Canon killing their DSLRs? – mirrorless 1DX Mark III replacement rumoured for 2021
Sep 25, 2020
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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Rumours of a mirrorless 1DX level body have been around for a while. Since before the 1DX Mark III development was even announced, actually. But now according to a new report on Canon Rumors, it looks like it might actually be on the cards for 2021. They say that Canon “will definitely be announcing an RF mount mirrorless version of the EOS-1D X Mark III in 2021”.
Whether that means, a literal mirrorless version with pretty much the same specs and features or to replace what would be the EOS 1DX Mark IV is unknown, although it’s set to come in the second half of the year. CR has nicknamed it the “EOS R1” which I think would be appropriate, given the D1/D1X lineage.
It’s not really all that surprising that Canon would be planning to replace the 1DX line with a mirrorless version. But given that the 1DX Mark III was only released this year, and its showcase event, the Tokyo Olympics, hasn’t actually happened, is next year a little premature to think about replacing it?
When the first rumours of a mirrorless 1DX started, before the 1DX Mark III development was announced, I thought it seemed like a great idea. But now, they probably stand to lose a fair bit of money on 1DX Mark III sales (more so than COVID has already caused) with rumours of a mirrorless version starting up again.
As we get closer to the latter half of 2021 (the beginning of which is only 9 months away), more and more photographers will wait to see if the announcement comes and what a new mirrorless model has to offer before making any buying decisions. Unless their gear’s completely dead, most will be happy to hang on a few months.
It might also piss off a lot of those photographers who have invested in a 1DX Mark III only to see it made obsolete before it’s really had a chance to earn its keep yet.
As expected, with a rumour this far out, even if it turns out to be true, there’s obviously no specs yet, although Canon Rumors says they’ve been told it will not recycle the 1DX Mark III sensor and will have an entirely new one – which makes sense, because it’ll probably have IBIS, newer mirrorless AF system, etc.
Is even 2021 too soon to replace the 1DX Mark III? Can it even survive alongside a mirrorless version – assuming it can do everything at least as well as the 1DX III?
[via Canon Rumors]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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5 responses to “Canon killing their DSLRs? – mirrorless 1DX Mark III replacement rumoured for 2021”
Canon killing DSLR line is really neither new, nor surprising. Just look at the amount of RF lenses they had lauchend during the last year.
Well, did you expect them to release a camera with a new mount and then not release native lenses for it?
With all of the money invested in EOS glass, it’s going to be a long, slow, painful death for some.
“Obsolete”, “Killing”, “Replacement”… hyperbole?
The 1DXiii will still remain on sale and will still retain the current specs just like the 5Div is still on sale in parallel with the R5. If people have invested in the 1DXiii then it meets their needs. I concur that the 1DXiii is probably the last 1DX DLSR.
A R1 will not have an OVF or probably the same battery life which are essential features for some.
A R1 will provide opportunities for an improved feature set especially for video with the EVF rather than the 1DXiii non-ergonomic live view option. EVF specs would need to be class leading though.
The 1D cameras have always had leading video features and the Digic X processing power is substantial from the R5 specs.
A new sensor and potentially the space for 2 Digic X processors could be an interesting choice… If they have a 45mp with faster readout then they could downsample 45->~20mp in real time at 20fps for still sports needs, perhaps 8k unlimited cinema lite raw as 1D body ergonomics gives better heat management. Running dual processors would spread hot spot temperatures and perhaps lower clock speeds to reduce heat generation. CFe slots would still be hot spots though if video is recorded to both in parallel. External recording would assist in this case.
Would also be the right time to release RF versions of 300/2.8 and 500/4 lenses. Weld an adaptor to your existing EF lenses and it would be a formidable tool
Let’s just be clear about one thing. Regardless how good a mirrorless camera may be, it will always be inferior because of its digital viewfinder.
Looking at a digital reproduction of the real world if far from ideal if you’re a professional photographer and need to know the exact lighting conditions in your frame; every shadow and every highlight. That is still something no sensor and display is able to reproduce.
And then there is the actual feel of it (which is subjective of course) but why would you want to look at a screen and not the real world…?