New Rumor: Canon to update the M5 and a mid level DSLR this year?

A new rumor came out today that the next cameras to be updated by Canon will be the M5 and another mid level EF APS-C model will be the next cameras to be updated by Canon. The rumor suggests that an all new sensor will appear in the M5 Mark II.

There's a lot going for this rumor, the M5 is the current "flagship" cameras of the mirrorless APS-C models and both the M5 and any mid level camera that you assume the rumor is talking about are lagging behind more entry level cameras in their lines to some respect. The mid level DSLR we feel would be an amalgamation of the 7D Mark II and the 80D, or an update to the 77D. The rumor makes no real determination.

What happens the APS-C lineup is a hard problem for Canon.

The Canon 7D Mark II came out on September 15, 2014 and has been rumored to be replaced often in the last couple of years. The 80D was announced on February 18, 2016. This year will be 5 years since the 7D announcement, and it's showing it's age, with a prior generation sensor to even the one in all the other APS-C sensors, and now being outclassed in video to the SL3, one of Canon's most entry level of models. The 80D is now 3 years old, which is a long time for Canon's mid level camera as well, and certainly is looking like a poor option compared to the competition. The competition both of these cameras includes such cameras as the D500, A6300, A6500, X-T3, X-PRO 2, X-H1 which all feature advanced video options and shooting performance that matches or exceeds even the 7D Mark II at every turn and the 80D can really only compete now based upon price. Both cameras are due for an upgrade, an amalgamated camera even more so. It would even be fair to suggest that it's 1-2 years late, given the market competition.

So while this may happen and as we explained, it certainly is necessary, it may be that this is not the camera coming out this year, but the 77D is. If you assume that the mid level camera is now the Rebel 77D, and then it is a possibility that the rebels continue to get DIGIC 8 and 4K'ed similar in specification to that of the SL3. It could very well be that Canon is going from the bottom to the top in terms of 4K updates, and tackling the easier to do camera models right now. Just about all competition to any mid level APS-C camera has significantly improved features over the 77D. In the past, it always seemed like the DSLR's took longer to get new technology such as new DIGIC's put into updates. It could very well be that the only thing that Canon can do at this time, is an update to DIGIC 8 and add in the basic 4K into their DSLR's and a more higher end model such as the 80D amalgamation (or a separate flagship 7D Mark III) has to wait.

The Canon M5 would sit at around the 80D level in terms of weather sealing, performance and video options. It's the oldest mirrorless camera in Canon's current ecosystem, having been released on September 15, 2016. The M50 that came out last February outclasses the M5 in terms of performance, auto focus and video leaving this as a flagship mirrorless APS-C that isn't even up to standards against Canon's own products anymore. Meanwhile, the competition in the mirrorless realm for high end APS-C cameras has grown considerably as well, with the A6500, X-T3, X-H1, and others. If Canon is going to create a true flagship APS-C mirrorless, then the M5 needs to up its game in a big way. It's important to keep in mind that the M5 is made by the Powershot group and actually has a Powershot part number, it could very well be that design timelines are entirely different between DSLR and EF-M, and that it is simply easier to do an entirely new sensor first in the M5.

All three cameras right now are in limbo with none of them as good as they need to be against their own lower end entry level models or the increased competition, and all of them are remarkably old for the lines they are respectively in. We can easily see these cameras as getting upgrades next from Canon as they are the most urgently needed cameras to upgrade.

What about this all-new sensor? Well, this is one thing that makes us think this rumor may have a bit of truth in it. Canon won't likely start off a new generation of sensor on full frame size, but will start it off with the much easier to fabricate APS-C sized. This is especially true if the new generation sensor has either smaller design rules from the 180nm to perhaps 130nm that we have seen in Canon's last research notes or an increased level of complexity with perhaps a stacked sensor or BSI. We may even see it earlier if the G7X Mark III comes out with all new Canon sensor as rumors have suggested. WIth the mirrorless market so competitive, it would make a lot of sense for Canon to showcase a new advanced sensor on the M5.

Of course, Canon has been extremely good at keeping the rumors clamped down, with little in the way of information leaking well before releases (and these cameras would most likely be a fall release), however, these are certainly two cameras that we would eagerly anticipate coming out.