reasons canon wont do a small SLR?

perhaps this has been discussed before but lately ive been eyeing mini SLR cameras like the sony nex5 or panasonic GF2. perhaps someone knows marketing or product placement better than i do, but how would it hurt or help canons business if they developed a small slr (smaller than that of the rebels out now) that took an EF lens mount?

ok fine, basically what im hoping for is that canon will make one. that way i dont have to buy a whole new set of 4/3 lenses or sony lenses. seems like the big SLR players like nikon and canon dont do such a thing.

Not going to happen like that. If Canon did jump into that market, they would be introducing a whole new line of lenses, just like every other manufacturer out there in the m4/3-type market. At best, there'd be electronic adapters which would allow AF confirm and NOT full AF with EF-line lenses. EF lenses are simply much too big to realistically be shared with a smaller-format body. The only real way they'd make bodies smaller would be to remove the mirror entirely... leaving us without a VF, or with EVF's... Honestly, there are enough bridge cameras in Canon's lineup that I couldn't care less for smaller bodies.

Takes years of R&D to build a new lineup of bodies and lenses with a new format... and Canon would be so late to the game that they'd start out with minimal market share. They're already behind in releasing tons of new lenses, and we're all wondering why the 1ds4, 5d3, and 7d3 haven't been released. The last thing we need is for canon to take a MAJOR gamble in a new market at the expensive of focusing on their real cash-cow divisions.

I can see canon releasing a small mirrorless evil camera and prehaps allowing ef-s lens usage with an addapter.

RobDickinson wrote in post #12636065
I can see canon releasing a small mirrorless evil camera and prehaps allowing ef-s lens usage with an addapter.

I can imagine Aliens landing on Earth as well--totally realistic--doesn't mean it'll happen though.

And if such a body were released, of course they'd have an adapter available for ef/ef-s lenses. Every manufacturer of mirrorless bodies has them available--the caveat is that it allows AF confirm only--making them MF lenses.

MOkoFOko wrote in post #12636237
I can imagine Aliens landing on Earth as well--totally realistic--doesn't mean it'll happen though.

And if such a body were released, of course they'd have an adapter available for ef/ef-s lenses. Every manufacturer of mirrorless bodies has them available--the caveat is that it allows AF confirm only--making them MF lenses.

Uhm..Sony has AF enabled for some of their Alpha lenses (the in-lens motor ones) as does Panasonic/Olympus for SOME micro 4/3 lenses...

It just doesnt work worth a -expletive-

Now, if Canon did a mirrorless, one way they can differentiate themselves is having a full AF adapter that works with every EF lens, I DO see Canon being able to do this and have it work decently well...

Canon and nikon are market leaders, they will wait for the segment to become mature and let the smaller companies who have to innovate like this make the market, do the work, then they will move in with a well thought out product that leverages their brand name.

its not in their intrest to get into the segment quicky.

MOkoFOko wrote in post #12636237
I can imagine Aliens landing on Earth as well--totally realistic--doesn't mean it'll happen though..

That's already happened! They walk among us and have secret, underground bases in the SW desert and over in Area 51.

isn't the rebel small enough?

i would like Canon to make one with an AF adapter because then I COULD use my SLR lenses. I probably wouldn't want to, but knowing I could use it as a backup body or whatever would make it more valuable.

Also, the more I try other brands, the more I realize I am just happier with Canon cameras even if I really want to like other brands' products.

and no, a rebel isn't small enough compared to like a Samsung NX100 and 30mm pancake.

Anything smaller than the XT would be too small for me. I sold mine as soon as I could find a buyer. It only took 15 minutes to realize it was too small for my hands. A grip did help some.

Something like Leica M9 would be nice

I could certainly see a market for a full-frame EVIL camera and a corresponding series of small (since there's no mirror and minimal AA filter) extremely high IQ lenses to go with it - it would be a fantastic travel/discreet camera. At present, there's nothing in the market like it - you have the Leica M9, which costs 8k and has no AF, and you have the myriad crop-sensor compromise designs, but nothing with the IQ of a full-frame DSLR and a decent AFsystem, but a fraction of the size.

Afte all, if you think about it, a DSLR is needed only for action shots, which demand fast, accurate AF. For this, it pays a huge premium in size and weight over rangefinder-like designs, which have the same (if not slightly higher, due to the weaker/absent AA filter) IQ, which are just as capable for landscapes, portraits, macro and, indeed, anything else apart from fast action. A travel photographer, for instance, could carry a slew of compact bodies and lenses, to cover every situation, in the same space it would take to carry a single 5D2 or 1D4, 24-70L and flash - if you aren't shooting action, this would be a far bette use of space. At present, though, there is no digital option to do this, so, for the moment, we are stuck with big, bulky cameras and lenses whose action capability we seldom use.

OK, so the TC for the Canon G12 isn't exactly SLR, but it is near enough

Shadowblade wrote in post #12658922
I could certainly see a market for a full-frame EVIL camera and a corresponding series of small (since there's no mirror and minimal AA filter) extremely high IQ lenses to go with it - it would be a fantastic travel/discreet camera. At present, there's nothing in the market like it - you have the Leica M9, which costs 8k and has no AF, and you have the myriad crop-sensor compromise designs, but nothing with the IQ of a full-frame DSLR and a decent AFsystem, but a fraction of the size.

Afte all, if you think about it, a DSLR is needed only for action shots, which demand fast, accurate AF. For this, it pays a huge premium in size and weight over rangefinder-like designs, which have the same (if not slightly higher, due to the weaker/absent AA filter) IQ, which are just as capable for landscapes, portraits, macro and, indeed, anything else apart from fast action. A travel photographer, for instance, could carry a slew of compact bodies and lenses, to cover every situation, in the same space it would take to carry a single 5D2 or 1D4, 24-70L and flash - if you aren't shooting action, this would be a far bette use of space. At present, though, there is no digital option to do this, so, for the moment, we are stuck with big, bulky cameras and lenses whose action capability we seldom use.

This is pretty much what we're all waiting for...a mirrorless for the serious enthusiast/semi-pro market. The NEX system is geared toward P&S users and, while the IQ is good, the controls and lens selection suck. The m4/3 cameras sacrifice too much IQ for size, and as they're not really targeted at an audience that much more advanced than the NEX's, their lens selection is far too zoom-oriented. Literally the only current m4/3 lens in which I have any interest is the Panny 20mm pancake.

What would work would be a compact FF camera with essential manual controls (I'll gladly take a perfect physical copy of the X100...I love the dial layout) and either a rangefinder VF or an EVF. The lens lineup would be nothing but compact primes of modest maximum apertures (to keep the size down). And of course, it'd be adaptable to M-mount in case anyone wanted something faster.

So basically what I want (and I've said this before somewhere around this forum) is a digital Contax G. In fact, just take a Contax G and slap a FF sensor and LCD display on it. It had a 21/2.8, 28/2.8, 35/2, 45/2, and 90/2.8 among others...all very small, very high-quality, and with AF. Not particularly fast AF, but AF nonetheless. Honestly, Kodak (who have made several FF sensors) should buy the patent (or whatever one does for this sort of thing) to the Contax G system from Kyocera, put in a sensor and the bare minimum required for full digital operation, and watch it fly off the shelves. Yes, I realize that it's not that simple...but a man can dream!

cptrios wrote in post #12665301
This is pretty much what we're all waiting for...a mirrorless for the serious enthusiast/semi-pro market. The NEX system is geared toward P&S users and, while the IQ is good, the controls and lens selection suck. The m4/3 cameras sacrifice too much IQ for size, and as they're not really targeted at an audience that much more advanced than the NEX's, their lens selection is far too zoom-oriented. Literally the only current m4/3 lens in which I have any interest is the Panny 20mm pancake.

What would work would be a compact FF camera with essential manual controls (I'll gladly take a perfect physical copy of the X100...I love the dial layout) and either a rangefinder VF or an EVF. The lens lineup would be nothing but compact primes of modest maximum apertures (to keep the size down). And of course, it'd be adaptable to M-mount in case anyone wanted something faster.

So basically what I want (and I've said this before somewhere around this forum) is a digital Contax G. In fact, just take a Contax G and slap a FF sensor and LCD display on it. It had a 21/2.8, 28/2.8, 35/2, 45/2, and 90/2.8 among others...all very small, very high-quality, and with AF. Not particularly fast AF, but AF nonetheless. Honestly, Kodak (who have made several FF sensors) should buy the patent (or whatever one does for this sort of thing) to the Contax G system from Kyocera, put in a sensor and the bare minimum required for full digital operation, and watch it fly off the shelves. Yes, I realize that it's not that simple...but a man can dream!

Pretty much.

Weather-sealed, of course - I'd envision it more as a pro travel photography camera (good for everything except action) than a consumer body.

For most travel purposes, I'd be able to carry several of these, with a UWA and 70-200 fitted, and a macro in the bag (naturally, much smaller than their DSLR counterparts, in the same vein that Leica M-series lenses are much smaller than equivalent DSLR lenses) in the same space I could carry just a single DSLR... leaving the other hip free, naturally, for a 7D and long lens for action shots.