When it comes to Canon cameras and lenses, I’m a bit of a curmudgeon. I’ve never found Canon cameras of any era to be ergonomic, logically designed, or intuitive to use. When handed something from Canon, there’s more of a huh rather than a wow.
Years ago, I spoke with a Canon rep and he said the company only wanted to sell lenses; cameras of any type were merely a vehicle to sell more glass. That explains why Canon film bodies that I used did not instill confidence. While the lenses felt solid, I was unsure the Canon body would be able to get the next shot without breaking. All versions of the Canon 5D were utterly alien and creatively compromised to a level where I could quantify the time my team fixed camera image issues in post (but it had a good EF mount). The Canon 1D was a mess ergonomically, but great to stabilize obnoxiously large EF telephotos and zooms. Canon’s video cameras were bizarre and weird to kit out and use, but that EF lens mount was admittedly handy. EF mount specifics aside, my opinion of Canon glass isn’t great either. EF lenses are too big and were for the longest time, too slow. Subjectively, I’ve never been inspired by the “look” of Canon zooms including B4-broadcast lenses and side-by-sides of Canon to any brand of cinema glass. Yes, I own a B4 Canon lens, but it just feels cheap.
Admittedly, I have not worked with the current generation of mirrorless Canon gear, but decades of disappointment have kept me away. So when reviewers use Canon as a benchmark, I am confident that what they’re complaining about isn’t a shortcoming; it is likely a vast improvement.
All is not lost: I did like one compact digital camera and their color laser printers were nice.