It’s happening: Canon is finally answering our calls for cheaper mirrorless cameras
Canon’s recent launch of the mid-range EOS R7 and EOS R10 was great news for those of us who can’t afford to splash out on full-frame flagships – and it looks like the camera giant could follow them up with another temptingly affordable fashion model .
the reliable one Canon Rumors (opens in new tab) has claimed that “Canon’s next RF mount camera is in the field” and will be announced “before November 2022”. Like Canon’s two most recent releases, the camera will apparently be another APS-C model and be “a small form factor vlogger” camera that will likely compete with the new Nikon Z30. This means it could also be the long-rumored Canon EOS R100.
Cameras with APS-C sensors are generally much cheaper than their full-frame equivalents. So the launch of a third such RF mount camera – following the Canon EOS R7 and EOS R10 – would confirm a major shift in Canon’s strategy. And also a very welcome one in the current difficult financial environment.
Even if you’re not in the market for a vlogging camera, the arrival of another APS-C model would be a good sign for affordable Canon cameras. As our Canon EOS R7 review explains, one of the few issues with the camera is the lack of native lenses. At the moment there are only two RF-S lenses, an 18-150mm and an 18-45mm.
The launch of an APS-C vlogging model would, one would hope, signal that Canon plans to develop more of these lenses, especially some affordable wide-angle primes that go well with its rumored Nikon Z30 rival.
But there are no guarantees either. The recent arrival of the first RF cameras with APS-C sensors is reminiscent of the Canon EOS M series, which came on the market almost exactly ten years ago.
In 2012, we had high hopes for Canon to develop a small, compact mirrorless system that would be ideal for amateur photographers. What happened in the next decade? Canon launched more cameras for the EOS M series than lenses, and the system only received eight lenses in total.
Small price to pay
An affordable camera system for photographers and vloggers doesn’t need dozens of exotic lenses – after all, it’s all about being relatively cheap and simple. It’s also true that some full-frame RF lenses, such as the Canon RF 600mm f/11 and RF 800mm f/11 IS STM, will go very well with Canon’s APS-C cameras.
But today’s rumors of another Canon APS-C mirrorless camera have made us all optimistic again that the camera giant will build a small, affordable system that could live up to the earlier potential of the EOS M series. In the current financial climate, that is arguably a must for Canon and camera fans alike.
Canon’s new small-sensor RF cameras still have a small hurdle to overcome. Because the RF mount flange distance – the gap between the lens and the sensor – is slightly wider than the EOS M-series (20mm, compared to 18mm), they’ll probably never be as charmingly compact as they are now apparently defunct range.
Still, according to Canon Rumors (opens in new tab), the rumored vlogging camera “will be close to the Canon EOS M6 Mark II in design”, which is promising. The EOS M6 Mark II remains one of the best travel cameras money can buy, albeit one that suffers from the same problem as the EOS R7 and EOS R10: a lack of native lenses.
The camera will also apparently use “another kind of vari-angle LCD screen”, which could tilt the camera instead of rotating to the side. A Canon EOS R100, if that’s what it’s ultimately called, would license Canon to be a bit more playful and innovative with its designs than its more serious full-frame cameras.
Canon may not have the resources or fanbase it had at the start of the EOS M series in 2012. But it’s now laser-focused on mirrorless cameras and a single camera mount. Even if mirrorless cameras will never be as affordable as the best beginner DSLRs, let’s hope the EOS R series will indeed offer as many options for amateur photographers as it does for professional photographers.