tempest101 Loc: Indiana

Hello,
I want to know if Canon has a feature similar to Olympus Pro Capture on its mirrorless cameras.

For anyone not familiar with Pro Capture, it is a feature that allows the camera to start filling a buffer with images once you half-press the shutter. When you finally press the shutter, a pre-determined number of images before and after the actual shutter press are recorded resulting in excellent captures of action shots, especially in bird photography, which is one of my main interests.

I am a Canon dslr user, but considering switching to Canon mirrorless as soon as I can justify the switching costs. A feature like this can sway my decision much sooner.
Any experience out there?

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

If it is like the Panasonic version, it is 4K video with the ability to use individual frames for 8 MP stills. Unless your Canon shoots 4K, you are limited to traditional burst capture.

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

I don't think the Canon cameras, mirrorless or otherwise, have these capabilities, and one should wonder why.
There are Panasonic mirrorless cameras that do this, where it is called Pre Burst. their G9, which is a 20.3 Mpx micro 4/3 camera does this in two resolutions. One is in 4k video at 60 fps, and it captures a burst of frames at just over 8 Mpx each, and a 6k video mode at 30 fps and that gives you 18 Mpx frames. The lower resolution frames may seem deficient these days, but in truth they hold up just fine on computer screens and for most prints. Its the higher res. setting is the one that has me most tempted, though. Of course these capabilities let you catch the perfect moment in an action scene like birds taking off, etc. Also, these cameras have a mode called Post Focus. You can research that if interested.
The reason why I bring this up is that you can adapt your Canon lenses to Panasonic or Olympus micro 4/3 cameras with an adapter, and still have full electrical communication. Either Metabones, or the Kipon adapters. Kipon is cheaper.
I happen be researching this, and am hoping to one day get the G9 and the Kipon adapter for my canon lenses.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"am hoping to one day get the G9"

My wife just got a sewing machine that cost more than a G9. It may be my turn for a new toy and I have a birthday coming up soon!

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

Why not go with the Olympus? They have had this feature for several years. And their in-camera stabilization is the best in the business. I just updated my Oly m5 II to the m5 III because of this feature that works with their Pro lenses!

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"Why not go with the Olympus?" In the M4/3 world, most reviews suggest the Panasonic system is a little better for the "hybrid" photographer who uses both the shutter and record buttons.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

A camera with this "feature" is essentially just shooting 4K video and then allowing you to take still photo "frame grabs" from the video. You can do this "trick" with any camera capable of taking 4K, although you may need to do the frame grabs in post-processing instead of in-camera. But the results will be identical. Most 4K cameras are able to shoot at the equivalent of 24 frames per second. Some models might be able to do at 30 fps or 60 fps. Check model specifications if this is a concern. High performance memory cards are likely to be required.

A 4K frame grab is 8.8MP. In all cases, this is a huge reduction in resolution from what the camera can do with its standard still photo capture. Maybe it's sufficient for your purposes... or maybe it's not. (Heck, I shot with 6MP Canon 10D and 8MP Canon 30D for years, although it was quite some time ago. Ability to crop images and "enlargeability" of images was much more limited at those resolutions, so I was very happy to upgrade to 15MP, 18MP, 20MP and 21MP cameras when they became available.)

See below for comparison of current and coming Canon cameras capable of shooting 4K, their sensor format and their resolution when shooting stills normally. (Note: some cameras will crop when shooting 4K. This will be a consideration for lens selection, so check individual models to be certain whether or not the entire sensor image area is used while shooting 4K):

Mirrorless (interchangeable lens):
- EOS R... full frame, 30MP
- EOS RP... full frame, 26MP
- EOS M50... APS-C, 24MP
- EOS M200... APS-C, 24MP
- EOS M6 Mark II... APS-C, 32.5MP

DSLRs (interchangeable lens):
- EOS 1DX Mark II... full frame, 20MP
- EOS 1DX Mark III.... coming soon, full frame, 20MP
- EOS 5D Mark IV... full frame, 30MP
- Rebel SL3/EOS 250D... APS-C, 24MP
- Rebel T8i/EOS 850D... coming soon, APS-C, 24MP
- EOS 90D... APS-C, 32.5MP

Point n shoots (non-interchangeable lens):
- Powershot G5X Mark II... 1" sensor, 20MP
- Powershot SX70 HS... 1/2.3" sensor, 20MP
- Powershot SX740 HS... 1/2.3" sensor, 20MP

Bill_de Loc: US

New sewing machine? Expect a nice new sports jacket for your birthday.

--

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Wrong, it is not video. The images are full Olympus 20mp RAW shots if that is what one wants. And it can be done at 60fps. That is why it is called "Pro Capture"; the images are are full RAW images for the pros. What pro won't want full RAW images?

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Again, Olympus Pro Capture is full 20mp RAW images and can be shot as RAW + JPEG. There are limits: continuous focus and exposure is limited to 18fps. Without continuous focus and exposure, it can be 60fps of full RAW and JPEG until the buffer slows down at around a minute. Why else would anybody leave larger formats for action shooting of less speed and quality? It requires that kind of Olympus speed and quality for people to move from their larger formats.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

And because of the 4/3rds format and the most popular print sizes, the Olympus 20mp RAW image is almost the same or larger in pixel size, print wise, as 9 of the 14 cameras listed.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

And at this time, there is very little pro capture in larger format right now. I believe Fuji has a version of Pro Capture in some of their mirrorless. I believe Sony has a version of Pro Capture in one of their cameras. And either Canon or Nikon will have a version of Pro Capture in one or more of their to be released cameras - just nothing right now.

cochese

To the best of my knowledge onl m43 cameras have anything like this. And I do not think that Panasonic does it as well as Olympus. The pro capture does not record video tnat you pull images from, it actually has a running buffer of images before the shot.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"Wrong...." OK! Personal ignorance strikes again!

tempest101 Loc: Indiana

Thanks all for the suggestions and the discussion.

I never touched 4K video on my camera body (5d IV). But I am going to explore frame grab. I know it won’t be exactly what I am looking for, but should be a good exercise to see how it fares. I am too vested in Canon by choice to switch brands now, but will consider Olympus with adaptor if it comes to that. Thanks again!!