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Pro2/G7: A 'hinting' reply from Canon

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PixelMinded

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Fellow Canonites, I sent Canon an email yesterday concerning Pro1/G6 replacements and about my being unable to decide whether or not I should go ahead with buying a Pro1 or wait for the illusive replacement(s). Although their reply was mainly composed of usual sentences like: "At this moment there is no information available regarding a new product announcement in this category". I think that there maybe some very indirect hinting in the reply (please don't yell at me and tell me there is nothing, I just said "MAYBE"). I felt it'd be nice to share this with u, and hear from u-all what u think about it. I quote below almost the entire email and reply (just left out the: " We-value-you-as-a-Canon-customer" beginning, and the end. First the email with one "> " then the reply with two "> > ":
Member said:
I really would like to buy either the Pro1 or whatever new top prosumer cameras you might come up with (Pro2 or the like). However I am unable to decide whether I should get a Pro1 now or wait for a replacement. Either way I may regret my decision as it is an uninformed one. The Pro1 is getting more expensive everyday, and if I do not buy it now, I may never be able to buy it (which I will regret in case nothing new replaces it). If I buy it, it is also possible that you may surprise me by a sudden and quick announcement of a Pro2 (could happen as early as next April). So why all this secrecy when your customers need the information badly, and your competitors seem to be utterly uninterested in making cameras of this class?! If you are not going to announce any G, Pro or equivalent new series until the end of 2006, I think the benefit of making this public far outweigh any losses you might be worried about. Secrecy does not necessarily always help whoever adopt it as a policy. The Ex-USSR for example was well-known to be too secretive and that did not help in the end, as we all know. I am not satisfied with the A610 (although it is a nice camera), I need something much bigger literally and figuratively, and the EOS series is not suitable for me: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=17397415 Am I so odd that I do not deserve to be offered any model among your lineup?!!! At least let me buy peacefully the museum piece I am interested in then."
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Member said:
Member said:
"We not privy to the decisions regarding product releases. At this moment there is no information available regarding a new product announcement in this category. Please keep in mind, however, that Canon continuously reviews its product lineup, and as new products are introduced, existing models are often taken out of production. We recommend you check our website (www.powershot.com) from time to time to learn of new product announcements in the U.S. market."
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they advertise new movies a year before they come out. They want people pumped and ready to buy. Many products follow this type of pre-release advertising. When it comes to camera's they don't they say a word one way or the other. Why? Have they not yet figured out that people are passionate for this stuff? Geez, if I were Nikon (or other) I would come right out and tell the world what to expect and when so people would ignore Canon and their "non" releases. At least then you would know whether to buy now or wait a bit longer.
--



http://www.pbase.com/darrel_labossiere
 
This is just PR flack stuff. They don;t need to give anything away and besides they might still have quite a few Pro1's in their warehouses.

You can't expect them to throw away all their manufactured stock just to satisfy a consumer's need for something new.

I guess they will release their new models precisely when they are ready to do so and nothing will leak out unless it is deliberately leaked.

--
Tom Caldwell
 
It's called competition. Because of the long term development cycle of these highly technical, cutting edge products, they are kept under close wraps from the competition. If your competitor knew what you were developing, they would leap-frog you to gain an edge. Leap-frogging is how IBM stayed ahead of the competition for many years with good industrial espionage.

--mamallama
 
This doesn't mean anything, they would say that about any model you asked about.

Mark
 
I agree for the most part that this means nothing, but I also believe that we will see another prosumer from Canon this year.

Here is my spin... as far as I can tell, both the G6 and Pro 1 are selling. I don't think the sales amount to a whole lot, but they are still selling. The cost of production is a minimum now as the manufacturing lines have been tweeked and the process is as efficient as ever. At some point Canon has to decide to build up some stock and shift the resources (production line etc.) towards something else. Whether you believe in a new Canon prosumer or not, there is no denying that production of the current model(s) needs to stop before its replacement is produced. The first and necessary step has occurred; unfortunately, that is only a pre-requisite for step 2 (production of a new prosumer). It is by no means confirmation of a new model. Nevertheless, it makes me hopeful :o)
 
Some just don't get it. I hope no one will yell at You, and just take it for what it is. Thanks for sharing!

:. Mats-Åke
 
I did and have no regrets. It is a fabulous camera and a delight to use.
 
Tom Caldwell said:
This is just PR flack stuff. They don;t need to give anything away
and besides they might still have quite a few Pro1's in their
warehouses.

You can't expect them to throw away all their manufactured stock
just to satisfy a consumer's need for something new.

I guess they will release their new models precisely when they are
ready to do so and nothing will leak out unless it is deliberately
leaked.

--
Tom Caldwell
Click to expand...
Neither should you expect the consumer to accept anything that is thrown at them just because is a Canon. The rest of the industry is innovating while Canon's signature "image quality" deteriorates. Images from my old S30 and G2 look better than those from my S60 which I accept because at the time of it's availability it's feature, wide angle lens, was more important to me than "image quality". Since then I have purchased two cameras for their innovative features, neither one a Canon.
 
