Photography news, before it happens

This is the email I received about a potential Canon APS-H 1.3x mirrorless camera:

“Canon APS-H 1.3x mirrorless
I was talking with a friend of mine who often tests EOS cameras, that I can’t wait any longer to buy my first mirrorless system but in the same time that am not satisfied with the IQ of any of the available offers (M4/3, NEX …etc)! He said “if IQ is what you want then maybe you should wait just a little bit longer”. What do you mean?! I asked. “Canon will soon be launching an APS-H mirrorless camera” he said. APS-C you must’ve meant?!. “No it’s 1.3x” he insisted. That’s likely to be heavier, bulkier and more expensive then the competition, I commented. “Not really, the size & weight aren’t any higher than Panasonic G1/GH1”. The price could be comparable to xxD, he is guessing based on the build quality & features of the almost-finalized version he tested.

Why would Canon use an APS-H sensor in that upcoming camera but not in the seemingly more demanding 7D class? I asked my friend. He thinks the main reason 7D didn’t get APS-H is that Canon already has two lines of SLR lenses and doesn’t want to add a third one to solve the UWA problem of 1.3x, but for mirrorless they have to introduce a new line of lenses anyway so the sensor can be any size. And Canon chose the APS-H according to my friend because of the following:

1. They think that APS-C in general and their 1.6x (versus others’ 1.5x) in particular is becoming increasingly difficult to improve on, update after update.
2. Sensor production costs have fallen and there isn’t much difference between 1.6x and 1.3x for Canon.
3. Canon develop a new 1.3x sensor for the 1D series every few years and no other camera shared the R&D cost with the 1D before, but this time round the 16MP sensor of 1D4 will have a new use.
4. Weight and size can be taken care of by design. So a larger sensor does not necessarily mean a heavier and bulkier package than the competition.”