, Extended to ISO 204800
  • 12 fps RAW+JPEG Shooting, 14 fps in JPEG
  • 100k-Pixel RGB Metering Sensor & EOS iSA
  • Magnesium Alloy Body, Dual CF Card Slots
  • 1000BASE-TX Gigabit Ethernet Terminal
[via CR]

Canon EOS 5Ds image quality seen through print performance

EOS 5Ds

A definitely interesting and pretty technical article about the Canon EOS 5Ds by Luminous Landscape. The 5Ds performance from the point of view of how much the 50MP matter when it comes to print performance. Comparison with the EOS 1Ds Mark III is discussed.

The article is not easy to sum up. It comes with sample pics, pixel peeping, and more in-depth analysis Giving it a try with a quote:

[…] the 5Ds images are notably superior in resolution, but when it comes to making prints there is an important consideration. Not one of the half dozen non photographers I showed the prints to mentioned detail in the images. When asked for differences, most popular was spotting the slightly different view, next up was that the brickwork was ‘a bit redder’ in one print.

That’s not the whole story. Head over to LL for the article.

Canon EOS 5DS: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA | Canon EOS 5DS R: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

5ds

Behind the Scenes: Creation of TuneTrek with MikelParis (Canon videos)

Canon posted a four parts series named “Behind the Scenes: Creation of TuneTrek with MikelParis”. The first video of the series (above) is about “Prepping for the loaction“.

Join singer and songwriter MikelParis as he breaks down how he films his TuneTrek YouTube series while on location at the Poppenhusen Institute in College Point, Queens NY.

The other videos:

Canon Behind the Scenes: Creation of TuneTrek with MikelParis – Ep2, Camera Setup and Shotlist

Canon Behind the Scenes: Creation of TuneTrek with MikelParis – Ep3, Audio Setup for his Performance

Canon Behind the Scenes: Creation of TuneTrek with MikelParis – Ep4, Approach to Post-production