20
2012
Like many others, I too have been waiting for quite a while for Canon to release its mirrorless system. There are speculations and indications that they may very well do so this year, but I personally grew a bit restless. Because of this, I decided to put to paper, or rather to CAD and rendering software, my vision of such camera. After about a month of learning, debating, modeling and rendering, the Canon AE-D came to life.
Actually, this camera represents more of a fantasy rather than vision. Personally, I don’t actually see Canon going this route since it will probably be quite expensive. While pros and enthusiasts may welcome it, the bulk of the profit is in the sub 1K vicinity. Nonetheless, there is a market for such a system and that is something that I constantly kept in mind while working on the project. I wanted to conceive and design a product that could find its roots in reality. Both product/marketing wise and technical wise.
The design is inspired by the classic AE and AE-P which are two of my favorite Canon cameras ever. Simple, iconic, timeless. I couldn’t think of a better basis for a modern mirrorless system.
Some of the main features and the reasoning behind them are:
Full Frame – Might as well be the pinnacle of 35mm. Especially if a new lens mount is required. Future proof.
18.1MP sensor from the 1DX – This camera will not rob sales from the 1DX on form factor alone so it makes sense to use an existing sensor instead of a new one. Plus, it will make an excellent pair to someone with an 1DX.
CM-D Lens mount – That was the source of most headaches for me. Naturally, I wanted to design it around the EF mount for reasons that I don’t need to state but it proved to be very problematic. Both the flange depth and actual mount diameter meant that the camera needed to be much thicker and possibly taller to accommodate EF lenses. So this “CM-D” lens mount is roughly FD sized which keeps the dimensions close to the original and enables lenses that are not too huge. EF lens use should be possible with an adapter but please correct me if I made some wrong assumptions about the dimensions here.
50mm f/1.0L “Kit Lens” – Fast primes. What can I say? I love them and they probably the best match to a system as I outlined above. So their existence is no less realistic that all the other items here. While I am far from being an optics expert, I designed this 50mm lens based on a combination of schematics of the Canon 50mm f/1L. FD f/1.2L and Leica f/0.95 so it should be a realistic representation of the dimensions of such a lens. It also features an aperture ring for direct control as well as an Auto mode for shutter priority or auto mode.
Viewfinder – Design wise, I knew from the start that I wanted to incorporate the prism hump of the AE cameras. It is a prominent feature that without it, the context of the design gets somewhat lost. At the same time, it is obviously not a technical requirement in mirrorless cameras so making it detachable while housing the EVF felt like the the optimal combination of form and function. After all, if this is a camera for photographers, a viewfinder, even if electronic, is a must.
Flash + Flash + Flash – I regard flashes as an integral, must have feature of any system and I didn’t want to handicap its use in any form. Not when taking snapshots with the built-in one and not when the viewfinder is either attched or not.
As for the future, I see myself designing a second camera in the line. Something more pocketable with more pancakey lens. Something that will also possibly more in line with what Canon will offer us themselves in the future.
Canon Mirrorless Camera? You Must See This! | Pinoy Photography
[...] It’s beautiful ain’t it? I’m now salivating the idea that my EF-50mm f1.2 is on that beauty. Unluckily this is just a fantasy, a 3D rendition by the talented designer David Riesenberg. The mockup rendition was based from the classic Canon AE series. David is skeptical about Canon going back to this retro design as he told me from our email exchange. Will Canon be releasing one? We don’t know, but what I’m pretty sure is that they want a slice of the Mirrorless pie. See and read David’s full post. [...]
Canon AE-D, concepto de cámara mirrorless | Fotografia.com
[...] Web | davidriesenberg.com [...]
Canon AE-D Mirrorless Concept Camera « NEW CAMERA
[...] See more images at – davidriesenberg.com [...]
Concepto de cámara EVIL y full frame Canon AE-D – Pixel Análogo
[...] Mas fotografías en la web de David: Canon Mirrorless Concept [...]
Pixinfo.com blog - Blog Archive – Canon AE-D MILC koncepció
[...] Néhány további kép: http://davidriesenberg.com/archives/262 [...]
Canon mirrorless camera concept | Photo Rumors
[...] A reader sent me his concept renderings of a Canon mirrorless camera. I like the idea of the EVF being mounted over the hot shoe. For more images visit davidriesenberg.com. [...]
kes_
So did you actually model out the optical path to make sure this would actually work?
David
The dimensions, both internal and external as well as the element shape and placement are based on real lenses. As reference I used the both the EF and FD 50mm f/1.2 from Canon as well as the Leica 50mm f/0.95.
