Canon R1 “development” announcement

[AlphaWorld]

Amusing to see so much discussion already about Canon’s not-an-announcement announcement

Looks like Canon will have beta R1’s, at best at the Olympics, with the announcement afterwards, reading between the lines.

Sounds like they have called their equivalent to Sony’s “AI” chip a “Digic Accelerator”.

No mention of global shutter, but they trumpet that it’s a new sensor (well, duh!).

It will be interesting to see what we hear over the course of the rest of the year.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

not-an-announcement announcement

Is this a bit of FUD marketing?

Sony Alpha Rumours mentions that they will overtake Sony autofocus. Well, every time I think that AF technology can't get better, it does! What's been missing is the camera that knows what we are looking at and fixes the focus point accordingly. Wait, doesn't Canon have that tech?

What I want is auto-eyelash focus. With button-selectable eyelash.

 

[AlphaWorld]

I think Canon wants to avoid the impression that they will miss the Olympics. Sounds like they won’t have the finished camera ready, so they are engaging in a tactic that Nikon has used in the past. For that matter, Sony kind of used it by announcing that they were developing firmware updates (at the A9 III announcement, including that 1/80000 would be in burst mode - and it is).

I very strongly suspect there will be a bunch of beta R1 cameras at the Olympics. However, I also suspect there will be a LOT of Sony cameras. The A9 III will be well suited to a lot of Olympic events - shooting the end of every track race, for example. And at the gymnastics, the diving, …

Do we expect Nikon to announce anything, or will they stick with the Z9/Z8? It wouldn’t be exciting if they stick with the Z9, but it would be a testament to the camera’s strength if they do.

All up, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Canon’s announcement may even produce more sales of Sony cameras…

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I actually don't think Nikon fully bother to try and compete in the pro ranks for sports, it's been dominated by Canon and Sony for years now. The Z9 is definitely capable of course, but for sure Sony have stolen the march on everyone with the 120fps A9III, and we will definitely see a plethora of them in the pits.
As an aside, related of course. I was watching the snooker last week, which is obviously not a high speed event, and at one point one of the players was distracted by a camera shutter in the photographers pit. I couldn't quite believe that a pro, in a situation like that, would not be shooting silent.