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

[dirtyvu]

The big problem is that with a six-month delay now they've created demand and have no supply during the biggest shopping season of the year. Yeah, they'll get supplies for new orders now in February. Not a lot of people want to give a "Your present should arrive in three months" note for Christmas. They'll spend the budget on something available in December and that means they won't have the money in the budget in February even if the delay isn't an issue to the person getting the camera.

A $4300 purchase is not a whim purchase for most people. People shopping for cameras in this price bracket are not going to go, "oh, the R5ii is not available for sale. I'll go pick up a Nikon." People with FOMO have already purchased the camera. The rest would be okay waiting a few months considering we often keep these cameras for years.

And people that are willing to spend $4300+tax on a camera are not going to be so starved that they can't afford the camera later. If you can't afford the camera later, you definitely shouldn't be buying a camera now.

 

[macrunning]

The more news that comes out about the R5 I am so glad I
cancelled my order and purchased the R3 instead.

 

[Canon Rumors]

I'm not entirely sure. I've called Canon Canada/US this morning and they confirmed.

I've also opened a ticket because here in Canada we have a Promo going on: You have to send proof of purchase/serial number for a 500 dollar rebate. But you have only 6 weeks starting on Aug, give or take, and if it will take 6 months how can we possibly accomplish this?

EOS R5 Mark II Pre-Order Bonus - Canon Creator Lab

For a limited time, we are excited to offer eligible customers who have pre-ordered the Canon EOS R5 Mark II a gift consisting of a packable Wind and Water-Resistant Puff EOS R System branded jacket, and up to $500 cashback on each purchase of select RF L-Series lenses with their pre-ordered EOS...

www.canoncreatorlab.ca

This is a big area of concern for some in Canada, and there has been a push to change things up a bit and figure out preorders and qualifying for the rebate. The retailer that I am friendly with ended up ordering extra stock of certain popular lenses. Those got delivered and were paid for.......

 

[Exploreshootshare]

None of the big 3 sell full-frame cameras in the 30-40MP range.

Sony Alpha 7 mkii has 33 MP

But other than that I agree with your argument.

 

[Exploreshootshare]

I really don't want to know what nether orifice people pull these 'facts' out of. I wish people would actually check their information before they make blatantly false claims, but that probably too much to ask.

The answer to your question is no, they didn't. They took the #1 spot in Japan (for the first half of 2024) with a 33% market share compared to Canon's 26% market share. Numerically, that difference means Sony sold 3,000 more cameras than Canon over that 6 month period.

Globally, in 2023 Canon had 41% of the mirrorless market vs. Sony at 31%. Numerically, that difference means that Canon sold about 483,000 more cameras than Sony...160 times more than the difference you seem to think is so significant.

For the past decade Canon has maintained nearly 50% share of the digital camera market. As I said...the R5II delays are a tempest in a teapot.

I should've been more precise, my bad.
Of course, I didn't mean the overall annual rankings, but instead the BCN rankings of July for Japan. Canon has had a significant drop-off while Sony climbed to over 50%. It shows, not having cameras available does hurt your sales while you stated it won't and Canon will just sell them later on. Of course, as of now it is only one month... but the shortage forecast from Canon is up to six months, so the trend is not Canons friend at the moment.

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...

 

[MikeGalos]

So you’re saying that a $4300 camera is a common enough Christmas present that it’s a big problem for Canon? Seems rather far-fetched.

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."

 

[Viggo]

That was how I read it too: "if you place a new order, it may take more than six months for delivery". Obviously still bizarre on so many levels - but in theory existing orders shouldn't be affected?

Companies order materials as magnesium at least 6 months ahead, so it’s not that bizarre for it to suddenly become 6 months after a specific date. What is useless though is everything about this launch and initial supply…

 

[Del Paso]

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."

I can confirm.
As a student, I worked in a bigger camera store in France. We sold many (expensive) cameras in spring, but nothing compared to what was sold from end of November to mid-December. Many people get their Christmas bonus with the November paycheck, often worth one month of salary. It can't be much different nowadays!

