Looking to buy Mark IV DSLR but now nervous…

[jln_photo]

Hi - I finally am in the position to upgrade and afford a full frame dslr camera. I really have had no interest to go mirrorless and have done my research and was fully confident I wanted to stick with dslr and was going to make my purchase. However,  the guy at the store was trying to convince me to not go that route and get a mirrorless because Canon is going to completely stop making them + lenses soon. I know that the lineup is limited which I am okay with, but I don’t want to miss out on not being able to get the lenses for it in time if they do stop. 

does anyone know when canon will stop completely? I just want to make sure I can get all the lenses I want prior to them completely discontinuing. I really don’t want a mirrorless camera, I like what I am used to and just want to continue with it. 

thank you. 

[deebatman316]

No one knows when Canon is dropping support for DSLRs. What do you mainly shoot are you a pro or hobbyist. What is your budget to spend. When you say "Mark IV" do you mean 5D Mark IV or 1D Mark IV. I'm just trying to confirm what camera you're talking about. Mirrorless is a huge step up above DSLRs especially when it comes to AF performance. Then also low light performance too. Also what lenses do you have. If you have any EF-S or 3rd Party APS-C lenses they WILL NOT work on a Full Frame DSLR. I currently shoot with a 5D Mark IV and I love it. But I got the camera before the R5 or R6 were available. Only the original R and RP were available and didn't meet my expectations or needs. Have you tried a mirrorless camera before. They are really a step up above DSLRs. The used market for EF lenses will still be around. Even when Canon ends support for the EF Mount and DSLRs.

[Marceppy]

DeeBatman is right.  It all depends on what you shoot and gear.  Think it out for what your needs are.  A good used dlsr’s are a bargain now.  I have a 1DM4 and not selling it because it takes great images and the value exceeds what I can get for it. (The 5DM4 is a classic body too)  I also have a R7, shoot ef glass.  It’s like a little computer.  But it’s a better body for certain things like macro and birds.  It does have some limitations.  Mirrorless may be the future and they continue to upgrade them whereas the Dlsr’s have not…. Consider your current needs as you can always upgrade latter.

[Waddizzle]

“ does anyone know when canon will stop completely? “

Canon USA has not released a date for end of service support for the EOS 5D Mark IV, yet.   It has yet to be determined.  I believe US law requires a minimum of 7 years of support from the date of initial release, and the 5D4 is well past that minimum.

Most Canon cameras seem to be supported for a minimum of about 10 years.  Multiple factors probably come into play as to how long a given model will be supported.  I would wager that the availability of spare parts is number one on that list.

This web page contains lists expiration dates for just about every Canon camera, both DSLR and MILC bodies.  It also contains a link to a Canon USA listing all currently discontinued cameras.  The support for the 5D3 is ending this year according to the link.  

https://petapixel.com/2023/04/10/this-is-how-long-canon-will-continue-to-repair-your-camera/ 

If someone in a store recently told you that Canon may soon stop manufacturing DSLRs, then they are wrong.  Canon stopped research and development of new DSLRs and EF lenses at least four years ago, back when the R5 and R6 were first announced.  Judging from the variety of R series bodies and RF lenses, it is probably a safe bet that manufacturing has also stopped on DSLRs and EF lenses.  Any new gear that you find is just remaining inventory.

[johnrmoyer]

You did not mention which lenses you already have. I hope some of this might be helpful anyway.

All of my EF and EF-S lenses work better on my EOS R5 than on my EOS 80D. So, with an adapter from Canon, there is no need to buy RF lenses. If you do not absolutely need full frame, The EOS R7 sounds good to me, although I have not tried it.

On my EOS R5, using an APS-C lens puts it into 1.6x crop mode where it has only a few less pixels than my EOS 80D.

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

@jln_photo.  I'll echo my colleagues here. DSLRs are already end of life.  Performance wise, mirrorless has eclipsed DSLRs.  They are a wiser investment today and in the long term.       

[Tronhard]

Canon have been withdrawing from the DLSR market for years now, and if one looks to their lineup of lenses it is shrinking pretty fast as the new RF glass covers the same range.   I would doubt that there will be much in the way of DSLR lens production after this year, so then you would need to consider the refurb and second-hand markets if you stuck with a 5DIV.  Without doubt, the DSLR platform is obsolescent, if not obsolete, and the technology is outclassed by the R system both in terms of camera bodies and optics.

In all honesty, given you are apparently young, and thus will hopefully have a long association with photography, without a doubt I would go for the R-series MILC bodies - which one is a question. 

To help us help you, can you clarify a few points please?
1. What subjects do you photograph?
2. What do you intend to produce?  Given the output is what one sees this is critical, especially in terms of the sensor resolution required.
3. What existing EF (not EF-S) lenses do you have?
4. Is there a specific reason you are leery of going to mirrorless and have you actually had any experience with a R5 or R6 camera?
5. What is your budget for camera body and for optics/?

[Marceppy]

Just an afterthought… some of the best images i’ve ever taken were on slide film.  That body is long gone but the images are still here.  When I transitioned to digital, it was a little painful.  It took a while, as the new digital cameras imho weren’t as good.  I think dlsr’s may go down the same road at some point.  Much of the decision depends on what you shoot and your budget.  The mirrorless transition is starting.  But there is still time for change.

[Tronhard]

The big challenge here is not one so much of creativity - I completely agree that one can take wonderful images with older cameras, and equally can also take rubbish ones with the latest gear. I still have images from 40+ years go, shot on Ektachrome 200 that I treasure: in part because they represent a time and place in my life. 

I have always maintained that gear, in itself, does not make one a good photographer - that comes with study, practise and critique to develop skill.  That does not mean that at the time, I would deliberately have chosen an obsolete platform - I did not.  I chose the best gear I could afford. 

To me, this is about the practicality of investing in camera equipment that is not going to be cheap, and will assumedly take one on a long-term path in photography, but I submit that path does not exist for DSLRs.   In particular we come to the issue of glass.  A camera doesn't function without that, and lenses are arguably more important than the camera (that technology changes quite rapidly) and certainly represent an investment that could well long outlast that of the body.

I can say with some certainty that Canon will not be releasing any new optics for the EF mount - the last one was in 2018 - six years ago, and optics have improved significantly since then along with the performance of R-series MILC bodies.  Canon's roadmap promises a lot more RF lenses, and it looks like 3rd parties like Sigma and Tamron may well soon be releasing RF lenses too.   One can still use native Canon EF lenses with an R-series body without issues but with some limitations - I just posted an image taken with one recently - but the corollary is not true.  Since this is likely to be a long-term purchase, and given the youth of the OP, one can reasonably expect (and she says) she will want to continue to add new optics over time,  it makes little sense to me to invest in a lens mount that has no future.

So far, she has said the following with regard to the consideration of a body:
"I don’t want to miss out on not being able to get the lenses for it in time if they do stop.  Does anyone know when canon [sic] will stop completely?"
The answer to that is a definite they stopped offering new lens designs six year ago and are winding down the manufacture of existing lenses fairly rapidly, especially as they can be replaced by RF glass.

Thus, that takes me back to the question as to why the OP is hesitant to engage with MILCs, and I think we need to get a response to that question to provide a fully tailored response for her.