Canon Officially Confirms the End of Development for Flagship DSLRs

[CommanderAlex]

Summary

In an interview with Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, Canon's chairman & CEO Fujio Mitarai stated that the company's development and production of flagship DSLRs will wound down "within a few years." Canon's current DSLR flagship, the EOS-1DX Mark III released in 2020, will be the last flagship DSLR model.

 

Quotes

Quote

“Canon’s SLR flagship model is known as the ‘EOS-1’ series, the first of which appeared in 1989,” the article states. “The latest model ‘EOS-1D X Mark III’ released in 2020 will be the last model in fact.”

There were some news publications like Y.M. Cinema and Photo Rumors interpreted Mitarai's words to mean that Canon has officially announced the end of all of their DSLR lines. Canon has responded that the scope of Mitarai's statement is only for their flagship DSLRs.  

Quote

“As reported in the article, we plan to make future flagship models strictly mirrorless cameras,” Canon says in a statement provided to PetaPixel. “Naturally, we are considering an RF mount camera as our next flagship model.”

 

It is expected that all production of their flagship DSLR to stop within a few years, although exact dates have not been confirmed. 

 

My thoughts

 

This is very interesting now that Canon will officially move development and production towards mirrorless systems. It was known that mirrorless would take over and that the DSLR would die sometime. I'm excited for the future to see what new mirrorless systems Canon will come out with. 

 

Sources

 Y.M. Cinema

 PetaPixel

[Tamesh16]

11 minutes ago, CommanderAlex said:

It was known that mirrorless would take over and that the DSLR would die sometime

Yeah, it became much harder to learn on DSLR compared to mirrorless and as such why the industry shifted to mirrorless... 

Even with me My first camera was mirrorless and it was tough to use a DSLR as such I stuck to mirrorless.

Also being able to see, your exposure in real time is so convenient and having a somewhat smaller package (body) is also nice. The ability to have better Hybirds as well have been a positive with Social media

[Estiar]

I love my DSLR! The video part may be less good, but I hope they keep supporting DSLR into the future. I can take really good pictures with mine. It's what I learned on too.

[GDRRiley]

I'm okay with this as we move to 200-300hz viewfinders and faster sensor readouts getting rid of the mirror has a lot of advantages

6 minutes ago, Tamesh16 said:

Yeah, it became much harder to learn on DSLR compared to mirrorless and as such why the industry shifted to mirrorless...

DSLRs are not hard to learn on. they operate the same as a mirroless body

 

2 minutes ago, Estiar said:

I love my DSLR! The video part may be less good, but I hope they keep supporting DSLR into the future. I can take really good pictures with mine. It's what I learned on too.

the move isn't hard. right now I shoot on a mix of mirroless fuji and older canon DSLRs

there isn't likely to be many new lenses made for them but theres plenty of used lens options. Some of the 3rd parties will keep making lenses for a while longer

[CommanderAlex]

5 minutes ago, Tamesh16 said:

Yeah, it became much harder to learn on DSLR compared to mirrorless and as such why the industry shifted to mirrorless... 

Even with me My first camera was mirrorless and it was tough to use a DSLR as such I stuck to mirrorless.

Also being able to see, your exposure in real time is so convenient and having a somewhat smaller package (body) is also nice. The ability to have better Hybirds as well have been a positive with Social media

From my own experience, learning on a DSLR is quite challenging as you have to make sure you get your exposure/metering correct. Otherwise (like you said, it's hard to get correct), live view mode works really well on DSLRs, acting like a mirrorless camera essentially. 

3 minutes ago, Estiar said:

I love my DSLR! The video part may be less good, but I hope they keep supporting DSLR into the future. I can take really good pictures with mine. It's what I learned on too.

I'd say keep on using them!! I think the hard part for me would be just switching out batteries constantly since you're powering the sensor and EVF, which reduces battery life quickly. 

[Estiar]

4 minutes ago, CommanderAlex said:

I'd say keep on using them!! I think the hard part for me would be just switching out batteries constantly since you're powering the sensor and EVF, which reduces battery life quickly. 

The problem comes with being able to support it with good lenses for another 10 years. I might have to drop $800 on a mirrorless, when my camera isn't supported anymore. Granted, it might be for the better, since technology does march on.

[FalseControl]

Coming from uninformed and shooting on a Canon DSLR. What is so different about shooting on mirrorless and DSLR? I know DSLR if you look through the view finder its looking through the lens and mirrorless has a sort of view port(Not the best terminology but you get the idea) that does not look through the lens so you have to compensate for that slightly. What's so hard to switch over or learn?

[CommanderAlex]

Just now, Estiar said:

The problem comes with being able to support it with good lenses for another 10 years. I might have to drop $800 on a mirrorless, when my camera isn't supported anymore. Granted, it might be for the better, since technology does march on.

Buying used lenses, especially for DSLRs, are a great value and I don't see them going selling out for ever. Heck, you can still buy old lens for film cameras that are over 20 years old. I just hope to see that mirrorless cameras come down in cost and new options come out as the technology progresses. 

