Rumor: No Retro Design Nor Full-Frame Mirrorless for Canon

Full-Frame Mirrorles

One of my known sources, when asked about Canon’s plans for the near future, told me that Canon will not embrace the retro design for their DSLRs and mirrorless cameras any time soon. Stuff like the Nikon DF or a nostalgic looking mirrorless camera are not part of the company’s strategic plans. Moreover, it appears that Canon does not have a full-frame mirrorless camera on the horizon, at least not for the next year(s).

Canon’s focus for the immediate future seems to be on lenses, and not (or at least much less) on projects involving cameras having a retro look (and unfortunately, if true, neither on a FF mirrorless cam). There have been rumors suggesting an increased effort in lens design and production.

Canon is making solid performing cameras. While other, like Sony, push hard on innovation without being really able to deliver a base for a consistent system (read: lenses), Canon appears to follow a more conservative approach. Their DSLRs are reliable gear (a friend of mine said “unimpressive but reliable” :-) ), and as a Canon photographer you have access to over 100 lenses, among them there is some really awesome glass. Not jumping on the retro-style bandwagon seems to be in line with this philosophy. As for the mirrorless segment, Canon never made a big mystery about the fact they do not consider MILCs as strategic factor (marketing-wise). Making an outstanding full-frame mirrorless camera (or an APS-C MILC) would probably erode the DSLR sales figure, and we know that Canon is big in DSLR sales.

As usual with rumors like this one, take anything with a grain of salt. While I have no problems figuring out that Canon won’t embrace the retro design, I am a bit more sceptical about the full-frame mirrorless camera. Everything in the EOS M system could work with a FF sensor, and if  Canon decides to make an outstanding FF MILC it would be a bestseller.

Have a great day!

Zeiss Distagon T* Otus 1.4/55 DxOMarked (it’s a hell of a lens)

The [shoplink 16664]Zeiss Distagon T* Otus 55mm f/1.4[/shoplink] lens has been DxOMarked. Results are pretty good, as expected for a $4000 Zeiss lens. They write:

Without doubt Zeiss has achieved their goal of producing the finest fast standard prime available on the market today for full-frame DSLRs, but at a shade under $4000, image quality like that doesn’t come cheap.

See also the comparison with two Canon 50mm lenses, the [shoplink 175]EF 50mm f/1.4 USM[/shoplink] and [shoplink 177]EF 50mm f/1.2L[/shoplink].

Canon Daily Deals Roundup (70-200mm, EOS M, SL1, G15, 24-105mm, 10-22mm, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8)

[shoplink 16835 ebay]

Powershot G15
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B&H still has the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II lens on sale for $1899 (click here), after $300 instant rebate and $300 mail-in rebate. When you check out you’ll see a price of $2199, claim the mail-in rebate and you end paying $1899!

This one is hot: B&H has the Canon EOS M kit with the 18-55mm IS STM lens on sale for $299 (click here). One of the best prices I have seen for this kit.More EOS M kits at B&H (click here) and Amazon US (click here). More discounts at B&H:

eBay deals:

Top Rated Plus eBay seller peach_photo (99.6% positive ratings) has the Canon Rebel SL1/100D with EF-S 18-55mm IS STM lens for [shoplink 16839 ebay]$480 (click here)[/shoplink]. New item, USA warranty, free shipping.

Top Rated Plus eBay seller bigvalueinc (98.8% positive ratings) has the Canon Powershot G15 on sale for [shoplink 16835 ebay]$373.70 (click here)[/shoplink]. New item in original box, free shipping.

Again bigvalueinc has the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens for [shoplink 16838 ebay]$719.99 (click here)[/shoplink]. New item, free shipping. Please note what the sellers states:

  • This lens is 100% brand new.
  • These are lenses that were originally packaged with Canon Camera Kits. We sold the Canon Kits in a quantity order, and we had simply removed the Lenses and placed them in their own box with all original foam packaging.These Lenses are limited quantity only.
[shoplink 16839 ebay][/shoplink][shoplink 16838 ebay]Canon EF 24-105mm[/shoplink]

Canon Store Starts Pre-Black Friday Sales

Pre-Black Friday Sales

Great! The Canon Direct Store started a pre-Black Friday sale (click here), that expires tomorrow November 27th (although the single offers are stated to expire December 2nd or 6th).

A lot of concrete discounts: