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Should I be Afraid to buy EF-S Lenses?

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bullmanroyal

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Should I be a bit afraid of buying an EF-S lens? The reason I ask is that Canon will eventually have an affordable dslr with a full size sensor. I would have to think that sometime in the not so distant future, that cameras with price points similar to the 350D, 400D, 20D and 30D will include a full-sized sensor and standard bracket that won't fit the EF-S lenses.

If a camera like this is introduced, EF-S lenses will instantly become obsolete and lose their value. From a marketing standpoint, it would be a fantastic situation for Canon: Every EF-S owner would have to upgrade their lenses in order to take advantage of the new camera technology...

So if this were to happen, wouldn't I be better off sticking to EF lenses that would not need to be upgraded in order to take advantage of new advancements in camera technology?
 
Clearly Canon have made the "S" lenses part of thier lineup for a reason. That reason is, as far as they can see... there will a persistent market for them.

Get what you need to get the job done.

--
Livin' the blues, one note at a time
 
even if canon makes FF afordable in the future, there is a use for cropped sensor (talk to anyone shooting birds/wild life) as the 1.6 crop/multiplier gives you a lot more reach. And probably something like 99% of all DSLR today are cropped anyway (canon being the only manufacturer with a FF body) and there are many crop lenses (in addition to EFS)
BanderSnatchReverb said:
Clearly Canon have made the "S" lenses part of thier lineup for a
reason. That reason is, as far as they can see... there will a
persistent market for them.

Get what you need to get the job done.

--
Livin' the blues, one note at a time
Click to expand...
--
---------------
Alain D

Rebel X T / 3 5 0 D
sigma 1 8 - 2 0 0 mm f3.5/6.3
canon 5 0 mm f 1.8
canon 7 5 - 3 0 0mm f 4-5.6 III
canon 1 8 - 5 5 mm kit
flash 4 2 0 E X
 
bullmanroyal said:
bullmanroyal said:
bullmanroyal said:
The reason I ask
is that Canon will eventually have an affordable dslr with a full
size sensor.
Click to expand...
You know this for a fact? How?
Click to expand...
No, I do not know this as a fact. I am just speculating based off
of some posts that I have read. It could be entirely wrong. If
so, I appologize...
Click to expand...
The way image sensors are made, cost goes up exponentially with area. That makes 35mm sensors considerably more expensive than APS-C, probably about 10x as expensive. The process used is pretty mature, it's been used for decades to produce memory, CPUs, and other ICs. There are no surprises hanging around that will suddenly slash the price of large sensors.

Dreaming of $1000 35mm digital cameras is just that -- dreaming. I'm not saying it will never be true, but there's nothing supporting the notion that it will happen anytime soon.

--
Seen in a fortune cookie:
Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed
 
Well let's look at it this way, when the first DVD player come out there were pushing a grand and now you can get on for 2 box tops and 2 bits. It onlt makes since in the furture Canon will have a FF sensor for about the same price as a 30D.
nickleback said:
bullmanroyal said:
The reason I ask
is that Canon will eventually have an affordable dslr with a full
size sensor.
Click to expand...
You know this for a fact? How?

--
Seen in a fortune cookie:
Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed
Click to expand...
 
rrouse said:
Well let's look at it this way, when the first DVD player come out
there were pushing a grand and now you can get on for 2 box tops
and 2 bits. It onlt makes since in the furture Canon will have a FF
sensor for about the same price as a 30D.
Click to expand...
Apples and oranges. Image sensors are big silicon ICs. Really big. Even APS-C is bigger than most server CPUs. Big silicon pancakes cost a lot of money, and cost goes up exponentially with area.

ICs get cheaper over time because newer processes can make smaller transistors, allowing the same chip to be produced in a smaller area. The exponential area cost is now working in your favor, because your costs have dropped exponentially. The ICs in DVD players benefit from this. As my hardware prof was fond of saying, "add up the parts, multiply by $1, that's the cost, and if it's not true today it will be next year".

But if you shrink a 35mm sensor it is no longer a 35mm sensor. You can't do it. You lose the most significant factor in reducing IC costs.

IC fabrication is not new, and the costs are well understood. If you want cheap 35mm sensors, you better figure out a different way to make them.

--
Seen in a fortune cookie:
Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed
 
... is the day when those travelling by bus can afford a small car!

Crop sensor cameras will always be cheaper than 35mm sensor cameras and equally important; their lenses could also be also cheaper and lighter (EFS).

Crop cameras are attractive to:
1. Hikers / Mountaineers who prefer lighter glass (I am am one of them)

2. People who likes their 400mm lens to work more like a 640mm lens (well almost!) without having to pay 6 times more for glass.
3. Those who would otherwise be able to only afford a P+S.
 
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