- Canon registered three cameras with the wireless certification agency, indicating that three more cameras are coming soon
- Rumors suggest that we will see an EOS R7 Mark II, an EOS R10 Mark II and an EOS R8 Mark II
- The EOS R8 Mark II may well be a retro-style tribute to the analog AE-1, which turns 50 this year
The first half of 2026 was pretty dry for camera releases, but as we head into the second half of the year, manufacturers have been making up for lost time. Canon in particular looks set to have a busy half of the year with not one, not two, but three new EOS R mirrorless cameras starting the rumor mill.
It should be emphasized that at the moment all this is unconfirmed – we do not know that Canon will release anything. But Canon has registered three new cameras with the wireless certification agency, which is generally the point where you know something is coming soon. And reporting from the oft-reliable Canon Rumors indicates that Canon is updating three of its most popular EOS R cameras, and one in particular looks like a very exciting prospect indeed.
And if that wasn’t enough, we also potentially need a new PowerShot compact, with Canon looking to capitalize on the success of its phenomenally popular PowerShot G7 X Mark III compact. But we have more details on the mirrorless side of things, so let’s take a closer look at what could be coming…
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Canon EOS R8 II — could it be the digital AE-1 we’re all hoping for?
Rumors suggest that Canon’s lightweight full-frame EOS R8 is likely to get a successor in mid-September. Since the camera is now more than three years old, that’s when we can expect an update. The really exciting news, though, is that the new version could be a whole new perspective – a retro-styled Canon AE-1 throwback that fans have been asking the company to do for years.
Canon has been rumored for a while to be working on a retro-style digital camera, just like Nikon did with its Zf, and given that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the AE-1, a legendary film SLR beloved by amateur photographers for its streamlined controls and ease of use, it makes sense that this could be the year.
The rumored specs for the EOS R8 II are that it will use a 32.5MP full-frame sensor, 40fps burst shooting via the electronic shutter, in-body image stabilization, upsampled 4K video, and two UHS-II SD card slots. Pretty much what you’d expect from a mid-range full-frame camera.
I’ll be interested to see if the retro styling is purely cosmetic – it may even be the case that Canon releases a ‘standard’ EOS R8 Mark II version as well as the retro colored variant – or if it has any effect on how the camera performs. There’s nothing in the rumor mill to suggest this, but personally I think it would be smart for Canon to dip its toe into film-like looks for images similar to Fujifilm’s film simulations or Panasonic’s in-camera real-time LUTs.
Yes, Canon has its ‘Picture Styles’, but let’s be honest: nobody uses them, and they don’t have the cool factor of Fujifilm’s film simulations. I’d love to see Canon throw its weight into some really sharp, dynamic analog-style looks for shooters who want great JPEGs straight out of the camera. And come on – there will never be a better opportunity to debut them than in a digital AE-1!
Canon EOS R7 II — let’s see a stacked APS-C sensor!
Also on the rumored docket is an update to the Canon EOS R7, a mid-range APS-C mirrorless camera arriving in 2022. The original EOS R7 was something of a speedster, with burst speeds of 15fps with the mechanical shutter and up to 30fps with the electronic. And if the rumors are correct, Canon could double down on this by giving the EOS R7 II a stacked sensor design.
This would be the first stacked APS-C sensor for Canon’s lineup – indeed, currently the only APS-C camera with a stacked sensor is the Fujifilm X-H2S. A stacked sensor design moves the circuitry to the rear for faster readout, enabling higher burst speeds, superior autofocus tracking and blackout-free viewfinder shooting.
Given that the EOS R7 was already an impressively fast shooter, a stacked sensor design would push a Mark II to pretty impressive heights – we could see autofocus and speed shooting performance on par with professional or serious enthusiast cameras. Rumors also suggest that the sensor resolution may be bumped up to 39MP, up from 32.5MP on the original EOS R7.
Canon EOS R10 II — the new mirrorless to beat?
Rumors also suggest that we will see an update to Canon’s popular entry-level model, the EOS R10, in the form of the EOS R10 Mark II. Details are very thin on the ground for this one, other than the fact that it’s on the way and expected in the latter half of 2026. This is also likely the first of the new models we’ll see.
The Canon EOS R10 has been a big seller for Canon since its release in 2022 alongside the EOS R7. It’s not the cheapest in the EOS R range, with both the EOS R50 and EOS R100 coming in below the price, but it’s a fairly affordable camera with a lightweight build, intelligent autofocus and reliably solid image quality.
Personally, I doubt the boat will be rocked much here. If I were a betting man, I’d say we’d expect to see improvements in subject detection autofocus, more sustained burst speeds with a deeper buffer (the original EOS R10 could shoot at 15fps, but not for very long), and perhaps a bump in resolution from 24.2MP to 32.5MP for its cheaper R10 sibling.
What do you think of Canon’s rumored upcoming models? Have your say in the comments below.
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