Canon Finally Discontinues the EOS M Camera System
Canon is finally shutting the door on the EOS M system as it has removed the cameras from its websites and listed the series as discontinued.
Update 10/20: Canon USA has officially confirmed that the EOS M system has been discontinued.
“Shipments in the USA region have been terminated. The EOS M series lenses and accessories will no longer be available in 2023 along with the discontinuation of the EOS M series cameras,” the company tells PetaPixel.
“We will prepare the services of the M series camera category in accordance with our internal regulations and for a certain period of time after the completion of the main unit sales. We will deal with it so as not to cause you any trouble.”
Original story below.
While Canon USA still lists EF-M lenses on its website, all but one are “out of stock” — only the 22mm f/2 STM lens can still be purchased. Given that the Canon no longer lists any EOS M cameras on its web store, it seems unlikely that the company will restock these lenses.
Though Canon USA simply removed listings for the cameras from its website, Canon Japan went one step further. As reported by Canon Rumors, the EOS M series of cameras is now filed under the company’s “old products” or “discontinued products” page. All of Canon’s EOS M cameras can be found here, including the most recent addition to the line, the EOS M50 Mark II (which is known as the EOS Kiss M2 in Japan) which was announced in the fall of 2020.
As is typically the case with discontinuations, Canon did not make a public announcement, instead choosing to quietly set the mirrorless APS-C camera line out to pasture.
Canon USA did not explicitly confirm the move, but tells PetaPixel, “At present, sales of EOS M series cameras and EF-M lenses vary from region to region depending on user needs.”
Apparently, sales varying in regions means outright removal in two of the company’s largest territories.
Goodnight, Sweet Prince
The writing has been on the wall for some time. It had long been anticipated that Canon would move on from the EOS M line, its first foray into mirrorless, once the RF mount was announced. It has been generally understood that the EOS M series hasn’t sold well in North America but it has been quite popular in Japan which no doubt slowed down what would have been a far swifter discontinuation of the line.
The “death knell” for EOS M came earlier this year, however, with the announcement of the R100.
“The Canon EOS R100 camera was designed for new, first-time mirrorless camera or existing interchangeable camera users who previously enjoyed EOS Rebel or EOS M cameras,” Canon said at the time. PetaPixel noted that this language all but definitively stated that the purpose of the camera was to replace both its DSLR and EOS M lines.
Fans of the EOS M line have loudly complained that the RF mount isn’t ready to be a replacement yet, however, as the lens support is significantly lacking in comparison to what was available for EF-M. While Canon has released a few APS-C RF camera bodies, the RF-S lens line is small and includes only three lenses, all of which are zooms with variable apertures — none of them are fast.
That fact has not stayed Canon’s hand and the EOS M will be phased out across all of its regions in short order.
Image credits: Elements of header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
