Why is the Canon EOS RP important ? 9 February 2019

Over the last few months there has been a rush of new mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras using the classic 24x36mm sensor size. (FFMILC)

I have had very little interest in any of them until I saw  rumors about the soon-to-be-announced EOS RP.

Why ?

The RP is the same size (5mm wider, 5mm lower and about the same depth) as my mid range 

Panasonic G85 which is a micro four thirds camera with a sensor one quarter the area of that in the Canon.

The rumoured price is about the same as one of the higher end Panasonic micro four thirds models like the G9.

So what ?   If the EOS-RP uses the EOS 6D.2 sensor or similar  it will not be setting any records for image quality or performance and will no doubt in typical Canon fashion have been stripped of several features found in the EOS-R.

I think the significance is what it signals about Canon’s product planning.

In the early days of digital photography sensors were more expensive than they are now, and in particular large sensors cost a whole lot more than smaller ones.

I have long believed that Canon and Nikon only introduced crop sensor bodies to bring the price point of consumer models down to a level which would convince amateur photographers to buy one.

I suspect the plan from day one of digital was to ease enthusiast camera buyers back up to the 24x36mm (so-called full frame) sensor size when this could be offered at an enthusiast friendly, or at least acceptable, price.

Note that Canon provides no upgrade path from EOS-M to EOS-R. There is no adapter  from one to the other and there will not be as the flange back distance is about the same.

I think Canon will quietly starve EF-M and EF-S until they die from lack of ongoing support, as Sony has done with the A mount.

I think it will continue EF development but only in the professional sector and only until RF continuous autofocus and overall performance can match that of EF.

Why ?

Canon’s own predictions are for continuing decline in camera sales.

As sales by number of units falls the business needs to make more margin per unit and the only way to persuade buyers to spend more money on each body and lens is to go full frame.

Now comes the EOS-RP. This is about the same size as the EOS-M5 but has a larger sensor and MUCH more lens support.

If I were running Canon’s ILC division I would be trying very hard indeed  to reduce the number of lens mounts for consumer cameras from four to one, that being the RF mount.

At the moment they have EF, EF-S, EF-M and RF.

My guess is that Nikon and Sony and Panasonic  have probably all been thinking along the same lines.

If this proves correct I think we will see ongoing lack of support for Canon and  Nikon APS-C bodies and lenses. We can already see declining support in the form of fewer new bodies and lenses from Panasonic for the M43 system and Sony for the E mount APS-C.

None of them will come right out and say they intend to wind down their crop sensor lines as they need these as insurance in case the whole full frame adventure proves less successful than hoped.

Let’s check some current retail prices in Australia:

EOS 6D.2 body  $1788  ( by the way, I paid $1755 for an EOS 40D in 2007)

EOS 6D.2 with 24-105mm lens $2388.

EOS M5 body $1048

EOS M5 with 15-45mm lens $1148   My copy of that 15-45mm lens was mediocre so to get decent results from the M5 I would have needed to upgrade lenses.

Let’s assume the EOS RP retails for around the same price as the 6D.2.

Canon and its retailers will try real hard to upsell you from an EOS-M to an EOS RP.

Will buyers go for it ?

If they are interested in decent image quality and want access to the huge range of EF lenses then I think the answer will be yes.

Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) lists camera bodies and lenses for each brand by year of introduction.

As I trawl through the lists for Sony it becomes very clear that the A mount has been abandoned with no new lenses since 2015.

It also becomes clear that the bulk of Sony’s new product since about 2015 has been bodies and lenses using the EF full frame mirrorless mount.

Support for the APS-C  E mount has declined markedly over the same period of time with only one new E mount lens since 2013.

I suspect Sony will do a Canon and introduce an EF mount full frame mirrorless model at a price point which many enthusiast photographers will find hard to resist.

Sure it won’t be able to follow focus on birds in flight at 20 frames per second but the reality is not many buyers actually care about that.

In fact I have a Sony camera (RX10.4 ) which can follow focus on moving subjects at 24 frames per second, but I hardly ever use that speed because it generates too many files while adding nothing useful to my keeper rate.

I think the upcoming EOS-RP could be the most interesting full frame mirrorless ILC yet.

It has the potential to supplant the previously popular crop sensor models and form the basis of an entry level ILC system, in a new world where “entry level” aims considerably higher  than it did a few years ago.

I think the EOS RP will be as significant to Canon’s presence in the world of imaging as the EOS 30D was in 2000.

The EOS 30D was Canon’s first “home grown” (to quote Phil Askey of DPR) digital SLR and the first to bring the price point down to a level attractive to enough enthusiast users to make the exercise viable. Mind you it was not exactly cheap by modern standards. It had 3 Mpx and cost US$3000. If the EOS R cost the same per megapixel it would sell for US$30000.

With the EOS RP  buyers will get a high level of  capability in the user friendly mirrorless style at a historically low price point.

My guess is that Sony will counter-attack and soon.

Nikon….Panasonic…. ???