The Canon EOS R1, the eagerly-awaited and conspicuously MIA flagship camera from Canon, has reportedly been delayed "due to an issue with test units".
It's the latest in a long series of stops and starts for the EOS R1, which was widely anticipated to be announced in January at CP+ 2024 – ahead of an expected launch, as is the tradition for flagship professional cameras, in time for the Olympic Games.
However, what was thought to be a fait accompli has instead been a series of notable absences – and this report by Ordinary Filmmaker could explain why the camera has been missing its expected milestones.
"According to one source, we've been told that the Canon EOS R1 was delayed due to issues with the test units," said the outlet, which you can see in the full video below.
"Canon wanted to get the camera working properly before announcing it. One of the issues with the R1 was related to buffer performance; the camera just couldn't keep up with that high-capacity shooting."
The high-capacity shooting refers to the burst speeds not only expected, but demanded of the R1 in the wake of cameras like the Nikon Z9 / Z8 and especially the Sony A9 III – with 120fps now being the benchmark for pro sports cameras.
There have been so many leaks and rumors and rumblings about the R1's specs – from the resolution to the frame-rates to the sensor makeup – that many suspect the information is just being made up. However, I suspect that it isn't (just) this, I think that Canon may have gone back to the drawing board at least once in order to keep up with the Joneses.
At one point it was rumored that the R1 definitely would not have a global shutter sensor, for example, but since then patents surfaced for both triple-layer stacked sensors and full-frame global shutter sensors. Somewhere in-between, burst rates for the R1 were rumored to be everywhere from 120fps to 240fps.
Those are considerable strains, whether the camera is using bleeding edge stacked or global shutter sensors – so it would make sense to me that delays have been caused firstly by changing streams in terms of the tech, and then by issues identified them in the process of testing.
Whatever the reason(s), it's clear that the R1 is behind schedule. And with camera rumors swirling that Sony's next flagship (the A1 II) is on the way next year, the pressure and expectation is only getting greater.
In addition to flagships, you might be interested in the best Canon cameras across the board – along with the best Canon RF lenses for the latest mirrorless models.
