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Canon EOS
Autofocus system camera product line From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Canon EOS (Electro-Optical System) is a series of system cameras with autofocus capabilities produced by Canon Inc. The brand was introduced in 1987 with the Canon EOS 650, a single-lens reflex camera. All EOS cameras used 35 mm or APS-format film until Canon introduced the EOS D30, the company's first in-house digital single-lens reflex camera, in 2000. Since 2005, all newly announced EOS cameras have used digital image sensors rather than film, with EOS mirrorless cameras entering the product line in 2012. Since 2020, all newly announced EOS cameras have been mirrorless systems.
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EOS cameras are primarily characterized by boxy black camera bodies with curved horizontal grips; the design language has remained largely unchanged since the brand's inception. The EOS series competed primarily with Nikon SLR cameras, in addition to cameras from Minolta and Leica;[1] as of September 2025[update], the series primarily competes with Sony mirrorless cameras.[2] The series was conceived as a camera system built around autofocus capabilities.
The EOS series was introduced alongside the electrically-driven and autofocus-centered EF lens mount, which replaced the previous mechanically-driven and primarily manual-focus FD lens mount. The EF mount and its variants were the primary lens mounts for EOS cameras for decades, eventually being replaced by the RF lens mount in 2018, which was designed for mirrorless cameras and has now become the standard lens mount for EOS-branded cameras.
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Development
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Canon first experimented with autofocus in 1985 with the T80, a single-lens reflex camera that utilized 135 film. The T80 featured Canon's existing FD lens mount, designed for manual focus, with the addition of electrical contacts that allowed communication between the camera body and focusing motors within the attached lens.[3] This system, wherein the lens focuses itself using information from the camera body, was promising enough for Canon to continue development on a more refined version, despite Canon's internal dissatisfaction with the T80's autofocus performance when compared to Nikon and Minolta's autofocus cameras.[4]
The EOS system was based on this principle and was introduced in 1987 with the Canon EOS 650. The camera broke compatibility with the FD lens mount by fully removing all mechanical linkages between the moving parts in the lens and in the camera: like the T80, the correct aperture and focus are determined by the camera body and transmitted electronically to the lens, which makes the required adjustments using internal motors. Canon named this new lens mount the EF mount, short for "Electro-Focus". Alongside the bayonet-style lens mount, the EOS 650 featured a new focusing sensor and a high-performance microprocessor, and was paired with lenses with ultrasonic motors—the first instance of this technology being used for consumer photography.[5] According to Popular Mechanics, the EOS 650 and the improved EOS 620 had the fastest autofocus performance of any camera available in the year they were released.[6]
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Film cameras
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In 1989, Canon released the first EOS camera marketed to professionals, the EOS-1. The camera was intended to compete with the Nikon F4 released one year prior. The EOS-1 was released in tandem with new professional-grade lenses for the EF mount and established the EOS-1 series of cameras.[7]
The EOS 1000 followed in 1990; this became the EOS line's first successful budget SLR, as Canon's previous attempts with the automatic-only EOS 700 and 800 series cameras had not met consumer expectations. The EOS 1000 was marketed as the EOS Rebel in North America, a name which continued to see use for the majority of entry-level Canon SLRs and DSLRs.[8]
1992 saw the introduction of the EOS 5, a replacement for the EOS 10. This camera introduced Canon's Eye-Controlled Focus (ECF) system, which saw further adoption across other cameras in the EOS series at the time.[9] Four years later, Canon released the EOS IX, an APS-format SLR.[10] The EOS line of film cameras continued to be iterated upon until the release of the EOS 300X in 2004, which was the last film-based SLR designed by Canon.[11] The last EOS film SLR to end production was the EOS-1V, a professional film camera released in 2000; the camera was actively manufactured until 2018, though it continued to see official repair service until late 2025.[12]
