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Even if they were to continue the 1Dx line, you should not expect to see one until 2024 and that would only be if they continue the normal four-year refresh cycle. However, I would not hold my breath. The reviews of the R3 have been highly favorable and with the rumors of an R1 in the works, possibly sometime in 2022 or early 2023, I don't think it is likely that they will follow up with a 1D x so soon.

The 1Dx III is a fantastic camera. No reason to wait for something that may never come if you really want or need a DSLR.
 
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sfericean

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The 1Dx III is a fantastic camera. No reason to wait for something that may never come if you really want or need a DSLR.
I have to agree. I have two 1DX III's from work that I use on almost daily. I could easily see myself using those two bodies for the next 10-15 years minimum with EF glass. There is also the 5DIV which is another ridiculously good DSLR that one could use to generate gorgeous pictures for years to come.

I also have 2 personal R6's which are great too. But if I didnt have the R6's I wouldn't feel like I was lacking in any way with a 1DX III or 5DIV.
 
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The DSLR is dead. Hope as you might, Canon (and everyone else) is not going to invest in a dying system. Canon is discontinuing EF glass left and right without replacement. It would simply be too expensive with little reward to support two systems. I shot 1 Series cameras through the 1DX II and later moved to an R5 and R6. Don't miss the DSLR one moment and we've yet to see what pro level Mirrorless cameras can produce. The R3 will replace the R6 when it finally arrives and I will likely replace the R5 with an R1 one day. Too many advantages to mirrorless. Kind of reminds me of when people didn't want to give up film or manual focus.
 
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Jul 21, 2010
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The DSLR is dead.
Hard to call something 'dead' that accounts for 41% of ILCs manufactured this year. You may next claim the DSLR is 'dying' but given the MILC/DSLR distribution of ILCs has been changing by about 1% per year for the past several years, that's like saying a healthy 43 year-old is dying.
 
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Agree. I think Canon is moving the high end of their ILC portfolio to mirrorless. I also think there will be periodic updates to the Rebel/xxxD/Kiss lineup – DLSRs comprise 42% of the ILC market, and the entry level models remain very popular.
I'm less sure about the future for the EF Rebel line now - I thnk you are quite right about them forming a large market share still, but if I were Canon, and thinking of the "entry-level" aspect of an entry-level range, I might be planning a full migration to mirrorless, such as a Rebel-equivalent mirrorless.

I imagine many purchasers of the Rebel never progress beyond the kit lens, as we often hear. Yet from a Canon perspective, wouldn't they want to hold out the hope that the newbie into Rebel territory can potentially see a progression path - whether to an upgrade camera and/or further lenses? I'm less sure than I was a couple of years ago that EF lenses have a future, and from a marketing perspective wouldn't want my future "entry-level" item to be an entry into a dead end. Sure, many won't go further anyway, but I'd want those that might go futher to have a route to follow that allowed them to feel they were building-on, not starting again.

Mind you, I don't disagree that while they are still selling in enough volume to generate a profit, then an occasional make-over so that the model is 'new for 202x' could continue.

Just some musings - not claiming any special insight into what only Canon might know.

Cheers
 
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Jul 21, 2010
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I'm less sure about the future for the EF Rebel line now - I thnk you are quite right about them forming a large market share still, but if I were Canon, and thinking of the "entry-level" aspect of an entry-level range, I might be planning a full migration to mirrorless, such as a Rebel-equivalent mirrorless.

I imagine many purchasers of the Rebel never progress beyond the kit lens, as we often hear. Yet from a Canon perspective, wouldn't they want to hold out the hope that the newbie into Rebel territory can potentially see a progression path - whether to an upgrade camera and/or further lenses? I'm less sure than I was a couple of years ago that EF lenses have a future, and from a marketing perspective wouldn't want my future "entry-level" item to be an entry into a dead end. Sure, many won't go further anyway, but I'd want those that might go futher to have a route to follow that allowed them to feel they were building-on, not starting again.

Mind you, I don't disagree that while they are still selling in enough volume to generate a profit, then an occasional make-over so that the model is 'new for 202x' could continue.

Just some musings - not claiming any special insight into what only Canon might know.

Cheers
All logical. However, I do think that the EOS M line is the Rebel-equivalent mirrorless. Regarding Canon holding the hope that people see an upgrade progression, I’m reminded of Roger Cicala’s weddings acronym, HINAP (hope is not a plan). Data trump hope, and Canon has a ton of data on who bought what when, e.g., for those who owned EF-S lenses then bought EF lenses, how many bought a full frame camera and when. With data like that across millions of owners available to them, Canon decided to make the RF mount incompatible with M series bodies. That strongly suggests they didn’t see hope or value in providing that type of upgrade path in the mirrorless ecosystem.
 