The final placement and exact shapes of the elements are more than likely incorrect since I am not an optical engineer but a working design is possible based on the given guidelines. My goal was to check and design a Lens / Mount / Sensor combo that is simply feasible from a technical point of view.
phil
… fantastic job, outstanding work. all i ever dreamed about.
lots of respect and hopping you will soon be the top designer
for any camera brand.
thanks for the great output.
David
Thank you.
I really appreciate it.
Ahmad Zaatari
Outstanding design and concept. I hope we will see it soon. It is a dream come true.
Svyatoslav
Спасибо за мечту, David.
Zakai Olsen
If they don’t pay you for this design and make it then I will be very disappointed hahaha. I would buy one of these right away. Genius idea and design, very well done
I love the full frame sensor and EF mount, it would definitely be the right move for Canon do incorporate that into their compact system
David
Thanks Zakai, but unfortunately this cannot have an EF mount built in.
The diameter of the mount and flange depth specifications of EF lenses would make the camera considerably larger. And it already is quite big for compared to other modern mirrorless cameras.
Ivan - Photographer from Melbourne
This camera and a 50mm lens is all you’ll need. I love how camera designs are going back to the cameras from the 60′s-70′s. Now all we need is the same quality of build!
Concept della mirrorless Canon | Emi&photo
[...] designer David Riesenberg ha pubblicato sul suo sito il concept di quella che potrebbe essere la prossima mirrorless di Canon, secondo la sua [...]
Nathan
I truly love this design.
As mentioned in another comment, this paired with a fast 50mm prime (as you have) would be ideal.
So well thought out, and the execution of the renders are remarkably clean as well.
Silvio
It still is a great looking concept. Could you change it to actually take EF lenses? How would it look?
Mirrorless Canon: ecco il concept | Multimedia | Digital.it
[...] mirrorless in questione, denominata Canon AE-D: sottolinea infatti come abbia voluto concepire e progettare un prodotto che potrebbe avvicinarsi molto a quello reale, con un design ispirato alle classiche AE [...]
Jay
Please suggest to Canon.
It’s great concept design.
David
Thank You.
Designstudie: Canon-Systemkamera im schicken Retro-Look » neuerdings.com
[...] israelische Produktdesigner David Riesenberg zeigt nun, wie Canons Vertreter in dieser Klasse aussehen könnte. Und seine Entwürfe finde zumindest ich persönlich grossartig. Aber man muss natürlich [...]
NYC
Frankly, I think the market place is overly crowded with APS-C, Micro 4/3 and Full Frame bodies … However, if Canon wants to create a niche for herself …. Canon should “Think Different” like Apple …. how about a Micro 645 … that is a compact medium format camera with a beautiful design like the Canon AE-D??!!! A design that is completely mirrorless but has a senor size that is bigger than full frame?
David
Hehe. That would be a dream but even more unrealistic than FF.
Elja Trum
Excellent design and well worked out concept!
I’d buy one!
Pompo Bresciani
Fantastic! Where can I pre-order? HA!
Jovan Jaric
Dream camera, really. Great work. I hope that Canon read this.
Mike
Awesome design – would love to buy something like this, especially with the 1Dx sensor. One suggestion, adding an exposure compensation dial to the bezel surrounding the pop up flash would add a ton of functionality to the user experience. Well done!
David
Excellet suggestion, Mike. I don’t know how I could forget that.
Donovan
Very pretty! I’d love to have a mirrorless primarily to have something inconspicuous and non-threatening for candid and street photography, so something that has this look and feel would be perfect, but I agree, image quality comes first and I’d only buy if it could match their full frame SLRs for quality.
You proposal is very attractive, but one of the not insignificant advantages of mirrorless is that there is no need to have the EVF in the centre, and hence nose grease smeared all over the LCD – all sensible newer designs seem to be heading that way (e.g. Nex 7). Also for those of use with decent sized schnozzes, a centre SLR viewfinder is actually pretty awkward. I love retro, but practically…
I’d happily buy a really good mirrorless with a fixed fast 35mm (full frame equivalent) instead of an interchangeable lens system (like a grown-up X100 but decent autofocus, proper manual focus, and hopefully much better IQ). That way it can be used as a convenient, dust sealed second body (hopefully lowering costs). I mostly shoot primes, so an affordable second body is a very appealing alternative to changing lenses all the time.
If it were to be interchangeable lens system, I would think the overwhelming advantages of using the existing EF range would mean that the slightly deeper body required would be a non-issue, especially since losing the whole mirror and prism would save a load of space and weight. For longer focal lengths an SLR is probably more practical anyway, and I’ll bet a large proportion of potential buyers of a high-end Canon mirrorless are heavily invested in the EOS system already. Since EOS lenses can focus in live view, presumably there’s no inherent reason why they shouldn’t work fine with a contrast detect focus system for mirrorless? Anyone?
