When it comes to Canon’s control of the RF mount, we have no idea what third-party agreements with Canon entail. How much money do these companies have to pay Canon? How strict is Canon as far as performance requirements? What sort of lenses might third party manufacturers not be allowed to make for the mount? We have no idea and probably never will, Canon is notoriously coy about their business decisions. As you all know, Canon has allowed autofocus RF mount for APS-C cameras and both Sigma and Tamron make a selection of prime and zoom lenses. I think part of the reason is Canon may not have figured out their ‘RF-S’ strategy, or they simply don’t want to make a bunch of crop lenses. A lot of people around here agree that Canon’s current strategy is working just fine from a sales point of view, and that may be truer than not. Canon seems to be selling more and more lenses every year.
I’ll give one personal observation on the topic.
There is a possibility that third-party autofocus full-frame lenses embraced by the likes of Sony could be a factor in getting younger generations into the brand. I have mentioned before that the younger shooters I see out and about are more often carrying a full-frame Sony camera than any other brand. Again, that’s just my own observation.
I don’t want to start some kind of firestorm or beat a dead horse, I just think the information is good once I consider the source.