Why can't Canon produce a competitive full frame sensor?

[Bazsl]

Does anyone have an idea why Canon cannot produce a competitive full frame sensor? Seriously. It has been five and a half years since the Nikon D800 was introduced and over six years since the Sony A7R was introduced and Canon has yet to produce a camera that is competitive with either. Forget about the Nikon D850 and the Sony A7R III. I am sure I will not live long enough to see Canon produce a full frame camera that competes with Nikon's or Sony's current models.

I can see three possible problems.

1) Lack of engineering talent. (This seems unlikely.)

2) Unwillingness to license the IP they need from Sony.

3) Inability to manufacture a competitive sensor.

While 2 is possible it does not make sense to me. Canon states publicly that they manufacture their own sensors using their own foundry equipment. Why Canon promotes this is beyond me since it is a feature with no benefit whatever. No one cares who manufactures Canon's sensors. Customers only care about the sensor's performance. However, I suspose 3 is possible that someone inside Canon is opposed to using and outside foundry, as Nikon did with the D850 sensor, and this is inhibiting Canon's ability to compete.

I would really like to know exactly what is preventing Canon from producing a competitive sensor because I am so frustrated that I am beginning to dream about some way to justify the enormous cost of jumping from Canon to Nikon. Any thoughts?

[ebiggs1]

Bob from Bean Town,

The copyright date is my normal practice.  I never thought anyone else did not do that. Just assumed,ed you knew what I meant?  I have gone several days into the new year and had last years date on the copyright.  That date establishes when the copyright went into effect.

[ebiggs1]

Hi Danny,

Us poor users that just have a 1Dx and 1D Mk IV don't have the © symbol.  We still have to use (c).  I guess I will have to go buy a 1Dx Mk II now!  I may have to stop off at the attorney's office first to see how much the divorce will cost though.

[ebiggs1]

You know while we are on this FF sensor discussion, the Nikon model that I am/was most interested in will really shock the OP as its specs aren't even clsoe to what is considered great today.  It is the Nikon Df. 

 And if Canon ever decided to make a retro of the F1n, oh boy, I  could not resist that.  

[kvbarkley]

Put here for your consideration, from a resent LensRental article:

"As you could guess if you’ve seen this type of data in the past, a lot of our gear rented is more practical than anything else. Not much has changed from previous years, with the 24-70mm and 70-200mm’s of the world taking the cake as the most popular gear for the year. And the margins are pretty significant. While I can’t divulge actual sales numbers, I can say that the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II and Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II out rented every other lens three times over, and are our two most popular items by a significant margin. Another surprise is that the Canon 5d Mark III is still renting at the same level as the Canon 5d Mark IV, proving once again that cameras from nearly 6 years ago are still incredibly capable machines. Finally, Sony out rented Nikon this year and is slowly closing the gap to Canon."

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