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Digital cameras
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Prior to designing their own digital single-lens reflex cameras, Canon worked with Kodak to produce digital cameras in the EOS line, starting with the EOS DCS 3 in 1995. These cameras used a digital camera back with the image sensor and associated electronics designed and built by Kodak together with modified internals of the EOS-1N film SLR.[13]
2000s
The first digital EOS SLR camera wholly designed and manufactured by Canon was the EOS D30, released in 2000. While the majority of Canon's existing SLR lineup utilized 35 mm film, which would equate to a digital sensor with dimensions of 36×24 millimeters, the EOS D30 instead utilized the smaller APS-C sensor format with a 1.6× crop factor. Canon's use of CMOS technology to fabricate the sensor helped drive costs down, and the camera's listed launch price of US$3000 made it more accessible to consumers than competing CCD-sensor DSLRs from Nikon and Kodak.[14]
In 2001, Canon followed up their entry into the DSLR market with the EOS-1D, a successor to their EOS-1 series of flagship professional film cameras. The EOS-1D was designed using the film-based EOS-1V (released one year prior) as a base, and was Canon's first and only in-house DSLR to utilize an externally manufactured CCD sensor, as Canon's own active-pixel sensors could not yet reach the readout speeds required for the camera's fast burst rate. The sensor had a 1.3× crop factor: larger than the APS-C sensor used in the D30, but smaller than full-frame 35 mm.[15] One year later, in 2002, Canon released the EOS-1Ds, Canon's first DSLR to utilize a full-frame CMOS sensor. The camera's sensor featured 11 megapixels of effective resolution, much higher than competing cameras such as the Nikon D1X.[16]
In order to produce more compact and lightweight lenses for digital cameras with APS-C sensors, Canon created the EF-S lens mount and introduced it in 2003 with the EOS 300D. EF-S lenses feature a smaller image circle and a shorter distance between the lens mount and image sensor than comparable EF lenses. The EOS 300D was Canon's first entry-level autofocus DSLR and one that competed against more expensive prosumer cameras due to sharing the same APS-C CMOS sensor as Canon's enthusiast-segment EOS 10D. The EOS 300D was the first Canon DSLR to use the Rebel brand in North America, being named the EOS Digital Rebel in those markets.[17] When asked in 2024 what the most significant camera of the previous 25 years had been, Canon executive Go Tokura chose the EOS 300D.[18]
2005 brought the Canon EOS 5D, which offered a full-frame sensor comparable to that of the flagship EOS-1Ds Mark II within a body only slightly larger than that of the enthusiast-segment crop-frame EOS 20D.[19] Canon continued to iterate on the EOS 5D in the following years. The EOS 5D Mark II was notable in that it was Canon's first EOS DSLR to offer video recording; it followed the Nikon D90, which was the first ever video-capable DSLR.[20] The final revision of the EOS 5D was the EOS 5D Mark IV, which released in 2016.[21]
Also in 2005, Canon released the EOS 20Da, an EOS camera specially designed for astrophotography. This variant of the EOS 20D featured two major changes: a modified infrared blocking filter in front of the sensor that allows greater sensor response for deep-red wavelengths, and a live preview mode for the rear LCD to allow more precise star tracking than could be accomplished with the viewfinder.[22] Though the EOS 20Da was discontinued less than one year later without a direct successor planned, Canon eventually released one in the form of the Canon EOS 60Da seven years later.[23]
By 2008, Nikon and Sony had introduced entry-level DSLRs priced below Canon's then-cheapest offering, the EOS 450D. To address this, Canon released the EOS 1000D, a cut-down version of the EOS 450D with some features removed. The EOS 1000D established Canon's practice of using components of their previous-generation DSLRs to create budget counterparts to current-generation models.[24]
In 2009, Canon released the EOS 7D, an enthusiast-grade APS-C camera intended to bridge the gap between Canon's APS-C midrange EOS 50D and full-frame professional-grade EOS 5D Mark II. The EOS 7D featured a new higher-coverage viewfinder and a new 18-megapixel sensor alongside a revised autofocus system.[25] The EOS 7D remained in the EOS lineup until the release of the EOS 7D Mark II five years later.[26]
