DSLRBodies

It’s not often these days that we have an “eventful” week with DSLRs, but the past week produced two eyebrow raising bits to be aware of.

First, Nikon introduced firmware 1.30 for their D850 DSLR. This new firmware adds the Portrait Impression Balance feature to your choices when creating out-of-camera images (it’s not particularly relevant to raw files, though it may change the white balance preconditioning data slightly). That Nikon is adding features to a body that is now over five years old is encouraging, and suggests that the company is still paying attention to the users of that camera and wishes to extend its sales life.

On the other hand, the Canon 1DX Mark II seems to be on its way off sales (the Mark III is the current version). B&H [advertiser link] and some others are now offering a US$2000 (33%) discount on this still excellent DSLR. This is a limited time offer, though it’s unclear how limited (probably by supply more than calendar). 

Note that DSLRs aren’t dead: close to 2m of them were shipped (mostly by Canon and Nikon) in 2022. However, we’re now in the portion of the life curve where continued sales deterioration is likely to occur on a rapid basis. During 2022, DSLRs fell to just under one third the ILC shipments (mirrorless was the other two-thirds). Moreover, the average selling price of DSLRs is now significantly below that of mirrorless bodies, which means a lot of the continuing DSLR volume is still in the lower-end consumer products. 

Still, it’s heartening to hear any DSLR news these days, as it’s not the primary product the camera companies want to sell you.

It's both tough and easy to recommend new DSLR cameras for the Holiday 2022 season. Tough because models are being discontinued and camera makers would rather you buy a mirrorless camera. Easy because its easy to point out the few DSLRs that still are at the top of the game and useful.

I've updated the camera section of this site to more properly identify the true "current" cameras versus older cameras for Nikon.

Canon

Canon's remaining DSLR lineup in the US these days appears to be:

• EF-S (APS-C sensor)— Rebel T100, Rebel T7, SL3, Rebel T8i, 80D, 90D, 7D
• EF (full frame sensor) — 6D Mark II, 5D Mark IV, 5DS R, 1DX Mark II

Some of these are only still available in kits, some appear to just be lingering inventory (7D, 5DS R). 

It's getting more difficult for me to recommend any of the Canon DSLRs, as many are starting to age poorly, to the point where I'd tend to say "just buy mirrorless" if you thought you wanted one of them. But here are my late 2022 recommendations:

• EF-S user (other than 7D) looking to upgrade in EF-S: buy a 90D. It's the most up-to-date EF-S model, and it's very competent at a reasonable price. 
• 7D user looking to upgrade: Sorry, but it's time to move to mirrorless, and the R7 is your answer.
• EF user looking to upgrade (e.g. earlier 5D, 6D users): The only camera still worth looking at in my opinion is the 5D Mark IV. I suppose if you were on one of the oldest 5D's and Canon's discounting this holiday were aggressive, the 6D Mark II might come into play, but I'd strongly suggest that if you are an EF user looking to stay an EF user, you should get the best EF all-around camera that was made, and that's the 5D Mark IV.

Pros shouldn't be afraid of the 1DX Mark II. If you're using any of the earlier 1D's and can tolerate 20mp, this camera is an excellent upgrade choice, especially since Canon has been off-and-on discounting stock.

Nikon

Nikon's remaining DSLR lineup these days is:

• DX — D3500*, D5600*, D7500
• FX — D780, D850, D6

That's not what the NikonUSA Web site says, and even my short list is deceptive. The D500 is still obtainable via gray market, for example, and the remaining D3500 and D5600 units tend to be in and out of stock (thus my asterisks). My guess is that the D7500 will be the last DX standing, and once it is gone, we'll be down to just the three FX DSLRs.

Thus, if you're a Nikon DSLR user, want to remain one, and are in the market for upgrading this holiday season, I'm only going to have three recommendations for most of you:

• DX user (other than D500) looking to upgrade in DX: buy a D7500, stat. It's an undervalued camera capable of excellent results, and a bit of a bargain. 
• D500 user looking to upgrade in DSLR: consider a D850. You'll still have a 19mp DX coverage, but you get the benefits of one of the best full frame cameras made. 
• FX user (D600, D610, D700, D750, Df) looking to upgrade: buy a D850. It's still the best all-around DSLR you can buy. 

If you're willing to gamble a bit, a gray market D500 is still a remarkably good camera for the lower-body DX owners to move up to. It'll just be more difficult to get repaired if you drop it. 

