LOL Canon EF Sales crush mirrorless competition, No Kidding

[kbb]

I like a reflex finder in bright light. In dim light such as dusk outdoors or any night interior, the ability to see and focus (including AF) declines precipitously using DSLRs. In 2013 I got a Fujifilm XE-1 mirrorless as a small easy to carry supplement to the Nikon D800s I had by then. I immediately noticed the increased ability to see and focus accurately in darker environments that mirrorless brought. Add to that the fact that I never liked the finder optics of the D800s.
Despite the large (dare I say bloated) size of most of the adapted DSLR and native mirrorless lenses I use on my Nikon Z bodies, I still appreciate the smaller camera bodies that mirrorless made possible.

 

[pvdhaar]

I like a reflex finder in bright light. In dim light such as dusk outdoors or any night interior, the ability to see and focus (including AF) declines precipitously using DSLRs. In 2013 I got a Fujifilm XE-1 mirrorless as a small easy to carry supplement to the Nikon D800s I had by then. I immediately noticed the increased ability to see and focus accurately in darker environments that mirrorless brought. Add to that the fact that I never liked the finder optics of the D800s.

Interestingly enough, my experience is the opposite. I've gone through several Sony's spanning a range from the NEX6, to now an a6400, each generation supposedly with superior AF compared to its predecessor. And still to me the 2014 D750 still feels able to more decisively lock on, especially in complex situations, such as presence of strong highlights outside the focus area that force the mirrolesses to dial down the exposure from which it determines its focus. For instance like in the situation below, where the DSLR has no problem, but the a6400 can't achieve focus:

 

[Leon C]

Interestingly enough, my experience is the opposite. I've gone through several Sony's spanning a range from the NEX6, to now an a6400, each generation supposedly with superior AF compared to its predecessor. And still to me the 2014 D750 still feels able to more decisively lock on, especially in complex situations, such as presence of strong highlights outside the focus area that force the mirrolesses to dial down the exposure from which it determines its focus. For instance like in the situation below, where the DSLR has no problem, but the a6400 can't achieve focus:

....

Me too, the D200 had no problem focusing on this [MF], and others, at Dusk and almost night.

 

[Godfrey]

Hmm. Still have my Olympus E-1 and a Nikon F. Haven't used either in an eon.
Perhaps I should take them out for a walk'n'shoot. 😉

The only negative to SLRs, for me, is that they're a little bulky and a little heavy. Not too much so, but carrying an SLR is not as casual as carrying an RF or a EVF camera, or a compact. That's why they haven't gotten used as much lately. Same goes for any of my Hasselblads. I tend to carry the larger, heavier equipment when I have a more specific intent in mind.

G

 

[ellisson]

I'm currently enjoying a couple of Nikon oldies, an FM3a and an F100, one manual only, the other with AF. The FM3a is a really light, small carry, especially with the Nikon 35mm f2 and 50mm 1.8 lenses. The F100 is heavier, but not that bulky and also a nice change of pace after much Leica digital camera (mostly Q3 28 and SL3-S) use this year. It's just refreshing to go back to these straight-forward to operate film cameras and to enjoy the different shooting experience.

 

[bcostin]

I've started using my 5D MkII regularly again, which is my newest old DSLR. I even bought a (used) Sigma Art 50mm f1.4 to replace my venerable-but-broken Canon EF 50/1.4.

The people who predicted DSLRs would be totally obsolete when mirrorless became popular are the same sort who later predicted actual cameras would be obsolete when everyone had a cellphone. They're not particularly good at predictions.

 

[Archiver]

I've started using my 5D MkII regularly again, which is my newest old DSLR. I even bought a (used) Sigma Art 50mm f1.4 to replace my venerable-but-broken Canon EF 50/1.4.

The people who predicted DSLRs would be totally obsolete when mirrorless became popular are the same sort who later predicted actual cameras would be obsolete when everyone had a cellphone. They're not particularly good at predictions.

Despite having many more cameras since the 5D Mark II, it gained new life when I started shooting portraits and sports some years ago. In 2020 I acquired a Sigma 18-35 to use for video, but found it gave my 30D new life, so much so that I still consider getting a secondhand 90D.