2010s
Until 2012, Canon had continued to release revisions of both the crop-frame EOS-1D and full-frame EOS-1Ds flagship DSLRs. That year saw the merging of these two product lines in the form of the EOS-1D X, which combined the full-frame sensor size of the EOS-1Ds Mark III and the fast burst speed of the EOS-1D Mark IV.[27] The release of this camera marked the end of Canon's APS-H DSLR camera line.[28] The EOS 1D X received two revisions, with the final revision—the Mark III—releasing in 2020.[29]
Later that year, Canon released the EOS 6D, at the time the smallest and lightest full-frame DSLR in the world. The EOS 6D was intended to provide an upgrade path for photographers who were used to Canon's crop-frame EOS cameras, and sat between the full-frame EOS 5D Mark III and the APS-C EOS 7D. Additionally, 2012 saw the release of the EOS 650D, the first DSLR to feature a touchscreen interface[30] and the first Canon DSLR to feature continuous autofocus in both live view and video mode.[31]
In 2013, Canon released the APS-C EOS 100D, the smallest ever DSLR at the time of its release and one with comparable weight and physical footprint to competing mirrorless cameras. Despite its size, the EOS retained many of the features and controls of the more advanced EOS 700D that released alongside it.[32] The final revision of this line of cameras, the EOS 250D, released in 2019.[33]
Two years later, in 2015, Canon released the EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R. These cameras supplemented the existing EOS 5D Mark III, with the headline feature being a new full-frame 50.3 megapixel sensor, the highest-resolution sensor ever to release in a Canon consumer product. The sole difference between the 5DS and 5DS R was the inclusion of an additional filter in the latter which cancels the effect of the camera's anti-aliasing filter.[34]
In 2018, Canon announced the ultra-budget APS-C EOS 4000D, which released alongside the slightly more expensive EOS 2000D. The EOS 4000D featured a body and internals nearly identical to the older Canon EOS 1300D, albeit with some changes such as a plastic lens mount to reduce costs.[35]
The final EOS DSLR to be released was the midrange APS-C EOS 850D, launched in 2020.[36] One year later, Canon confirmed that they would no longer be releasing new digital SLR camera models as they pivoted fully to mirrorless technology.[37] As of October 2025[update], Canon continues to manufacture some EOS DSLR cameras, with the EOS 2000D and 5D Mark IV absent from the company's list of discontinued products.[38]
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Mirrorless cameras
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The first mirrorless camera was introduced by Panasonic in 2008. Through the elimination of the reflex mirror and optical viewfinder assembly, mirrorless cameras can be made smaller and lighter than comparable DSLRs;[39] accordingly, mirrorless cameras were initially introduced as compact and inexpensive cameras with small image sensors.[40]
2010s
Canon's first mirrorless camera was the entry-level APS-C EOS M introduced in 2012, a mirrorless version of the previously announced EOS 650D DSLR with a point-and-shoot style body and simplified controls. As mirrorless cameras can support a much shorter flange focal distance than SLR-style cameras, allowing for even smaller and lighter lenses than could be supported by the EF-S mount, Canon elected to develop a variant of their existing EF lens mount specifically for mirrorless cameras: the EF-M lens mount. Existing EF and EF-S lenses could be mounted using a separately-sold adapter.[41]
Canon's next mirrorless camera of note was the EOS M3, released in 2015: the second revision of the EOS M. This camera featured an optional electronic viewfinder (sold separately), a tilting rear touchscreen, and a built-in flash system—features not available on the EOS M and EOS M2—as well as a more comfortable grip and more physical controls reminiscent of EOS DSLRs. The EOS M10, a budget offering closer to the M and M2 in features, released the same year.[42]
The most advanced camera that utilized the EF-M mount was the midrange APS-C Canon EOS M5, which released in 2016. The EOS M5 was Canon's first mirrorless camera to feature an integrated electronic viewfinder. It featured the same 24.1 megapixel sensor as its EOS DSLR equivalent, the EOS 80D, and was claimed to provide image quality equal to or greater than that of the 80D. News outlets such as The Verge and CNET considered the EOS M5 to be Canon's first serious attempt at a mirrorless EOS camera.[43][44]
