What happens to Big Whites when Mirrorless Takes Over?

[YuengLinger]

Of course I'm concerned about all the ef mount lenses losing resale value if Canon goes primarily mirrorless, even for pro bodies.

Should Canon get ahead of this and assure current and prospective lens customers?

Is it in Canon's interest to make ef mount obsolete?

Will adapters protect an investment in Big Whites and other L lenses, or will they "cripple" ef mounts compared to whatever the new native FF mirrorless mount will be?

 

[privatebydesign]

Of course I'm concerned about all the ef mount lenses losing resale value if Canon goes primarily mirrorless, even for pro bodies.

Should Canon get ahead of this and assure current and prospective lens customers?

Is it in Canon's interest to make ef mount obsolete?

Will adapters protect an investment in Big Whites and other L lenses, or will they "cripple" ef mounts compared to whatever the new native FF mirrorless mount will be?

There is no way on earth Canon are walking away from their EF lens standard, none, zero.

Now before anybody throws out the previous move from FD to EF, which I went through as a working professional, lets keep in context why that move was necessary, it was to provide a large enough mount to include optics and electronics. This means EF lenses can be mounted on anything with a shorter registration distance, 44mm, and that has the EF electronic protocols. FD is 42mm which means if you have a converter only 2mm thick FD lenses will focus on EF cameras, this is the basis of the Ed Mika 'conversions and convertors.

Canon will enable any mirrorless camera it makes 100% compatible with EF lenses either natively, now the mirrorless is smaller size meme has been cast aside, or via a designed from the outset adapter, just like the M.

 

[geonix]

As posted on another thread:
They (Canon, Nikon, Pentax) could leave DSLR bodies as they are and just take out the mirrorbox and the pentaprisim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-OIp0OHUHA

That way the cameras would have the excellent handling and ergonomics of todays dslrs as well es their flange distance and the benefits of EVF and mirrorless

 

[Don Haines]

In the hands of skilled photographers, they continue to deliver great images......

 

[dak723]

Forget the internet and the way it makes you overthink everything until you go crazy. Pretend there is no Canon Rumors or any other internet forum. Buy what you want or need. There is no way Canon will make any of their EF lenses obsolete when they begin producing mirrorless FF cameras.

 

[YuengLinger]

Forget the internet and the way it makes you overthink everything until you go crazy. Pretend there is no Canon Rumors or any other internet forum. Buy what you want or need. There is no way Canon will make any of their EF lenses obsolete when they begin producing mirrorless FF cameras.

I'm able to "overthink everything" without the need of the Internet, thank you.

I notice that you qualify your claim with, "when they begin producing mirrorless FF cameras." It's what comes after that humble beginning that concerns me.

If I had experience with adapters, I might have less concern, but Big Whites and (many) other L's are bought not only for image quality, but AF performance too.

If Canon saw an opportunity for MASSIVE pressured new purchases of native FF lenses, with research showing an acceptably small number of current customers jumping ship, it would be a business decision, period.

I'm sure there'd be a sunset phase. Maybe there'd be enough bodies out there to keep up a used market for ef, but at some point, Canon would reach the end of repair time for all...

There are way too many examples of "forever" tech disappearing relatively quickly, and such extinctions seem to be happening faster than ever.

Just for ONCE, wouldn't be nice for a big corporation to present a good-faith road map for anticipated tectonic shifts?

Absolutes such as "no way" or "none, zero" are actually less convincing than "not likely."

 

[Dylan777]

Very easy....sell big white now and start shooting with ONLY Sony. I heard mirrorless is the future ;D

Your investment with Sony is safe ;D ;D

 

[kphoto99]

If I had experience with adapters, I might have less concern, but Big Whites and (many) other L's are bought not only for image quality, but AF performance too.

If Canon changes the flange distance for the FF mirrorless then the adapter will be like the one for EF-M to EF. This adapter just connects the lens contacts to the contacts on the camera. It does not affect the lens AF. The only things that affects the AF of a big white is the amount of power the camera body can supply to the big lens.

 

[Aussie shooter]

Can't see canon making the EF lenses obsolete. While a lot of people shoot canon because it is reliable and has better ergonomics than other brands, many arr also invested in the system due to mega dollars spent on the glass. Forcing those customers to buy new glass would also give them the opportunity to switch systems. I am not sure many would go down the sony line but Fujifilm is looking pretty damn good lately.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Canon has adaptors for any mirrorless cameras they might produce, so there is no worry. The lens is so huge that a short adapter would make no difference. I doubt that any big white lenses would be modified for several years if/when a new mount standard comes out, Canon would be very busy redesigning the ordinary lenses.

I have not seen any big whites modified to fit "M" bodies, there is no need to do it.

 

[unfocused]

There is no way on earth Canon are walking away from their EF lens standard, none, zero...

...Canon will enable any mirrorless camera it makes 100% compatible with EF lenses...

Correct.

First, the title of this thread is incorrect. It should read: What happens to Big Whites if mirrorless takes over?

At this point, it is absolutely impossible to predict if the mirrorless "revolution" will ever occur, or if it's just a fantasy of forum dwellers with too much time on their hands.

If the enthusiast and professional level DSLRs ever do migrate to mirrorless, it will occur gradually and the resulting bodies will look and behave very much like today's mirrored bodies. They may be slightly smaller, perhaps approaching the size of the F1 and other film cameras from the 70s, but they won't be significantly smaller and they will certainly take EF lenses.

