Canon confirms discontinuation of EF and EF-S lenses

[mb66energy]

Glad that I have bought
- two EF-S 15-85s (bulky but silent AF, IS, great for video with M50) - poor guys CN-E 18-80 substitute
- a 2nd EF-S 60 Macro (insanely sharp, fast and compact on the M50)
- an EF-S 55-250 STM

And yes: I think there is some consolidation of the product portfolio and there will be some tendency to move people to the RF system.
After observing the price of the EF 16-35 f/4 over some months I saw that the price gone up by 300 EUR on Canon's web page and told myself: Buy it, maybe you will miss a 100 EUR rebate action ...
On week later the sellers price increased by 320 EUR!
Maybe it is the way with all products in the lead out of the CO VID era while things are trying to go back to a "normal" state ...

 

[TMHKR]

I can't seem to grasp why they discontinue the EF-S 55-250 STM. It's a good lens for many beginners with APS-C bodies

 

[Maps]

hope for what though? it's never going to be like a fuji mount where they create professional grade lenses for it. it's a mirrorless rebel system.

While I would love a 15-50mm F2.8 for it, maybe one day Sigma will put the EOS-M mount on theirs.

While sales and profit are driving factors, so is marketshare and Canon cares a lot about that.

Your post makes it sound like they have discontinued it - they haven't.

For me I think it would simply be hope that Canon acknowledges the existence of the system. Anything... just anything. Say something in a financial report. Make a statement about the future of the mount. Release a roadmap. Announce a lens. Anything. I don't think that's too much to ask for before I invest in something. To me, the silence speaks volumes. I don't know that they ever officially discontinued the Palm Pilot but... it's gone... I feel the same way about the M mount. Hope I'm wrong. I would love to see lower cost, high quality imaging solutions make a comeback (from any manufacturer, not just Canon).

 

[esglord]

Where is the 135mm rf replacement?

 

[Dragon]

Interesting. What is left in EF is mostly high end (i.e. keep the pros happy until they switch) and a couple of the best ef-s lenses (15-85 and 55-200) have been nixed. That suggests that we will see no more EF bodies and any future ef-s bodies will be very low end. M is a very strong seller, particularly in Asia, so at a minimum, the attitude is wait and see. The upside of these discontinuations is that we may see a faster pace of RF introductions. Anything new in M would be a signal that it stays around at least for a while. My sense is that M has a good chance of survival as there is a likely an ongoing market for a relatively low-priced camera that is versatile and very portable. Nikon has taken the ef-s approach with the Z-50 and only time will tell if that was a smart move. Sony has drastically cut back their APS-c line, but what remains is still small and light. Fuji commands the APS-c high end, but that is a relatively small market. It remains to be seen if Canon makes at least one up-market M and a couple of higher end M lenses to put some heat on Fuji. Otherwise, it looks like an RF world.

 

[neuroanatomist]

But that doesn't change my opinion that Canon gave up on the M mount 3 years ago. Sales volume and profit are two totally different things unfortunately. I'd love to see them bring the M mount back, but how anyone can be holding out hope at this point is beyond me.

As a consumer-level product line, the EF-M system is mature. Almost all the typical categories are represented by very lenses. Standard zoom, UWA zoom, telezoom, superzoom, fast(ish) wide and normal primes, and a macro lens. I suppose what’s missing is a fast(ish) portrait prime.

Sales volume and profit are closely related, and for the EF-M lenses the amortized development costs have likely been paid off so they actually generate more profit now.

What would ‘bringing the M mount back’ look like to you?

 

[neuroanatomist]

I can't seem to grasp why they discontinue the EF-S 55-250 STM. It's a good lens for many beginners with APS-C bodies

It’s part of the very popular double-zoom kit, so it seems unlikely they’ll stop making it. Makes me wonder what being on the ‘old lenses’ list actually means.

For the 55-250, it could mean they will stop selling it standalone, and it will only be available in the kit. I could easily see sales data supporting that decision.

 

[Richard CN]

For me I think it would simply be hope that Canon acknowledges the existence of the system. Anything... just anything. Say something in a financial report. Make a statement about the future of the mount. Release a roadmap. Announce a lens. Anything. I don't think that's too much to ask for before I invest in something. To me, the silence speaks volumes. I don't know that they ever officially discontinued the Palm Pilot but... it's gone... I feel the same way about the M mount. Hope I'm wrong. I would love to see lower cost, high quality imaging solutions make a comeback (from any manufacturer, not just Canon).

Canon stated the M50 was the top selling mirrorless camera in the US market (for the year 2020) in 2021, and has made mention of the M50 and EOS-M numerous times in the financials.

Canon is going to focus everything they got on the RF mount, for the time being, we're talking about the survival of the imaging department as a whole is riding on the RF mount. Every technical asset is going to be working 100% on the RF. Not because they want to EOS-M to die, simply because it's a mature system and they can let it ride for a while while they work on RF. This is basically the same thing Sony did.

However, in 2021 Canon stated this to one publication;
The M series is here to stay. The M series is an important part of our system, the reason being there’s no one camera that’s suitable for everyone, and it’s great to have different cameras at different sizes for different types of usage.

