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.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"The original post was NOT about a pro grade mirrorless, but about the death of the EF mount."

All threads evolve.  This one is no exception. However, If you want very plain and to the point English, EF is dead.  Is that what you want to see? If you truly were with Canon since the 1970's, you went through FL mount, FD mount and now EF mount. The previous one always died. There will be no new EF lenses.

"...your post is great conjecture,..."

Sometimes experienced conjecture is as good as fact. How's this for a prediction?  Not only mirrorless but how about shutterless.  Yeah, that's coming, too.

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I'm not so sure. A shutterless camera requires a very robust sensor. Would you want to take a shutterless camera out into the bright sun, given the current state of the art?

[ebiggs1]

"I don't know.  Why don't you ask a Canon design engineer.  Your assumption Canon ..." has no R&D department is mind boggling.

"... given the current state of the art?"  Which is? .....?.........Yeah, we don't know what Canon has in development. It isn't a DSLR and it just might not have a shutter at all. Tomorrow? I doubt it.  Next year?  Probably not. But...................

[wq9nsc]

I'm not so sure. A shutterless camera requires a very robust sensor. Would you want to take a shutterless camera out into the bright sun, given the current state of the art?

But that is effectively what you are doing with a mirrorless if you are using it continuously at an event and even more so if you shoot with multiple cameras like most sports shooters making it more difficult to make sure that a second camera isn't inadvertently cooking itself with an accidental sun exposure.  The mirrorless is effectively in continuous live view mode while it is active so the sensor is fully exposed to sun and laser burn.

I hear a lot about how everything is going mirrorless but what I am not hearing is what advantages it offers to someone shooting sports.   The AF system in the 1 series is excellent and calibrating a lens to the camera takes minutes and it is a one and done deal when you buy a new lens or body.  Lighter weight is laughable as a supposed advantage when using long fast glass that needs a properly sized body to match the lens.  Reduced battery life with the mirrorless is not so humorous, especially because a lot of football and soccer is shot in extremely cold weather that reduces battery capacity.

I am aware of plenty of disadvantages for switching to any of the mirrorless offerings from any of the camera players at this point.  Hopefully Canon doesn't do something brain dead with the 1 series and if they do I have a long service life left in my 1DX II and 1DX III bodies.  I upgraded to a 1DX III because it offered real advantages to me over the 1DX II which is now doing second body duty and I have found ZERO disadvantages in moving from a 1DX to 1DX II and 1DX III bodies but I certainly won't buy a newer body that offers a lot of drawbacks compared to what I currently own and use.

Rodger

[ebiggs1]

"I am aware of plenty of disadvantages for switching to any of the mirrorless offerings from any of the camera players at this point."

Rodger and Robert you are thinking in 2020 terms. The current crop of 1 series will be King for a long while yet.  It still will be a top contender even when a mirrorless 1 series does come out.  Now, Robert that is just a type not a name! Canon will, if not already, overcome any of the drawbacks before releasing a R pro level. There are enough EF lenses in the system to keep it going for a very long time.  It is the sane as it was for FL and FD lenses. The samee from FD to EOS. When we switched from FD to EOS it was years before all of us made the switch.  However, my friends, we did. I used my A1 and F1n for a long time after the change. Hallmark took decades to change! But they did in the end. The old been there, done that.

Will there ever be a 1Dx MK IV ? I would not be blown off my feet if there was but I seriously doubt it will be a DSLR.

[Waddizzle]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"The original post was NOT about a pro grade mirrorless, but about the death of the EF mount."

All threads evolve.  This one is no exception. However, If you want very plain and to the point English, EF is dead.  Is that what you want to see? If you truly were with Canon since the 1970's, you went through FL mount, FD mount and now EF mount. The previous one always died. There will be no new EF lenses.

"...your post is great conjecture,..."

Sometimes experienced conjecture is as good as fact. How's this for a prediction?  Not only mirrorless but how about shutterless.  Yeah, that's coming, too.

