EF lenses and the Mirrorless future

While I'm confident that there will be a 1Dx Mk III, 5D Mk V, 7D Mk III and 90D etc, it's almost inevitable that someday Canon will announce an end to their DSLR lines.

Where will that leave EF lens owners ? Will we be expected to abandon our EF lenses and buy into a whole new generation of mirrorless lenses ?  Will Canon offer an EF to Mirrorless adapter to help us through the transition period ? Will the adapted EF lenses perform as well as a new breed of Mirrorless lenses, or will they be a hobbled legacy ?  Or will Canon design the new Mirrorless bodies with native EF lens mounts providing full performance equal to or even better than the last DSLR bodies ?

As an EF lens owner, what would be your reaction . . .

Peter

scorrpio wrote:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/883406-REG/Canon_6098b002_EF_M_Lens_Adapter_Kit.html

Already available for EOS M line.

yes, however we still have the DSLR line of cameras. We still have a choice. What if some day (soon) Canon says that there will be no more cameras with an EF mount ?

What if sports and wildlife shooters learn that their EF 500mm f/4  will need an adaptor for the next camera and that it won't do C-AF AI Servo like it does on the DSLR because the new Mirrorless cameras are optimized for CDAF rather than PDAF, and best performance can now only be had from one of the new lenses designed for the new Mirrorless system.

Plenty of what if questions there I know, but this is precisely what Olympus did when they ended their DSLR production line 4 years ago: New Mirrorless mount; New Mirrorless lenses, and an Adaptor for the legacy DSLR lenses with lesser AF performance.

I may be in the minority, but I prefer a larger heavier camera. At times a smaller combo would be nice, but if you add a long lens, is there such a big difference?

If ever dslr bodies are discontinued, we would be much like users of classic film cameras, having bodies worked on by third party specialists. Decades old cameras still work with a little TLC.

Messier Object wrote:

Will Canon offer an EF to Mirrorless adapter to help us through the transition period ?

Hello? Anyone home?

jayarrG9 wrote:

I may be in the minority, but I prefer a larger heavier camera. At times a smaller combo would be nice, but if you add a long lens, is there such a big difference?

If ever dslr bodies are discontinued, we would be much like users of classic film cameras, having bodies worked on by third party specialists. Decades old cameras still work with a little TLC.

I guess I'm part of that minority! I prefer gear on the heavier side.

I wish the M5 had waited to arrive until after I got an 80D.  Now I will be obligated to compare them.

Dave wrote:

I wish the M5 had waited to arrive until after I got an 80D. Now I will be obligated to compare them.

The M5 is pretty much a mirrorless version of the 80D, which is pretty cool in my opinion. The big disappointment for a lot of people is no 4k video, but aside from that it looks pretty good to me.

photosen wrote:

Messier Object wrote:

Will Canon offer an EF to Mirrorless adapter to help us through the transition period ?

Hello? Anyone home?

You pick out one sentence from my post and give a strange response

And your point is ?

Jura S wrote:

Messier Object wrote:

photosen wrote:

Messier Object wrote:

Will Canon offer an EF to Mirrorless adapter to help us through the transition period ?

Hello? Anyone home?

You pick out one sentence from my post and give a strange response

And your point is ?

His point is that EF-EFM adapter exists since the beginning of the EOS M line.

Is the EOS M the successor to Full Frame DSLR, no its not which means that neither you nor he actually read my post very carefully. My post is about a time in the future when Canon introduces the new FF and APS-C mirrorless range as successors to the current DSLRs. At the moment EOS M is a sideline product.  The present adapter is a means by which Canon can entice existing DSLR and EF lens owners to buy an EOS M.

Imagine if you will a mirrorless successor to the IDX, and then think about if/ how EF lenses might fit into that scenario.  Expecting the flagship range of Canon cameras to have a mirror flapping up and down while other makers have silent  50 fps global shutter FF systems is 'head in the sand'

Peter

KristinnK wrote:

I don't think DSLRs will ever disappear. There are plenty of reasons for there always being a market for them. A lot of people prefering the ergonomics of a DSLR,

And I'm one of them, but why would the ergonomics of a Mirrorless camera need to be any different. Why do so many folk think that Mirrorless necessarily means small. Nothing stops Canon from simply removing the mirror box and installing an EVF. Maybe the hump goes away, but the  camera can remain as large with well spaced buttons and dials and a hefty grip, and of course a native EF mount.

and having a viewfinder that enables you to simply look through your lens as apposed to seeing an electronic reproduction thereof are alone enough to be sure that DSLRs will never be flat out discontinued.

I'm no fan of the EVF, but they continue to improve and will eventually be as good as . . .

Peter

rrccad wrote:

Kind of a needless worry.

Canon can make the ef mount mirrorless and still have manufacturing and size savings.

I did mention that in the OP scenario:

Or will Canon design the new Mirrorless bodies with native EF lens mounts providing full performance equal to or even better than the last DSLR bodies ?

I deliberately avoided stating my personal preferences in the opening post, but this is indeed what I'd like to see. Full support of EF lenses without an adapter without any performance drop.

As for size savings, the size of the current DSLRs doesn't worry me, and I'd not like to see a dramatic reduction.

As for manufacfuring savings, they would probably go straight to Canon's profit margin with no price reductions.

Peter

In the future I see more the mirrorless for pro users  migrating to a more dsrl shape

Wrong future. The future is that dslrs will morph into video cameras and "still" photography will consist solely sitting in front of a computer deciding which frame you want.  Then the future after that will be with the Google eye-chip that's implanted in people's eyeball at birth will record everything you see and upload it to the global security cloud (Al Gore invention). The smart walls in your dwelling will read your memories and display your favorite scenes as selected rectangles in the wall.  I don't know if there will be a mirror involved or not. The old lenses will all be coffee cups. There will always be coffee.