Canon has introduced multiple DSLRs for photographers from every walk of life. The company has the Rebel series, designed for beginners, the 90D or the 6D for semi-professionals, and the 5D and 1D series for professionals. The company has already discontinued a variety of DSLRs, and the most recent to join the list is the 1DX Mark III. Here’s a look at the story.

First reported by Asobinet and then Canon Rumors, the 1DX Mark III will no longer be in production. The camera is still mentioned on the company’s Japan website, but when you click on it, you see the ‘discontinued’ tag. Canon USA does not even have a listing for a new model, but rather the refurbished 1DX Mark III.

What’s interesting is that the camera says discontinued on the website, but when you look up the dedicated page for discontinued products on Japan’s website, you can’t see the model on it. Perhaps the company will add the report soon on the official page, but the cessation of production for this model has also raised the question of how long the 5D Mark IV will continue to be manufactured.

For the uninitiated, the 1DX Mark III was announced in 2019, while the 5D Mark IV was announced three years earlier, in 2016. The former offered a 20MP full-frame sensor, 191 AF points, and a burst shoot of 16fps. While it could record 4K/60fps videos. However, Canon was also making a move to mirrorless not long after, with the Canon EOS R being the first camera to reach that milestone. With the R in place and the 9-series having some superb performance, the 1DX Mark III became a niche camera.

Canon, however, has continued to build the legacy of the 1DX series with the introduction of the R1, a mirrorless flagship for sports photographers. While we didn’t test the 1DX Mark III, we instead tested the 1DX and the R1. And in both cases, the cameras, while having good performance, still leave a lot to be desired. People may not go after the 1DX Mark III today, but they will certainly opt for the R1, which, as we said, can’t recognize people of color in low light. This and the lower megapixel count will truly urge people to go ahead with the a1 II instead.

Sure, this is the end of an era, but this also means a new beginning for Canon. The company has been facing challenges for a while now in the camera domain, and its new offerings do not seem as impressive. With room for development, Canon can turn things around and perhaps create a camera that is so great that it leaves the 5D series behind.