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Nope, rumors of the death of the EF mount are entirely premature.  There are just too [many] EF mount cameras out there.  Even though I think we have seen the last EF mount DSLR from Canon, the EF mount is bigger than the consumer camera market.

The use of EF mount cameras has been growing like wildfire in recent years.  The demand for high resolution security cameras that use video analytics has become BIG business.  What is video analytics?  One example is facial recognition.

The security camera business has been booming ever since 9/11.  They have installed cameras throughout cities to monitor traffic.  They have installed security cameras in airports that scan faces looking for "most wanted" persons.  

Big box stores take mug shots of people caught shoplifting.  They use video analytics to scan for faces of known shoplifters when they make a return visit.  Video analytics are used to count the number of human bodies entering and leaving a given area.  This use of video analytics can be found in every brick and mortar bank.  

Do you have one of those devices that let you drive through a toll both without having to stop at a window and pay a toll?  They use high resolution video cameras to read the license plates of the vehicles that drive through without the electronic toll device.  Do I need to point out that red light cameras use very high resolution video cameras, too?

Have you ever watched a football game and they rotate the view in real time.  It is as if they have a virtual drone camera that can float around the field of play, and show you what the action looks like from any angle.  This usually done with an array of dozens of hi-res vieo cameras strategically placed all around the stadium that are pointing at the field.  They use consumer cameras to do this.  Canon EF mount cameras had become the preferred choice because of the lens selection years ago.

I could go on for another hour citing examples of EF mount lenses and cameras being used in non-photography applications.

[ebiggs1]

"There are just too [many] EF mount cameras out there. ... the EF mount is bigger than the consumer camera market."

Against my better judgement replying to you, but, so what?  You don't think any and all these can be R mount cameras?  Of course they can.  Yeah, not tomorrow. Not next year. Maybe not the next decade but they will. Slowly perhaps but the R mount will creep in everywhere. Manufacturing of EF mount lenses has not stopped, new development has. IMHO, of course as always.

[Tronhard]

I'm probably asking for trouble here, but what the heck... 

When I look at an overall shrinking market for cameras, including interchaneable ones, and the difficulties in getting components for manufacture, I find it hard to believe that Canon will go back to making lenses for the EF, EF-S and EF-M mounts.  It would make more sense for them to focus on their growing market of RF mount bodies, develop more affordable lenses and bodies, and also some crop sensor bodies - whether that means they will have a different mount I would find debateable - they could retain the same RF mount and have crop sensors as they did in the first EOS DSLRs.

Whatever, I honestly cannot see them pumping more R&D and production resource into a mature and waning market when it is awash with lenses and bodies second-hand and in stock.

[ebiggs1]

"I still have not seen any actual proof of the death of the EF mount."

This will not happen overnight. It is still perhaps 2 or 3 years away. Especially for the pro series line.  Yup, still conjecture!

"... the next pro grade 1DX (whatever) DSLR would have an RF mount on it." 

The referrence to 1 series was a type, or style, not a name. But, in fact if it is an R mount it will not be called a DSLR.

[Allovertricksra]

There is not a mirrorless yet that offers the performance of a Canon 1 series so don't expect the EF lenses to disappear soon.

Canon just introduced a newer version of their excellent 400 F2.8 EF that I will be acquiring shortly.  I will be obsolete long before my EF lenses become obsolete 

The lower end EF lenses (and probably EF-S) will be the first to go as will lower end DSLR bodies as light weight mirrorless bodies chew up some of that market and many more with little understanding of photography will never move up from smartphones to more capable photo gear.  But even in the current dynamic market, lenses aren't a true investment other than a business one for current pros and your money is better off in true financial investments if future value is the concern of Magic Bingo Game.

[Allovertricksra]

As long as there are EF and EF-S cameras being made there will be EF lenses. We have people here who are still using film EOS cameras. The installed base of EOS DLSR's is *huge* and will not go away soon.