Canon has delayed the next EOS R5 Mark II shipments by potentially 6 months.

[kaihp]

Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. I admit it's been years since I worked in the retail camera business but when I did, we'd sell more cameras in a week in December than we did in the first calendar quarter of the year. And a lot of those were "My <spouse/SO/etc> wants to get into photography. I've heard about <camera y>. Is that a good choice?" purchases which were not tied to brand identity."

Also, many companies go out and buy things in December to be able to get the tax credit that year.
It's kinda silly, but exists.

 

[Del Paso]

Producing lens caps and hot shoe cover by your own is a sign of hybris and a realy bad omen - remember the other Camera-Manufacturer who did it and escaped bancrupcy by a whisker ...

I remember, also the nicest body caps ever made...up to the M5 (no, not the Canon, the real one!)

 

[John Wilde]

I could imagine the BCN rankings for August will be pretty much the same. And if the R5mkii isn't widely available for six months. And I also wonder how it'll effect the annual stats for 2024... hardly any new lenses, some lenses not available and R5mkii in short supply...

The (worldwide) stats that matter are in Canon's quarterly financial documents. The next report will be in late October, and 2024 as a whole will be reported in late January.

 

[Dog of the Moon]

To be honest, I don\'t get it.

First they\'re late to develop, then they\'re late to announce, now they\'re late to ship?

Not sure about other brands - but never heard of such problems with Nikon or Sony. They just produce and sell on the go.

Fujifilm.

 

[OldDudePhotog]

Also, many companies go out and buy things in December to be able to get the tax credit that year.
It's kinda silly, but exists.

As someone who is in the 24% tax bracket, it is not silly at all.

 

[Canon Rumors]

View attachment 219552It's very easy for me to remove. You put your fingernail in the gap behind the button (above the arrow) and then you slide toward you in the same direction as the arrow. Not much force needed at all. I don't actually press down on the top of the button.

On the demo I played with, it came off no problem.

 

[Del Paso]

That's true, people just get in the spending spirit. A lot of "self gifts". I'm guilty of it, but trying to be a better person this year.

I wanted to splurge on the locking hot shoe cover.

"Spending spirit": just another name for extreme GAS!

 

[MikeGalos]

"Spending spirit": just another name for extreme GAS!

Extreme GAS with the money and social permission to treat it properly

 

[Billybob]

On the demo I played with, it came off no problem.

The first time is the hardest.

 

[Del Paso]

Extreme GAS with the money and social permission to treat it properly

Or a wife who does neither know nor care...
Mine couldn't tell apart an EOS 100 and an R5, in fact, she'd be unable to say which camera brand I'm using. Except for the Leica.

 

[SvO2]

As said already there are reasons why many companies desperately try to get their products out for the Christmas market and a big part of their annual revenue is made in December. Of course, this won’t matter much for sales to professional photographers but the R5-series also have a big market in the segment of “enthusiast” amateurs.

And “the Christmas effect” not limited to entry level gear but also to expensive products. Even car sales have a peak at the end of the year.

I would even go as far as to assume, that products with an almost “obscene” price for a hobbyist benefit the most for the fact that money is rather loose during the winter holidays and many company bonuses are paid at the end of the year.

And even outside of the holiday spirit, a lot of people straight up make more money towards the end of the year. Between end of year bonuses, a month or two with “extra” paychecks, and things like a chunk of people maxing out the social security contribution, there tends to be more cash flowing around.

Now should someone who’s dependent on such minor increases in cash flow be buying $4k cameras? Probably not. But many people, especially in the US, are not wise with their money. Even for those of us where the money is fairly trivial, it’s objectively a poor use of money when we can get 95% of the result with equipment that costs 90% less.

 

[Del Paso]

And even outside of the holiday spirit, a lot of people straight up make more money towards the end of the year. Between end of year bonuses, a month or two with “extra” paychecks, and things like a chunk of people maxing out the social security contribution, there tends to be more cash flowing around.

Now should someone who’s dependent on such minor increases in cash flow be buying $4k cameras? Probably not. But many people, especially in the US, are not wise with their money. Even for those of us where the money is fairly trivial, it’s objectively a poor use of money when we can get 95% of the result with equipment that costs 90% less.

Ok, and all those who don't earn their living with cameras don't even NEED a camera.
What if we only bought necessities?
But don't forget that many of us are still kids, despite our age, and wanting to play with new shiny toys.

 

[SvO2]

Ok, and all those who don't earn their living with cameras don't even NEED a camera.
What if we only bought necessities?
But don't forget that many of us are still kids, despite our age, and wanting to play with new shiny toys.

