Is Canon Going to Release the Best Mirrorless Camera Ever?

For many photographers, Canon has been the source of a lot of frustration. It seems they've been holding back features and not innovating as much as other companies in the market. Companies like Sony have been pushing things forward with exciting announcements regularly and Canon has been doing pretty much the exact opposite, but is this about to change?

In a recent video from two of my favorite YouTubers, Tony and Chelsea Northrup discuss why they think Canon may or may not release an incredible mirrorless camera. The Northrups discuss what they think Canon is likely to do and both sides of the argument sound very interesting. Over the last few years Canon has not been keeping up and many of their current cameras feel dated. Chelsea describes why she thinks Canon is probably more interested in developing other industries instead of investing further into their camera division. Tony, on the other hand, discusses why he thinks Canon wouldn't risk their bottom line and the camera industry is still far too valuable for them to ignore.

Many Canon shooters including myself are hoping they will release something worth the wait, however considering their track record I'm a little skeptical. What are your thoughts? Do you think Canon is finally going to give their customers what they want?

Usman Dawood's picture

Usman Dawood is a professional architectural photographer based in the UK.

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81 Comments

I hope that Canon does release the king of mirror less cameras with a lens line up that would make changing to the system reasonable. I have a 5DIV, but I'm officially a geezer, so for me to change isn't really in the cards. BUT, if the new release is so good that people leave Canon DSLRs to Canon Mirror Less, we old school geezers should find a nice selection of used L lenses at pretty nice prices. :-)

I had a 5D mk III with a big L Lense range and switched to Fujifilm 2 years ago ...

For me It Canon persist in this way ... Canon is dead, the worst thing they did was to launch this absolutely not serious M5 range, It was an insult to the mirrorless market.

I have much more expectation on the new Nikon mirrorless as the Canon one ....

Competition is good for all consumers.

I think they'll release a good camera. Not the best, but good enough to contend. Canon can't afford to keep releasing mediocre cameras and they have recognized that. That being said, they just admitted that in the last few months, so it could take a while to actually translate into a good camera.

Love 'em or hate 'em, Tony Northrup makes a good point that Canon isn't going to release a camera until it's ready to be taken out of the box, battery charged and memory card(s) in place and not work properly.

Canon has been my gear choice for a few decades and reliable, but even I have to say they act like a scared company. Take risks Canon, highly doubt anything “amazing” comes from them, but I would love to see it.

I hope canon comes out with something competitive by the year-end, doesn't have to be anything path breaking. Else I will have no option but to shift to sony

I waited as long as I could and finally switched to the a7RIII a month ago. One of the best gear decisions I've ever made. The Sigma lens adapter has worked perfectly for me, so the switch was basically painless aside from having to spend some time to get skin tones to look the way they do in all my other work.

+1 for this.

Used Canon for 10 years and switched to 2x A7RIII's about 4-5 months ago and also the best gear decision I ever made - I just simply get shots I couldn't get with the 5D, since I shoot in low light almost every shoot (i'm an event photographer), I coulnd't get the shots I wanted out of the 5D.

Also using Sigma with the MC-11 adapter and it works great!

Canon just released a 70-200 III that has anti flare coating and a newer white that they are charging a hefty price for compared to their II. Based on their behavior what makes anyone think they will knock it out of the park with their advanced mirrorless release or that they will change their typical corporate practices of limiting updates or crutching features. You have too much faith than me. They are not hurting enough yet to change their attitude which is what it typically takes for a big boy to reinvent themselves. Right, IBM? Right, Microsoft? Sadly we can only expect a line of mirrorless or a release schedule that dribbles features to the consumer at various price points.

On B&H the 70-200 II and III are the same price except there is currently a $300 rebate for the II. Those bastards updated the lens had have the nerve to charge the same...get the pitch forks.

They are not the same price. Look at the street prices.

I'm not sure people in the market for those lenses are upset so much about the price but that they didn't bring it in line with Nikon's E version.

Canons current mark II is in line with Nikon’s E version. Nikon needed to bring theirs in line for a number of reasons and now they’re very close in performance.

