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Canon confirms plans for 8K-capable full-frame mirrorless camera

Canon confirms plans for 8K-capable full-frame mirrorless camera

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Entry-level EOS R also on the way

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Canon has said that it will develop a new full-frame mirrorless camera capable of shooting 8K video. In an interview with Imaging Resource, top product planning executive Yoshiyuki Mizoguchi confirmed that “an 8K video-capable camera is already in our EOS R-series roadmap,” referring to the company’s new full-frame mirrorless line.

Such a product could still be some way off, but the comments are notable because Canon is generally considered to have stumbled with its support for 4K, despite pioneering full-HD video capture with the 5D Mark II in 2008. In 2016 the company released the 4K-capable 5D Mark IV and 1D X Mark II DSLRs, but it took until last year for the company to adopt mirrorless 4K with the EOS M50. And while the new EOS R does shoot 4K, it’s far from ideal for the task; a 1.8x crop factor makes it very difficult to get wide shots, among other issues.

Video capabilities aside, the first EOS R is a solidly mid-range full-frame camera, and Canon says it wants future models to occupy positions below and above it in the lineup. “We are developing multiple EOS R cameras now, but due to varying levels of preferred features we are likely to launch an amateur model next to let a large group of customers step up and enjoy full-frame image quality,” Mizoguchi says. “Have no doubt that a professional model is coming, but perhaps it may not be the next model we introduce.”

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