Canon to come out with a sub-$800 full frame mirrorless

About two years ago, Canon Executive officer Tsuyoshi Tokura was interviewed and he pretty bluntly stated (especially for a Canon executive) that there would be models above and below the EOS R (you can read the interview here). 

With that in mind, this latest rumor from CanonRumors isn't much of a surprise.  Is it that much of a step for Canon to make a sub $800 full frame mirrorless? Not really, it will simply reduce their profit margins to do so.

Canon has made cheap 35mm cameras in the past, and the only real difference between a digital APS-C mirrorless and a full frame mirrorless is the shutter assembly and the sensor. Shutter assemblies are either mass produced or outsourced.  Unlike DSLRs, there is not a more complicated mirror and viewfinder assembly. Canon makes their own sensors and can set whatever internal price they really want on the unit and Canon has had nearly 20 years of full frame sensor fabrication since the creation of the 1Ds in 2002 to drive sensor fabrication costs down.  Canon can keep the labor and manufacturing costs at a minimum by using automated assembly, something they have been working on for the past decade.  This is the reason why I feel that Canon doesn't seem to be that interested in APS-C, outside of focal length starved applications.  When it really comes down to it, there is little need for APS-C anymore.

I would hazard a guess that a slightly bigger EOS-M200 would be a probable low cost entry into the RF mount, as depicted above.

Is an $800 full frame mirrorless coming? Yes, it's simply a matter of time.

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