Ironically, my Canon 70-200 f4 IS II on the 30D produces sharper and crisper images than my Panasonic G9 + 35-100 f2.8, which is regularly soft and glowy at long distances at 100mm.

 

[Godfrey]

I've started using my 5D MkII regularly again, which is my newest old DSLR. I even bought a (used) Sigma Art 50mm f1.4 to replace my venerable-but-broken Canon EF 50/1.4.

The people who predicted DSLRs would be totally obsolete when mirrorless became popular are the same sort who later predicted actual cameras would be obsolete when everyone had a cellphone. They're not particularly good at predictions.

I never listen to "people". Waste of time ... And it makes no difference whatever if a camera is "obsolete" or not anyway. The notion is completely ridiculous: if a camera makes good photographs, that's all that matters unless you have more specific requirements.

I've kept my Olympus E-1 and Nikon F because I know they are good cameras and I might want to use them again sometime. 🙂

G

 

[wlewisiii]

Canon Sold More EF DSLRs in 2024 Than Fujifilm Sold Total Digital Cameras - Petapixel​

EF - THE ZOMBIE LENS MOUNT THAT WOULD NOT DIE

Canon Sold More DSLRs in 2024 Than Fujifilm Sold Total Digital Cameras

While the DSLR market is shrinking, it's still quite large, and Canon owns nearly all of it.

petapixel.com

For 2024 Canon sold 790,000 EF mount DSLRs. Nikon sold 70,000 DSLRs, Pentax less than 10,000.

"Canon sold more EF DSLRs in 2024 than most camera companies sold digital cameras in total, including Fujifilm (740,000), Panasonic (280,000), OM Digital (160,000), and Ricoh Imaging (70,000)"

Damn, all of that success for a DSLR lineup whose last new EF lens was introduced in 2018, the last EF SLR in 2020.

UNDUCKINGBELIEVABLE

Looking at the Canon USA website,
apparently Canon's hard won USA DSLR marketplace victory came via an outstanding lineup
of only ONE full frame DSLR -- the venerable EOS EF 5D Mark IV
complete with a whopping 30.3 megapickles of utterly astounding 2016 technology.
The EF DSLR best seller is apparently the APS-C EF EOS Rebel T7 with 24.1 megapickles

This is an astounding marketing victory for Canon.
If your horses are slow and aged, they still win if the race is about love.

Good humor, but I'll stick to being a recent convert to Pentax APS-C DSLRs. My K-3 is the chef's kiss. Much more enjoyable than any mirrorless I've tried.

 

[wlewisiii]

Amen. Before I bought the R6II last summer I was considering going Sony. But after handling an A7IV I knew within 10 seconds it wasn't going to happen. Felt awful in my hands.
Picking up the Canon, ahh there it is 🙂

Agree that Sony feels _wrong_ somehow but for me, it's my K-3 that just feels that way.

 

[Archiver]

Good humor, but I'll stick to being a recent convert to Pentax APS-C DSLRs. My K-3 is the chef's kiss. Much more enjoyable than any mirrorless I've tried.

As someone with a sentimental connection with Pentax via my dad's camera, and a residual liking for DSLR's, I intend to check out the K3 III sooner or later.

 

[Dogman]

Canon is successful at marketing and building what people want. The Rebel series was brilliant from inception and still fulfills most of the needs of the "average" camera buyer. We all have easily accessed cameras in our phones but some people like the idea of a separate, single function device. Canon's cameras are well built, well priced and fit those "average" person's hands really well. I don't recall Canon menus as being undecipherable--that's a big plus to those "average" people. Some people just wanna take a picture with a "real" camera and don't care much for the trappings of advanced photography. They just wanna step away from the phone for a while.

........................

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Not surprised.
I wonder how many R ones where sold.
I stepped in to it for two years,
it was AI instead of brain experience.
Since my brain doesn't need AI support for focusing and exposure, I ditched R/RF and enjoying 5D2 with L lenses.
I prefer OVF and video is so much easier with mobile phone.

Cosina needs to consider EF mount again, BTW. Not by Zeiss brand , but Vone.

