Well, if this turns out to be true (which is more than likely), it’s a shame but not much of a surprise. Canon Rumors is reporting that Canon’s not-officially-announced-but-pretty-much-inevitable flagship camera, the Canon EOS R1 is not expected to come “anytime soon” and that a retailer has actually been told not to expect it until the second half of 2023.
When it is eventually announced, it will be the official replacement for the Canon EOS 1DX Mark III, a true flagship model. Even though many people see the Canon EOS R3 as the 1DX Mark III successor, Canon has stated that the EOS R3 is definitely not a flagship camera. Given the specs of the EOS R3, it will be very interesting to see exactly what the EOS R1 offers when it’s eventually announced, but it’s not happening yet.
With the global silicon shortage, not to mention logistics and other supply chain issues over the last couple of years, the long wait for an EOS R1 announcement isn’t really a surprise. Every manufacturer of just about anything has been suffering from these issues. And while some photographers have moved from the 1DX Mark III to the EOS R3, the EOS R3 isn’t exactly readily available, either, leaving a lot of photographers either still shooting their old DSLRs or switching to other brands.
It’s a bit of an awkward spot to be in when your competitors have their Sony A1 and Nikon Z9 flagship full-frame mirrorless cameras, although I don’t think Canon will be too concerned. For a start, they’re facing shortages and logistics issues, too and as Canon Rumors points out, it probably makes more financial sense for Canon to start working on EOS R and EOS RP replacements first to cater to their lower-end full-frame customers that can’t justify the cost of the EOS R6 and up. Sure, a hypothetical EOS R1 would sell for more money than an EOS R or EOS RP replacement but the latter would sell in much higher volumes that would more than make up for that difference in per-body profit.
Canon hasn’t even acknowledged publicly that an EOS R1 is coming at all yet, although they really can’t not have a flagship full-frame mirrorless camera. And hey, even if an actual release might be at least a year away, that doesn’t mean they won’t tease us a week or two from now with a development announcement. They probably won’t, but it’s not like Canon (and their competitors) haven’t done that before.
[via Canon Rumors]
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