Canon spoke of compact camera return, third-party lens and new users

“More and more users are using these cameras for video shooting. We have to accommodate this video shooting,” the executive vice -president of Canon and the executive vice -president of its imaging group, while talking at the CP+ in Yokohama in February, says.

He is describing changes in users of the type that he is watching. “I look at this influx of video users who are dedicated professionals, and they are saying that Mirrorless shooting will be enough for their work. Also, at the entry level, we are looking at this spread of social media and everyone is doing Vlog now, so the demand for shooting from the general public is very high.”

But, he says, it does not come at the cost of the stils capabilities. “We still have a foundation as a camera system. We have to adjust video users and make it easy to operate.” But, he says, “This video is like an ad-on of functionality.”

“We still have a foundation as the camera system.”

This is a similar story with lenses, the executive of the photo and video business unit’s unit, Manabu Kato says: “I think we will still be true to focus on the lens for photographers: This appearance will always be for us. However, we always need to keep in mind the part of its video and what they need in our lenses will always consider two aspects.

“If you still try to achieve very good and video functionality, it still does not reduce the factor,” says tokura. “There is no compromise,” Cuts agree.

Trend upwards after a hard period

This comprehensive appeal requirement can be seen if you look at market trends, tokura suggests.

“We are watching the sound growth in the camera market as a whole. As I see CIPA’s shipment data, I see an increase of more than 10 percent,” they say.

But this improvement comes from low base. “At the summit of the regulated camera system, (sales) about 18 million units, then during Kovid and Post-Covid, it came down to 5 million. I think we have already crossed 6 million thresholds last year.”

“There is still a place for development in ILCs,” he says: “and the demand for compact is increasing.”

Kato says, but this abduction comes from an even less early points, “at their peak, digital compacts were selling about 120 million overall units. It is down in one-story. It is down. It is down, but we are seeing a slight growth these days,” they say.

“When you see compact camera users today … these are a new generation of young people who take cameras in their hands for the first time”

He credits the industry to attract a new audience.

“When you look at compact camera users today, they are not that we do not say residual users from the past. These are a new generation of young people who first take cameras in their hands,” Tokura, “we say,” we don’t guess any great boost, as we did not estimate in the past, as we had seen in the past, but there is a stable healthy development supported by these young generations. “

Powershot V10 and V1 are the first signs to address this audience, and will not be final, he suggests:

“We launched Powershot V1, but we are also considering to ensure that we cover different requirements for these new users, so please be ready to release future.”

Powershot v1

Picture: Canon

Does it focus on young users who shoot videos, clarify V1 visual deficiency, we asked.

“We still had to adjust the shooting,” says Tokura. We considered all these functionalities and then balanced it against the cost. When we did that balance, we did not say any scene: there is no option. ,

“We just took a bold decision. We said ‘Let’s do it,’ see how it goes,” they say.

We said that we saw many requests for an alternative, add-on EVF, but had heard that they do not do well, and surprise the canon’s experience such as accessory finders such as EOS M6II.

“I would be honest, it was not well received,” confirmed Tokura.

Events for Stills Photographers

With all the advances being done in the video, we surprised whether it has taken into account the improvement in stils. Yasuhiko Xiaomi, executive of the camera development unit, says that it is not:

“We are always working on sensitivity, resolution and dynamic range: they all contribute to the best image quality, and it is going to run development for us. We will continue to do so.”

“But this is not just about the technique of image processing,” they say: “What we continue to do is to work on capturing the moments that cannot be captured first.”

“We are using AI to learn deeply and benefit us,” says Xiaomi, “by integrating all these techniques, I think we can be better. ,

A future for HDR photography

We asked whether the right HDR technology, which gives more lifelong image than existing cameras, could be a way to pursue stils photos.

Xiaomi suggests that it is possible “I believe that the current environment is not enough to understand or accept it yet,” they say: “I know that they will, once it is easily available. We are talking to some important industry partners, are requesting support for this. Once the environment is prepared, I am sure that some people are interesting.”

Action priority for all?

Go Tokura says he hopes to make its way to the company’s reference recognition ‘Action Priority’ autofocus modes to make their way to the lower-end models in time. Canon EOS R1, RF 70-200mm F2.8 L is USM Z @ 200mm | F2.8 | 1/1000 second | ISO 1600 Photo: Michelle Clarke

We also asked what kind of reforms AI could offer, and Tocaura highlighted the action priority autofocus mode that his company has developed.

“EOS R1 has an action recognition system. It is quite heavy because you have a CPU, accelerator and all this, which makes real -time autofocus possible.”

He said that the complexity of the processor, the amount of battery requirement and the cost of developing the convenience made it difficult to include in the low-end model.

“Yesterday we were discussing this, I said,” Can you not put it more in other cameras? “

“But, the rest assured, I believe that we have always seen cost and technology more democratically after a while. It will come in the lower-end model.”

Third-party lens

And, even with the risk of becoming a function of the theater, with both sides playing the role, we asked Tokura about their policy, who asks for their policy to allow the third-party lens for RF Mount.

“I think the basic philosophy behind it is that whatever our series is more hugged and prevails in the world, my answer will be. Our strategy is’ how happy our customers can make our customers, ‘based on’ the basis of selecting a partner.”

“We were expecting this question, because it comes every year,” he smiles.

But, as soon as we were about to pack our recorders and notebooks, Tokura added a complicated postscript in his statement:

“I think one day we are going to sit here again and saying that the environment has changed and the situation has changed,” they say. And, referring to the licensing of Sigma and Tamon’s APS-C lens: “So perhaps this is just a minor sign that we are starting to see.”

The article is based on an interview by Dale Basque and Richard Butler in CP+ 2025. It is edited for clarity and flow.

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