Oh, and since this is a wishlist, I’d chuck the on-camera flash completely, but at very least the popup mechanism, which might look cool but takes up space, is a potential dust entry point, and like any moving part, failure prone.
But a huge +1 on the basic idea of a small, pretty mirrorless with pro-level FF sensor in case Canon’s watching.
David
Donovan,
Thank you for your extensive reply. You raise some good points, some of which I debated myself.
The EVF placement was pretty much set in stone since the ‘homage’ to the classic era was paramount in what I visualized and it something that many people live with happily today. Also, I am left handed and left ‘eyed’ so personally a viewfinder oriented to the left will be awkward to use.
The mount issue was probably my biggest question mark. I too have a metric ton of EF lenses and buying a new set for a new mount is not something that I’d look forward to. In the end I made the decision to go with a new, smaller mount because EF mount lenses can be adapted by a relatively simple adapter that does not require any optical elements and thus does not degrade image quality. At the same time, I am not forcing the extra bulk on people who prefer smaller cameras by essentially having that same adapter built in the body from the get go.
Thanks again for your comment.
David
Sean C
Since you’ve essentially got a rangefinder, why not move the viewfinder to the left edge of the camera? That would allow its use without your nose getting in the way. With a bit of contour on the left edge of the camera, it could nestle against your cheek securely to help steady a one handed grip.
If the viewfinder were built all or partly within the silver border on the top back of the camera, the camera dimensions could be reduced without sacrificing usability. With an electronic rangefinder there isn’t a reason why the viewfinder must bulge above the main camera body. The flash could then be a conventional dslr popup type over the viewfinder, or a slimmer in body popup similar the S90/95 flash.
If the lens barrel diameter is kept at least as great as with EF lenses, an electronically coupled spacer can be used. An adapter with phase auto focus similar to the one Sony added to the Nex system could get the EF lenses working with reasonable AF performance. That adapter and a Leica M mount one should make the system more attractive while native lenses are developed.
Radek
David, your concept, my dream
. It would be nice if canon will produce such camera with EF mount 
Radek
Qestion: I am not a designer. Which type of the software you use for your work? Autocad? Photoshop? Ilustrator?
David
Radek,
In this case I used solidworks for the modeling and Vray for the rendering. The same can be achieved in many software packages though.
t.linn
I completely agree with the idea of positioning this system at the high end of the ILC market; I completely disagree with your retro-styling. I think the G1 X is a beauty and keeping that general design approach would be my preference. The hump and general design of the camera reminds me of the new Oly OM-D cam—which itself looks like it was designed by a group of comrades in the former Soviet Union.
Michael
OMFG Perfect!
I want that camera! Nicley done sir!!!!
Canon.fr
Prescient !!!!!!!!!!
Canon AE-D Mirrorless Camera Concept
[...] that Canon will follow suit with one of its film bodies. Industrial designer and photographer David Riesenberg is among them, and recently decided turn what he wants to see into a concept drawing. After [...]
The Latest Unofficial Canon Mirrorless Concept Leaves Us Wishing It Were Real…
[...] Unofficial Canon Mirrorless Concept Leaves Us Wishing It Were Real… Just like many of us, David Riesenberg, the inventive mind behind the conceptual Canon mirrorless camera shown above and below, has been [...]
Eric C.
I was surprised as I was reading your theoretical wish list as there is a camera like this ready to hit the marketplace in the middle of April. The Olympus OM-D E-M5. Seriously, everything you noted your article, this camera already posesses, with the exception of the FF sensor. Hyperprime lenses (25 & 35 f/0.95), wide selection of other fast primes, EVF, weather proofing, etc.
@ t.linn – Not familair with the OM series from the film days? Revolutionary those. Hardly designed by the Politburo…
Canon Mirrorless maybe? Maho
[...] Anyways. Some of the specs that he (and I) desires in this mythical system (you can find the full post here – Canon Mirrorless Concept): [...]
chris
i imagine you’ve heard this many times before, but your dimensions don’t work, either for the mount spec nor for an f/1 lens, especially not for that mount. besides, there isn’t really much point of such fast lenses when most of the light from apertures wider than f/2 is lost to most existing sensors (canon and nikon simply jack up the iso to compensate with their fast lenses without informing the user; reportedly, leica designed their sensor to get around this problem, possibly in part because they don’t have an electronic mount to report aperture info to the camera body). btw, the lcd is too small, and the buttons and controls seem to be randomly sprinkled rather than ergonomically and functionally optimized.