Maybe I should have said "exceed". The Nikon G was worse and the E is very slightly better so maybe they are in line. More or less. Given the price differential, Canon's existing, and certainly upgraded, lens is pretty nice! :-)

Canon also released an 85mm f1.4 with IS which is an incredible performer. They also released a bunch of new tilt-shift lenses and now have the widest range available on the market which pretty much outperforms most if not all the alternatives. They also provided an update for the 70-200 f4 which is actually a very good update.

Unfortunately, your point isn't really valid in this instance.

So to sum it up: Canon offers the greatest choice in quality glass, while their camera bodies lag behind further and further to the point of being ridiculous.

Pretty much lol

Canon makes some of the best glass for Sony! XD

Canon may have the most diverse selection of lenses but most photographers don't have a goal of collecting all of them. Most of those lenses aren't even in the radar of most photographers, either because of price or niche utility. I love the lenses I already have. Why can't Canon start providing better bodies that match what the competition have to offer? With the way things are going, the day may come when third parties will be making an EF-(insert mirrorless mount of your choice here) adapter that will be so good as to render Canon bodies obsolete.

That comment I made was discussing a very specific point from someone else.

This market report (Software Defined Digital Camera Market Forecast https://www.marketanalysis.com/?p=152 ) forecasts a scenario of software-defined camera (Android, for example) with SDK open for developers. Such device, coupled with the mount of choice, would open proprietary platforms for competition, end crippleware, and make camera bodies compatible to vast holdings of legacy glass.

The analytical part of me that comprehends psychology understands the underlying motivation for such speculative pieces.

The subjective part of me can't fathom this at all. Wasting time speculating about what may be.

Then you understand why it can be fun and enjoying something isn’t a waste of time.

Mirrorless from 1950s vs today aren’t the same thing. We use the term mirrorless to describe a particular kind of digital camera in the current modern context.

Phase one is mirrorless too in some configurations but that’s not what we’re talkign about.

Semantics, I mean come on, I assume you know what’s actually being discussed here.

Why is it considered an OK practice anymore to post content that says hey, look at this other content, but give me the click revenue not the creators? Thanks!

The video is embedded specifically so the creators get the views they deserve.

Yet you still get the initial click and Google ad revenue from your page. Keep trying to justify the bad practice though.

All due respect, you’re not understanding how ads and embedding work. There’s nothing to justify; this is literally the standard practice across the Internet. YouTube gets their ads when the video plays, the creator gets their views because it’s embedded, and we get to feature content we think is worthwhile; it’s a win-win-win. That’s why YouTube and every major video platform makes their videos embeddable.

So because Google is intelligent and assumes people like you will be lazy and allow them to double their profits justifies your poor journalistic choices? Sounds like a bad journalist alright.

Fstoppers writes a ton of original content from quality authors both with and without video. They also feature excellent choices from other content creators which they believe will be of high interest to the reader. What more could you ask for from this platform? There is no laziness here, completely the opposite. Either you’re extremely ignorant or just looking for something to complain about, Adam. If it pisses you off so much feel free to remove Fstoppers from your from your list.

As I notice in many texts in last time Canon have negative connotation, like "Canon has been the source of a lot of frustration" - can I ask really? I use it and I don't. Also in almost every text it Sony put as fantastic. As I wrote I see related articles> The Sony a7 might have ruined Canon's plans... Another ispid and overpriced Camera from Canon... What Canon's full-frame mirrorless system needs to be successful...
I have impression that Sony paid for this. Look texts about Sony, fantastic impression, glorifying everywhere. And I know so many people who sell Canon and Nikon gear and by Sony (overpriced) and some of them come back to C or N after few months. People, don't be naive, almost everything is marketing, sadly

Marketing is buying a camera that works better in nearly every way imaginable, trumping another camera in just about every aspect??? Really??
That is not marketing, that is people not being a slave to their current brand but using their brains and switching to a brand that offers them far more for their buck.

I don't agree with Zoran but your comment is *very* subjective.

What is subjective?

