Canon EOS-M has been quietly discontinued

[Canon Rumors Guy]

Canon dipped its toe into the mirrorless world with the EOS-M back in July 2012, over 11 years ago. Today quietly, Canon Japan has all the EOS-M cameras as being discontinued, a sign from the world’s largest camera manufacturer that the system is no longer available. We all knew that Canon would stop developing the

See full article...

 

[Richard CR]

To those curious, yup, there's an opinion article following up on this. It was originally part of this article, but was getting a bit too long and it seemed more appropriate to split it up.

 

[Jethro]

Wow - the end of an era!!

 

[Canon Rumors Guy]

I wouldn't say that I'm "happy"!

However, after the M50 Mark II, it was pretty obvious the system was "doomed".

 

[Richard CR]

oh "doomed" works here. without getting **"ed out.

yeah the M50 II was a pretty good sign of what was happening, that and the lack of new lenses.

 

[EOS 4 Life]

Canon needs to hurry up and rush out the RF-S 10-18.
Especially, since the kit lenses all start at 18 unlike the EF-M 16-45.

 

[Canon Rumors Guy]

Canon needs to hurry up and rush out the RF-S 10-18.
Especially, since the kit lenses all start at 18 unlike the EF-M 16-45.

I think it'll be early November. The NDA'd sites out there haven't posted anything about it, so, the NDA has likely been signed.

 

[Maximilian]

oh "doomed" works here. without getting **"ed out.

RIP EOS-M.

I was never really attracted to it.
It was small, yes. But too expensive to me, compared to a 100D/SL1 and its successors.
And with no real compatibility to the R system this step seemed clear.
Nevertheless, an M6/M50 size body with RF-S bayonet would get my attention.

 

[Yoms]

The way Canon handled this is outrageous imho.

In march of this year during CP+, they answered to DPReview:

What do APS-C cameras in RF-mount mean for the future of the EF-M system?​

The concept of the R50 is to be compact and light. If we look at the M system, the mount itself is small, therefore the structure is even smaller and lighter.

There are customers who wish to have their camera smaller and lighter, and that demand is still strong. As long as these demands persist in the market, we will continue to support and intend to continue the M system.

I'm not a M-system user, never have been, so I'm not concerned. But I can't help thinking that they could have been much more open and honest about their intentions. Same for DSLRs, they kept saying that "Canon remains committed to both DSLR and mirrorless systems". Fool me once...

 

[ashmadux]

My m62 really came alive in Japan recently. I've struggled with it for a few years, and man did my patience get rewarded. Literally in my hand every day and night all around tokyo.

That said.. the time clock bug is the worst, and the body was replaced twice! Still there. I was able to work around it. But they put these out the knowing it had these issues.

 

[stevoc921]

It's crazy to me that for as long as this system was around I'd practically never even heard of the M line until 2018 with the release of the M50. Even when I was shopping for my first DSLR in 2015 no one even tried to sell it to me as an alternative to the Rebel line. Seems to me like it was kind of a marketing failure from the get-go. Maybe Canon underestimated how well they had marketed the Rebel line.

 

[neuroanatomist]

It's crazy to me that for as long as this system was around I'd practically never even heard of the M line until 2018 with the release of the M50. Even when I was shopping for my first DSLR in 2015 no one even tried to sell it to me as an alternative to the Rebel line. Seems to me like it was kind of a marketing failure from the get-go. Maybe Canon underestimated how well they had marketed the Rebel line.

It’s a geography thing. At one point, 17% of all ILCs sold worldwide were EOS M line cameras.

 

[stevoc921]

It’s a geography thing. At one point, 17% of all ILCs sold worldwide were EOS M line cameras.

Interesting. Never even thought of that, but it makes sense I guess.

 

[gregedwards69]

Ever since rumours of ef-m’s demise began several years ago if had half an eye on the used lens market hoping to pick up a couple to round out my collection. But the prices haven’t seemed to budge that much.

