Has Canon found its way again?
The last couple of years Canon has always been the company releasing cameras in the sub-20,000 category that were a) more expensive than the competition (Sony) and b) less capable than the competition.
If you look back at the Canon-Sony camera release history:
| Year | Camera | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Canon EOS C300 (S35) | 20,000 |
| 2014 | Sony PXW-FS7 (S35) | 8,000 |
| 2015 | Canon EOS C300 mk II (S35) | 16,000 |
| 2016 | Sony PXW-FS7 mk II (S35) | 10,000 |
| 2019 | Canon EOS C500 mk II (FF) | 15,000 |
| 2019 | Sony PXW-FX9 (FF) | 11,000 |
| 2020 | Canon EOS C300 mk III (S35) | 10,000 |
Behold: The Canon EOS C300 mk III
Now Canon has dropped the bomb in 2020 with the release of the EOS C300 mk III which costs €10,00. Price-wise this is a step in a new direction. We will see if Sony has another product to counter the C300 mk III.
Superior build quality has always been a selling point for Canon’s cameras although the FS (and FX) series cameras don’t lack far behind.
Frame rate options have also been in Sony’s favor up until the C300 mk III as all of Sony’s cameras have been able to record more frames in higher resolutions than Canon’s. No Cinema EOS Canon camera in this segment has been able to record more than 60 frames per second in 4K and not more than 120 fps in HD/2K.
Canon’s new EOS C300 mk III can record 120 frames per second in 4K AND IN RAW. This is performance usually reserved for high-end (and higher-priced) cinema cameras.
EOS R5 – paving new roads
The mysterious EOS R5 prototype also looks to be an incredibly capable camera unlike anything we have seen from Canon (or even other manufacturer’s) DSLRs before -when it will actually be released. We will see if it will be able to hold up to the (hopefully by then released) Alpha 7S III and probably other competition.
What about 8K?
One thing that I am still wondering about is when the first 8K capable cameras will be released. Canon is on the forefront of pushing 8K with the help of NHK which has plans to broadcast the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020ne (originally scheduled for 2020, postponed to 2021 because of COVID-19).
Not only will they be using 8K broadcast cameras to film the actual games but they will most likely want to show side-stories, short-docs and commercials in their glorious 8K channels. It would be strange if the only large-sensor (S35 and up) camera choices for filmmakers providing footage would be RED cameras and a few other lesser-known brand models.
This will be interesting to watch in the upcoming months. I definitely like the way Canon is finally pushing technology forward again and not just playing it safe.