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The video content market in India is experiencing unprecedented growth, with an estimated OTT revenue of $2 billion in 2022 and a projected $18 billion in the next three years. Fueled by the rise in content creation, media streaming platforms, and OTT production houses, the demand for video equipment has skyrocketed. To meet this growing demand, Canon India is working on innovative products that cater to the needs of today’s new-age customers.

Younger photographers are turning to full-frame mirrorless cameras and professional gear to capitalize on the demand for content creation.

Keeping the needs of content creators in mind, Canon has launched the next iteration of its professional EOS R6 camera—the Canon EOS R6 Mark II. The EOS R6 Mark II is packed with a host of redefined features, including superior movie shooting with professional monitoring tools like a cinemascope aspect marker and false color monitor.

Featuring many upgrades in image quality, the EOS R6 Mark II offers video resolution of 4K at 60p oversampled from 6K and Full HD at 180p for cinematic footage.

In an exclusive interview with News18 Tech, Canon India CEO and President, Manabu Yamazaki shared insights on what sets Canon apart from the competition, the importance of the cinema segment for Canon’s camera business, and why the EOS R6 Mark II camera is poised to become the go-to choice for professionals.

News18: What is the objective behind launching the ‘EOS R6 Mark II’ and who is its target audience?

Manabu: At Canon, we believe in creating imaging solutions that push creative boundaries for photographers and filmmakers to capture the extraordinary. Since the past few years, we have witnessed a significant rise in demand for professional imaging equipment across the country. This exponential rise can be attributed to factors such as the growing levels of engagement on social media, the emerging trend of vlogging, the rise of tourism post-pandemic and growth in wedding photography in Tier-II, III and IV areas, presenting us a strong business opportunity. 

EOS R6 Mark II is a successor to our popular model EOS R6 and is targeted towards professionals who shoot still images and movies. It is a camera for professionals who are particular about serious shooting such as image quality, AF, drive, and video performance. In addition, by incorporating the false colour function of Cinema EOS and the RAW recording function to an external recorder, it is an ideal camera for filmmakers as well.

News18: The R6 II can do 6K 60P RAW video recording through an external recorder like Atomos Ninja but has the company thought about bringing internal RAW recording like Sigma does with CDNG recording on its Sigma fp and fp L?

Manabu: While EOS R6 Mark II supports RAW video recording through external recorders, we have EOS R5C, EOS R5, EOS R3 in our line-up of cameras which can do internal RAW recording. 

News18: How important is the Cinema segment for Canon’s camera business?

Manabu: India has one of the largest film industries in the world and contributes immensely towards the economy of the country. Almost 2000 movies are produced annually in the country, which transcends across regions and languages. This shows the power and reach of Indian cinema. Being one of the leading imaging players in the country, we have been empowering film makers to weave magic on screen, through our expansive line-up of cinema products and solutions. Cinema is one of the most lucrative segments for our camera business. As a testament to our focus on the cinema segment in India, this year we launched ‘Cinema Excellence Suite’ an industry first mobile format platform to connect with cinema enthusiasts and filmmakers. It allows us to not only bring technological excellence on wheels, but also enables us to showcase Canon’s exhaustive cinema portfolio. With our concerted efforts and new product launches, we are expecting to achieve 4X growth in our market share in the cinema segment.

News18: How has Canon evolved its range of Cinema cameras to cater to the evolving needs of filmmakers?

Manabu: Canon has continued to innovate and evolve to cater to the dynamic demands of its customers. In sync with this, we have introduced some ground-breaking technologies in the past few years which has completely transformed the imaging industry. With respect to our cinema cameras, we began our journey in 2010 with Cinema EOS C 300. The C300 brought the heart of Canon’s pioneering image technology to the world of cinema with an 8.3MP oversampling sensor, compact ergonomics and extended dynamic range. Fast forward to 2020, we completed ten years and launched the EOS C70 camera, the first cinema EOS camera equipped with an RF Mount and Mount Adapter EF-EOS R 0.71X. EOS C70 supported 4K/120P high frame rate recording, enabling rich visual expression.

This year, we launched the EOS R5 C which is Canon’s first camera to provide internal 8K 60P Cinema RAW Light recording. And now with our latest addition, the EOS R6 Mark II, we are all set to create ripples in the imaging industry with some game-changing features of the camera including a resolution of 24.2 Megapixels, 4K 60p and Full HD 180p. Thus, as the cinema industry itself has grown over the years from black and white to now OTT, we too have evolved in our imaging equipment to provide only the best in class.

News18: How is Canon EOS R5 C performing in the Indian market compared to the R5?

Manabu: EOS R5C is gaining huge popularity day by day and increasingly adopted by filmmakers, production houses and wedding houses. While EOS R5C is predominantly used by filmmakers, EOS R5 is used by wedding and fashion photographers. Both the models have their distinct appeal and user base. 

We also talked to several industry experts like Vidit Shekhawat, a fashion photographer and editor on why cameras like the Canon EOS R5 have solidified their position in the mirrorless market in India. “The R5 is my go to workhorse—be it fashion, or high-fashion portraits that I capture often. The autofocus, the build quality, and the ‘look’ of images is just very pleasing.”

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