Canon EF lens mount lifecycle

[wilcal]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_EF_lens_mount

I've a general question concerning the longevity
of the Canon EF lens mount. According to the
above Wiki EF was introduced in 1987 and continues
on today. What in your opinion are the chances
of Canon moving on to something else? If you
had to do it again are there any shortcomings
in the EF mount that would motivate Canon to
move on to the next lens mount design? 25+
years for a design of any kind is a very long
technological lifespan.

 

[David W. Jones]

I highly doubt that Canon would scrap the EF mount, considering all of their DSLR bodies and lenses have one.

If you are sticking with Canon cameras I would not worry. But if you are considering a move to a more professional camera in the future, then PL mount glass would be what I would invest in.

 

[Kin Lau]

The EF mount is among the youngest of the AF SLR mounts, only the 4/3 is younger, and that's not a true SLR mount. The Sony/Minolta/Konica A-mount, Pentax K-mount, Nikon F-mount are all older AF mounts, some by many decades.

At some point, Canon will introduce their mirrorless camera/mount, but that will not replace the EF mount.

Considering the 1D X was just announced today, the EF mount is here to stay for a while.

 

[Samuel H]

what Kin Lau said (there will be a new mirrorless mount, but EF will live on, and in any case there will be nice electronic adapters to the mirrorless mount, as with Sony A and E)

 

[deltoidjohn]

EF mount is not going anywhere soon. Canon could not discontinue the EF mount without alienating their entire customer base (for the 2nd time). Lens mounts are not something that changes often. This is something you should not even concern yourself with when purchasing a DSLR and lenses.

The Nikon F-mount has been around since the 60's.

 

[Zissou]

lol i would not worry about it; i shoot with Canon HDSLR's and Nikon F-mounts (all AF-D primes) with a cheap $12 adapter for video, and use the AF-D lenses for stills with my Nikon DSLR's for stills (T2i's are for video-only to me, D3s and D300 are stills only cameras, but i shoot photography in a high framerate environment where i sometimes rely on 3D AF tracking, something the T2i's cannot do, and something Nikon (Tracking, and AF in general) does better (I started with Canon DSLR's and switched to Nikon because of their AF systems, metering systems, and flash/speedlite systems being superior in terms of how i use them). I own no Canon glass besides the 18-55 kit lens i got with a used T2i (that i never use).

Nikons' F-mount is ancient, but completely functional today. all of my AF-D lenses are 'de-clicked' so aperture control is infinitely variable, and they still register with my Nikon DSLR bodies. No reason to assume Canons' EF system is going anywhere for a while. And with Magic Lantern, no real need for any worries; full manual control is awesome.