[jasonvp]

For those that want to stick with Canon's DSLRs, just know that they have a ten-year (I believe) time-out when it comes to support.  Ten years after the model is End-of-Sale, they go End-of-Support.  After that point they won't even work on the cameras for pay because they refuse to stock the parts.  Been there, done that, had to basically give my old 1D Mark II away because of it.

 

[CommanderAlex]

Just now, jasonvp said:

Been there, done that, had to basically give my old 1D Mark II away because of it.

Just out of curiosity, but what was wrong with the camera?? Power board fail?

[jasonvp]

2 minutes ago, CommanderAlex said:

Just out of curiosity, but what was wrong with the camera?? Power board fail?

Nothing!  I wanted them to clean the sensor in the way only they know how to.  They absolutely refused to do it, even if I paid for shipping to/from New Jersey, and paid any hourly rate they cooked up.  The excuse was simple: "We have no extra parts, in case we break it."  They just weren't interested in the risk.

 

But why "give away": who wants to pay good money for a DSLR that can't be repaired?

 

[CommanderAlex]

Just now, jasonvp said:

Nothing!  I wanted them to clean the sensor in the way only they know how to.  They absolutely refused to do it, even if I paid for shipping to/from New Jersey, and paid any hourly rate they cooked up.  The excuse was simple: "We have no extra parts, in case we break it."  They just weren't interested in the risk.

 

Wow! That's really shocking considering you just wanted to get the sensor cleaned. I can understand where they are coming from stating that if something were to break, we can't fix it as we don't have parts anymore. I know there are a few photo center shops (mainly one where I'm locally near) in NJ that will do sensor cleanings.

[jasonvp]

Just now, CommanderAlex said:

I know there are a few photo center shops (mainly one where I'm locally near) in NJ that will do sensor cleanings.

Canon clean-rooms the sensor cleaning.  No one can do it like they can, except, perhaps, another camera company.  A photo center, while well-intentioned, just doesn't have the skills, tools, or environment to do the same thing.  That is what I ultimately had to do: allow a local big-name camera shop clean it.  They did a first class shit job, too.

 

[GDRRiley]

55 minutes ago, CommanderAlex said:

From my own experience, learning on a DSLR is quite challenging as you have to make sure you get your exposure/metering correct. Otherwise (like you said, it's hard to get correct), live view mode works really well on DSLRs, acting like a mirrorless camera essentially.

later live view did, early ones sucked. on the 60D barley useful, 5dmk4 it was pretty good.

[CommanderAlex]

3 minutes ago, jasonvp said:

Canon clean-rooms the sensor cleaning.  No one can do it like they can, except, perhaps, another camera company.  A photo center, while well-intentioned, just doesn't have the skills, tools, or environment to do the same thing.  That is what I ultimately had to do: allow a local big-name camera shop clean it.  They did a first class shit job, too.

Ah, I've heard of that with Canon doing sensor cleanings in a clean room. 

 

Damn, that sucks that they did a shit job of doing it. I just cleaned the sensor on my 7D Mark II and admittedly, I was afraid at first as it was my first time, but it all went smooth sailing. I thought about bringing it to a camera store that I went to before with this body (the camera) and did not want to spend more on it. I will say this to myself in the future after owning this body, I should have never purchased it to begin with after the shape it was in. 

Just now, GDRRiley said:

later live view did, early ones sucked. on the 60D barley useful, 5dmk4 it was pretty good.

I'm pretty sure the technology was just not there for autofocus in live view in earlier DSLRs, which can be wacky and barely effective/accurate. Later DSLRs, like you mentioned, are pretty good at doing their job. I just used live view last week on some shots I took of a lighthouse down the shore. Autofocus kept wanting to snap to close objects via touchscreen, but it finally came out at the end. 

[poochyena]

1 hour ago, FalseControl said:

Coming from uninformed and shooting on a Canon DSLR. What is so different about shooting on mirrorless and DSLR? I know DSLR if you look through the view finder its looking through the lens and mirrorless has a sort of view port(Not the best terminology but you get the idea) that does not look through the lens so you have to compensate for that slightly. What's so hard to switch over or learn?

Mirrorless cameras are lighter and more like shooting with a phone in that you have a big screen to view what you are shooting. I never owned a DSLR, but I got a mirrorless sony a6000 because it was light and seemed easier to use (and its good low light capabilities). Aparantly its controversial, but I never use the view port and don't really see the point in doing so on a mirrorless camera.

[Tamesh16]

1 hour ago, GDRRiley said:

DSLRs are not hard to learn on. they operate the same as a mirroless body

For an experienced user (a person that isn't brand new to photography) I would say it might not be. 

I got my first camera in 2013 (mirrorless) and I have tried using a couple DSLRS (Nikon and Canon) for couple of years after and found them tedious to use

I think I used a canon Rebel something back in 2014/2015 and getting exposure solely on the light meter made me dislike the experience.

