 |
| Masaya Maeda, Managing Director and
Chief Executive, Image Communication Products Operations pictured at
Canon's headquarters in late 2013. [photo: Barnaby Britton] |
We speak to senior executives from the major manufacturers fairly
regularly, but it isn't always possible to report on exactly what is
said behind closed doors. Recently though, editor Barnaby Britton had
the opportunity to interview senior figures at Canon Inc. on two
occasions, in Japan. The first meetings were held in late 2013 at
Canon's headquarters in Tokyo, and a follow-up interview was arranged at
the recent CP+ show in Yokohama.
The following interview has been constructed from on-record comments
made by various executives over the course of the three conversations.
Biographical details of the participants are listed below. In all cases,
conversation was conducted via a translator, and edits have been made
for structure and clarity. Our questions are in yellow.
Participants:
- Masaya Maeda (MM)
- Managing Director, Chief Executive, Image Communication Products Operations, Canon Inc.
- Go Tokura (GT)
- Group Executive, ICP Group 2, Image Communication Products Operations, Canon Inc.- (GT)
- Ken-Ichi Shimbori (KS)
- Advisor, ICP Group 2, Image Communication Products Operations, Canon Inc. (KS)
- Yuichi Ishizuka (YI)
- Executive Vice President and General Manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A.
- Naoya Kaneda (NK)
- Senior General Manager, ICP Development Center 1, Image Communication Products Operations, Canon Inc.
From an outsider's perspective, Canon might appear to be innovating more in the video sphere, with Cinema EOS, and maybe a little less in your stills cameras. Is this fair?
[MM] It's certainly not true. We place a high importance on
innovation in still photography. If you look at our EOS system, the
recent 70D offers a Dual Pixel AF sensor and we're also introducing new
and different EF lenses all the time. I think that both are equally
important for us - stills and video.
 |
The EOS 70D's 'Dual
Pixel Hybrid AF' is active across 80% of the frame by width and height,
as outlined here. Pixels towards the edge aren't used for AF for
technical reasons, despite having the same dual-photodiode structure. This means that almost wherever your subject is in the frame, the camera can attempt to track focus on it during live view and movie shooting using its on-sensor phase detection. |
[YI] In the past, you might place movies in one space, and still
pictures in another space but in the future that distinction will
disappear. A single device can do both. That's how we see the
relationship between stills and video, conceptually.
Up to now, we've been known by consumers as leaders in still
photography, but maybe not in movies. With Cinema EOS this has changed,
which might lead to a perception that we're pushing video more. But
actually we're pushing both very hard to make total imaging devices.
Are smartphones a threat to Canon, or an opportunity?
[MM] We don't see the smartphone as an enemy. We like to see it as
representing an infrastructure which we should be making use of. If we
make sure that we continue to produce cameras that do things which
smartphones can't, and we also continue to provide links between our
cameras and smartphones we'll be able to create a system which is of
benefit to our customers.
 |
Recent Canon DSLRs feature built-in Wi-Fi, which allows photographers to control the cameras, as well as transfer images via and between mobile devices running Canon's EOS Remote app. |
[KS] Obviously smartphones have taken some of the compact camera
market away, but there are certain domains in which the smartphone
cannot compete. For example applications that require zoom. Even compact
cameras aren't beaten by smartphones in some respects.
When it comes to DSLRs versus smartphones, they don't compare.
Because of the difference in image size, versatility and the ability to
change lenses among other things, the DSLR exists in a different domain.
What is emerging as a result of the increasing use of smartphones is a
change in photographic culture. You can use a smartphone as a tool for
sharing your pictures with other people over the internet and that is
one respect in which we want our DSLRs to 'cohabit' with smartphones.
You and I both know that cameras take better pictures than smartphones, but how will you get that message to consumers who have become photographers thanks to their smartphones?
[MM] Realistically, thanks to the global prevalence of smartphones
there are more photographs being taken. And as such I anticipate an
organic growth of people who are using their smartphone and come to want
to take better photographs. Regardless of what device they're using,
whether it's a smartphone or a compact camera or DSLR, I'd like to
encourage people to take more and more pictures.
[GT] The products have to be strong, and attractive, and innovative.
We have to offer something that is completely different from existing
options, and make products that are more attractive otherwise we won't
be able to sell them. The era when we could make cameras and just assume
that they'd sell is over.
