Canon’s big announcements coming the third week of July

[roby17269]

3 Canon cameras, 18 lenses since 2014.(plus the ones I sold).
Issues, repairs? Zero.
Trolls are trolls, and users are users. And never the twain shall meet.

I went thru a bit more gear
My experience is generally positive, but to be precise:

• My first DSLR (Rebel 350D) had a shutter failure and it needed replacement
• The 1D X had a recall - no cost for me and a free sensor clean, but I was camera-less for 4 days
• The R5 and RF 24-240 were involved in a skiing accident (my fault) and repaired by Canon in a few days (my broken rib took much longer )
• My R5 suffered the occasional lockups, sometimes turning on and off would fix it, sometimes removing the batteries was required. I am an hobbyist so no financial risk for me, but it was annoying. The latest firmware seems to have finally fixed the issue (whatever it was)
• My other cameras (20D, 5D, 5D mkII) never had any issues
• All of my Canon (and some Sigma in the past) EF/RF lenses never had any issues

 

[EricN]

Neither Canon nor Nikon are for sale. Both companies are profitable.

What do you think about a merger?

 

[EricN]

Agreed, especially if it will have a new sensor, AF and chipset.
To be fair, my R5 has been plagued by random freezes for the longest time (fixed now with the latest firmware, fingers crossed), but never to a point of being unusable.

Had you tried going back to the default settings to see if that will have any improvement?

Edit: changed for grammar

 

[EricN]

That was debunked (it was in a rumored spec list that was posted on by Adorama on their R1 page then pulled down). Current rumor is 24 MP, 2 ms readout = 1/500 s max sync. But that's still just a rumor.

Wasn't it a copy and paste from an article about the specs from this website?

 

[neuroanatomist]

I went thru a bit more gear
My experience is generally positive, but to be precise:

• My first DSLR (Rebel 350D) had a shutter failure and it needed replacement
• The 1D X had a recall - no cost for me and a free sensor clean, but I was camera-less for 4 days
• The R5 and RF 24-240 were involved in a skiing accident (my fault) and repaired by Canon in a few days (my broken rib took much longer )
• My R5 suffered the occasional lockups, sometimes turning on and off would fix it, sometimes removing the batteries was required. I am an hobbyist so no financial risk for me, but it was annoying. The latest firmware seems to have finally fixed the issue (whatever it was)
• My other cameras (20D, 5D, 5D mkII) never had any issues
• All of my Canon (and some Sigma in the past) EF/RF lenses never had any issues

Similar story. Canon is not perfect, no manufacturer is, it's just luck of the draw sometimes if you have a problem.

Since I bought my first DSLR (a Rebel T1i/500D), I have owned 11 Canon bodies (currently own 4). Two of them failed, the original EOS M (for which Canon's fixed repair cost was only $20 less than buying an M2 so I did that) and the 1D X which had the main PCB fail (one of the more common 1D X problems, apparently) after about 7 years of use; I had Canon repair that before I sold it. I also had the 1D X shutter recall, but it so happened I had to travel to New Jersey on business so I brought the 1D X in to the Jamesburg repair center (which has since been closed), and they did the recall service with a sensor clean in a few minutes while I waited.

I've also owned a large number of lenses (I don't really know how many, but I currently own 27 of them so the total is probably close to 50 or more), and I have never had a problem with any Canon lens (I did buy a Rokinon 14/2.8 where I had to exchange the optically poor first copy, the second one was fine).

 

[neuroanatomist]

Wasn't it a copy and paste from an article about the specs from this website?

Yes.

 

[EricN]

The Canon website only pretends to be a store, it is very difficult to deal with when things go wrong. And here they want full payment up front

I've lost count of the number of products I ordered from them in the past few years about 8, though and only had a problem with one.
Of course that is only me and i might have extraordinary luck.
However, I say only buy from them if you see a hard to get item suddenly available or a refurbished item at an amazing price this time of year or at the end of the year.

 

[YuengLinger]

"I've just gone with Nikon..."

Are you sure you understand the meaning of the word "gone"?

