Canon are developing medium format digital model now!

Hardnose · May 18, 2006

...heard the same story from 2 different people in pro circles in london that Canon has bought some of the enginnering equipment used to make the former Contax 645 film cameras and are currently working on a sealed back digital medium format system.

Has anyone else heard this? appologies if it's already been discussed

ioannis · May 18, 2006

I started two threads wishing for it a few months back.

Will they also make their own lenses is one question.

A second one is whether this means that at 22MPs the 35mm format has reached its limits.

Finally does that influence Canon's stated decision to pirsue full color sensors ?

Hardnose said:
...heard the same story from 2 different people in pro circles in
london that Canon has bought some of the enginnering equipment used
to make the former Contax 645 film cameras and are currently
working on a sealed back digital medium format system.

Has anyone else heard this? appologies if it's already been discussed

--
Yiannis
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sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
sing with me if it's just for today
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AperturePro · May 18, 2006

ioannis said:
I started two threads wishing for it a few months back.

Will they also make their own lenses is one question.

A second one is whether this means that at 22MPs the 35mm format
has reached its limits.

It will be a necessary more at some point to have a MF line.

Just like race cars help R&D in the auto industry, so would MF in digital
help canon.

The question is will they follow the uni-body or a component style body?
Will Canon follow Horseman, Cambo, Silvestri etc...... into the type of camera?

Too bad Canon didn't buy Mamiya.

Phil Flash · May 18, 2006

They will likely be able to achieve that kind of quality in the 35mm body form factor in time.

Then again, Canon sensors seem second to none, and if they could make a FF 6x6 sensor, and a few good lenses to go along with it, they'd probably put a lot of the bigger digital back folks out of business.

There's really no need to buy Mamiya or any other MF maker.

I imagine it'd be realatively easy for Canon to make a MF-line, just as scrappy little Pentax made both the 6x7 and 645 lines.

--
Phil Flash
SF, CA USA
'Trust the 'kon!'

Stuff I own in my profile.

Hardnose · May 18, 2006

....Mamiya went their own way, unfortunately! I have an RZ67 + lenses but I think Canon want to challenge Hasselblad's 645 digital, who else is there to challenge? that Mamiya ZD is getting bad press here in the uk, took too long to come to market, they should have just made a back.

Imagine the logic & ergonomics of Canon design coupled with their sensor expertise on a sealed 645 format but with new high resolution carl zeiss lenses, who would say no?.

Canon seem to have a divide and conquer attitude providing a so many different models to appeal perfectly to their specific economic consumer market needs.

I know alot of people think canon will streamline their models, combine the the two 1 series ito 1 etc, but I think they will just establish yet another model for those that need that level of resolution & quality and all these different formats will run in paralell. As Canon have no real viable threat to their market I doubt they feel the need to simplify things and apply any economies of scale to manufacturing etc as all these lines are so profitable. Many eggs in many baskets!

An affordable digital replacement of Medium format will be a goldmine for Canon

ctfphoto · May 18, 2006

would seal the deal for Canon being the the PROFESSIONALS CHOICE!!!!!!!! BAR NONE!!!!!!!!

Dear Canon, If you are going to do this medium format thing...please, please, please build the camera from the ground up and include swings and tilts.....PLEASE........

That would be one of the most AWESOME cameras in the world.....better yet hire me to help you design a camera that works prefectly in the field.

Thank you in advance, Chris

http://www.ctfphoto.com/

koni12 · May 18, 2006

Highly doubtful, since it would make ZERO business sense for Canon. But, hey, maybe they got stupid overnight.

jerryk · May 18, 2006

I wonder if they plan to sell it or are just playing around.

--
jerryk.smugmug.com

DAJr · May 18, 2006

koni12 said:
koni12 wrote:
Highly doubtful, since it would make ZERO business sense for Canon.
But, hey, maybe they got stupid overnight.

Just curious...

What motivates you to make that statement? As well as owning the market on professional digital SLRs, Canon make the best high-end television cameras as well. What makes you think that they couldn't someday dominate the medium/large format digital market one day? Canon is a huge company with deep pockets, and lots of resources. The world is still full of medium format (film) shooters that have yet to switch to digital due to the sky-high price of digital backs. If Canon jumps into that market with an affordable digital back or medium format digital body, we'll see how stupid they are.

