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I was planning to buy Canon T4i with 18-135 mm EF-S lens, but I came to know today, that this model is being discontinued.

Are there any downsides of buying a product, when it is being discontinued?

I do not want to go for T5i, as it only comes with STM lens, which I don't see to have that many benefits over EF-S for photos (and there's this price thing too), as I read that main feature for STM is enhancements for video.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ More info on the STM lens part of the question can be found here - What does STM mean on a Canon lens? \$\endgroup\$
    – dpollitt
    Commented Jun 11, 2013 at 13:29
  • \$\begingroup\$ possible duplicate of What is the difference between the Canon Rebel T4i and T5i? \$\endgroup\$
    – dpollitt
    Commented Jun 11, 2013 at 13:29
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    \$\begingroup\$ Just to note, Canon will still service the 20D, which is nearly a decade old. Canon doesn't discontinue support for a very, very long time. \$\endgroup\$
    – Chinmay Kanchi
    Commented Jun 11, 2013 at 14:59
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    \$\begingroup\$ Also, the 18-55 STM is supposed to be very,very good optically. The price jump is probably justified in that context. Of course, nothing stops you from buying the T4i body-only at a large discount and buying the 18-55 STM separately, saving some money. \$\endgroup\$
    – Chinmay Kanchi
    Commented Jun 11, 2013 at 16:59
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    \$\begingroup\$ The T4i is the 650D, but you have tagged your question 600D, which is the T3i. You might want to clarify which you are actually referring to. \$\endgroup\$
    – ThatGraemeGuy
    Commented Dec 30, 2013 at 9:09

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The T4i camera body is basically identical to the T5i, the T4i is discontinued because there's no reason to build both.

Older models are usually discontinued, there's no issue in getting one, the T4i is still a relatively new camera and is fully supported (and the pictures it takes are just as good as they were before it was discontinued).

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There's nothing wrong with buying a discontinued product. Actually, people do it all the time. Take the Canon T2i for instance. That thing is STILL selling. I would actually recommend buying a t4i, and then saving the extra money to buy some nice lenses. Because, honestly (any photographer who knows what he's talking about will tell you this), it all depends on the lens. Okay, maybe not ALL of it, but a good portion of it. You can still squeeze some mileage out of a 5-year-old camera, and still make the pictures look great! So, answering your question, it's fine to buy a discontinued camera. Since there's hardly any difference between the t4i and t5i (besides the price) then the t4i is probably your camera :)

Hope that helped! -Michael

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There is no issue getting a discontinued body if it meets your needs. It will still get support, there just isn't a reason for them to keep making more of them.

Also, if the lens is the only reason you prefer one over the other, you may be better off buying a body only version rather than a kit. Kit lenses are generally near worthless anyway so you are often better buying the body and then buying the lenses you want separately.

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As others have mentioned, new models always replace older ones and it's not usually anything to be concerned with, the old model will be perfectly serviceable or they wouldn't have been selling it.

There are also other good reasons to recommend buying a camera once it hits "end of life" and is to be retired from the shelves...

For a start, you can make a more informed purchase as:-

  • Any stock you buy will have had any manufacturing kinks worked out.
  • Third parties will have real-world data on the performance of their products.
  • A large body of user experience with that specific model will be available on sites like this one.
  • Any problems that come to light through real-world usage will be well known.

As a case in point, read up on the story of the Nikon D600. A camera which looks great on paper (and is nice to use btw) but some issues that have arisen with dust/oil spots have meant it has been replaced by the D610 in fairly short order.

Finally, it makes sense economically in that you will be paying less for a camera that you'd have been happy to pay full price for only a couple of week/months ago. You're still getting the same equipment, just with a bit of cash left over to put towards other things like a better lens or accessory.

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