The future for Canon is certainly looking bright. Like most of you, I know Canon for their quality video cameras, still cameras,lenses, and printers, but after attending the first day of Canon Expo 2015,I now know that Canon is involved in many more industries. From medical imaging to telescopes, sensors that can resolve 4,000,000 ISO at HD to telescope imaging, and virtual reality, Canon is making amazing strides and is clearly contributing to a future that will have amazing advancements. The future is always around the corner and today I got to look around that corner and see what is coming.
8K is no joke. I got a chance to see 8K footage on an 8K monitor as well as on a large screen immersion experience. It was so crisp it almost felt like you could reach through the screen. I could clearly read fine text on the monitor, not that this is something you should be doing, but it was something pixel peepers will appreciate.
Virtual reality using Canon’s MREAL system was eye opening. MREAL stands for mixed reality and through a VR headset, cameras and with additional devicessuch as a wand, you get the experience of being immersed into your virtual reality. You can see your hands using real world implements to interact with virtual environments and objects. I got to look at a VR engine with a tool that let me bisect it. I saw pistons pumping, internal details that would be hidden, and was able to control what areas I wanted to see. My colleague, Liz, pictured below, got to walk around her own virtual private jet and interact with it, changing the wood paneling to her taste. I think she went with a mahogany. While this is probably a long way from being a consumer product, there is no doubt in my mind this will be a useful enterprise solution for many businesses. Plus it is just cool, so people will want it and eventually it will make it’s way to the consumer world. It’s just gonna be a little while.
The 4 million ISO camera was able to peer into the darkness and bring out an image that was way better than my eyes could see. While the Sony a7S blew everyone away with its performance, this is some next level stuff right here.
Canon had some excellent printing technology on display, but I won’t get too much into that as you may not want to read about printers. Canon also had, as you would expect, a slew of cameras and lenses for everyone to play with. They actually set up a small baseball field, which was quite cool. I shot with a bunch of camera and lenses and I got to use their 600mm f/4 IS II with a Canon 1DX and now I want both. If any reader out there wants to get me one, I won’t say no!
Canon also had some more reasonably priced cameras to catch all the action. The newly arrived to the U.S.mirrorless M3 was on hand. I also got to try out the Vixia HF G30 which is a very solid consumer video camera,and I got my first look at the Canon XC10, which looks like a great tool for the documentary shooter or filmmaker on a budget.
Canon put on quite a show and I am eager to see many of the cutting edge technologies they are working on make their way into the hands of the average consumer. Or at least into the hands of someone with a few thousand to spend, not a corporate account. Bravo,Canon!
