How many lenses a year does Canon introduce as new?
How many new EF-S lenses has Canon brought out in the last year?
How many new lenses for EOS-M did Canon announce with the new camera?
1. Canon has a long-term, stable range at the moment. They do not
need to bring out a bunch every year.
2. Canon has vested interest in APS-C users going for EF lenses, as can be easily deduced. Nevertheless, point # 1 still works in this case.
3. Is it hard to see how much faith Canon has in the mirrorless market (which, ironically, validates my point). Just look at their investment in the last couple of years.
Yes, and?
Do you think Canon developed the entire line of EOS lenses in one year? Or a hand full of years?
There is nothing to think, I believe in cold, hard facts. Canon introduced the EOS range with 12 lenses and an extender. In a couple of years, yes.
Or that you have misunderstood how long it takes to develop one new lens, not to forget the cost and difficulty.
As I showed above, I don't rely on subjective understanding but on objective data. It does take a long time to develop a lens from scratch, but not so much to adapt A-mount lenses that already exist to FF E-mounts. It is a more long-term and expensive route than asking users to utilize the adapter, so Sony will do that only if they know the FF E-mount will be worthwhile.
FYI, you think developing the new sensor and tech for the A7s did not take time, money or labor?
Proof? (And a budget isn't really proof ... it just means that the MR dept. knows how to spend money.)
If I have to
prove to you multi-million dollar firms conduct (effective) market research, then I give up. Do you also ask for proof that the earth revolves around the sun? How about a circumstantial evidence? Sony is down in the stocks and Canon turned a profit. Proof enough for you?
A marketing dept. is "a few people" ... but that is not my point. Rather it is that if you give the "trendsetters" what THEY want, then the sheeple will follow. Basic marketing theory.
Marketing (sic= should be market research) dept doesn't count as the
few people. They record what people want, they don't impose their
own wants.
Trendsetter based marketing is not a basic marketing theory. Is it what they taught you at school? You should ask for your money back.
This is a very risky technique that will work only under certain conditions: Is the number of trendsetter significantly large? How likely are they to influence the rest of the market? Can the company sustain the slow growth in the beginning until the trend catches? What is the likelihood of competition waiting the initial lag phase and then ramping up just as the log phase is reached.
They don't have the technology for it and purchasing said technology will make it unprofitable. So, yes, there is an economically valid reason.
Yes, that is one possibility. That is why I generalized it to an economically valid reason. However, unlike you I don't have access to Canon's business secrets to state it as a fact.
Yes, Canon has made dozens of lens models, but how many do you actually need? Is the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II and the EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II not sufficient for nearly everyone's FF needs?
Don't make such comments that make you look silly just for the sake of arguments. So this is why Sony isn't bringing out FF E-mount lenses? Because very few people need them?
I am guessing you have never used a macro lens, or shoot small birds with a 70-200 f/2.8?
Good guess, only partially correct. MY guess is that Sony is optimizing the various cameras for the various needs of various photographers. For those people who primarily do video, there's now the A7s; for those who primarily do stills, there's the A7r; and for those on a budget, there's the A7. Is Canon not doing the same with the 1DC, the 5DIII and the 6D cameras, respectively? Yes, they are.
You are stating the obvious, and acting smug for doing so

. Of course the different A7 cameras cater to different markets; my point was, bringing out the A7s while the A7/r setup is still lacking the lenses might imply that the stills market isn't as profitable as they hoped, so they are trying to boost the entire line by bringing out the video-centric model.