 

[JohnGellings]

As long as a camera company is making $, they don´t need to sell the most.

 

[Coldkennels]

That's it right there. When most people think of cameras they think SLR, and the bigger they are the more expensive and "better" they must be.

This is exactly it.

At my last full-time job, when it was time to upgrade the in-house camera equipment, the incoming son of the company president took it upon himself to buy the company the new camera gear... and it was a Canon Rebel of some kind. This was ~2015, and even though I was advocating hard for Fuji's X bodies, the DSLR was the "real" camera, and therefore the only choice.

This is still happening now; I met a friend of a friend at a party earlier in the year who's started a new gin business and also bought a DSLR of some kind to do his own product photography. He could have gotten a much better deal and a much more versatile kit with literally any mirrorless option, but again, he wanted to do it "properly".

For a lot of people, a DSLR is the only "serious" camera. Mirrorless cameras are seen more of a modern version of the early fixed-lens compact digital cameras, and not the DSLR replacements enthusiasts and professionals view them as. Old habits die hard.

 

[aw614]

This is exactly it.

At my last full-time job, when it was time to upgrade the in-house camera equipment, the incoming son of the company president took it upon himself to buy the company the new camera gear... and it was a Canon Rebel of some kind. This was ~2015, and even though I was advocating hard for Fuji's X bodies, the DSLR was the "real" camera, and therefore the only choice.

This is still happening now; I met a friend of a friend at a party earlier in the year who's started a new gin business and also bought a DSLR of some kind to do his own product photography. He could have gotten a much better deal and a much more versatile kit with literally any mirrorless option, but again, he wanted to do it "properly".

For a lot of people, a DSLR is the only "serious" camera. Mirrorless cameras are seen more of a modern version of the early fixed-lens compact digital cameras, and not the DSLR replacements enthusiasts and professionals view them as. Old habits die hard.

You forgot the long zoom lens is seen as more professional...seen it at some antique shops, where the 50mm F1.4 lens is noticeably cheaper than the 80-200 zoom lens next to it.

 

[rick oleson]

I'm pleased and not too surprised. I have a mirrorless Olympus M5 that I really love - all metal, moisture sealed, very compact, in body image stabilization, excellent performance all around. I use it most often with Canon EF lenses on a Fotodiox autofocusing adapter, a super combination. I only really have one complaint about it:

it DEVOURS batteries. I have four batteries and have to carry them all if I'm going out for any length of time. In an attempt to mitigate this issue, Olympus designed the camera to shut down totally after several minutes, which is some help but which also means a significant delay if I need to shoot when it's not ready. If I take that same Canon lens and put it back on the DSLR, I have a camera that's always ready, I can leave it on and it goes to sleep but will instantly wake up for a grab shot at any time, and there's never the slightest risk of the camera quitting due to a dead or dying battery.

So when I'm just shooting for fun, very often I'll be using the mirrorless - but when I really need everything to work all the time, it's back to the DSLR.

 

[Godfrey]

I was looking for something yesterday and digging through my box of FourThirds format gear to find it. Figured I'd make a photo of the system since it was all out of the storage box...

Olympus FourThirds Format Gear 2025​

So, two bodies, six lenses, couple other bits. The E-1 I bought used in 2006, still working perfectly. The E-M1 I bought new in 2013, also still working perfectly. These two bodies have recorded over 20,000 exposures since I got them. Five of my exhibition recognition awards came from photos I made with this kit.

Thinking of Rick's note, hmm. Neither of these bodies uses up batteries excessively; in fact they last as long as a charged battery in my M10-R or M10 Monochrom (both of which last just short of forever on a charge). I normally have the battery saving power-down turned off (standard part of all Olympus µFT bodies since they came out, just Olympus being conservative about power consumption with LCD viewfinder usage, I suspect). Don't know about the M5 body, but that battery problem sounds odd. I'd look at evaluating it with native Olympus lenses (and hopefully original Olympus batteries) vs the Fofodiox and Canon EF lens. I have noticed that third-party batteries never last as long as the original OEM in most any camera, particularly after a few months of use.

