Did Canon See the Writing on the Wall with the RF Mount?

[osakawayne]

there are some big differences you aren't noticing. Japan is a diligent, conscientious and capitalist culture that respects property rights, intellectual property, the environment, etc. Germany too. You can't apply that to every country that's making knockoffs and ripping IP off.

 

[don't_know_shxx]

Tired of Canon's RF closed mount policy last week I bought a SONY A1 II along with a 50-150mm f/2 and a Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 Art.

I'm not switching systems, but I'm not going to renounce to unique lenses like the Sigma 15mm f/1.4 fisheye, Sigma 35mm f/1.2, Sigma 28-45 f/1.8, Sigma 135mm f/1.4, SONY 50-150mm f/2, Sigma 200mm f/2, Sigma 300-600mm f/4, etc., or cheap and nice chinese lenses like what Viltrox offers to play with.

For me, adding a SONY camera to my arsenal is adding a powerful toolkit to get the job done and differentiate myself from other photographers even more.

I don't believe in brand loyalty. Being married to a brand is so stupid.

I could not agree more..

 

[KirkD]

Canon has definitely got it right in the short term with its strategy. But in the long term, the pain may be much greater than the short term gain. As the author wrote, "But if you are on a limited budget, such as a budding professional, it’s becoming extremely painful to say that Canon is the right decision." I only have personal knowledge of a half-dozen professionals. All the established ones (except for my daughter) migrated from Canon to Sony or Nikon within the past two years, and the "budding professionals have gone straight into Sony. (my pro-daughter migrated from a couple of ancient Nikon D750's (and their stable of Sigma lenses) to Canon - because "Dad shoots Canon and he gave her a screaming good deal on a Canon R5 when he replaced it with an R5 II" - But she has become very disillusioned with not being able to use Sigma lenses. Her allegiance to Dad and Canon are fading.

 

[wbrock001]

Well since we fortunately have several brands that are open and it likely hasn't hurt their business to give folks options. Sony E Mount and still sony lenses sell like hotcakes, L-mount alliance where 3rd parties are filling the voids of panasonic. So Canon, like you said, may just be hurting the adoption of the platform when to get an rf 70-200 f/2.8 starts at $2600...etc. vs. being able to get the $1400 sigma.

 

[scottburgess]

We've long believed Canon has been holding back the RF mount for profit, but what if that isn't the only reason? Did Canon look at the trends out of China's optical companies and realize that their greatest threat wasn't Sony, Nikon, or Panasonic, but the likes of Laowa, Sirui, and other Chinese manufacturers that were […]

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Well, Richard, to repeat the point: it's a business.

Chinese manufacturing is known for brazen intellectual property theft, so it's expected they will steal elements of lens design and camera design, manufacturing processes, and other patents. Remember that Chinese companies do not have to be profitable in the standard sense: unlike in the West, the CCP views full employment and complete control over business activity as political tools to remain in power. Chinese industries are heavily subsidized and gifted ridiculous advantages (like permission for extreme environmental degradation or violating international law) over their counterparts. Most Americans don't realize that Chinese labor is generally more expensive than comparable countries, not less. Higher-skilled Mexican labor, for example, is far less expensive. So is labor in most of SE Asia, Central and South America, and Africa. The Chinese make this work by edging their way into countries' individual business sectors, stealing their technologies, taking over their markets with lower prices, and finally jacking prices up when they have a monopoly. Just look at the buyer's regret that Brazil has: huge chunks of Brazilian manufacturing lie dead and Brazil may take decades to recover if it ever does. Countries in Africa and South America are slapping tariffs on Chinese goods because they don't want the Brazilian experience and China openly set its sights on gutting numerous markets there when Trump hit them with high tariffs.

If Canon is trying to protect their business from this, good for them. I wish them luck, support them by buying their products, and hope hope hope they win out. Heck, I might even buy a Sony compact camera for overseas travel (oh, the horror!). I'm not going to help kill the goose that laid the golden egg. I'd rather have Canon, Nikon and Sony gear as the majority market than Laowa or Siriu cameras and lenses that eventually put photography under a Chinese yoke.