In a new interview with the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, one of the five major newspapers of Japan, Canon CEO, President, and Chairman, Fujio Mitarai, stated that the company’s development and production of flagship DSLRs will be wound down within a few years.

“Canon’s SLR flagship model is known as the ‘EOS-1’ series, the first of which appeared in 1989,” the article states. “The latest model ‘EOS-1D X Mark III’ released in 2020 will be the last model in fact.” The interview was part of a longer article regarding the overall state of the camera market and its rapid switch to mirrorless technologies. “The market needs are acceleratingly shifting to mirrorless cameras,” Mitarai states in the interview. “In line with this, we are steadily shifting people.”

The Canon 1D X Mark III was announced in January 2020 with a price tag of $6,499, and it continues to be a popular choice among professional photographers at major media outlets. Canon’s service facility at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan was stocked with row after row of the flagship DSLR.

The story of the EOS-1 SLR series started back in 1989 with the original EOS-1. Five years later, Canon would go on to release the EOS-1N, which was followed six years later by the updated EOS-1V. From there, Canon made the switch to digital, with the first DSLR being its EOS-1D, which was effectively an EOS-1V with a 4.1MP APS-H CCD sensor inside. Since then, Canon has released 11 other digital EOS-1 camera systems.

While Canon’s EOS-1 lineup will likely continue in some form with its mirrorless cameras, the mirrored days of the historic lineup appear to be over so far as Canon is concerned. It’s upward and onward to the mirrorless future. As for smaller DSLR cameras, Mitarai doesn’t specifically mention whether or not we can expect new DSLRs, but does say ‘Demand for beginner and intermediate SLR cameras is strong overseas, so we plan to continue development and production for the time being.’

More info on Yomiuri’s website.