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unfocused

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All logical. However, I do think that the EOS M line is the Rebel-equivalent mirrorless. Regarding Canon holding the hope that people see an upgrade progression, I’m reminded of Roger Cicala’s weddings acronym, HINAP (hope is not a plan). Data trump hope, and Canon has a ton of data on who bought what when, e.g., for those who owned EF-S lenses then bought EF lenses, how many bought a full frame camera and when. With data like that across millions of owners available to them, Canon decided to make the RF mount incompatible with M series bodies. That strongly suggests they didn’t see hope or value in providing that type of upgrade path in the mirrorless ecosystem.
Just throwing my two cents worth in. Generally I agree with you. Maybe 99% of Rebel buyers never move beyond the kit lens and Rebel body. But, I would bet that nearly 100% of full frame owners started with a Rebel. So, somehow, Canon needs to get their hooks into that small minority that will progress.

I wonder if Canon is trying to return to the traditional film SLR model, where the first interchangeable lens camera almost everyone bought was 35mm and every lens they bought for that camera would work on the next level camera they bought. Perhaps they believe that if they can get the entry point for the R series low enough, there will no longer need to be a progression from APS-C to full frame. It is hard to imagine an R series camera though that would be able to compete in price with the entry level Rebels.

On the other hand, maybe Canon has data that shows that starting over with a new system is not a huge barrier for people who are progressing up the chain. We may all be way overestimating the value of an imagined upgrade path.
 
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Jul 21, 2010
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On the other hand, maybe Canon has data that shows that starting over with a new system is not a huge barrier for people who are progressing up the chain. We may all be way overestimating the value of an imagined upgrade path.
That's where I'm placing my bet. I imagine that upgrade path as linear, in part because that was my own path – APS-C DSLR with EF-S lens, then adding some EF lenses of longer focal lengths, then getting a FF DSLR for which I already had some lenses. In theory, that made my decision to purchase a FF body easier, but in reality I was looking to increase my image-making potential so I probably wold have ended up with a FF body regardless. It's the same reason I swapped my EF 85/1.8 (the second lens I bought for my T1i/500D, after the EF-S 17-55/2.8) for an 85/1.2L II.

Canon knows how many APS-C owners who buy their first FF DSLR buy the kit lens (e.g. 24-105/4L) with it. I'm guessing it's a high proportion. They also know how many people who move from APS-C to FF had EF (vs. EF-S) lenses. Those who bought a 2-lens APS-C kit (18-55 / 55-250) would have to replace their entire kit anyway, much like anyone moving from EOS M to EOS R.

It's also important to remember that for the time being, there are two 'camps' of people who may buy an R-series body – those currently using a DSLR kit, and those using an EOS M. Given the market data, it's fair to say that the former camp is much larger than the latter (because DSLRs are not too far behind MILCs in the current market, DSLRs were the majority of ILCs until a few years ago, and there's a big historical installed user base of DLSR). For those folks, Canon has provided an easy upgrade path in that all their lenses, EF and EF-S, will mount on an R-series body with a simple adapter.

I also agree with your point that Canon is pushing toward a third 'camp' – making a FF MILC a viable entry level option. They've got the (relatively) inexpensive lenses, and if they bring out that rumored <$800 FF R-series body, they'll be in the game. Consider that an $800 EOS R with the RF 24-105 non-L would be $1200, and the EOS M6 II with 15-45mm lens and EVF retails for $1100.
 
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All logical. However, I do think that the EOS M line is the Rebel-equivalent mirrorless. Regarding Canon holding the hope that people see an upgrade progression, I’m reminded of Roger Cicala’s weddings acronym, HINAP (hope is not a plan). Data trump hope, and Canon has a ton of data on who bought what when, e.g., for those who owned EF-S lenses then bought EF lenses, how many bought a full frame camera and when. With data like that across millions of owners available to them, Canon decided to make the RF mount incompatible with M series bodies. That strongly suggests they didn’t see hope or value in providing that type of upgrade path in the mirrorless ecosystem.
I think the big question for Canon is what to do with the Rebel series. I'm sure they are doing as much market research as possible, but it may be a difficult question for them to answer. Is the EOS M line the mirrorless Rebel successor? Or is it the mirrorless successor to the point and shoot lines? I have owned Ms in the past and did so for their incredibly small size and weight. But the question I would ask is - does the next generation of potential Rebel users want a camera that looks and feels like a current Rebel. Will they be looking online or going to Best Buy or some other store, and when looking at the M50 say, "No, that's too small, I want a camera that looks like the one my Dad, Mom, Brother, friend has, and they have a Rebel." If that's the case, then a crop-R seems more likely. In my opinion, they may keep the DSLR Rebel for another generation, but it makes no sense to not go mirrorless after that. While I don't think that there is a large percentage of Rebel upgrade pathers, there will be some. And I'm betting Canon will want those upgraders to buy their new RF lenses.
 
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