I bought the pro 1 alos and it seems very nice to me. It seems to my eyes faster than my G3 with better image quality. I will wait on another canon for better movie mode and action shot capability (maybe S3 when it price drops??)
 
For what it's worth, the G6 and and Pro1 are disappearing from web stores. I can't find them on Warehouse Express (UK) or B&H (USA), and the Canon Europe website has moved them into the archived section.
 
it is good to see at least one person understands Canon's point of view.

Some manufacturers, e.g. Pentax, have shown prototypes but they are often kept in a closed case at shows, and few specs are released.

Canon apparently has a corporate policy of secrecy. Can't blame them. If they showed a "teaser" G7/Pro2 locked in a box at PMA, they'd be bombarded with email demanding

"ship me one next week, D@MMIT!!!!"
"why it is only 8mp when the "Russians" have 9mp????
"I ain't gonna buy that POS unless you change the ZOOM to 24X!!!!"
"Whaddya mean it doesn't have a FF CMOS with HDTV????"

cheers. gkl
mamallama said:
It's called competition. Because of the long term development cycle
of these highly technical, cutting edge products, they are kept
under close wraps from the competition. If your competitor knew
what you were developing, they would leap-frog you to gain an edge.
Leap-frogging is how IBM stayed ahead of the competition for many
years with good industrial espionage.

--mamallama
Click to expand...
 
PixelMinded said:
"We not privy to the decisions regarding product releases. At this moment there is no information available regarding a new product announcement in this category. Please keep in mind, however, that Canon continuously reviews its product lineup, and as new products are introduced, existing models are often taken out of production. We recommend you check our website (www.powershot.com) from time to time to learn of new product announcements in the U.S. market."
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The G2's picture quality might well be the best of the G series to date. I wish I hadn't sold that jewel (even though it was slow like a turtle).
bogeyman said:
Neither should you expect the consumer to accept anything that is
thrown at them just because is a Canon. The rest of the industry is
innovating while Canon's signature "image quality" deteriorates.
Images from my old S30 and G2 look better than those from my S60
which I accept because at the time of it's availability it's
feature, wide angle lens, was more important to me than "image
quality". Since then I have purchased two cameras for their
innovative features, neither one a Canon.
Click to expand...
 
gkl said:
it is good to see at least one person understands Canon's point of
view.

Some manufacturers, e.g. Pentax, have shown prototypes but they
are often kept in a closed case at shows, and few specs are
released.

Canon apparently has a corporate policy of secrecy. Can't blame
them. If they showed a "teaser" G7/Pro2 locked in a box at PMA,
they'd be bombarded with email demanding

"ship me one next week, D@MMIT!!!!"
"why it is only 8mp when the "Russians" have 9mp????
"I ain't gonna buy that POS unless you change the ZOOM to 24X!!!!"
"Whaddya mean it doesn't have a FF CMOS with HDTV????"

cheers. gkl
Click to expand...
Why can the CPU companies like Intel get away with putting out microprocessor and platform roadmaps up to several years in advance? How can the car companies get away with going to car shows with concept cars and new models not yet released? How come Boeing and Airbus are currently heavily advertising the B787 and the A350, neither of which actually exists yet?

I don't understand what's different about the camera buisness that makes it work in a fundamentally different way than these other similar high-technology businesses.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
...the S2 was announced April 22.

Not everything is announced at PMA or Photokina.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
The Pro is not exactly a cheap camera to develop. It would make sense for Canon not to replace the PRO1 till 2007 ..... based on their first three PRO digital cameras.

As for the G series .... Canon has indicated they MAY revive that if they feel the market is there. You can't just snap your finger and bring a camera to market, so to me that sounds like they have a new G7 type camera in the works and plan to release it later. They may be contemplating merging the G series with the PRO series. They have till 2007 to decide on this merging or coming out with a G7 if the market demands it.

Just my guess.

--
Shutter Nut :)

 
PRO70
PRO 90
PRO 1 were 3 years appart...
Thus PRO2 would be 2007
--
Shutter Nut :)

 
ljfinger said:
gkl said:
it is good to see at least one person understands Canon's point of
view.

Some manufacturers, e.g. Pentax, have shown prototypes but they
are often kept in a closed case at shows, and few specs are
released.

Canon apparently has a corporate policy of secrecy. Can't blame
them. If they showed a "teaser" G7/Pro2 locked in a box at PMA,
they'd be bombarded with email demanding

"ship me one next week, D@MMIT!!!!"
"why it is only 8mp when the "Russians" have 9mp????
"I ain't gonna buy that POS unless you change the ZOOM to 24X!!!!"
"Whaddya mean it doesn't have a FF CMOS with HDTV????"

cheers. gkl
Click to expand...
Why can the CPU companies like Intel get away with putting out
microprocessor and platform roadmaps up to several years in
advance?
Click to expand...
Simple answer .. they are the only ones that manufacture the CPU's .. (and the accompanying chipsets) .. the more "other" companies that implement their chips the more they sell .. their risk is nihil

--
if needed, email me at : [email protected]
Horum Omnium Fortissimi Sunt Belgae !
(CanFT-QL)CanG6SonH1CanA520
 
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