The launch of Canon`s EOS R gave us a chance to talk to a group of the engineers involved in the project. The company put forward an engineer from each of the main parts of the development process: physical design, optical design, UI design and overall product design. They talked of being given more freedom than ever before but also of the need to build on the EOS system`s strengths.
Left to right:Koji Yoshida - Lead Engineer/Architect, Integrated Design Department 232Manabu Kato - Deputy Senior General Manager, ICD Optical Product Development CenterShintaro Oshima - General Manager, ICB Product Development Div 1.Hironori Oishi - Lead Specialist, Product Design Div 1.
A new, short and wide mount
Canon has been consistent across its launch, when it`s said that the important announcement isn`t the EOS R, specifically, or the fact that there`s no mirror, but in what the RF mount allows them to do.
Manabu Kato sums up the freedom they`ve gained in terms of optical design: `people who`ve been working on lenses for a really long time have, with this new system, been able to make lenses like the 28-70mm F2 comparably easily, compared to how they had so many challenges in the past.`
`By having [more] data being transferred between the camera and lens...you can improve the autofocus, metering and image stabilization performance`
As well as allowing more ambitious optical designs, the RF mount also adds data bandwidth, moving from eight communication channels to twelve. `During shooting there`s a massive amount of data going between the lens and the camera, so making sure that was smooth was another challenge,` says Kato. `By having that huge amount of data being transferred between the camera and lens, you can improve the general performance in relation to autofocus, metering and image stabilization. And you can also add features such as the control rings on the lenses.`
The RF 28-70mm F2 lens, combined with pupil detection AF is a po ...
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