Pros shouldn't be afraid of the D6. If you're still using a D3 or D4, the D6 is definitely an upgrade. The focus system alone just works far better. But workflow is also better, SnapBridge and GPS are built-in, and the video capabilities are better, too. The D6 is still built like a brick, and still has all the bells and whistles you expect. And if you haven't tried a 120-300mm f/2.8E VR lens on the D6, you're in for some wonderful surprises. 

Lenses

Here's the thing: DSLR lenses are slowly going out of production, across the board. EF-S and DX lens production have been cut by everyone in order to use parts and manufacturing facilities for mirrorless lenses. Overall, Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina are all cutting back on DSLR lenses, both crop sensor and full frame, but particularly crop sensor. This holiday may be your last best chance at picking up new copies of many lenses you desire.

The DSLR-to-mirrorless transition is putting a lot of EF and F mount lenses on the used market, despite the fact that both Canon and Nikon encourage their continued use on mirrorless through lens adapters. In Nikon's case, their Z System lenses have generally been clearly and obviously better than their F-mount equivalents, which is sparking a lot of Z-mount lens buying and F-mount lens dumping. 

This holiday season is probably a good time to pick up used lens bargains. Why? Because once the largest portion of the herd has moved to the mirrorless pasture, the DSLR lens dumping will lessen, and people are going to discover that a lot of those lenses are actually more valuable than the lowest prices they fetched when they hit the used market during the stampede. 

There's some continuing confusion about which Canon EF and Nikon F-mount lenses are in production and which aren't. This isn't helped by the fact that the various Canon and Nikon subsidiaries around the world seem to have a different set of lenses still available. It's unclear whether that's lingering inventory or something else is going on, such as targeted distribution. 

I vote for something else; I've seen products suddenly pop back up on sale after long periods of apparent discontinuation. I think this has to do with production facilities and how many units the companies think it takes to be worth restoring a production line temporarily. 

That said, the UK's Amateur Photographer just put together a list of 30 EF-mount Canon and 35 F-mount Nikkors they believe to be out of production, so it's worth taking a look at those lists and then formulating some conclusions. 

Nikon F-Mount

I'm going to start with Nikon and split the presentation into three lists (DX, D, and G) so as to make things a little clearer. Here's what AP said was "discontinued":

DX

• 10.5mm f/2.8G (it's also D)
• 12-24mm f/4G
• 16-80mm f/2.8-4E
• 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G
• 17-55mm f/2.8G
• 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G II
• 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II
• 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-P
• 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G
• 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II
• 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G 
• 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR
• 55-200mm f/4-5.6 VR II
• 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G
• 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G

D

• 14mm f/2.8
• 16mm f/2.8 fisheye
• 20mm f/2.8
• 24mm f/2.8
• 28mm f/2.8
• 35mm f/2
• 50mm f/1.4
• 60mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor
• 105mm f/2 DC
• 135mm f/2 DC
• 180mm f/2.8
• 200mm f/4 Micro-Nikkor

Other G

• 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G
• 24-70mm f/2.8G
• 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G
• 60mm f/2.8G Micro-Nikkor
• 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II
• 70-200mm f/4G
• 70-300mm f/4-5.6G
• 105mm f/2.8G VR II Micro-Nikkor

You probably noticed the bold items in this list. Those are lenses still listed as available new by NikonUSA! 

Which brings us to the confusion. Different Nikon subsidiaries are listing available lenses differently, with Japan itself being probably the most assertive in reducing their available lens list. (Nikon Japan tends to also have a sliding policy that takes a lens from Discontinued to Not Available to Archived, which in itself causes confusion elsewhere in the world.) Some lenses not on AP's list of 35 discontinued lenses are apparently no longer available in Japan. The 85mm f/3.5G DX Micro-Nikkor, for instance (still available in the US, too). 

NikonUSA and its Nikon Inc. brethren (basically Nikon North America, which includes a bit that's not North American) are about one third of Nikon's global market. Historically, North America seems to be last in discontinuing older products, for reasons I'm not 100% sure of. 