 

[Del Paso]

That's disappointing. I met a photographer who was said to be from Reuters using three cameras one of which was a m4/3. I'm not sure if he wasn't really from Reuters or he just chose to use additional cameras?

Video was meant, not photo-cameras...

 

[TostitoBandito]

FWIW, the 100mm macros from Canon are ~70mm at 1:1 due to focus breathing. Have you looked at the EF Sigma 70mm macro? it extends like crazy, but it might give you the angle of view you want.

Macro lenses that externally extend are unfortunately a no-go underwater because you're using a flat port in front of the lens and you a) don't want to have to use a giant port with all that buoyant empty air space for extension, and b) you don't want that distance between lens and the end of the port changing much and screwing with the image optically.

The other quirk of shooting macro through flat ports underwater is that the flat port combined with the water has a magnification effect due to light travelling differently through the flat glass port vs the water, so with a 100mm lens the image your camera sees on the port looks more like it was taken at 125-130mm than 100mm. Just like when you're looking through a flat glass mask underwater and everything looks bigger than it is. Another reason why there is a demand for quality sub-100mm macro lenses in this field for certain types of subjects.

 

[John Wilde]

What do you think about a merger?

Both Canon and Nikon are financially sound companies. There is no need for either one to merge with anyone.

 

[Del Paso]

Both Canon and Nikon are financially sound companies. There is no need for either one to merge with anyone.

The trouble is that we usually only see Nikon's camera division, which is the smaller part of that company.

 

[roby17269]

Had you tried going back to the default settings to see if that will have any improvement?

Edit: changed for grammar

No because a) I prefer my own settings and b) the issue was too random to reliably reproduce and c) I'm way too lazy to do proper testing
But luckily I haven't seen it happening even once since the latest R5 firmware. Praise be to Canon (finally )

 

[John Wilde]

CPS told me that the R3 was not as well tropicalised as the DX series,

Apparently the person you talked to doesn't know what they are talking about.

"Dust and drip resistance equal to the EOS-1D X Series: The EOS R3 camera is designed for use in a variety of weather conditions. Sealing materials are used in critical areas like the buttons, dials, levers, terminal covers, battery compartment and the card slot cover. Precise design and construction help to minimize accidental penetration of dust and moisture in the rest of the camera body.

- Canon USA website

But, of course, the Canon USA website must be part of a conspiracy to cover up the truth. - LOL

 

[davidhfe]

Apparently the person you talked to doesn't know what they are talking about.

"Dust and drip resistance equal to the EOS-1D X Series: The EOS R3 camera is designed for use in a variety of weather conditions. Sealing materials are used in critical areas like the buttons, dials, levers, terminal covers, battery compartment and the card slot cover. Precise design and construction help to minimize accidental penetration of dust and moisture in the rest of the camera body.

- Canon USA website

But, of course, the Canon USA website must be part of a conspiracy to cover up the truth. - LOL

Yeah I side with OP on this one. Unless the marketing site is quoting a specific standard like IP 67 or whatever I take it all with a pretty big grain of salt. Product and marketing teams do not always stay perfectly in synch in large companies. Case in point the 8K issues at launch with the R5

 

[mpmark]

What do you think about a merger?

Canon doesn't need Nikon, Nikon doesn't want Canon

 

[davidhfe]

Canon doesn't need Nikon, Nikon doesn't want Canon

I also don’t get why we, as consumers, would want it. Nikon, Sony and Canon are releasing great gear because of the competition. Sony has really driven sensor tech forward, Nikon is now putting real price pressure on the industry.

Edit: Also, and I had to check the numbers: Canon and Nikon are the #1 and #2 lithography equipment suppliers. Neither are leading node like ASML, but I would expect a severe antitrust scrutiny from Japan’s relevant authorities. If you’re just talking about spinning out the Camera arms, ok I guess; Optics are a huge part of both businesses, though, and I don’t see where they’d land. A canikon that doesn’t make lenses? And why would Nikon or Canon want to spit out a halo industry that makes money? It’s not exactly free advertising but the imaging divisions are the most public facing ones and there has to be some value there.

