Sony Says They Do Not Care About Competitors And Well Knew About Canon and Nikon’s Agenda

Sony A7R III

DPReview published an interview with Mr. Kenji Tanaka, VP and Senior General Manager of Sony’s Business Unit 1, Digital Imaging Group. The interview was taken at Photokina 2018.

Sony appears to be rather fond of their role in the industry.

Q: What is Sony doing that’s unique?

A: We are the world’s largest manufacturer of image sensors, and have developed many unique sensors. Looking at the Alpha 9, the stacked CMOS sensor is a good example of both a unique and innovative product. These kinds of things are a strength compared to our competitors.

How does Sony stand to the competition?

Q: How do new competitive full-frame mirrorless cameras affect your planning?

A: I welcome the shift in the market. Our vision is not to move the customer [from DSLR to mirrorless], it is to expand the market.

I don’t know what the impact of [Canon and Nikon entering the full-frame mirrrorless market] will be but we remain focused on creating new customers. That is our priority. Honestly speaking, I don’t care about competitors, I care about the customers. If customers need more functionality, or more quality, we’ll try to do it.

Later on in the interview Mr. Kenji Tanaka reminds how he always knew about Canon and Nikon’s entry in the full frame mirrorless arena.

You can read the interview here.

Interview With Canon USA’s President and COO about the EOS R

canon eos r firmware update

Dave Etchells of Imaging Resource had a conversation with Mr. Kazuto Ogawa, Canon USA’s President and COO.

The Canon EOS R is obviously at the center of the conversation.

DE: Now that we’ve seen the EOS R, we’re kind of wondering who the specific audience is for it, in that it’s not at the high-end like the 5D Mark IV or a 1D X Mark II, but it’s a lot more than a 6D II or an 80D. Where do you see the market for it, and how are you bringing it to that market?

KO: Of course, customers can always choose the best products, but we don’t categorize them, saying “Okay, this camera is this market, this camera is this kind of market.” We don’t say that kind of thing. But judging from the specification and the current EOS line, more or less, the 5D, 6D, or the 80D; a similar position to that. So higher-end enthusiasts, or as a backup camera for professionals, that kind of category. 5D Mark IV, 6D, these are the full-frame cameras, right? The positioning of them. Read the interview here…


The Canon EOS R is in stock and ready to ship at major retailers in the USA and Europe

Canon EOS R at a glance:

  • 30.3MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 8 Image Processor
  • UHD 4K30 Video; C-Log & 10-Bit HDMI Out
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF, 5655 AF Points
  • 3.69m-Dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder
  • 3.15″ 2.1m-Dot Swivel Touchscreen LCD
  • Expanded ISO 50-102400, 8 fps Shooting
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, SD UHS-II Card Slot
  • Multi-Function Bar, Dual Pixel RAW

Please use the links below to put your order (international shipping available).

Order the Canon EOS R in the USA: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Order the Canon RF mount lenses in the USA: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Availability should be given also at major retailers in Europe and around the world (you have to check for your country). Please use the links below.

Canon EOS R world-wide order links:

America: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon RF mount lenses world-wide order links:

America: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

The Canon EOS R Is The First Model Of A Whole Range, Canon Execs state (high res model coming)

canon eos r firmware update

French site Lens Numériques had an interview with Mr. Mineo Uchida, Mr. Masato Seita and Mr. Shingo Hayakawa, the people in charge of the development of the Canon EOS R.

The interview touched many points, not last the L-Alliance. However, there is one point in the interview where Canon’s execs clearly let you understand that a more pro-oriented model is on their schedule.

Please note the excerpts below have been machine translated from French (emphasis mine).

Question: You have favored high-quality and expensive optics with the 50mm f/1.2 and the 28-70mm f/2, but are they really suitable for use on a midrange EOS R between 6D Mark II and the 5D Mark IV?

Answer by Mr. Seita: You know, the EOS R is just the first case in a new range and we wanted to show the range of possibilities of our new mount with light optics, fast optics equipped with our new Nano technique USM with the 24-105mm f/4 and more affordable optics like the […] 35mm f/1.8 stabilized macro.

Our interpretation of the answer is that Canon is making RF mount lenses that are already designed for a higher resolution EOS R model. Last week we got a rumor about such a model, and this statement seems to confirm the rumor.

When asked about IBIS (In Camera Image Stabilisation), the reason for one card slot and cropped 4K video, Mr. Seita said:

Yes, we are aware that mechanical stabilization is an important demand from the users, but considering the positioning of the EOS R, we decided not to integrate the IBIS […] because our priority was compactness. The compactness we wanted to have was not compatible with such a system. But of course, in the future, we will be able to answer them. This is our first model. We still have room for improvement. For the memory location, it is a question of compactness and priority for the photographers covered by the EOS R. We believe that one location is enough. And for the video, it’s the same answer. We believe that the intended target will be satisfied with the proposed modes.

To read the interview head over to Lens Numériques.


