Canon closed out 2025 with a streak of products that managed to surprise in different ways: a hybrid camera that balanced resolution, speed and video chops, a cinema camera with an impressive new sensor, and — perhaps most unexpectedly — an ultra-fast small prime that doesn’t require remortgaging your house.
The star for most pros and enthusiasts was the EOS R6 Mark III. It grabbed PetaPixel’s Camera of the Year and the People’s Choice award, and it’s easy to see why. Canon grafted a new 33MP-ish full-frame sensor (first seen in the C50 cinema body) into a body with class-leading ergonomics, brought serious high-speed shooting to stills with very fast continuous modes, and gave creators video features that lean hard into professional workflows, including 7K RAW and open-gate recording for heavy post work. For photographers who also shoot motion, that sort of cross-over capability is the rare, practical thing everyone asks for but seldom receives in one package. You can read more about the R6 III’s launch and specs in our earlier piece on the camera’s debut Canon’s EOS R6 Mark III Debuts with 32.5MP Sensor, 7K RAW and an Affordable f/1.2 Prime.
Lenses: two stories at once
Canon’s 2025 lens slate felt intentionally split between professional-grade glass and gear aimed at everyday shooters. On one hand, the company expanded its VCM f/1.4 family with showpiece optics — think RF 20mm f/1.4L VCM and RF 85mm f/1.4L VCM — lenses that cater to landscape, night-sky and portrait specialists who prize optical purity.
On the other, Canon surprised the market by releasing an affordable, fast prime: the RF 45mm f/1.2 STM. Its combination of an f/1.2 aperture, compact size and a price that places it well under $500 is almost unheard of from a first-party maker. It’s not glass designed to chase ultimate micro-contrast or the last stop of sharpness at every aperture; it’s designed to give photographers that dreamy shallow depth-of-field look and fast low-light performance without demanding a second mortgage. In short: characterful, light, and very competitively priced compared with Canon’s own L-series 50mm options or third-party f/1.2s that usually trade affordability for manual-focus compromises.
That divergence — flagship L-series tools for pros and small, wallet-friendly, characterful lenses for the masses — is a notable theme. It’s the kind of product mix that both protects Canon’s pro margins and expands its entry points for new shooters.
Video got its own wins
Canon didn’t only chase stills. The EOS C50 brought the 33MP sensor to a cinema body with open-gate recording and professional handling, positioning Canon well in markets where creators want cinematic flexibility without carrying high-end RGB rigs. Meanwhile, smaller cameras like the PowerShot V1 and R50 V aimed squarely at creators and vloggers, showing Canon knows where audience growth is coming from.
What this means for photographers
There’s a practical through-line here: Canon put tools at several different price and capability points on the same map. If you need a hybrid camera that can take 32–33MP stills and record 7K RAW for intensive color and framing work, the R6 Mark III is built for that kind of hybrid life. If you’re a hobbyist who wants gorgeous bokeh and solid low-light speed without investing in the pricey L-series glass, the RF 45mm f/1.2 STM hits a sweet spot.
The company also kept plugging gaps that matter to working photographers: more affordable f/2.8 zoom alternatives, a compact wide-angle, and the quirky but useful decision to remount an older 75–300mm optic for budget telephoto reach. That last move won’t thrill pixel-peepers, but it helps lower the entry barrier for people who want a longer lens without the heavy tab.
Canon’s 2025 output felt balanced: headline-grabbing hybrid cameras and cinema tools, plus a quietly important shift toward lenses that give photographers options at lower prices. It’s not a wholesale reinvention of the brand, and there are still places where rivals lead on dynamic range or third‑party lens breadth. But for anyone watching Canon rebuild momentum across both professional and consumer tiers, 2025 looked like a confident year.
If you’re weighing upgrades or shopping for a first serious camera system, consider where you sit on the photo–video spectrum. The R6 Mark III is a practical jack-of-many-trades, and a small, fast prime like the RF 45mm f/1.2 STM is a reminder that optical character and affordability can coexist. That combination will probably be the most meaningful takeaway for most photographers as prices and expectations continue to shift.