Canon EF Mount

AP's "discontinued" Canon lens list looks like this:

EF-S

• 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6
• 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
• 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6
• 35mm f/2.8 Macro
• 60mm f/2.8 Macro

EF

• 14mm f/2.8L (II in stock)
• 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6
• 20mm f/2.8
• 24mm f/2.8
• 24-70mm f/4L
• 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6
• 28mm f/1.8
• 28mm f/2.8
• 40mm f/2.8
• 45mm f/2.8 TS-E
• 70-200mm f/2.8L II
• 70-200mm f/4L (both versions)
• 70-300mm f/4-5.6L
• 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO
• 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III
• 85mm f/1.2L
• 89mm f/2.8 TS-E
• 100mm f/2
• 100mm f/2.8 Macro
• 180mm f/3.5L Macro
• 200mm f/2.8L
• 300mm f/4L
• 400mm f/5.6L

As with the Nikon list, I've used bold to indicate that these lenses are still listed by CanonUSA as being in stock and available to buy.

Make a Plan

These lists make those who have decided to stick with DSLRs a little bit vulnerable. It's clear that EF- and F-mount lenses are being discontinued, but it's entirely unclear exactly when you'll no longer to be able to get specific lenses. The discontinuation of many Canon macro and Nikon Micro-Nikkors, for instance—only one older FX model is available in the US now, for instance—means that the used market or third party lenses will become the only sources for DSLR macro optics in the near future. 

In crop-sensor DSLRs, it seems that Nikon's being more aggressive short term in discontinuing lenses for them (DX) than Canon is (EF-S). I'd say that this seems to indicate that Nikon will remove all DX DSLRs from their lineup before Canon removes all the EF-S DSLRs from theirs. But plans change quickly during transitions, so I wouldn't 100% count on that if you're a Canon EF-S user.

Plus it's unclear how long the third party lens companies will keep their DSLR lens lines intact, too, particularly with crop sensor lenses.

Thus, you have to assess what camp you're in with lenses, and start making plans now. I see three distinct groups forming:

1. Already have the lenses you want/need. Bravo. You need take no action, and you'll find that the exotic EF- and F-mount lenses are coming down in used prices, so you might find something enticing in the near term that extends your kit at the telephoto end.
2. Have some lens gaps you planned to fill. You need to pay attention to what's going on with F-mount lenses and perhaps move up your purchase timing. If a lens you planned to buy is in bold on the above list, you're going to want to pick that lens up sooner rather than later, as there's no predictability as to when they will no longer be available new. Some dealers may still have new copies of lenses that are not in bold, but once those are gone, you'd have to dip into the used market to pick them up. Time is not on your side. You should be adjusting your purchase plans stat, before your choices get more limited.
3. Just starting out or have lots of long-term lens need. If you're just starting out, you're going to want to fill out your lens set faster than you originally planned (much like those in the previous bullet). Either that or just be prepared to be dipping into the used market to find excellent-rated examples of the lenses you desire (which may save you money, so not all bad). If you currently have just a few lenses but had plans for building out a full lens lineup (the second part of this group), it may be too late for you. The reason I say that is that you're probably financially limited in what you can do short term, which is why you were making long-term plans for acquiring more lenses. I'd again point to the growing used market for you. As more and more Canon and DSLR users switch to mirrorless, the used market will grow for a while longer. Moreover, on the Nikon side these folk are discovering that the new Z-mount optics deliver in ways that go beyond what they're used to, and thus are ending up more aggressive at getting rid of their old F-mount optics than the Canon EF crowd. This is producing plenty of supply in the used Nikkor market, and is pushing used prices downward, especially for the top-end lenses. Take advantage of that.

One other thing to keep in mind: there's an unknown "gray area" that's starting to become evident. That has to do with repairability. In the US, the general standard that's followed is California's: basically companies must offer repairs for products that were in production in the last seven years. 

You can see how that quickly creates a gray area. Some of these lenses that are still available may have been out of production for awhile without us knowing. So the clock started ticking on their repairability without any of us knowing, let alone as to when the clock started. The Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G is potentially a good example of that. I'm sure that production was trimmed, if not stopped, after the 24-70mm f/2.8E was introduced in 2015. But exactly when did the cutoff occur? No one knows. Well, okay, the ones that know won't tell you. So some of the lenses on the above list are potentially non-repairable once the warranty is exhausted (remember when NikonUSA dropped their 4-year automatic warranty extension? ;~). 

Of course, some of the really old lenses on the list, such as the Nikon 24mm f/2.8D, are simpler lenses that independent repair shops might be able to fix using scavenged parts. Just realize that for discontinued lenses, there is an expiration date for when NikonUSA will repair them. We're already seeing that with bodies, as the D800 and D4 are now out of the seven-year window.

