topic Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses? in EF & RF Lenses

Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

dpsaiz — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 14:31:14 GMT

At what point do you believe mirrorless cameras will no longer be compatible with EF lenses?

Or do you believe that all future canon mirrorless cameras will continue to be compatible with EF lenses?

I believe that at some point Canon will decide that beginning with a given model of mirrorless camera they will decide it will no longer be compatible with EF lenses.

I further believe that some mirrorless cameras will no longer recognize an EF lens by way of a firmware update.

I am wondering out loud.

What do you guys think? What are your thoughts?

Re: Mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses

Tronhard — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 23:19:23 GMT

I think that is hard to say right now, simply because we don't know what limitations, if any have been imposed on the RF interface and firmware - although, I guess one could argue there is one already: that is that while RF native will work with those R-series cameras with IBIS, EF lenses not so much. What I will say is that EF and EF-S lenses' days of manufacture are numbered and while there will be a market for both the bodies and lenses amongst those who prefer that platform, the R platform is expanding and the RF lens roadmap is also doing the same to make RF native lenses more compelling and applicable.
I would not buy another EF or EF-S lens at this point unless there was a very compelling reason for doing so, even though I still retain several DSLR bodies. All and any future lenses will be RF units.

Re: Mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses

dpsaiz — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 00:33:31 GMT

My guess is when the R1 is introduced it may not, by design recognize EF lenses.

As more and more RF lenses are introduced and more EF lenses are discontinued I can see the push for less compatibility with R cameras.

Re: Mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses

Tronhard — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 00:35:41 GMT

I am not prepared to speculate specifics, but we shall see...

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

Peter — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 17:11:34 GMT

"Or do you believe that all future canon mirrorless cameras will continue to be compatible with EF lenses?"

I would just go Sony with EF adapter instead. Because of that alternative I don't think Canon will drop EF.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

dpsaiz — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 17:18:29 GMT

If that were to occur what would be the incentive to buy RF lenses? At some point Canon would want to to buy RF lenses exclusively for their R cameras.

Additionally there may be more functionality added to RF lenses that would make continued use EF lenses a bad move.

My guess would be when the last DSLR is discontinued then the remaining EF lenses would likely discontinued about the same time.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

Peter — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 17:40:34 GMT

"At some point Canon would want you to buy RF lenses exclusively for their R cameras."

Canon already has good RF lenses (compare EF800/5.6 vs RF800/5.6) and as you can see in this forum people recommend new Canon owners to go full RF because that is the future. No need for Canon to stop EF compatibility.

But I went this year FD instead of RF ^^

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

dpsaiz — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 17:42:31 GMT

We have quite a few EF L lenses and we don't have the resources to buy all RF. Our cameras are Canon refurbished which saved us a few dollars all of our EF lenses and our four RF lenses are refurbished. 2x RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM and 2x RF 50mm f/1.8 STM.

If we had the cash we would have bought all RF for the R cameras. Time to play the Lotto.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

John_SD — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 22:38:21 GMT

"I believe that at some point Canon will decide that beginning with a given model of mirrorless camera they will decide it will no longer be compatible with EF lenses.

"I further believe that some mirrorless cameras will no longer recognize an EF lens by way of a firmware update."

A lot of people believe a lot of things. As far as a I know, no one on the site is a seer. You will need to visit DPReview for those kinds of "guarantees." You seem very concerned about the future of EF glass and want answers. Just buy yourself an EF to RF adapter and you've got yourself covered as much as possible. By all accounts, they perform wonderfully. But don't buy into anymore old glass. Mirrorless is not only the future, but is increasingly the present. Look, even the horse and buggy faded into history. Eventually, DSLRs and old glass will mostly be found in the museum. Time marches on.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

deebatman316 — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 23:47:24 GMT

Apparently RF Mount communication is based on older EF Mount communication with extra communication lines added. So I don't see Canon completely cutting off future EF Mount support via an adapter with RF Mount cameras. I'm not sure about the now discontinued EF-M Mount. It may just be EF Mount communication with a different mount without added features of the RF Mount. What people have to remember is that EF Mount communication was based on technology from 1987. Camera hardware wasn't as powerful then compared to the new RF Mount of 2018. Even to a lesser degree the EF-M Mount of 2012.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

Tronhard — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 23:57:39 GMT

Demetrius, EF-M lenses were never compatible with RF lenses. The only adapters available are for the EF and EF-S lenses.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

deebatman316 — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:01:35 GMT

No I'm talking about the electronic communication in the lens Mount. Not the lens Mount being mechanically compatible. Or even using an adapter to make such lenses work.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

Tronhard — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:03:55 GMT

I am confused, I must admit... if it cannot connect mechanically, electronics are not going to be an issue. Maybe we can take this off line if you want, so we don't muddy the waters and cause our OP even more anxiety! 🤔

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

dpsaiz — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:33:29 GMT

I don't have anxiety. I'm curious. From what I understand when Canon moved from the FD to EF mount they didn't offer a way for those FD lenses to work on an EF body. Those who owned a stable of FD were very upset their investment wouldn't be forward compatible with EF bodies.