Our objective is to make shooting images more appealing to our users.
Through our marketing activities we need to draw attention to that
aspect, to make our users more aware of the ways in which they might
enjoy using DSLRs.
[YI] We want to show people how fun it is to be creative in both
stills and movies. it's our responsibility to educate our end users and
we invest a lot of energy in speaking to them.
[GT] Despite the fact that these are hard times for the camera
market, nothing has really changed in our approach. The pressure is on
for us to distinguish our DSLRs from smartphones and compacts so if
anything we're putting more effort behind our research and development.
We're number one in the camera industry and we're the leading DSLR
manufacturer. As such we want to fulfill our responsibility. However
we're not going to be happy if just Canon grows, we want to contribute
to the DSLR segment by having the whole segment grow as well.
When do you think we will see a truly affordable full-frame DSLR?
[KS] We can't reveal plans for our future product development, but as
you know we released the EOS 6D in 2012, which is designed for the mass
market. Advanced amateurs are now able to choose from two full-frame
options - the 6D and the 5D Mark III and at the top end we have the
EOS-1D X, for professional photographers.
 |
| Canon's EOS 6D is a full-frame DSLR aimed at an enthusiast audience, designed as a step up from the EOS 7D but without some of the more advanced features offered by the EOS 5D Mark III. |
The question of whether we'll see a wider range of users expressing
an interest in purchasing full-frame DSLRs is one that we're monitoring
through feedback. And of course, this information will be incorporated
into our product planning.
Some of our readers regard Canon as rather conservative - maybe a little boring compared to other manufacturers. Can you comment on that perception?
[KS] They may perceive us in that way, but we are incorporating
technological innovation into our products. The EOS 70D's Dual Pixel AF
technology is a good example of innovation that is unique to Canon.
Dual Pixel CMOS AF was born out of the concept of allowing the user
to freely choose which kind of finder they wanted to use. The optical
finder, the camera's LCD or the screen of a mobile device via our EOS
Remote app.
What is the main feedback you get from your EOS users?
[KS] We've found that feedback from users is different depending on
the country that they're from. For example, among customers in the USA
the need for videos is rising. They're asking for the highest picture
quality both in stills and video and they're asking for the two to be
merged.
Consumer digital imaging is now roughly ten years old, measuring from the EOS 300D / Digital Rebel, which was the first sub-$1000 DSLR. What is driving the evolution of your stills cameras?
[KS] Up to now, digital cameras have been following film cameras, in
the sense that the goal was to catch up with the quality of film. I
think we've reached that point now, so going forward, the voyage will be
undertaken without a chart to guide us. It's difficult therefore to
imagine what we might do next.
One of our missions though is to expand the domain of image taking.
Connectivity is important, as well as the convergence of stills and
video but looking to the future one thing I can say for sure is that the
camera has to outperform the human eye.
There are many development tasks around that goal, such as increasing
resolution, sensitivity, dynamic range and so on. Ultimately what we
want is to have a camera that incorporates all of this. With unlimited
resolution, unlimited sensitivity and unlimited dynamic range you can
take photos of anything that exists on this earth. That's our ultimate
goal.
 |
| The EOS-1D C is a high-end full-frame DSLR that offers an essentially identical specification to the EOS-1D X for still photography, but with the addition of 4K video capture. |
In consumer photography, it seems like every decade or so a new technology or feature comes along which shakes up the market. After digital imaging, what's the next big thing?
[MM] For a long time people having been talking about stills and
movies coming together as a single, fused function and maybe in the 4K
era we will see stills and movies integrated into one. This fusing might
become the driving force for the next revolution.
Will still photography be necessary in the age of 4K video?
[MM] Yes, definitely. There will always be a need for still
photographs, in my opinion. I believe that still images contain more
information, and have more depth and meaning.
[GT] Somewhere in the future, maybe the two things might converge but
currently with 4K technology you're talking about an 8MP still image,
and with 20-30MP stills cameras being the norm I don't know whether 8MP
would satisfy someone's needs. There's still more work to be done, but
somewhere down the line, it might converge.
Looking ahead a few years, what do you think the future is for photojournalists?
[GT] We've made great strides in improving the image quality of our
DSLRs' still images, but now we're seeing an increased focus on video
capture, so we need to respond to that need.