Before you panic, take a deep breath, and remember you're carrying a towel. The recent DSLR bodies (and even many older ones) are robust, produce excellent results, and so do the F-mount or EF-mount lenses for them. Just as some of you are probably driving 10-year+ old autos and are content with that, there will be a time when more of you are using 10-year+ cameras, and will likewise be satisfied. 

So relax, and make your plan for the future. Answer a few simple questions, then adjust your lens expectations as I suggest above. What questions, you ask? Well, this one is sort of a critical one: "will I transition to mirrorless, and if so when do I plan to do that?" 

As always, my In Box is available for quick consultation if you have a specific question.

Update: moved the Canon 60mm f/2.8 macro to the correct category.

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Bonus: As is happening over and over in the world of photography-related Web sites, once one site publishes something that looks like news—in this case Amateur Photographer in the UK—they all follow with their own news-scraping version of it, typically with no added information or analysis whatsoever. This forces sites like mine, which do attempt to improve readers' understanding of what's going on, to have to publish a version that tries to go beyond the "oh no, lenses are disappearing" level of reporting. 

NikonUSA is now (starting Monday May 30th) promoting a number of key DSLR lenses at strong discounts:

• 200-500mm f/5.6E — US$340 instant rebate reduces the price to US$1059. This is the budget zoom telephoto to own. Competent at all focal lengths, hand-holdable, and at this price, a bargain.
• 24-70mm f/2.8E — US$500 instant rebate reduces the price to US$1599. This was the best of the mid-range zooms Nikon made, though a little on the "big" side. At this price, everyone would have bought one when it first came out. 
• 70-200mm f/2.8E — US$450 instant rebate reduces the price to US$1899. Sensing a theme? Nikon's put some of their best recent F-mount optics up with substantive discounts. If you're a DSLR user and don't have an f/2.8 telephoto, now's the time to pick one up.
• 500mm f/5.6E — US$300 instant rebate reduces the price to US$3299. This is a solid lens that, due to its fresnel lens, is short and light for the focal length. Very hand holdable. Both DSLR and mirrorless users have this lens in their kit for good reason: it's the best way to get to 500mm with high quality without breaking the bank (or your back). 
• 14-24mm f/2.8G — US$400 instant rebate reduces the price to US$1399. This is a workhorse wide angle zoom that, once you get past the field curvature, can net you great wide angle images in low light. 

Before people start hypothesizing that this is the end of the line for these lenses, consider that the yen/dollar relationship has tilted dramatically in the dollar's favor recently. That, coupled with the fact that Nikon probably would like to clear out some F-mount inventory they've been building up probably explains these deep discounts. Oh, and Nikon controls most of the parts in these lenses, and thus likely doesn't have the supply chain problems they have with some of their camera offerings. 

Other than perhaps the 200-500mm, I don't expect these lenses to go away any time soon. The three f/2.8 lenses, for instance, really need to stick around to sell the FX DSLRs out through 2026 as Nikon expects. And the 500mm f/5.6E fills a role in both the F-mount and on an FTZ adapter on the Z-mount. 

So, sales like this are a way of taking advantage of Nikon's short-term tactical shifts. 

Click this link to purchase one of these lenses from this site's exclusive advertiser.

Let's look at the Nikon DSLR lineup as of today:

• D3500 — readily available
• D5600 — body only is drifting in and out of inventory, but body+lens kits readily available
• D7500 — body only is drifting in and out of inventory, but body+lens kits readily available
• D500 — limps in and out of inventory; seems to be built in low quantity at the moment
• D780 — readily available
• D850 — has a big discount at the moment; but has been in and out of inventory for months
• D6 — seems to be readily available

Essentially the full current body lineup is available. In the recent past we've seen the Df, D610, D750, and D5 leave the scene. Rumors keep popping up about another DSLR body going out of production, but looking at Nikon's latest financial numbers, they're still selling quite a few DSLRs. The problem for Nikon is that in order to remove a model, they'd need stronger mirrorless offerings at that same or higher position. Realistically, only the D6 has that (Z9), but there's no way the D6 is going away soon. It's a low volume flagship that is likely to be one of the last to leave the building.

That said, Nikon doesn't have much "old model still available" happening in the DSLR lineup anymore. At one point, we had three generations of DSLRs being sold at the same time. Today, it's just the current generation, with the D780 and D850 bodies being the only ones with any instant rebate. I expect that to be a similar story through the rest of this year.