Considering Canon sold millions of EF lenses it only made sense to make them forward compatible with RF mount.

I'm curious to know at what point will the yet to be released mirrorless bodies only be compatible with RF lenses.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

rs-eos — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 15:24:45 GMT

It's good to be curious, but only Canon may ultimately know the answer. I say "may" since there's a possibility they have not yet reached any conclusion as of this writing.

Anyone else would only be speculating based upon past historical knowledge of what Canon has done with prior migrations of one lens mount to the next.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

John_SD — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 15:33:53 GMT

"I'm curious to know at what point will the yet to be released mirrorless bodies only be compatible with RF lenses."

Dude, you're going to end up in the nut house at this rate. Just get out there with your rig and enjoy the hobby and leave the unknown to the seers and fortune tellers.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

Tronhard — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 18:46:23 GMT

Glad you are just curious! 🙂 Honestly, I think it's going towards idle speculation at this point, as Rick alludes to, there are too many unknowns.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

Philnick — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 04:50:17 GMT

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Since the RF lens communication is an extension of that introduced by EF, there's no reason to discontinue supporting automatic function by EF lenses. Supporting RF lens communcation automatically includes supporting EF lens communication.

I seriously doubt that including JPEG corrections for existing EF lenses in the firmware takes so much space that it would be jettisoned - particularly since EF is not an ever-expanding catalog but "a land frozen in time," and chip memory continues to expand as it gets miniaturized.

Given how much pushback Canon got from its exclusion of 3rd party lens manufacturers from automatic RF mount function before they relented, I doubt that they'd want to go through that again by antagonizing owners of their own EF lenses. (Better our own lenses than someone else's!)

PS When I went from my EOS 80D to the R7 a year and a half ago, I jettisoned all but one of my EF and EF-S lenses - the EF-S 18-135mm nano-USM with contacts for the Power Zoom attachment (which I also have). Kept that in the unlikely event that I was asked to shoot a video by a friend. Started getting RF glass but actually replaced the RF 70-200 f/4 L with an EF 200 f/2.8 L II USM with the Control Ring adapter, and later got the EF 24-70 f/2.8 L II USM. That pair of non-stabilized - but ultra-sharp - lenses were modernized by the R7's IBIS. Just replaced my RF nifty-fifty 50mm f/1.8 STM with an EF niftier-fifty 50mm f/1.4 USM.

That last gives me a rig approximating the Canon FT QL 35mm film SLR I used from 1968 to 2005 with an FL 85mm f/1.8 lens - it's even about the same size and weight! I use the Control Ring EF adapter, since I use that ring to give all of my lenses an aperture ring like in my pre-EOS days. I set my shutter speed with the main dial up top, see my exposure in the viewfinder (and have a histogram to stand in for the match-needle). I change film - excuse me, "set ISO" - with the ring around the joystick. I keep the mode dial set to M, of course. It feels like home.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

deebatman316 — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 04:38:30 GMT

Actually lens correction profiles are stored in the lens. They're not in the camera body at all.

Re: Future end of mirrorless compatibility with EF lenses?

Philnick — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 12:49:51 GMT

That removes the only potential justification for ending support for EF lenses on the RF mount. If it takes no memory space in the camera other than the scratchpad memory used by whatever lens is mounted at the time, and its command lines are part of the RF specification, the only way to end support would by going out of their way to write code to disable EF lenses. Not likely, given the fury that would provoke.

PS Not only did I replace my RF 50 f/1.8 with the EF 50 f/1.4, and the RF 70-200 f/4L with an EF 200 f/2.8L II, the 200 2.8 also replaced the RF 100-400 f/8-11 I'd experimented with for pix of flying seagulls, and the EF 24-70 f/2.8L II replaced my f/1.8 RF 24 and 35 for shooting concerts (paired with the 200).

My R7's complement of RF lenses now consists of the 16 f/2.8, the 28mm f/2.8 "sandwich" lens as a walk-around normal lens (45mm equivalent), and the 85 f/2 Macro IS (which took all of the butterfly pix in my online photo website - the first three galleries there were taken with EOS DSLRs, the rest with my R7). So I have in active use three EF lenses and three RF lenses - and a mothballed EF-S video zoom.