We seem to be in the midst of a bizarre used market, largely driven my tik-tokers, where older digital cameras are going for silly prices when they should be cheap as chips.

 

[kmrahe]

It's crazy to me that for as long as this system was around I'd practically never even heard of the M line until 2018 with the release of the M50. Even when I was shopping for my first DSLR in 2015 no one even tried to sell it to me as an alternative to the Rebel line. Seems to me like it was kind of a marketing failure from the get-go. Maybe Canon underestimated how well they had marketed the Rebel line.

I started looking for an ILC in May of last year basically unassisted and without visiting a camera shop - I did all my research myself online. I started out thinking I wanted a T7, then moved in the direction of an SL3 or T8i before the M50 Mark II finally appeared on my radar. I had consulted an in-law who has a Nikon DSLR, but even he didn't acknowledge the existence of the M50 until I mentioned it, after which he admitted that he had steered a couple people toward it himself. I didn't even know about the existence of the R series - they were all too expensive to show up on my radar screen, including the R10 and R7, which had already been announced. I went with the 2-lens M50 kit and have no regrets as there simply was not another camera within my budget (yes, I did consider other brands) that would have met my needs as well at the time.

 

[SteveC]

The M6-II is still the camera I tend to grab when I think about bringing one. With its Tamron 18-200 it will handle most situations though obviously the EF-M primes will do a few things the Tamron cannot.

 

[TAF]

I bought an original -M when that model was discontinued and they were selling the complete kits for less than the cost of the lens.

It\'s a great little camera, and perfect for use on largish drones. I guess I better get a spare battery or two while I still can.

 

[Richard CR]

The way Canon handled this is outrageous imho.

In march of this year during CP+, they answered to DPReview:


I'm not a M-system user, never have been, so I'm not concerned. But I can't help thinking that they could have been much more open and honest about their intentions. Same for DSLRs, they kept saying that "Canon remains committed to both DSLR and mirrorless systems". Fool me once...

I figured i would get flamed in the article by stating that Canon was clearly being dishonest. In corporate speak they were stating things as they were but not really good for consumers. They already knew. But like I said in the article, I'm not sure how much covid played into a complete disruption of their plans, but they certainly knew what they were going to do this year and even last year.

Even as a canon fanboy it makes me feel very uncomfortable that canon just quietly abandoned 100's of thousands or even closer to a million consumers. and unlike EF users, there's no path for EOS-M users to the RF system.

I know I'll hear but "they are the market leader," but I expected a higher standard from Canon versus a .. Sony, et all.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Even as a canon fanboy it makes me feel very uncomfortable that canon just quietly abandoned 100's of thousands or even closer to a million consumers.

Abandoned? Sorry, but how? Are they no longer providing service or support for any EOS M cameras and lenses?

Did they push a switch that sent out a kill signal via satellite, such that all EOS M cameras and lenses stopped working? Thank goodness I keep mine wrapped in the same tinfoil I use to make hats!

Seriously, though, if the 'typical' M series buyer purchases a camera in a 2-lens kit (which is probably the case, at least domestically for Canon) and that's all, then that 'typical' buyer is just fine as long as their camera keeps working (several years), and if/when they're ready for another they'll just buy an APS-C EOS R and life will go on. That's what BCN data show is already happening.

The only people who have been 'abandoned' are those who have invested in the M system and want to invest more. That number of customers is probably measured in thousands or at most, tens of thousands. This forum and the gear-oriented membership is not representative of the broader camera-buying public. Not even close.

 

[Yoms]

The only people who have been 'abandoned' are those who have invested in the M system and want to invest more. That number of customers is probably measured in thousands or at most, tens of thousands.

I fully agree with @Richard CR. And even if you only consider the people from this quote and your estimates are correct, this is still too many people. Not to mention also those waiting for a certain firmware fix/update or for a specific lens that was ought to come because they thought the system had a future, but will never come.

Also, above else the problem here is how Canon handled the situation and their lack of honesty about the matter. The difference between the quote from the March DPReview's article and reality as of today is just