Canon EOS R at a glance:

  • 30.3MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 8 Image Processor
  • UHD 4K30 Video; C-Log & 10-Bit HDMI Out
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF, 5655 AF Points
  • 3.69m-Dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder
  • 3.15″ 2.1m-Dot Swivel Touchscreen LCD
  • Expanded ISO 50-102400, 8 fps Shooting
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, SD UHS-II Card Slot
  • Multi-Function Bar, Dual Pixel RAW

All the new Canon gear announced ahead of Photokina 2018 can now be pre-ordered:

Pre-order the Canon EOS R in the USA: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Pre-order the Canon RF mount lenses in the USA: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Canon EOS R world-wide pre-order links:

America: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon RF mount lenses world-wide pre-order links:

America: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

This Is Why The Canon EOS R Doesn’t Have IBIS (and why it may have it in future)

canon eos r firmware update

Canon EOS R at a glance:

  • 30.3MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
  • DIGIC 8 Image Processor
  • UHD 4K30 Video; C-Log & 10-Bit HDMI Out
  • Dual Pixel CMOS AF, 5655 AF Points
  • 3.69m-Dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder
  • 3.15″ 2.1m-Dot Swivel Touchscreen LCD
  • Expanded ISO 50-102400, 8 fps Shooting
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, SD UHS-II Card Slot
  • Multi-Function Bar, Dual Pixel RAW

As soon as the Canon EOS R was official, the Internet started to do what it likes most: complaining. Besides the ominous “2 card slot” polemics, there was another, maybe more interesting point to debate: why does the Canon EOS R not have In Camera Image Stabilisation (IBIS)?

The Nikon Z6/Z7 has it, Sony’s MILCs have it, the new medium format Fuji MILCs have it. So why not the Canon EOS R?

The people at Digital Camera World went straight to Canon UK’s product intelligence consultant, David Parry, to ask it. Here are some excerpts:

We [i.e. Canon, editor’s note] feel that in-lens IS is the optimum system for image stabilisation […]

With an in-body IS system you are creating something that needs to work over lots of different types of lenses and different lens groups, so you don’t get a dedicated system for that particular lens.

All lenses move in different ways, and you get different types of shake depending on what kind of lens you’re using, so dedicating the IS system to the particular lens is, for us, the optimum way of doing it – but that’s not to say that we aren’t looking at in-body IS.

Makes sense to me. Furthermore, Canon is very conservative when it comes to new features. My interpretation of what Mr. Parry said is that Canon might testing IBIS and that it may find its way in a future mirrorless camera.

All the new Canon gear announced ahead of Photokina 2018 can now be pre-ordered:

Pre-order the Canon EOS R in the USA: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Pre-order the Canon RF mount lenses in the USA: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Canon EOS R world-wide pre-order links:

America: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon RF mount lenses world-wide pre-order links:

America: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

[via DIY Photography]

Understanding the Canon EOS R Through an Interview with Canon Executives

canon eos r firmware update

HardwareZone visited the Canon headquarters in Shimomaruko, Japan, to speak with executives about the EOS R, and asked them specifically about the lack of IBIS and 4K video with the crop.

Excerpts from the interview:

Why is there no in-body image stabilization (IBIS) in the EOS R?

Shoji Kaihara: We had to look at the balance of the entire camera, like the size and other aspects. Based on that, it’s not something we are able to include in the EOS R at this time. We are quite aware that there are pros and cons to that […]

Why does the EOS R shoot 4k video with a 1.7x crop?

Shoji Kaihara: When developing the EOS R, we looked at all the hardware we had in the pipeline. When we look at the image processor and CMOS sensors that we have — we have restrictions, unfortunately, and that’s why we ended up with the 1.7x crop […]

What are the biggest challenges your team faced when developing the EOS R?

Tetsushi Hibi: It comes down to the mount size. When you go mirrorless, some restrictions get lifted. What that means is that we can go for optimum optical performance.

We wanted to make the back-focus (flange-back distance) as short as possible, and the lenses as big as possible. But then the mount would have to be larger. If the mount becomes larger, the grip gets moved out, which means a bigger camera. However, when we look at the market, the camera sizes are getting smaller […]

The full interview can be read at HardwareZone.


Pre-order the Canon EOS R in the USA: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Pre-order the Canon RF mount lenses in the USA: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Canon EOS R world-wide pre-order links:

America: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon RF mount lenses world-wide pre-order links:

America: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Interview With Canon Engineers About the Canon EOS R

canon eos r firmware update

Dave Etchells of Imaging Resource had the chance to talk to Canon engineers about the brand new Canon EOS R.

Some excerpts:

Does the Canon EOS R really have 5,655 AF points?

[…]what’s being referred to are the number of AF point positions you can choose from, when in single-point mode and using the rear-panel arrow keys. When you press one of the arrow keys, the box showing the single AF “point” moves a small step in the chosen direction. Adding up the number of steps in each direction, you’d likely come up with the claimed 5,655 points.

Does AF coverage change with EF-mount lenses?

Since EF-mount lenses used via the adapter are so much further from the sensor surface, it seems likely that they wouldn’t be able to support as large an AF area as native RF-mount ones. I asked, and it turns out this is true. It will vary some based on the specific lens design, but some EF-mount lenses won’t have quite as wide AF coverage as the native ones. Native RF-mount coverage is 100% vertically and 88% horizontally, but some EF-mount lenses will only have 80% horizontal coverage (again, depending on the specific lens design).

How does EOS R autofocus compare to cameras like the 5D Mark IV?

[…]relative AF performance depended on the subject; that the EOS R would win sometimes and the 5D IV or 1D X II other times. They didn’t elaborate on what subjects they thought each would be best at, but I thought it was significant that it wasn’t all one way, and that the EOS R in fact would win some AF matchups, even against some of Canon’s top SLRs.

The entire interview can be read at Imaging Resource.


Pre-orders for the Canon EOS R are live. Shipping is expected to start in October 2018.

Pre-order in the USA, Canon EOS R: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Pre-order in the USA, Canon RF mount lenses: B&H Photo | Adorama | Canon USA | Amazon

Canon EOS R world-wide pre-order links:

America: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE

Canon RF mount lenses world-wide pre-order links:

America: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE