Canon Rumors
Monday, March 30, 2009 at 7:24PM Everyone got all excited today about the rumor that Canon might build a camcorder around an APS-C sensor. APS-C is the sensor size that Canon uses in everything from the Digital Rebel line to the 50D, and it’s not that different from Super 35 motion picture film, or the RED One. It’s only a little bigger than the Four Thirds size that Panasonic is using in the GH1.
Click to embiggen
Canon Rumors then posted a follow-up with more alleged insights into Canon’s strategy, including this gem regarding DSLRs:
People in charge think that 30fps on 720p and 1080p is very good and will not improve it on this generation. PAL 25p is too close to 24p and is not contemplated as an option for now.
Hear that? It’s the sound of every filmmaker on the planet flipping off Canon with one hand while they Click To Buy a GH1 with the other. Except those that weren’t planning on making any films until 2010 that is.
These are just rumors, of course—and unatributed, incoherent non-quotes that don’t ring true to me (and are widely regarded as sketchy), so I’m holding my tongue (and my new 5D Mark II, more on that later). I wasn’t even going to post anything about this, but folks were starting to post comments about the camcorder rumor, so I thought I’d give y’all a proper place to do it.
Reader Comments (18)
Canon needs to get in touch with the field. They seem to be chasing their horizons with no map or compass. This is a real tragedy...if it is in fact the case.
Any competition with Red is good. Supposedly Panasonic is also rumored to be working on such a camera as well. More competition drives prices down, features up, and gives the customer more choices.
As for the DSLR video conundrum, I really don't get what Canon is doing. But then again, after reading the rave reviews out there for the new Rebel (outside of the filmmaking community) it makes me think that Canon knows their market better than we do. I just hope Panasonic sells a boatload of the GH1's so everyone sees that there is a demand for 24P out there.
Canon is Advertising for the GH1 again. I don't get it....
Remeber, Canon didn't do or say anything. This is all just hearsay.
The sad thing is, it does in fact ring true to me (the 25fps part that is ... though the video camera makes sense as well). This is almost certainly the logic the marketing executives have, and they've demonstrated this kind of thinking with many previous products (the G7/G9, line, and raw files for example). I don't see them budging on this, though I can help but wonder if any of their executives ever get outside their corner offices in Tokyo to see what people really think of their company and brand lately. Oh well ... I'm all in for the GH1 when it comes out. The 5D is still an amazing still camera ... but I bought it for the video. I still prefer my 1Ds for photography, since it doesn't have the useless AF of the 5D (more crippling, 1 cross type sensor ... even the 50D has better AF).
minor detail, but the GH1 seems to have a multi aspect sensor that uses a wider area in 16:9 mode.. from http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_GH1/verdict.shtml:
At first glance, the resolution appears to be the same 12.1 Megapixels, but look a little closer and you’ll discover the Lumix GH1 actually employs a new sensor – not just to equip it with the ability to record video, but to also support multiple aspect ratios with the same angle of view. The Lumix GH1’s sensor actually sports 14 Megapixels in total, but like the Lumix LX3 and TZ5 before it, the camera uses varying portions of the sensor depending on the selected aspect ratio. So in 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 modes, the GH1 records images with 4000x3000, 4128x2752 and 4352x2448 pixels respectively. None are cropped or interpolated.
The GH1 accommodates these different aspect ratios without compromise by using a sensor that's physically slightly larger than the Four Thirds standard. When set to 4:3 mode, the active area matches the 17.3x13mm of other Four Thirds sensors, which means the GH1's 12.1 Megapixel resolution matches the pixel-pitch of the G1. When using wider aspect ratios though, the active area extends beyond the 17.3mm width to exploit additional pixels at the sides of the sensor.
so from some quick calculation it would seem that the sensor area in video mode would be 18.8x10.6mm rather then the standard 17.3x13mm.
i might try to come up with a sensor sheet if i have some time.
++ chris
I won't order the GH1 with one hand while flipping the bird with the other. I'll be ordering more Nikon lenses to go with my 5D MkII. Most of Nikon's AF lenses have aperture rings. By ordering those, Canon isn't making me a loyal customer. They're turning me into a ..."Rebel".
nikon will deliver before canon
On your comparison graphic.. the full-frame 35mm.. is that green box showing the area that would have perfs as well as what's usable? I'm not a still camera photographer but used to be a 35mm film assistant (long time ago).
Or is that what full-frame 35mm is? as opposed to super-35.
The green box shows the usable area of 35mm, and the Canon 5D, 5D Mark II.
Stu.... The 5D... It would allow you to do 24P slomo, wouldn't it?
using 120th shutter or 48th shutter in 30i.. at 40% speed seems to produce some nice slomo...in a 24p project. Maybe it's throwing away pixels, but if you have a lot of pixels to start with , and going to 720P, The images shuold look nice with the 5D DOF?
Matt, you've got the right idea, but you've got the specifics confused. You're talking about shooting 30p and slowing down to 24 (using each frame 1:1), for a 20% slowdown, which is exactly what I plan on doing. For that you'd still want a 180 degree shutter, or 1/60th in camera.
I don't know what you are so mad about, Stu. Current camera technology is perfectly cromulent.
So is the 5D actually recording in 29.97 instead of 30p? Was it just a Canon mistake in the software? So we don't have to cut every 1000nd frame? Does anyone uses a XLR adapter?
Give Canon time. They will figure this out.
-gl
Do you know these two japanese gh1 clips?:
http://panasonic.jp/dc/gh1/movie_photographing1.html
http://panasonic.jp/dc/gh1/movie_photographing2.html
Hard to judge quality because of flash compression, but quite promising, what do you think?
best,
menace
The comparison of sensor sizes is one more encouraging reasons why we would request to Canon Full MANUAL Control in Movie mode for the EOS 5D Mark II.
If you are interested, please check this:
http://5dmark2.wordpress.com/
Thanks a lot in advance.
@michael smith...
It's the negative w/o perfs. -the large light green one. The next one down is S35 w/ Academy aperture -also negative only and perfs non-inclusive.