What are your professional lens user s asking for?
[NK] Well it depends on the discipline but for sports, the kinds of
things our professional users ask us for are durability, image quality
and weight. So last year we made efforts to reduce the weight of the
telephoto lenses that we offer our professional customers. For wildlife
and landscape photographers they also ask for lighter lenses, but
they're also asking for higher resolving power. Professional users have a
wide range of different areas of specialty, so we have a wide range of
requests.
How does the requirement for video influence lens design?
[NK] In terms of EF lenses, we've needed to make certain changes, for
example there was a requirement for autofocus to operate more quietly.
We also need the lens apertures to operate more smoothly for video
shooting and minimize lens breathing if focus is changed during filming.
For entry-level EOS cameras we created a new range of consumer-focused
lenses like the 18-135mm STM which are focused on the needs of people
shooting video and we'll continue in that direction.
How important is video to your non-professional users?
People are taking more movies with still cameras. We've confirmed
this trend. There are also more opportunities now to display and share
movies than ever before, which puts shooting video closer to our users'
hearts. For this reason video is an important feature even on
entry-level cameras, and one that people are looking for.
The EOS M was a somewhat conservative entry into the mirrorless market - was it a failed experiment?
[KS] Well it was certainly an experiment! Japan and Asia as a whole
accept mirrorless cameras more than any other markets. In the US, in
terms of total number of cameras sold, mirrorless cameras account for
less than 20%.
 |
| Canon's mirrorless EOS M2 is a Japan-only model for now, but may become available in other markets in the future. |
So with the EOS M, with Japan as our main market we were able to
secure good market share. We will continue to produce new mirrorless
cameras and although our competitors in this field are very strong, we
hope we won't be beaten by them.
Will the EOS M2 come to American and Europe, or will it remain a Japan-only product?
[GT] It's a possibility but we haven't made a final decision yet. We're looking at the market.
Mirrorless cameras' contrast-detection AF systems offer more accurate autofocus than DSLRs. How are you addressing that challenge as you evolve your DSLRs?
[GT] There are various technical issues before us and while I can't
give you specifics we have various approaches that we're working on and
are planning to introduce.
Is it easier to design lenses for mirrorless cameras, or for DSLRs?
[NK] In designing lenses for mirrorless cameras we have a degree of
freedom, in that they don't need to have a long flange back distance.
Especially when making high-quality wide zoom lenses, it's easier to
design them for a mirrorless platform. A good example of this is the
11-22mm zoom for the EOS M. Its optical performance is very high.
 |
The EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM is a wideangle zoom for Canon's EOS M compact system camera. It features a linear stepper motor for smooth, silent focusing and optical image stabilisation with 'Dynamic IS' for movie shooting. It has a retractable design for portability, and offers a minimum focus distance of just 0.15m. |
Presumably in some respects it's also easier to make cameras without mirrors in them than it is to make DSLRs. Why has Canon not seriously invested in mirrorless technology yet?
[GT] We are very serious about mirrorless cameras, but we're also
very serious about our DSLRs. We believe that there's a lot of value in
DSLRs from the customers' point of view and we expect DSLRs to evolve a
lot. The current trend is for equipment to become smaller and more
compact and we will continue to build mirrorless cameras as well as
DSLRs.
[YI] We and our competitors market both types of camera, but
mirrorless is only a small part of the market in the USA. American
consumers seem to place priority on the superior speed and ability to
capture the moment with DSLRs. DSLRs can capture the moment better than
mirrorless, because you're viewing directly, not through an LCD.
 |
| The Rebel SL1 / EOS 100D is an ultra-compact DSLR designed to appeal to first-time buyers. It's a capable camera that we like a lot, but according to Canon sales have been disappointing. |
Americans also seem to prefer bigger cameras. Sales for the Rebel SL1
have not been as great as we expected in America, for example. We've
received some complaints about it being too small. But in Japan and Asia
we don't see any complaints about that. So we have to be mindful of the
differences between regions.
When you look at the future for photography, is there anything that worries you?
[MM] Not specifically. Maybe if someone invents a potion for eternal
life, that will be the day that people will stop wanting to record
events. But as long as our lives are limited, I believe that people will
continue to want to capture memories.
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