---------------
DAJr.

http://www.dajphotography.com

koni12 · May 19, 2006

The medium and large format markets combined don't equal 1% of the 35mm and smaller format markets. It makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER for Canon to chase less than 1%. Forget it...it isn't happening.

tominboston · May 19, 2006

1. Companies buy technology and IP all the time. It doesn't always translate into a specific product offering. Acquired technology and IP is sometimes used in new products. Somtimes companies just buy things just to keep the competition from getting it.

2. The next generation 1D certainly sounds like a potential challenger to MF cameras. The hurdle Canon would face is getting MF customers with a significant investment in non-Canon glass to make the jump. If there was a realistic way to use MF lenses on the new 1D it would certainly raise it's appeal. I'll bet Canon might be thinking along those lines rather than getting into the MF business.

3. With over 1B EF lenses in the field, changing lens directions wouldn't be a very wise move. A MF camera that required current Canon customers to stwitch to different lens technology wouldn't be a strong seller.

Tom
--
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PicOne · May 19, 2006

But isn't that because of the cost? Perhaps their thinking is that there are enough photogs out there that would consider say a $12K body vs. an $8K 35mm body, thereby creating a new aspiration niche?

They've already witnessed the hoards of buyers out there that have been willing to purchase $1500-$4500 or more dslrs, which is more than any Pro film body ever sold for and which these same buyers would have never considered... Likewise there are tons of folks buying $2-$3K flatpanel TVs now, which is about 6x what TV buyers used to spend for the family unit.

koni12 said:
The medium and large format markets combined don't equal 1% of the
35mm and smaller format markets. It makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER for
Canon to chase less than 1%. Forget it...it isn't happening.

koni12 · May 19, 2006

I don't think you understand what I wrote. Chasing after 1% and/or attempting to grow that 1% to 2% would be an incredibly stupid business move for a company the size of Canon.

koni12 · May 19, 2006

Canon being interested in medium format makes about as much sense as you expending 50 hours of effort to gain 1 cent.

J_M2 · May 19, 2006

tominboston said:
2. The next generation 1D certainly sounds like a potential challenger to MF cameras.

agree

tominboston said:
If there was a realistic way to use MF lenses on the new 1D it would certainly raise it's appeal. I'll bet Canon might be thinking along those lines rather than getting into the MF business.

actually I would think that Canon wouldn't venture into an area that allowed other lenses on their cameras, there's too much money in selling accessories/lens.

tominboston said:
3. With over 1B EF lenses in the field, changing lens directions wouldn't be a very wise move. A MF camera that required current Canon customers to stwitch to different lens technology wouldn't be a strong seller.

Canon survived the jump from FD to EF and many folks wondered about the move when Nikon stuck with supporting a legacy mount. So, anything is possible.

I just wonder if we are talking about a tweaked format size, taller frame and removing the existing baffle on the lenses. Curiously my 17-40mm has a round baffle, I haven't looked at the image circle that it produces. Or maybe it's a hassy "flexbody" type accessory, to replace the coveted Nikon PB-4 bellows. I'm sure there are plenty of ideas floating around at Canon. They are probably the only camera company that can afford to expand into other niche markets.

j

mpixel · May 19, 2006

tominboston wrote:
[...]

tominboston said:
3. With over 1B EF lenses in the field, changing lens directions
wouldn't be a very wise move. A MF camera that required current
Canon customers to stwitch to different lens technology wouldn't be
a strong seller.

Canon have only produced around 30 million EF lenses:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0601/06011902canonef.asp

Even if you were to take all the 3rd party lenses into account I very much doubt that the figure would equal 100 million EF mount lenses.

tominboston said:
Tom
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http://www.pbase.com/thenkel

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spt_gb · May 19, 2006

the way that Japaneese companies think. They have a much longer term horizon than most western companies and will put money and effort into a projects based on their idea of where they want to be in a market in 10 or 20 years time.

koni12 said:
Canon being interested in medium format makes about as much sense
as you expending 50 hours of effort to gain 1 cent.

Ken Phillips · May 19, 2006

... cuz WAY less than 1% of the market will buy that pig. (It's my favorite lens, BTW!)
If they could get MOST of that 1%, they'd probably do it.
Ken
--

http://www.ahomls.com/photo.htm
Voted Best of the City 2004 by Cincinnati Magazine
I don't believe in fate, but I do believe in f/8!

koni12 · May 19, 2006

Why are you comparing a single lens to an entire camera/lens system? They are not comparable.

tominboston · May 19, 2006

--
Galleries:
http://www.pbase.com/thenkel

Canon are developing medium format digital model now!

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