I had two Canon cameras over the years ... a Canon 10D DSLR, and a Canon point and shoot of some description a little later. Both made fine photos, but I never found the Canon lenses to be very "interesting" in terms of rendering qualities. They were always technically fine, but didn't have the subtle nuances that I'd always liked in Nikon, Leica, Pentax, and Olympus gear. Eh? ... Diff'rent strokes. 🙂

I'd still have no issues shooting paid assignments with this gear. 😀

G

 

[Archiver]

I was looking for something yesterday and digging through my box of FourThirds format gear to find it. Figured I'd make a photo of the system since it was all out of the storage box...

Olympus FourThirds Format Gear 2025​

So, two bodies, six lenses, couple other bits. The E-1 I bought used in 2006, still working perfectly. The E-M1 I bought new in 2013, also still working perfectly. These two bodies have recorded over 20,000 exposures since I got them. Five of my exhibition recognition awards came from photos I made with this kit.

Thinking of Rick's note, hmm. Neither of these bodies uses up batteries excessively; in fact they last as long as a charged battery in my M10-R or M10 Monochrom (both of which last just short of forever on a charge). I normally have the battery saving power-down turned off (standard part of all Olympus µFT bodies since they came out, just Olympus being conservative about power consumption with LCD viewfinder usage, I suspect). Don't know about the M5 body, but that battery problem sounds odd. I'd look at evaluating it with native Olympus lenses (and hopefully original Olympus batteries) vs the Fofodiox and Canon EF lens. I have noticed that third-party batteries never last as long as the original OEM in most any camera, particularly after a few months of use.

I had two Canon cameras over the years ... a Canon 10D DSLR, and a Canon point and shoot of some description a little later. Both made fine photos, but I never found the Canon lenses to be very "interesting" in terms of rendering qualities. They were always technically fine, but didn't have the subtle nuances that I'd always liked in Nikon, Leica, Pentax, and Olympus gear. Eh? ... Diff'rent strokes. 🙂

I'd still have no issues shooting paid assignments with this gear. 😀

G

Back in the day, I was looking for a more compact alternative to my Canon 30D, and checked out the E-410, which was intended to be the smallest DSLR on the market. It also contemplated getting an E-3 with the 12-60mm for more purposeful shooting. The E410's output turned out to be a bit disappointing, so I never went that way, sticking with the 30D, then getting a 5D Mark II with 24-105 a couple of years later. Micro four thirds came on to the scene but I didn't get into it until the E-M5, which became quite the revelation, and I subsequently purchased five other m43 bodies and many lenses. My next m43 body is likely to be the GH7. So Olympus did lead me on to another path, just not the way that they might have wanted.

As for Canon DSLR's, I still use my 30D for sports and the 5D Mark II for other bits and pieces. The thought of getting a couple of upgraded bodies like the 90D and 5D Mark IV is intriguing, too.

 

[Godfrey]

Back in the day, I was looking for a more compact alternative to my Canon 30D, and checked out the E-410, which was intended to be the smallest DSLR on the market. It also contemplated getting an E-3 with the 12-60mm for more purposeful shooting. The E410's output turned out to be a bit disappointing, so I never went that way, sticking with the 30D, then getting a 5D Mark II with 24-105 a couple of years later. Micro four thirds came on to the scene but I didn't get into it until the E-M5, which became quite the revelation, and I subsequently purchased five other m43 bodies and many lenses. My next m43 body is likely to be the GH7. So Olympus did lead me on to another path, just not the way that they might have wanted.

As for Canon DSLR's, I still use my 30D for sports and the 5D Mark II for other bits and pieces. The thought of getting a couple of upgraded bodies like the 90D and 5D Mark IV is intriguing, too.

Over the years, I had a passle of other FourThirds and Micro-FourThirds cameras. Can't remember them all, but the Panasonic G1 and GF1, the Panasonic L1, the Olympus E-5, and two or three other Olympus and Panasonic bodies come to mind. I gave one whole kit of these (body and four lenses) to my partner's niece when she started High School; she's still using them today in her third year at College.

Which simply proves to me that I've bought and sold way too much equipment over the years. Oh well...

G