Yeah that and life having been kind to me is precisely why I spend the money without thinking twice. But my main point is the people who do need to think twice will often be more capable of such a luxury expense towards the holiday season even if it’s not being bought as a Christmas present per se.

 

[OldDudePhotog]

Ok, and all those who don't earn their living with cameras don't even NEED a camera.
What if we only bought necessities?
But don't forget that many of us are still kids, despite our age, and wanting to play with new shiny toys.

I am one of these also, I do not make my primary income from photography, in fact, it is a huge write-off every year if I choose to do so. Less than 5% of my income comes from photography. This will increase somewhat once my son is off to college as I will be shooting every weekend for milesplit instead of only the meets his school is at. Also this is an off year for BMW of sorts as the Motorrad is in Namibia this year and the qualifier is not until next year. In the mean time I hobby with my cameras when I go out.

 

[Exploreshootshare]

Or a wife who does neither know nor care...
Mine couldn't tell apart an EOS 100 and an R5, in fact, she'd be unable to say which camera brand I'm using. Except for the Leica.

Hehe I can relate to that! My wife knows I´m a Canon shooter, but she absolutely has no clue of the lenses, she´s gets totally mixed up with focal lengths (she tried to get a shot of the Berlin Dome from a short distance and chose the 70-200mm lens for it ) and she is often confused when I talk about the preferred aperture

 

[neuroanatomist]

As said already there are reasons why many companies desperately try to get their products out for the Christmas market and a big part of their annual revenue is made in December. Of course, this won’t matter much for sales to professional photographers but the R5-series also have a big market in the segment of “enthusiast” amateurs.

And “the Christmas effect” not limited to entry level gear but also to expensive products. Even car sales have a peak at the end of the year.

I would even go as far as to assume, that products with an almost “obscene” price for a hobbyist benefit the most for the fact that money is rather loose during the winter holidays and many company bonuses are paid at the end of the year.

Makes sense, thanks to you (and others) for correcting my misapprehension. Personally, my spending on gifts isn't substantially higher during December, mainly because we've tried to limit our kids' expectations for presents. Also, it would be nice if my company would pay out bonuses in December; in biopharma, they're typically paid in March, I try to ensure that we get our bonuses out in February.

On topic, we'll have to wait and see what Canon putting the R5II on the delay list really means. IIRC, they update that list monthly. In May of 2023, both the RF 100-300/2.8L and RF 28/2.8 were on the delay list. The RF 28/2.8 ended up being readily available and was taken off the list the following month. However, the 100-300/2.8 was on there for some time. The language around 6 months suggests a more serious delay, unfortunately. IIRC, that was included for the 100-300/2.8 but not for the 28/2.8.

 

[MikeGalos]

On topic, we'll have to wait and see what Canon putting the R5II on the delay list really means.

The problem is that with a six-month delay for current orders that means nobody will have new inventory that isn't already spoken for today until months after the Christmas buying season is over and inventory for "go in and buy one" level shopping won't really be a thing for the R5Mk2 until the PR ramp-up is starting for the Summer Break announcement season begins in May. It's not that anybody will be making announcements in March or April, but they will be starting to feed the rumor mill with "<Brand X> is getting ready to announce a new camera" messages about that point. That leads to a "Why should I buy last year's camera when the next generation is about to come out" hesitancy in what is already a slack buying season. By June, the next generation of competitors will be announced.

 

[TwoWheeler]

Just some practical advice: Never sell something you use in anticipation of receiving the replacement. Once you have the replacement in hand and it works then sell the previously used device.

There’s even a tired old adage about it. Something like “A bird in the hand…can be messy” or something.

 

[neuroanatomist]

The problem is that with a six-month delay for current orders that means nobody will have new inventory that isn't already spoken for today until months after the Christmas buying season is over and inventory for "go in and buy one" level shopping won't really be a thing for the R5Mk2 until the PR ramp-up is starting for the Summer Break announcement season begins in May. It's not that anybody will be making announcements in March or April, but they will be starting to feed the rumor mill with "<Brand X> is getting ready to announce a new camera" messages about that point. That leads to a "Why should I buy last year's camera when the next generation is about to come out" hesitancy in what is already a slack buying season. By June, the next generation of competitors will be announced.

IMO, it's less about competing with other camera brands and more about Canon's fiscal year performance...at least, from Canon's perspective. My point, though, was that "...it may take more than six months for delivery," means it may also happen faster than that. From what I recall about the 100-300/2.8, for example, that same statement (may take >6 months) was in the delay notice, but people were getting theirs in 3-4 months, at least from US dealers. Of course, if it's 4 months from now, that's next year...

 

[MSH411]

Or it could end up in the same operational/production black hole as the 200-800mm. You can only speculate because of Canon's lack of transparency. Love their product but I'm not a big fan of their business plan.