One look at the sidelines of any professional or college sporting event will tell you that Canon is not going to do anything to undermine its dominance in the field.

 

[unfocused]

Very easy....sell big white now and start shooting with ONLY Sony. I heard mirrorless is the future ;D

Your investment with Sony is safe ;D ;D

Safe until Sony abandons the market.

 

[Jopa]

Of course I'm concerned about all the ef mount lenses losing resale value if Canon goes primarily mirrorless, even for pro bodies.

Should Canon get ahead of this and assure current and prospective lens customers?

Is it in Canon's interest to make ef mount obsolete?

Will adapters protect an investment in Big Whites and other L lenses, or will they "cripple" ef mounts compared to whatever the new native FF mirrorless mount will be?

There is no way on earth Canon are walking away from their EF lens standard, none, zero.

Now before anybody throws out the previous move from FD to EF, which I went through as a working professional, lets keep in context why that move was necessary, it was to provide a large enough mount to include optics and electronics. This means EF lenses can be mounted on anything with a shorter registration distance, 44mm, and that has the EF electronic protocols. FD is 42mm which means if you have a converter only 2mm thick FD lenses will focus on EF cameras, this is the basis of the Ed Mika 'conversions and convertors.

Canon will enable any mirrorless camera it makes 100% compatible with EF lenses either natively, now the mirrorless is smaller size meme has been cast aside, or via a designed from the outset adapter, just like the M.

I'll vote for you on the next Canon CEO elections.

 

[YuengLinger]

One doesn't have to be a "forum dweller" (takes one to know one, I guess) to clearly see that mirrorless will supplant dSLR. The difficult prediction, of course, is "when."

If it is very far in the future, then it has no influence on the decision to buy a Big White today.

If it is seven years or less?

We've heard from those who say it can't happen. For those who believe it will, perhaps within a decade, how do you see the transition playing out? Will Canon give us a heads up, a phase out schedule?

Will they work with the form factor and ergonomics of mirrorless bodies so they use native EF mounts? Or will they see too many restrictions?

 

[weixing]

Hi,

Very easy....sell big white now and start shooting with ONLY Sony. I heard mirrorless is the future ;D

Your investment with Sony is safe ;D ;D

Safe until Sony abandons the market.

Just replace the 'n' with double 'r'.

Have a nice day.

 

[Orangutan]

One doesn't have to be a "forum dweller" (takes one to know one, I guess) to clearly see that mirrorless will supplant dSLR. The difficult prediction, of course, is "when."

If it is very far in the future, then it has no influence on the decision to buy a Big White today.

If it is seven years or less?

We've heard from those who say it can't happen. For those who believe it will, perhaps within a decade, how do you see the transition playing out? Will Canon give us a heads up, a phase out schedule?

Will they work with the form factor and ergonomics of mirrorless bodies so they use native EF mounts? Or will they see too many restrictions?

There's an unwarranted assumption that mirrorless bodies must be smaller, but this is false. Bear in mind that every modern digital video camera is, in essence, a mirrorless camera. This includes cinema, broadcast, sports, etc. Sure, without the mirror box it's possible to make the body smaller, but it's equally possible to use that newly-available space to implement a 3-chip design for much higher IQ in top-end pro bodies.

 

[YuengLinger]

And might not mirrorless also lead to bodies with medium format sensors which cost about the same as today's FF 35mm based bodies?

FF will then become the "cropped sensor" body, so, maybe the ef-s will be the first to be phased out.

Yes, this is speculation, mostly for fun. Not meant to raise anxiety and hackles, but at SOME POINT, somebody will be the last person to pay full price for a Big White or other L series ef mount lens, only to see it obsolete before the warranty runs out.

I predict that the ef mount, introduced in 1987, has considerably less time ahead than behind.

 

[privatebydesign]

And might not mirrorless also lead to bodies with medium format sensors which cost about the same as today's FF 35mm based bodies?

FF will then become the "cropped sensor" body, so, maybe the ef-s will be the first to be phased out.

Yes, this is speculation, mostly for fun. Not meant to raise anxiety and hackles, but at SOME POINT, somebody will be the last person to pay full price for a Big White or other L series ef mount lens, only to see it obsolete before the warranty runs out.

I predict that the ef mount, introduced in 1987, has considerably less time ahead than behind.

The failing in that train of thought is the image circle needed for a larger sized sensor. The 135 format was introduced in 1934, it has proven incredibly robust as a 'sweet spot' of the various compromises any camera system imposes from lens sizes and costs and availability, to dof control and general image quality. There is no way, in any kind of foreseeable time frame, Canon are going to migrate away from that core 135 format standard, and if they do it will be to smaller sensors as IQ improves and software can emulate shallower dof.

 

[Jopa]

Yes, this is speculation, mostly for fun. Not meant to raise anxiety and hackles, but at SOME POINT, somebody will be the last person to pay full price for a Big White or other L series ef mount lens, only to see it obsolete before the warranty runs out.

At some point somebody will be the last person on the Earth

 

[Dylan777]

Very easy....sell big white now and start shooting with ONLY Sony. I heard mirrorless is the future ;D

Your investment with Sony is safe ;D ;D

Safe until Sony abandons the market.

Some of you worry tooooo much