By 2018, Canon was under significant pressure to release a full-frame mirrorless camera—Sony had released the Sony A7 and A7R five years prior.[40] That year, Canon introduced the RF mount, a lens mount designed for full-frame mirrorless cameras. The RF mount retains the 54 mm inner diameter of the EF mount while increasing the number of connective electrical pins from 8 to 12 and reducing flange focal distance to 20 mm from the EF mount's 44 mm. These changes allow for more advanced and compact lens designs than could be achieved with the EF mount, though this comes at the cost of compatibility with EF mount lenses. To address this, Canon released an optic-free adapter for the RF mount that allows usage of EF and EF-S lenses, though the shorter flange focal distance of the EF-M mount meant that EF-M lenses could not be adapted for use with the RF system.[45] The first RF mount camera was the EOS R, which garnered somewhat negative reception: Photography Life criticized the camera's poor handling and lack of available lenses,[46] and Digital Photography Review assessed the camera's specifications as being behind comparable mirrorless cameras from Sony and Nikon.[45] A smaller and lighter derivative, the EOS RP, released in 2019.[47][48]
2020s
In 2020, Canon released the full-frame EOS R5 and EOS R6, mirrorless successors to the EOS 5D and EOS 6D series respectively.[49] Compared to the EOS R, both featured a new autofocus system, a new image processor, in-body image stabilization, and much greater shutter durability, among other improvements. Both cameras have received Mark II revisions, with the EOS R6 Mark II announced in 2022[50] and the EOS R5 Mark II announced in 2024, which resolved an overheating issue with the original EOS R5.[51]
One year later, Canon released the EOS R3, a professional-grade full-frame camera with Canon's first stacked CMOS sensor in an EOS camera. The R3 featured a vertical grip and large body similar to Canon's flagship EOS-1D Mark III DSLR released one year prior, but with a smaller and lighter body. The fast image readout speeds provided by the camera's sensor, along with other features such as its HDR-capable viewfinder and eye-controlled focus, led the EOS R3 to receive positive reviews for its wildlife and sports photography capabilities from PCMag.[52]
In 2022, Canon released the first APS-C cameras to use the RF mount, the midrange EOS R10 and the enthusiast-grade EOS R7. These served as successors to the EOS 850D and EOS 7D Mark II DSLRs respectively. Both cameras featured the same image processor and subject-detection autofocus system as Canon's high-end EOS mirrorless cameras such as the EOS R5 and R3. Compared to the cheaper EOS R10, the EOS R7 featured in-body image stabilization and weather sealing, though it lacked the EOS R10's in-body flash. Alongside these cameras, Canon introduced new "RF-S" lenses designed for APS-C RF mount cameras.[53][54] These lenses have a smaller image circle with APS-C sensor coverage, allowing them to be lighter and more compact, but utilize the same RF mount as existing RF lenses. Unlike EF-S lenses, which required an adapter to be used with EF mount cameras, RF-S lenses can be used on full-frame RF mount cameras; the camera body automatically crops the frame to only use an APS-C sized portion of the sensor.[55]
2023 saw the release of the entry-level full-frame EOS R8. The EOS R8 combined aspects of the higher-end EOS R6 Mark II, namely its image sensor and processor, with a compact body derived from the EOS RP. To reduce costs, the EOS R8 omitted the fully mechanical shutter, in-body image stabilization, and autofocus joystick of the EOS R6 Mark II.[56] Launched alongside the EOS R8 was the entry-level APS-C EOS R50, an RF mount successor to the mirrorless EOS M50 Mark II and the EOS 250D DSLR, intended to be used for casual photography and vlogging. The EOS R50 shared many specifications with the more expensive EOS R10, but had a more compact body and fewer physical controls.[57] The EOS R100, a cut-down version of the EOS R50 with a previous-generation processor, was released later that year.[58]
In 2024, Canon released its first flagship mirrorless camera, the full-frame EOS R1. Targeted towards sports photography, the EOS R1 featured many improvements over the EOS R3: faster image readout speeds, improved image stabilization and eye-tracking autofocus, raw video recording, a supplementary processor to further improve autofocus subject tracking, and improved durability. The EOS R1 received critical acclaim from photography reviewers.[59][60][61] As of October 2025[update], Canon's most recently released mirrorless camera is the EOS R50 V, a vlogging-focused variant of the EOS R50 and the first EOS V series camera. The EOS R50 V omits the electronic viewfinder and built-in flash of the EOS R50 and gains improved connectivity and video recording capabilities.[62]
