There's a tradition when it comes to flagship sports cameras: they release every four years, in time for the Olympics, so they can be used (indeed, showcased) by elite photographers to shoot elite athletes.
However, it looks like there's a very real chance that the Canon EOS R1 – Canon's eagerly anticipated professional camera – might not make it in time for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in July.
After making zero appearances in 2023, even in secret briefings under NDA, pundits like me thought that Canon would unleash the R1 at CP+ 2024 in Japan this month. Surely it had to – we are, after all, just five months away from the Olympics, which isn't a lot of time to announce and ship a camera of this magnitude.
Instead, Canon's stand at CP+ was all about mixed reality and trotting out the same 3D VR concept cameras it displayed at IBC 2023 in October and then again at CES 2024 in January.
Earlier this month, I read a troubling rumor that led me down a rabbit hole where the unthinkable became an eerie possibility: the R1 really might miss Paris.
According to the report by Canon Rumors, the R1 will have its development announcement around April (accompanying the launch of the R5 Mark II). For those unaware, a development announcement is effectively a preliminary announcement; it lacks specs, price or release date, merely confirming that a product is on the way.
What does this mean? Well, let's take a look at the Canon EOS R3 – the company's last previous sports camera (and de facto EOS R flagship right now):
Development announcement – April 14 2021
Full product announcement – September 14 2021
Actual shipping / on-sale date – November 26 2021
Going by this timeline, if the EOS R1 does indeed get a development announcement in April, we're likely looking at a similar full announcement in September followed by a launch in November – obviously making the camera very late for its Paris debut in July.
Could that rumor be wrong? Of course it could. Could that timeline be wrong? Equally, yes. But we've just had the biggest camera exhibition on the planet. If Canon was going to launch its new flagship in time for the Olympics, wouldn't it have made the announcement – heck, even the development announcement – right there?
I'm a Canon user. I want this new camera. I'm pulling for Canon to shock us all by dropping the camera just in the nick of time. But with every day that passes, I'm more and more doubtful that it will make the Olympic team.
You might be interested in the best cameras for sports photography (which does include some of the best Canon cameras) along with the best lenses for sports photography.