 

[Richard CN]

It’s part of the very popular double-zoom kit, so it seems unlikely they’ll stop making it.

they could stop making it for individual sales. Looking on amazon japan there are a lot of "1 in stock" "2 in stock" notices with that lens.

 

[Del Paso]

They still have the TS-E17, 24, 50, 90 and 135mm in production.

it's the older ones that were discontinued.

Thanks, I'm reassured!

 

[Maps]

Sales volume and profit are closely related, and for the EF-M lenses the amortized development costs have likely been paid off so they actually generate more profit now.

I definitely agree with you about the amortized development costs. That's a very valid point. Volume/profit correlation though, I don't buy. I think that's good logic from the 2010s that just doesn't hold up in today's world. Before the iPhone 10 or so, Canon could sell a billion Rebels at low margins and still make pretty good profit. They can't sell M mount cameras in anywhere near that volume anymore. Just look at the financials from a couple years ago when the M mount was outselling everything (as it still is today) but before the R line had really ramped up. Dismal numbers. Selling a few expensive R mount cameras has proven very profitable for them.

As to what I'd like to see... on the body side: keep pushing the AF, keep the codecs coming, better video, I'd take a slight increase in size with the inclusion of IBIS. We saw it in a patent didn't we? To me, the M50's Achilles heel was poor ISO performance + lack of in body stabilization + lack of native stabilized lenses. So I guess on the lens side... if you're not going to put stabilization in the body, at least some quality stabilized zooms? But mostly what I'd have loved to see is... some kind of indication that the system is going to stick around. Some announcements... something... anything. The M50mkII does not fill me with any sense of confidence.

If I said the "R mount is finished" or the "E mount is finished" that would be insane. You can clearly point to development of those systems to disprove that. I don't think it's insane to say that a system that hasn't seen a lens released in... what, 6 years? and a real body in 3 years, or even an announcement of a new product is that far fetched.

 

[Blue Zurich]

Just how many lenses in a line does a Canon Rumors member demand Canon produces?

The M's are just fine folks.

 

[Maps]

Canon stated the M50 was the top selling mirrorless camera in the US market (for the year 2020) in 2021, and has made mention of the M50 and EOS-M numerous times in the financials.

Canon is going to focus everything they got on the RF mount, for the time being, we're talking about the survival of the imaging department as a whole is riding on the RF mount. Every technical asset is going to be working 100% on the RF. Not because they want to EOS-M to die, simply because it's a mature system and they can let it ride for a while while they work on RF. This is basically the same thing Sony did.

However, in 2021 Canon stated this to one publication;
The M series is here to stay. The M series is an important part of our system, the reason being there’s no one camera that’s suitable for everyone, and it’s great to have different cameras at different sizes for different types of usage.

I believe you, but the last time I recall them mentioning the m mount in any meaningful way was... I want to say 2019? I kind of remember a quote about the M50 having great sales numbers because it included a bunch of features that punched way above its class... or something to that effect? I think that kind of sums it up nicely... I'd love to see the M mount make a comeback with a camera that "punches way above it's class" in 2022. Or 2023. Or ever.

 

[jam05]

For what it's worth I have the original M50 and a handful of M mount lenses and I think they're brilliant in the right situation. Fantastic value for money. But that doesn't change my opinion that Canon gave up on the M mount 3 years ago. Sales volume and profit are two totally different things unfortunately. I'd love to see them bring the M mount back, but how anyone can be holding out hope at this point is beyond me.

Although they just released the M6. The M50k II is 3 years old?

 

[privatebydesign]

Where is the 135mm rf replacement?

Considering the EF version was released in 1996 and wasn't updated in over 25 years I suspect it wasn't a big seller. Undoubtedly loved by those who owned it if it doesn't make money it isn't going to get any kind of priority.

 

[Maps]

Although they just released the M6. The M50k II is 3 years old?

I will not acknowledge that firmware update as a "new" camera. I refuse.

 

[neuroanatomist]

The M50k II is 3 years old?

No, its not even half that since it launched in Oct 2020. But some people can only view the world through the lens of their own opinions, and for some people that lens is radically undercorrected and causes severe distortion (of reality).

 

[David - Sydney]

Can you link the Petepixel article directly?
The link in the OP only goes to the wrong article
(https://petapixel.com/2022/02/11/study-reveals-the-most-complained-about-cameras-in-the-world/)
and you have to hunt for the specific article.
https://petapixel.com/2022/02/11/canon-has-discontinued-all-but-nine-ef-prime-lenses-report/

Can you also share the Canon Japan discontinued lens list URL?

 

[AlanF]

No, its not even half that since it launched in Oct 2020. But some people can only view the world through the lens of their own opinions, and for some people that lens is radically undercorrected and causes severe distortion (of reality).

One of my favourite Einstein quotes is: “Everyone sits in the prison of his own ideas; he must burst it open, and that in his youth, and so try to test his ideas on reality.”

 

[David - Sydney]

The one strange discontinued lens is the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM. It is the smallest lens in the EF ecosystem and there is no alternative. You would think that the R mount would lend itself to a very small pancake lens as adapting the EF40mm doubles the cost/weight/size.