Many F-mount (DSLR) lenses are still available, with NikonUSA showing 90 such lenses still being sold. That list is a little deceptive, though. A number of those are duplicate DX lenses (four 18-55mm!). Some are lenses we've seen discontinued in other countries. The Japanese Web site is probably a better indicator of "still available", and it's listing 83 lenses, though some of those also appear in the "archive" list, which tends to mean production has been stopped even though sales might continue for a short period. 

My best guess is that about 50 F-mount lenses remain in active production at the moment. Old technologies are clearly being slowly removed (e.g. D-type lenses), as are some poor selling G-type lenses. The lenses that seem to be relatively immune from discontinuation are recent E-type lenses. That actually makes some sense, as they're also the ones that work best on the mirrorless bodies (electronic aperture control, not physical). 

The problem, of course, is that "interchangeable lens camera" is a chicken-and-egg proposition: no bodies means that lens sales tank. No lenses means that body sales tank. Nikon seems to be carefully and slowing cleaning the cupboards of their older gear, trying to leave a viable set of body/lens choices that are trimmed down, but not so much winnowed that no one wants to buy into DSLRs at all. 

I don't think 2023 is going to be kind to Nikon DSLRs, at all. Nikon has said that they are now at the point where they can make their desired profit on only 150b yen worth of sales. That's the level of sales Nikon did in their previous fiscal year (April 2020 thru March 2021). In the fiscal year just ended (March 2022), Nikon Imaging was at 178.2b yen in sales. So I think one of the factors with Nikon DSLR continuation is how fast the mirrorless part of the imaging business grows to be close to that 150b mark. They're clearly not there at the moment, and the parts procurement problems prevent them from moving faster on that front, so I suspect we're going to see the DSLR line just continue to slowly winnow for the next three years before we reach the point where Nikon will say "time to close it down." (More on that at the end of the article.)

The tricky part is that D780, D850, and D6 sales compete with the stronger side of the mirrorless line (FX from Z5 to Z9). Nikon's DX DSLR line is actually stronger than their mirrorless DX line, both in bodies and lenses, and that's where a lot of the unit volume is still happening. I believe that about a third of Nikon's ILC body volume is probably in the D3500 to D500 DSLR lineup still. Until Nikon shows a more concerted Z DX effort, I'm not sure how Nikon can transition away from DSLRs. The Z5 to Z9 lineup won't produce that 150b yen sales level on its own, methinks. 

Canon is more difficult to figure, as they have a real scattergun approach to interchangeable lens anything (still or video) as I write this (though that may change with RF S models about to appear, and the recent appearance of cinema RF). Here in the US the Canon DSLR line now seems to be:

• SL3
• T7
• T8i
• 90D
• 6D Mark II
• 5DS R
• 5D Mark IV
• 1D-X Mark III

That's one more model than Nikon is serving, but a lot of those Canon DSLRs are truly limping along in sales at the moment, and I wouldn't expect that many DSLR models by the end of the year still being actively sold in the US. 

Like Nikon, Canon has been cutting out a number of older DSLR lenses. I count 76 EF lenses still being promoted, but only about 50-60 of those seem to be still in serious production. 

Thing is, for the first three months of 2022, it seems that only 56% of the interchangeable lens cameras (ILC) shipped by the Japanese companies were mirrorless, meaning that nearly 44% of the ILC shipped were Canon and Nikon DSLRs. Of course, the average selling price of the mirrorless cameras was well over 4x higher than for those DSLRs. That is the real dilemma for both Canon and Nikon: they're still selling a lot of APS-C (DX) DSLRs, but neither company has a huge mirrorless unit volume going yet. Frankly, no one does. It's why Nikon is pushing Z9's so hard: low volume but high sales price and high profit margin. Sure, they'll only sell 40-50k units in the first year, but those all have a nice markup on them. 50k units also gets Nikon almost 10% of the way to their 150b yen minimum sales need. 

FWIW, Nikon's just published forward estimate of camera sales for the coming fiscal year is basically flat in terms of unit volume (700k ILC, 1.25m lenses), but predicts an 18% increase in revenue and 16% increase in profit. This implies that the mix of cameras and lenses sold will go further upscale from where it currently is. The Z9 is only part of that. It appears that Nikon thinks that at least another model (or models) will pick up their average sales price. Short answer: fewer DX DSLRs, more FX mirrorless.