Future of Canon M Series - Invest or Sell?

Last year I managed to pick up a bargain M100 along with the standard zoom lenses. I'm enjoying using the camera enough that I'm planning to sell my 70D and start saving towards a FF mirrorless setup. At the minute I'm mostly using adapted EF-S glass with the camera and although it adds bulk I'm happy enough with it.

Seeing the suggested roadmap forward for Canon lenses, I'm concerned about the support of the M series moving forward. Obviously the focus is on the RF system.

Is it worth investing in more M glass? Should I be steering clear and trying to sell my M lenses before they lose value - if they will?

Thanks

ahodder wrote:

Last year I managed to pick up a bargain M100 along with the standard zoom lenses. I'm enjoying using the camera enough that I'm planning to sell my 70D and start saving towards a FF mirrorless setup. At the minute I'm mostly using adapted EF-S glass with the camera and although it adds bulk I'm happy enough with it.

Seeing the suggested roadmap forward for Canon lenses, I'm concerned about the support of the M series moving forward. Obviously the focus is on the RF system.

Is it worth investing in more M glass? Should I be steering clear and trying to sell my M lenses before they lose value - if they will?

Thanks

This topic has been discussed here for several times now. And in my last contribution I was also sceptical, therefore I made short-time-tests of two Fuji cameras (since I don't want to enter FF).

My conclusion: I will stick with Canon M, to my mind it's the best compromise concerning size, weight, IQ, color rendering and costs.

I will be ready to accept the "small steps" (if they ever come) by Canon in progressing this system. I will invest in more M glass.

But it is clear, the roadmap for RF is (more) impressive. So it becomes more and more difficult to answer the question, if it is worth investing in more M glass.

Pretty much no camera equipment can be considered an investment. Buy the equipment that does what you want it to do in the way that you like. For me, the M6II (and M6, and the original M) and various EF-M mount lenses are a joy to use, and produce results I love. I'm finding the same applies to the R I recently picked up refurbished at a bargain price, and some RF lenses. The combination of being enjoyable to use and producing results that you're happy with is what's important. Hand-wringing about possible future products does nothing except detract from the enjoyment of photography.

Look at your past habits. If you’ve been swapping equipment every two years, perhaps not. If you use your gear for 5+ years, go for it. It will last at least that long.

ahodder wrote:

Last year I managed to pick up a bargain M100 along with the standard zoom lenses. I'm enjoying using the camera enough that I'm planning to sell my 70D and start saving towards a FF mirrorless setup. At the minute I'm mostly using adapted EF-S glass with the camera and although it adds bulk I'm happy enough with it.

Seeing the suggested roadmap forward for Canon lenses, I'm concerned about the support of the M series moving forward. Obviously the focus is on the RF system.

Is it worth investing in more M glass? Should I be steering clear and trying to sell my M lenses before they lose value - if they will?

Thanks

If it's a hobby you enjoy, then it deserves "hobby money", not investment money.

How much money you can sell your used gear for depends on how many motivated buyers vs motivated sellers there are.

Coming from Minolta 5D/7D mount, then Pentax mount, then Samsung mount, I've seen the following:

when a mount is first discontinued, the prices fall

after a bit, the prices go back up

Minolta had some very nice high-end glass, and with an adapter you could use it on the Sony cameras

Samsung, while a very nice camera (the NX500 is still completive), didn't have a large inventory of lenses. So the die-hard NX fans didn't have a large pool of used NX lenses to buy from, so the prices went up. Not spectacularly high either.

What will happen to canon M-mount lenses used prices?

Will people want to use them with an adapter for the R-series? probably not. There are tons and tons of used aps-c canon mount lenses which would just as well, or better

And smartphone's are coming for the aps-c market. Heck, it's already here.

Look at how much smartphone you can buy, vs the price of entry-level aps kit

The M cameras and lenses are so relatively inexpensive compared to FF that I would hardly consider it an "investment".  You can get a brand new M50 MK2 and 3 lenses for less than $2,000.  How many years of service do you want from a $2,000 purchase?

ahodder wrote:

Last year I managed to pick up a bargain M100 along with the standard zoom lenses. I'm enjoying using the camera enough that I'm planning to sell my 70D and start saving towards a FF mirrorless setup. At the minute I'm mostly using adapted EF-S glass with the camera and although it adds bulk I'm happy enough with it.

Seeing the suggested roadmap forward for Canon lenses, I'm concerned about the support of the M series moving forward. Obviously the focus is on the RF system.

Is it worth investing in more M glass? Should I be steering clear and trying to sell my M lenses before they lose value - if they will?

Thanks

I got in on the M100 body and lens sale.

And the M50 sale and the RP sale.

They are all going for more on ebay used than I paid for them !

You can buy and use M cameras then sell them for a profit if you hit the sales right.

I started to reply to this earlier today but was saying what everyone else was: If what you have is good why upgrade? If at any time you feel its not, there will be plenty of options. Its a buyer's market and your return on investment is the pictures you take that will last the rest of your life.

A couple of years ago my iPod Nano died. I soon found out Apple no longer made Nanos since everyone now carried an iPhone. Well I loved my Nano, it was small, had fantastic sound quality, and could hold my entire record library. I grew up with transistor radios, an iPod Nano is a science fiction dream come true. Pair it with Sony 3 way ear buds and it beats any HiFi system out there. And Apple quit making them. I went on eBay and bought two of the last version iPod Nanos which will hopefully last me the rest of my life.

IPhones are replacing Powershots and EOS Ms. Fine and dandy. The latest iPhone has a 12 MP sensor that is 6 times smaller than full frame. The EOS M and G1X3 have sensors that are 1.6 times smaller than full frame. Which will take the better images? Sure, iPhones are more popular, but which really takes better pictures? Canon's APS-C sensors, both the 24 and 32 MP versions, are so good that they are nipping at the heals of current full frame sensors. The R system is currently getting all of Canon's attention, but in reality, if the M system got a little bit of attention it could replace the R system. Won't happen, in a few years you will be able to buy an expensive FF R or an expensive iPhone. Thats progress for you.

ahodder wrote:

Is it worth investing in more M glass? Should I be steering clear and trying to sell my M lenses before they lose value - if they will?

The problem is that we don't know how much more ef-m glass we will get.

As a beginner every camera will help you to learn photography. Every brand and camera will give you problems but it's up to you to find a solution or at least something like that. If Canon offers you the lenses and cameras you want, sure, invest in it. If Canon doesn't offer you everything you want, maybe the R cameras or other brands are the right choice. Just don't wait for Canon to produce something that isn't there because they are dropping new EF-M glass very very slowly. It's also 1 1/2 year ago since Sigma announced their three EF-M lenses, which was great, but we got nothing else since then.

Luckily there is always the option to adapt EF glass. If this makes you happy and offers you the glass you want, sure, invest in the EF-M mount.

ahodder wrote:

Is it worth investing in more M glass? Should I be steering clear and trying to sell my M lenses before they lose value - if they will?

Well each of us has our own priorities.  For me, the M6ii does everything I ask it to do (and very well I’d add).  So I continue to purchase the lenses I need for it.

If your crystal ball is showing you something different, then you’ll have to follow your own instincts.  Good luck in your quest!

R2

Early adopters like us, we had to wait for the lens to slowly come out. For latecomers like the OP, there are 11 lenses that are available for them to choose right away and a 32mp body and a viewfinder.