"...buying a camera that works better in nearly every way imaginable, trumping another camera in just about every aspect"
For a particular photographer, one camera might fit that description but no camera would do that for every photographer. From past interactions, I'm quite certain you and I, for example, look for different things in a camera. And that's a good thing! :-)

Canon has frustrated a lot of photographers that’s just an observation. Also I’m happy with canon personally and I have written positive articles about their DSLR system.

https://fstoppers.com/originals/heres-why-canon-does-not-need-innovate-2...

The reason why you’re seeing so much about Sony doing well is because they’re releasing interesting cameras. Make a good camera get a good review it’s rather simple really.

Many people are switching because they’re seeing how they can benefit from these better cameras. It’s not because Sony is spending a ridiculous sum paying absolutely everybody to say nice things. That’s not only an absurd thing to suggest but impractical and unfeasible for Sony.

This is not a sponsored post by any means and it’s not even my video lol.

It is not that Canon is bad. It is that the competition have made leaps and bounds and Canon don't have an answer.

I actually think Canon is still the best option. For any of my commercial work, I'll pick my 5DSR over my a7R III every time. I use Sony for more general shooting and video.

I'll poke fun at Canon on occasions because it's easy but I don't use anything else.

How do you mean you don't use anything else?? You just stated you use Sony for more general shooting and video.

Sorry I mean specifically for my actual work.

As a photographer with a lot of Canon glass I want Canon to improve on camera specifications, but Canon is a commercial business. They care more about profit and shareholders.
What answer do they need? They are the market leader for the last 15 years, their market share has increased in a declining market and is now around 50%.
Nikon made some wonderful camera’s the last couple of years their D850 might be the best all-round camera you can buy and they are losing market share. Better specs might not be the answer if you look at it form a commercial point of view.

if you're a canon hater you'd love tony's canon camera reviews. it opens with EVERYTHING "wrong" with canon and then brings it back with... but their color science is nice! and how much he loves the canon 70-200 otherwise he would've sold all his canon gear already.

I sincerely hope that Canon delivers a stunning product. It´s time to left behind the conservative thinking. I understand that being careful has never been a bad choice. Though camera wise things have really changed in the last years. There´s no more room for stay safe and don´t be in this new system.

I´m a Canon dlsr shooter since many years, have a very decent glass array but I want to get a proper mirrorless. I have a Fuji X-t1 and love that little camera. So capable, funny to use, old school. Will wait till they reveal the awaited one. If it fill the things I want will stay if not it´s time to move and sell all.

Every 4 years Canon releases a 2 year old camera. Also, have you seen the camera conspiracies channel on YouTube? That guy is such fun!

I don't think it would be enough for Canon to produce one good mirrorless camera. One camera shouldn't bring everyone to switch back to Canon after they left to go to Sony. Those who have Canon cameras now will benefit from a good mirrorless but what's the long term. Canon has proven that they haven't been aggressive with updates to their technology.

For me to move to Canon, I'd like to see what pace they are coming out with camera updates and variations. My guess speaking from their past track record is yes, they might release a good mirrorless but will soon be surpassed by Sony. Sony isn't and hasn't slowed down with mirrorless technology.

That's the reason they're #1 in this category and they will be for the foreseeable future. Peraonally, Sony has proven themselves and would go with them if investing into a mirrorless system.

Shot Canon for my entire career and I'm getting ready to make the Sony switch very soon.

They're in a really tough spot. If they release a nice, decent, good FF mirrorless will some existing Canon users change? Sure. That does nothing to makeup for the users that have left Canon. It's a lateral change, a break even. Nobody from Sony would be switching. I doubt Fuji users would switch. Maybe Panasonic and Olympus kids switch???

It's going to have to be the mother of all mirrorless to get some of they users they've lost over the past few years back. With Sony's recent A7/9 releasings where the battery life is on par with DSLR and they've addressed they overheating, they're really positioned well for the future.

Canon has built a name on Reliability... Sony has made a name in Features... Canon will release those features as soon as they have made them reliable. Mirrorless is still far from perfect.

As someone who uses both I can confidently say that.

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