Its not 'harder' to use per say, but 'easier' to use a mirrorless especially with real time view of exposure.

I see no benefit of staying with DSLRs, the old 'speed advantage' and 'real life view' are becoming old and outdated, and although now its gone down to more of a preference, more people are choosing mirrorless so there must be a reason 

[FalseControl]

1 minute ago, Tamesh16 said:

For an experienced user (a person that isn't brand new to photography) I would say it might not be. 

I got my first camera in 2013 (mirrorless) and I have tried using a couple DSLRS (Nikon and Canon) for couple of years after and found them tedious to use

I think I used a canon Rebel something back in 2014/2015 and getting exposure solely on the light meter made me dislike the experience.

Its not 'harder' to use per say, but 'easier' to use a mirrorless especially with real time view of exposure.

I see no benefit of staying with DSLRs, the old 'speed advantage' and 'real life view' are becoming old and outdated, and although now its gone down to more of a preference, more people are choosing mirrorless so there must be a reason 

One reason why I started with DSLR is I have no problem buying used and DSLR used market is much bigger than mirrorless so that's why I started with DSLR. I have a Rebel T7. Not the nicest or newest thing but its been great starter with some very obvious downfalls that makes me excited to buy my next nicer mirrorless camera once I get the money.

[Tamesh16]

1 hour ago, FalseControl said:

What's so hard to switch over or learn?

I would think its easier to switch over from DSLR to Mirrorless, I have seen many professional DSLR users seamlessly use a Mirrorless. But as a Mirrorless user I have always had trouble using DSLR, but I have hardly ever seen users go in that direction from Mirrorless to DSLR so I am unsure if its just me

[Tamesh16]

2 minutes ago, FalseControl said:

I have no problem buying used

This was big reason I tried using my Friends DSLRs, I wanted that cost effectiveness of buying a decently priced used Camera, but I could not get comfortable with one

[FalseControl]

1 minute ago, Tamesh16 said:

I would think its easier to switch over from DSLR to Mirrorless, I have seen many professional DSLR users seamlessly use a Mirrorless. But as a Mirrorless user I have always had trouble using DSLR, but I have hardly ever seen users go in that direction from Mirrorless to DSLR so I am unsure if its just me

Here's a million dollar question for you. Do you shoot full manual or aperture priority or shutter priority? Just me being curious because I always want to know what other people are doing. I shoot in aperture priority in regular shooting but I do switch over every so often to shutter priority for dark scenarios and full manual if I am looking for a very specific shot

[Tamesh16]

4 minutes ago, FalseControl said:

Do you shoot full manual or aperture priority or shutter priority?

I would say same, I shoot a lot of birds, so generally I am in aperture priority just to ensure I am getting as much light but I do sometimes go to manual/shutter priority in odd lighting to fix my shutter speed to prevent blurred pictures

I usually use manual for pictures at night for astro/moon pictures

[That Franc]

40 minutes ago, Tamesh16 said:

I would think its easier to switch over from DSLR to Mirrorless, I have seen many professional DSLR users seamlessly use a Mirrorless. But as a Mirrorless user I have always had trouble using DSLR, but I have hardly ever seen users go in that direction from Mirrorless to DSLR so I am unsure if its just me

I was starting out on a mirrorless initially, it was the Olympus Pen E-PM1; I later switched to a Nikon DSLR and it was a much better experience from the very start. I'm back on mirrorless again with a Canon R6, and it's better yet than the old Nikon DSLR.

I'd say it heavily depends on which DSLR you are switching to or from, and which mirrorless as well.

 

P.S.: Canon full frame mirrorless cameras aren't that different from DSLRs anyway. They're still equipped with a full range of features and physical controls, and they're still heavy and huge (especially compared to Sonys), the only thing missing is the mirror. Given that, it's a logical move for Canon to ditch DSLRs entirely since their own mirrorless cams fill the exact same niche.

[AlexBlob]

Canon said a year or so ago that there main focus would be mirrorless going forward, so this is not really that shocking. Unless you really don't like using the EVF there is little downside to using there current range of FF bodies, the EF lens adaptors seem to do a good job. 

 

It seems Nikon is yet to fully say "We are moving 100% of mirrorless" and in interviews seem to playing on the "We look at future trends" argument, but I really doubt we see a D6 replacement.

 

There always Pentax for people that enjoy the mirror slapping experience.

[Mihle]

3 hours ago, FalseControl said:

Here's a million dollar question for you. Do you shoot full manual or aperture priority or shutter priority? Just me being curious because I always want to know what other people are doing. I shoot in aperture priority in regular shooting but I do switch over every so often to shutter priority for dark scenarios and full manual if I am looking for a very specific shot

I have ISO always in auto, if camera choose wrong then I use exposure compensation. 

For the two others it depends, if I just go out shooting things outside in good light, I have shutter in Auto too, If I am taking photos of my cat or other moving things, or when it's less light, I usually have both shutterspeed and apeture in manual.