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Naming
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The naming conventions used for Canon EOS cameras largely follow two general rules: the fewer digits in a camera's model number, the higher-end the camera's market segment (e.g. the EOS 5D is a more expensive and powerful camera than the EOS 30D); and the smaller the model number within a given number of digits, the more powerful the camera (e.g. the EOS R5 is considered higher-end than the EOS R6). In addition, newer revisions of a given camera model are often given Mark designations, such as the EOS-1Ds Mark III. For mid-range and entry-level EOS DSLR cameras with two or more digits in the model number, the latter rule was different: the greater the model number within a given number of digits, the newer or higher-end the camera. For example, the EOS 80D is newer than the EOS 20D, and the EOS 1300D is newer than the EOS 1100D.[63] These rules hold for most EOS cameras, with some major exceptions including the EOS 100D, 200D, and 250D, which occupied a different market segment than the other three-digit DSLR models;[32] and all mirrorless cameras that utilized the EF-M lens mount, which did not follow any consistent naming scheme.[64]
EOS camera model names often include prefixes and suffixes that detail important aspects of a camera, both general and specific. For example, EOS cameras with the prefix or suffix D are digital SLRs, cameras with the prefix M are mirrorless cameras that utilize the EF-M mount, and cameras with the prefix R are RF mount mirrorless cameras.[63] Cameras modified for astrophotography, such as the Canon EOS 60Da, use the suffix a.[65] Some EOS cameras, such as the EOS R5 C, have used the suffix C to mark the inclusion of Cinema EOS features or operating modes.[66] The V suffix, intended to mark vlogging-oriented cameras, has been used for the EOS R50 V.[62]
Beginning with the EOS 630/600 film SLR, some EOS cameras have been marketed under different names in different parts of the world.[67] The most significant name changes occurred with the EOS 1000, marketed as the EOS Rebel in North America; and the EOS 500, marketed as the EOS Kiss in Japan and the EOS Rebel XS in North America. Starting with these two cameras in their respective markets, the majority of entry-level EOS film and digital SLRs have used the EOS Rebel brand in North America and the EOS Kiss brand in Japan, with the actual camera specifications being identical to their global counterparts.[68][69] This practice was officially ceased with the introduction of the EOS R50, the first entry-level EOS camera since the introduction of the Kiss and Rebel names to use the same name in all markets.[70]
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Autofocus
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All Canon EOS cameras have been autofocus-capable. The first EOS camera, the EOS 650, contained Canon's first implementation of phase-detection autofocus in a single-lens reflex camera.[71] In phase-detection systems, incoming light from the camera lens is split into two beams by the primary mirror: one travels towards the viewfinder, and another travels to a digital image sensor with one or more sensitive areas. The data collected by the sensor is processed to determine how far the focal point must be moved, and in what direction, to achieve correct focus.[72] The EOS 650's autofocus system only contained one horizontally-oriented autofocus point; future EOS cameras contained more points with other orientations.[71]
Canon's first digital EOS SLR, the EOS D30, featured a phase detection autofocus system with 3 autofocus points.[73] The EOS 5D, released in 2005, used a sensor with 9 AF points alongside six 'invisible' AF points (i.e., not user selectable) to help the camera acquire focus faster during subject tracking. The EOS 7D, released in 2009, had a 19-point AF layout, fitting essentially within the same diamond-shaped area of the frame as the previous nine-point layout. The EOS 80D, announced in 2016, marked the first appearance of a 45-point system in a non-professional body.[74] This system was brought downmarket in 2017 with its inclusion in the upper-entry-level EOS 77D and mid-entry-level EOS 800D. Before the replacement of traditional phase-detection autofocus in the EOS series, top-line EOS cameras had either 61 or 65 user-selectable autofocus points.[75]
