New Rumor: High Resolution EOS R in field test

A new rumor surfaced that the high resolution EOS R (let's call it the EOS Rs for now) in field testing, the rumor goes on to say that they expect the EOS Rs later this year.  The rumor then suggests that the source says Canon wanted to make a splash for the 2020 Olympics, and this is what they will do it with.

The next Canon EOS R camera will have a high resolution sensor. We expect Canon to announced the high resolution EOS R somewhen in Fall 2019. We still have no reliable information about the resolution but you can expect a sensor between 50MP and 70MP.

2020 is an Olympic year and our source suggests that Canon is looking to make a splash with their upcoming high resolution EOS R model. This leaves us somewhat puzzled since we do not believe professional photographers will embrace a mirrorless camera system for their work. Not yet. On the other hand, the Olympics might be a good stage to showcase a professional, high resolution mirrorless camera, especially if it introduces some cool and new technology. 

I personally want the EOS Rs to come out, it's actually the camera I'm waiting for to get into the EOS R system.  So having it come out this fall would be good news for me.  However, this rumor doesn't seem to pass the sniff test.

Some of this rumor could be accurate but parts of it sound illogical.  The part which Canon is doing field testing could be entirely accurate, but could also be that Canon isn't planning on releasing this camera until 2020.  It's only 4-5 months until "launch" if it was coming out in the fall, and that seems a little too tight for it being in field test at this time to correct any flaws before manufacturing starts up in earnest.  2020 is indeed an Olympic year and Canon will want to make a splash.  However, Canon will want to make a splash in 2020 with this camera not because of the Olympics, but because of PhotoKina being held for the first time in May of 2020.

If you note in Canon's latest published interview which they say they have new things in the works for 2019, they state they have development happening in 2019, not specifically new products in 2019.

Canon wouldn't use the EOS Rs as the "Olympic splash" unless they suddenly decided that the 1DX Mark III isn't going to come out and that Canon was going to skip the 2020 Olympics with a 1 series update.  That's simply not going to happen.  The focus on the Olympics like it has every other Olympics will be on the sports camera bodies and the related big white super telephotos that you see on the sidelines of all the events.   Not some high-resolution camera that will undoubtedly have a pedestrian FPS, huge files, and a user ergonomic experience that isn't 1 series.

Don't get me wrong, it's certainly possible that Canon will release the EOS Rs this fall.  I have long thought that is certainly probable, for the simple reason that for the most part Canon can easily take a Dual Pixel Auto Focus 24MP APS-C sensor and "scale it up" to full frame which would take it around 62MP for a full frame sensor.  The DR response of such a sensor would be somewhere around what a 5D Mark IV is right now, which for everyone that isn't simply looking at numbers and actually looking at photos, is perfectly acceptable and competitive.  Slap in one or two DIGIC 8's and you have basically a high MP camera that can shoot at anywhere from 3.5 fps to 6fps.

However, with a sensor made with the current generation that Canon is using today, this camera would have a huge problem when it comes to video, especially 4K.  The crop would end up being around a 2.5x crop for full frame.  Which I'm sure most would deem unacceptable, and even though video isn't even the reason this camera is created, it would get universally panned by the Internet.  Most of the reviewers would never purchase the camera in the first place, nor are the target market - but since when does that stop anyone these days?  Then again, Canon has shown a remarkable lack of interest in caring about what the video side of the hybrid camera market actually thinks about their cameras.  When you see the video features of the EOS RP and the newly released SL3, it does make you wonder if Canon just feels 4K is ticking off a chart on a specification sheet, and they don't really feel people actually shoot 4K.

So while I'm still saving up my pennies for an EOS Rs and am hoping for a fall release, part of me wants Canon to put it off until 2020.  This way hopefully they can get DIGIC 9 out for faster fps and faster sensor AF processing, the next generation of sensors that should be better for video and stills overall and do what would seem the first time in a while, getting it right the first time.