from a marketing and aesthetic pov, imo, rather than creating a camera shape which evokes an oly om4, it would make much more sense to permit form to follow function, and move the evf away from where it had to be on an slr, to where it should be on any camera, ie on the side as in a rangefinder or sony nex7. if you’re serious about design, you have to ask yourself ‘why?’ each time you place a part of the camera, and be able to defend that answer as the best possible placement, not just as personal whim. center-line vf placement doesn’t make any sense unless it is there by optical necessity.
btw, one problem with trying to use the 1dx sensor in a shorter flange mount is that the lenses would almost certainly suffer considerably from color shading effects, as would other legacy optics. i think you jettison the flash–there’s just no room for it, especially in a camera that has to power and process a 1dx sensor–and then you lay out a new optimized lens roadmap: personally i would start with an f/2 40mm compact prime, but ideally one would also cover 28, 35, 50, and 90 with primes all around f/2, and extend from there with zooms. but, most likely, there would be no practical way to actually use a generic ff sensor in this sort of camera, which means you have the shrink the fl of all those lenses to match something like an aps size sensor.
anyway, it was entertaining to see your concept, hope you had fun with it.
Jason Zeis
Awesome idea!
I would definitely buy.
How about pitch this to Canon (or any other camera company at that!) or try Kickstarter, this seems amazing!
Canon AE-D Mirrorless Camera Concept » Road to 2012
[...] Check out more views of the camera and a more detailed description over on Riesenberg’s website. [...]
Chrisdee
Anybody can cobble together a mechanical/aesthetic “design” for a camera, and in the days of film many actually tried and succeeded. However when moving from film to to digital sensors, the body design must accommodate the constraints of the sensor properties, which are much harder to work with than film.
The moment the offset microlenses sensors become cheaper to manufacture, there will be cheap(er) full frame mirrorless, until then you will have to pay Leica prices for the privilege. Spend a few years solving this problem first, then you can take a few days off to design whatever body shape you like.
dannyrod
I’ll take it!
Edward
I have many old-style, breech-lock FD lenses purchased in the early 1980s. Hopefully the soon-to-be-released Canon mirror-less camera(s) and the aforementioned lenses will be competable. Is my dream too big? Am I asking too much from Canon?
Julian
I don’t mind the retro look personally but also think that perhaps the rangefinder style is the way to go if we’re looking at downsizing the whole camera.
As a photographer I’d want better dial and button design. Just having iso taking up a huge amount of top camera realestate for the sake of mimicry of an old design seems foolish to me and I’d really have a massive issue with only having full-stop shutter speed choices. Really???
Oh, and that flash design is truly awful. Seriously, something that looks like a film cannister with a bandaid on it but is a flash seems like something you’d come across on those naff DIY sites with “photo hacks”.
Good on you for trying a design but it’d have a long way to go before I’d be keen.
Julian
Oops, I meant to say “just having iso and shutter speed” btw. Hopefully the comment re shutter speed choices makes that clear
Digital Digest – Mar 23 2012 | Shuttertalk
[...] tired of Canon dragging their heels. Here’s a summary of the goings on around the web.Canon AE-D Mirrorless Concept (via ): concept camera based on the classic Canon AE and AE-P, designed by David Riesenberg. [...]
Thomas
Looks amazing. I hope it will become reality someday
Unofficial Canon Mirrorless Concept | canon dslr reviews
[...] David Riesenberg has done what I think is a fantastic concept design of a Canon mirrorless camera. Anyone at Canon listening? [...]
Concept Camera: The Retro Mirrorless (Unofficial) Canon AE-D · NEWS on the Dreamspace
[...] — but if they were to, this is what I’d like to see them do. This stunning concept is the Canon AE-D by David Riesenberg, who has crafted one of the more realistic concepts we've seen in a long time. Heavily [...]
Canon AE-D Mirrorless Camera Concept « Basement20
[...] Check out more views of the camera and a more detailed description over on Riesenberg’s website. [...]
The Latest Unofficial Canon Mirrorless Concept Leaves Us Wishing It Were Real… « 12.3 MégaPixels
[...] like many of us, David Riesenberg, the inventive mind behind the conceptual Canon mirrorless camera shown above and below, has been [...]
Mirrorless Rumors | Blog | New Canon mirrorless renderings from David Riesenberg
[...] David Riesenberg (Click here) used his skills to create a wonderful Canon mirrorless camera concept: “Like many others, I too have been waiting for quite a while for Canon to release its mirrorless system. There are speculations and indications that they may very well do so this year, but I personally grew a bit restless. Because of this, I decided to put to paper, or rather to CAD and rendering software, my vision of such camera. After about a month of learning, debating, modeling and rendering, the Canon AE-D came to life.” [...]
Azety
lol you put ” canon ” on a Leica X1. Nice joke.