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Bell miner Canon EOS R5, RF 100-500mm lens with 1.4x extender |
The dramatic decline in sales over the last few years has left camera/lens makers scrambling for survival. Some have decided to exit the camera business.
Those which remain are utilising various strategies including cost cutting at all points on the design, production and marketing pathway, moving up market to products with a higher profit margin per unit and trimming the number of different models and lens mounts available.
Sony committed to a single mirrorless lens mount several years ago with Nikon following suit more recently. Both offer crop sensor and full frame bodies with the same mount.
The logical move for Canon is to consolidate all interchangeable lens camera development onto the RF mount.
Supply of DSLRs, EF and EF-S lenses has been in decline since the RF system was introduced in 2018. This trend will continue until someday probably soon-ish these products will become altogether unavailable for still and hybrid cameras.
Canon has some EF mount cinema cameras so will need to continue lens support for these while there is demand.
The EF-M mount was introduced in 2012 to provide a Canon alternative to the then hugely popular Sony NEX series of models. Apparently EF-M models have sold quite well despite being systematically starved of product development by Canon.
Which leaves Canon with the question….What do we do with EF-M ?
What is EF-M’s market appeal ?
It seems to me this is
1. Bodies and lenses smaller than full frame
2. Lower price than full frame.
If Canon can produce a line of RF mount bodies and lenses which are not substantially larger or more expensive than approximately comparable EF-M gear then the EF-M system no longer has a reason to exist.
Market trends
Camera bodies: There have been no new EOS-M bodies since the M6.2 and M200 which emerged in the second half of 2019. I don’t count the M50.2 as a new model as it is not much more than a firmware upgrade.
In the same time period we have seen four new RF mount bodies, RP, R5, R6 and R3, with the R5 and R3 in particular bringing major new technology and performance levels to the RF system.
Lenses: EF-M has been hobbled by one of the most parsimonious lens support programmes of any system, ever. The most recent new lens was the EF-M 32mm f1.4 in 2018.
Since then Canon has released 23 new RF mount full frame lenses.
No need for a crystal ball to see which way that is going.
Rumors
Rumors are not facts, fair enough. But camera makers like to leak teasers about products in development to spice up customer interest.
Over the last three years or thereabouts there have been, as far as I am aware, no rumors about new or upgraded EF-M bodies or lenses.
In the same time period there have been many rumors about RF system bodies and lenses, including persistent rumors of one or more RF mount bodies with a crop sensor.
Logic
If Canon can deliver a line of RF mount bodies not substantially larger then EF-M bodies and some compact lenses to match then I think it is game over for EF-M
Can they/will they do it ?
If we look at what’s available we can see they are already part way there.
The comparison photos show an EOS RP with RF 50mm f1.8 alongside an EOS-M50 with EF-M 32mm f1.4, giving an approximately comparable style of camera with built in EVF, field of view and aperture. You can see they are about the same size even though the RP has a much larger sensor.
I priced each of these kits new, retail, GST paid from the same vendor on the same day.
The RP with RF50mm f1.8 is selling for AUD1427.
The M50.2 with EF-M 32mm f1.4 comes to AUD 1711. In Australia the M50 is not available as body only. It comes with the super-cheep, not-very-super not-much-good EF-M 15-45mm kit lens.
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Canon EOS M50 on the left, EOS RP on the right |
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Photos courtesy of camerasize.comM50 with EF-M 32mm f1.4 on the left, RP with 50mm f1.8 on the right |
Inevitable ?
I think the demise of the EF-M system is inevitable. I was at one stage fully kitted out with two EOS-M bodies and all the Canon EF-M lenses. There is no doubt this system has its charms and it has gathered a congregation of supporters.
But I sold all my RF-M gear in favour of RF bodies and lenses and have never regretted doing so.
I think the way forward for Canon ILC users who want compact, light, unobtrusive gear is within the RF system and I think Canon is sending plenty of signals to confirm that.
The year 2021 has seen massive constraints on equipment supply caused mainly by the world wide micro-processor chip shortage. When supply catches up to demand I think that more of Canon’s RF mount compact camera strategy will be revealed.