Canon adviser talks OLED, video in future cameras
updated 12:55 pm EDT, Tue April 7, 2009
Canon on OLED, video
Camera buyers should not expect to see OLED displays on any of Canon's cameras in the near future, according to company technical adviser Chuck Westfall. Although the company demonstrated an EOS-5D with an OLED display in 2005, the technology is still said to be in development, and only partly out of a desire to improve performance. "I can't give you a timeline today, but we're a whole lot closer now," says Westfall. The major issue is said to be manufacturing, as the company only purchased a factory for OLED creation in 2008, and it needs to escalate infrastructure in order to handle the sheer number of screens needed.
Westfall meanwhile notes that the lack of full manual video controls on Canon DSLRs -- such as aperture and ISO adjustment -- was implemented with amateurs in mind, who might have had trouble with advanced features. Such flexibility would also have made cameras such as the 5D Mk. II more difficult to operate, says Westfall, though future DSLRs from the company may be designed more expressly with video in mind.
The SDXC card format is lastly expected to enter the market by the end of next year, and may potentially displace CF cards in some cameras, thanks to more competitive speeds. Canon has no immediate plans to eliminate CF from its lineup however, Westfall comments.
