New Rumor: Canon flagship 1DX-like Mirrorless coming sooner than expected

While it should be no surprise that a 1DX Mark III is forthcoming either late this year or early next year because of the Olympics in 2020 being held in Japan.

What is new, is this rumor from Canon Rumors, that states that their sources have leaked that a 1DX-like flagship mirrorless may come out in the first half or quarter of 2020.

Common sense wise, there's a lot of DNA shared between a flagship 1DX-like mirrorless and the actual 1DX DLSR.  Both would have to have dual processors, and 1 or 2 extra processors to handle AF.  The actual sensor would most likely be the same with minor changes to the microlenses.  A newly designed 20 or 24MP sensor would be also far easier to develop high end video for.

One major difference would be the AF as the mirrorless camera using the sensor and DPAF to calculate AF, and the 1DX Mark III using a dedicated AF sensor.  The mirrorless 1DX could be made smaller and lighter because of the lack of an optical viewfinder and using the RF mount, with its 20mm flange distance.

From all the RF super telephoto patents that we have discovered, we can readily see that there is a priority on longer telephotos for the RF mount, and those lenses need a professional camera body to go with them.

It would make a lot of sense for Canon to have this ready to at least be tested during the Olympics.  It's the ideal testing ground for an entirely new camera system, especially with the event being held in Japan.  The engineers and designers are right there, able to assist and also observe how this new camera works in the real world.