 

[David - Sydney]

The trouble with many companies, is often that they want to see a direct and immediate correlation between expenditures and sales. Such PR events only have an indirect, often long-term incidence on sales, sadly.
And the bean-counters know they can quickly climb up hierarchy ladder if they can produce immediate savings. At the cost of future profits for the company.
I often tried to argue against such decisions, usually to no avail...

As I am on the sourcing side with main KPI of annual savings for my company, I see the issue clearly. Marketing costs are hard to justify at times and certainly hard to negotiate costs and T&Cs for one-time events when they can't use their corporate card.
Marketing budget reduction is a simple cost reduction with minimal short term effect.
When I am on the consumer side, marketing to me (stuff for free) sounds very palatable

 

[David - Sydney]

Yeah I side with OP on this one. Unless the marketing site is quoting a specific standard like IP 67 or whatever I take it all with a pretty big grain of salt. Product and marketing teams do not always stay perfectly in synch in large companies. Case in point the 8K issues at launch with the R5

Canon marketing never said that the R5 could do unlimited recording of 8k30 raw without overheating. The R5 did take a long time to recover from the first overheating event though.
The weird part of it was that there wasn't another 8K video hybrid in existence let alone 8k30 raw internal (and still isn't as far as I know).
The pundits thought that it must be timelapse and not true video as Sony had never done it yet.
And then that it wouldn't have AF which of course it does have continuous AF.
At the end, they thought that continuous 20 minute recording wasn't sufficient for any body => strange as the likelihood of needing 8k raw for long form interviews isn't really needed.

Canon reacted quickly with firmware updates for measuring temperature vs timer and then later with raw light and then allowing the temperature to be higher than normal (just as Sony had to do).

 

[David - Sydney]

Wow, someone else! I actually already have the RF 14-35 f/4 as I've always been a rectilinear WA guy. It's a solid lens, though I find that the widest couple mm of focal length are only usable in select situations (like blue backgrounds) because the edges get really blurry even stopped way down (this is behind an 8" dome). So most of the time I use it as more of a 16-35, which is fine.

The EF16-35/4 is my main underwater and landscape lens and has been great. The extra 2mm at the wide end of the RF14-35 will be fun to use at times.

I however have been wanting to get a fisheye to play with and I'm mostly just frustrated that there isn't yet a fisheye in the RF range. I could go find a used one I suppose, but given the cost I'd rather be spending the money on RF glass and not something from 14 years ago. Point taken on the weight/size though.

I was happy to get second hand given the low usage I expected the 8-15/4 fisheye to have.
Given that the second hand price is unlikely to go down further, it would be a simple thing to sell it again and buy a new RF fisheye - if it ever happens.
It is fun to use but I probably wouldn't upgrade to a RF version as I don't use it sufficiently and I can't see a new one having new compelling features.
Edge sharpness @ 8mm isn't great and you get strong fringing so I normally cut a circle in post to remove them. Removing yourself from the image at 8mm is also tricky at times.

I also take shots of all sorts of stuff with my 100mm macro, Most of my subjects are actually probably in the sweet spot for something like an 85mm, like clownfish and other things in the 1-3" range. Given the cropping ability the R5 gives you, it isn't always necessary to have the maximum magnification, but I do still want to get as close as possible and minimize the amount of water I'm shooting through.

Clown fish are a favorite subject (as are nudis) to be sure for macro but I have found it impossible to know where they might pop out to see you so I normally crop in post for a good composition. Frankly, I am cropping most of the time and sometimes significantly for underwater shots so the higher res is great.

This is sort of a "want" I guess more than I need, but if something like an 80mm 1:1 or better macro existed from Canon I'd almost certainly get it to play with. Would be a great fish portrait lens, and then I could bust out the 100 when I want to go dig around in the muck for nudis or seahorses or whatever. I know a lot of the Nikon guys enjoy having both their 60mm and 100mm macros to choose from.

I think that it would be tricky for Canon marketing to justify a 80mm macro unless a RF TS-E lens has a somewhat macro ability with AF but they wouldn't fit in any underwater port system.
Wouldn't a 60mm full frame macro have vignetting issues with a 52mm flat port? Needing a separate macro port just for one lens would be hard to justify.