 

[Del Paso]

Strange, strange...
Today, I ordered the R5 II in Stuttgart.
Delivery: NEXT WEEK! (including 3 years of additional warranty)

 

[Viggo]

Strange, strange...
Today, I ordered the R5 II in Stuttgart.
Delivery: NEXT WEEK! (including 3 years of additional warranty)

Maybe there’s hope for a September delivery here as well ..

 

[Berowne]

Strange, strange...
Today, I ordered the R5 II in Stuttgart.
Delivery: NEXT WEEK! (including 3 years of additional warranty)

Price here in Frankfurt am Main is 4800€ and expected in 1-3 Month (the store with the peace-pipe).

 

[Gendra]

expected in 1-3 Month

Well according to their Internet listing most German retailers claim an availability somewhere between 3 weeks and 3 months. However, I doubt that this is an assured delivery date by canon but rather an estimated guess without knowing yesterday statement from canon about the additional delays.

 

[xps]

Strange, strange...
Today, I ordered the R5 II in Stuttgart.
Delivery: NEXT WEEK! (including 3 years of additional warranty)

You lucky guy!!
I called 8 shops in Frankfurt these days, but no one had it in stock. Also no one at Frankfurt and the ruhr-area.

 

[Gendra]

So you’re saying that a $4300 camera is a common enough Christmas present that it’s a big problem for Canon? Seems rather far-fetched.

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.

 

[koenkooi]

I can confirm.
As a student, I worked in a bigger camera store in France. We sold many (expensive) cameras in spring, but nothing compared to what was sold from end of November to mid-December. Many people get their Christmas bonus with the November paycheck, often worth one month of salary. It can't be much different nowadays!

Here in the Netherlands we have a summer peak as well. At the start of summer is the time when most employers pay out the ‘vacation money’ in one go, which is 8% of your pay.
Holiday spending also tends to be earlier, the big gift giving thing is happening the 5th of December for Saint Nicolas, not during christmas like the English speaking cultures tend to do.
The result is the same: Q1 is a very lean quarter for retail.

 

[Del Paso]

Here in the Netherlands we have a summer peak as well. At the start of summer is the time when most employers pay out the ‘vacation money’ in one go, which is 8% of your pay.
Holiday spending also tends to be earlier, the big gift giving thing is happening the 5th of December for Saint Nicolas, not during christmas like the English speaking cultures tend to do.
The result is the same: Q1 is a very lean quarter for retail.

The company I was working with paid vacation money as well (1 month/salary), Christmas money (1/2 salary) and a bonus based on ROI (up to 2 salaries). Guess when I bought cameras and lenses...

 

[arbitrage]

I just gave Canon Canada a call.

Their representative was quite clear, there are *no* more bodies available for now. Full stop. Whatever comes will be sent out to Dealers for fulfil the existing orders but it can take up to 6 months.

I'm about 25th position according to Henry's. Might as well cancel and wait.

I wouldn't cancel if you want the camera. Sometimes these things resolve themselves way faster than Canon says. If you cancel then you could be way back int he line. If you have a preorder with Henry's then just keep it as you have a way better chance of getting one of the cameras that are going to trickle out over the next month or two vs waiting many more months if you order later on.

 

[MikeGalos]

Here in the Netherlands we have a summer peak as well. At the start of summer is the time when most employers pay out the ‘vacation money’ in one go, which is 8% of your pay.

A reason why new cameras (and other non-essential consumer products) are typically announced either around June or in October. They want their maximum buzz from a new product to coincide with when people do their peak spending. You'll note that when there were big trade shows, they were timed to those months as well since they were used for big product launches. (Comdex and Comdex Spring come to mind as does Photokina)

 

[thiagoguedes]

This is a big area of concern for some in Canada, and there has been a push to change things up a bit and figure out preorders and qualifying for the rebate. The retailer that I am friendly with ended up ordering extra stock of certain popular lenses. Those got delivered and were paid for.......

Well, my 24-70 arrived and has been paid for. Too bad I don't have any camera to use it

 

[Canon Rumors]

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.

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.