With the addition of live preview and video modes to DSLRs, neither of which are compatible with secondary-sensor phase-detection autofocus due to the mirror being folded up during operation, Canon introduced a contrast-detection autofocus system—wherein the primary image sensor utilizes the hill climbing method to find the focus distance with peak contrast and thus correct focus—specifically for these modes. This was later refined with the introduction of Canon's proprietary Hybrid CMOS AF system in 2012, which utilized phase-detection pixels within the primary image sensor to perform coarse focus-finding, followed by contrast detection hill-climbing to refine focus. In both cases, secondary-sensor phase-detection was still used for viewfinder-based still photography. Subsequent iterations of Hybrid CMOS AF increased frame coverage and focus accuracy.[76]
With the EOS 70D, Canon integrated phase-detection autofocus into the primary sensor with the proprietary Dual Pixel CMOS AF system. In this system, each pixel in the focus area on the primary sensor is split into two photodiodes that can be read independently for autofocus and simultaneously for capture, which allows high autofocus frame coverage with no penalty to image quality.[77] The introduction of DPAF brought autofocus performance during live preview and video mode in line with secondary-sensor phase detection autofocus methods and provided a robust autofocus method for Canon's then-emerging EOS mirrorless cameras. Dual Pixel CMOS AF II, introduced with the mirrorless EOS R5 and R6, increased autofocus frame coverage from 80% to nearly 100%.[78]
Eye-controlled focusing
Through the tracking of eyeball movements, EOS cameras equipped with eye-controlled focusing (ECF) are able to select the desired autofocus point in the scene based on where the user is looking in the viewfinder frame. ECF is especially useful in sports photography where the subject may shift its position in the frame rapidly.[79]
The EOS 5, EOS 50E, EOS IXe, EOS-3, and EOS 30 film SLRs all featured an ECF system. The EOS 30V was the last EOS SLR to have the feature. Due to issues with accuracy and usability, Canon did not continue development of its eye-controlled focusing system for EOS digital SLRs. However, the feature eventually returned with the release of the mirrorless EOS R3 in 2021, where the camera's increased autofocus frame coverage and ability to show the eye's focus point on the electronic viewfinder made the feature viable to include.[80] Canon has continued to add this functionality to new high-end EOS cameras such as the EOS R1 and R5 Mark II.[81]
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Flash system
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When initially released, EOS cameras supported two flash metering systems, named TTL (for through-the-lens) and A-TTL (Advanced TTL). The former fires the primary flash only as long as is required to achieve sufficient exposure as determined by flash sensors inside the camera's body,[82] while the latter utilizes an additional low-power flash to aid in adjusting the camera's aperture for proper exposure. All EOS film cameras supported A-TTL metering.[83] A new metering system named E-TTL (Evaluative TTL) was introduced in 1995; this system allowed correct exposure to be achieved without requiring active monitoring of the flash's output. E-TTL II, which was an enhancement in the camera's firmware only, replaced E-TTL from 2004.[84]
Canon Speedlite-brand flashes have evolved alongside the cameras. The EZ series of Speedlite models, which was introduced alongside the first EOS cameras, supported both TTL and A-TTL metering;[83] the release of E-TTL metering on EOS cameras prompted the release of the E-TTL compatible Speedlite EX series.[85] Canon also produces Speedlite accessories, including the OC-E3 Off-Camera Shoe Cord, which can be used to hand-hold the flash while allowing the camera to control it through the cord. According to Bryan Carnathan of The Digital Picture, the Off-Camera Shoe Cord is popular among portrait photographers who need to have more control over lighting than a camera mounted flash can offer.[86]
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See also
- Canon Cinema EOS, a series of EOS cameras designed primarily for video production
- List of Canon products
- Sony α
- Panasonic Lumix
References
External links
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