How much longer will EF be around?

[chahath]

I know photography is more than just gear, and a lens that was great 5 years ago didn't get worse just because newer better ones are out, but I fear that if I don't sell my EF lenses soon they'll become worthless when everyone and their dog have moved on to the RF mount. I don't shoot professionally and I'm not made of money, so I'd rather not have to write off all the money I spent on EF lenses if I can avoid some of the loss by selling them while they're still worth something.

[ebiggs1]

"WIth all due respect I think you are a bit pessimistic there... "

I said "giver or take"!  

[Tronhard]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"WIth all due respect I think you are a bit pessimistic there... "

I said "giver or take"!  

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Fair enough then!

I hope that the EF, EF-M, lenses along with the XXD, XD, and M5 Mkxx series bodies continue for a while yet.  I just bought the 5DMkIV and like it a lot.  Santa also brought me the EF 70-200 L IS USM f4 MkII - not to mention that 70-300 MkII I reviewed recently...

[royd63uk]

Mine will never be obsolete coz i will continue to use them 🙂

[Tronhard]

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@royd63uk wrote:

Mine will never be obsolete coz i will continue to use them 🙂

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I still use my canon 400D (Rebel XTi in North America?).  It's a good camera with a very small form factor, and the low MP count can actually be an advantage.  Going back to that "obsolete" gear reminds me to work on technique rather than tech.

[ebiggs1]

"Mine will never be obsolete coz i will continue to use them"

Hmmm, what a concept!  

[John_SD]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

2 years give or take!

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I think that's about right. DSLRs aren't going to die outright in the next few years, as there is such an established base of users and gear. But Canon's EOS R and Ni*on's Z6 and Z7 offerings are basically version 1 in a new line of mirrorless cameras and lenses. They have a ways to go to catch up to S*ny. But the trend is clear and everyone knows that the future is mirrorless, and both companies seem to be off to a decent start with their new mirrorless gear. 

My advice to the OP is hang on to the EF lenes he uses the most, start selling off the ones he doesn't really use, and don't invest any more money in new ones. Make use of what you have and plan to move into Canon or N*kon's mirrorless systems in due course. 

And speaking of DSLR price drops, I see that the Canon online store is offering NEW 6D Mark 2 bodies for $1299. That's $700 off of what it was just a little over a year ago. I wonder how much of that drop is due to the shift into mirrorless. 

[ebiggs1]

" DSLRs aren't going to die outright in the next few years, as there is such an established base ..."

Did not make any difference to Canon when they stopped the FD and went to EF. I had one big, I mean huge, argument with our Canon rep in the middle of C&J Photography as the FD was abandoned.  I probably didn't win that argument, FD is history, but he knew where I stood on it. Plus agreement from the crowd we drew! Yeah, it was 'heated'! 

But in the end it was for the better and I suspect the new mount will be also.

[Waddizzle]

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@John_SD wrote:

And speaking of DSLR price drops, I see that the Canon online store is offering NEW 6D Mark 2 bodies for $1299. That's $700 off of what it was just a little over a year ago. I wonder how much of that drop is due to the shift into mirrorless. 

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The current list price is more in line with what the camera is worth.  The 6D2 was quite a bit overpriced when it was first introduced, IMHO.  The asking price was roughly a 50% increase over the  selling price of the 6D.  Maybe it was a marketing strategy to sell off 6D bodies.  

The higher introductory price probably had something to do with the reviews that it received.  I think the camera has a lot of new features that were hardly mentioned in reviews.  They added exposure compensation in Manual mode, for example.  This is a powerful feature when combined with Auto ISO.

It has the same two types of Auto WB found in the 1Dx II.  Somehow, Canon managed to increase the resolution by 30% without significantly reducing the size of individual photosites.  I think the 6D2 is a good preview of a 7D3.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

" DSLRs aren't going to die outright in the next few years, as there is such an established base ..."

Did not make any difference to Canon when they stopped the FD and went to EF. I had one big, I mean huge, argument with our Canon rep in the middle of C&J Photography as the FD was abandoned.  I probably didn't win that argument, FD is history, but he knew where I stood on it. Plus agreement from the crowd we drew! Yeah, it was 'heated'! 

But in the end it was for the better and I suspect the new mount will be also.

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The situations aren't all that comparable, are they? Canon has seemingly gone out of their way to make EF (and even EF-S) lenses usable on the R.

[ebiggs1]

Bob said, "The situations aren't all that comparable, are they?"

Perhaps not but there is more to that story. Canon did make a small concession to the owners of the more expensive "L" series lenses, by making a 4-element optical adapter which acted as a low power multiplier (1.26x). Also worked on a few non "L" lenses. This was intended to ease the transition from FD to EF. The price at the time was around $250, but they didn't make them for long. Canon didn't make many either and today they sell used for prices as high as $1000 if you can find one.

You can bet and rest assured the days of EF has been set. BTW, not only EF lenses but the cameras that use them. Things and times change.  Go with it or get left behind.