Hallelujah! This $349 Canon camera deal restores my faith that jaw-dropping Black Friday bargains still exist!

If I have to be honest, the Black Friday camera deals have been a bit disappointing this year. I have been reporting on the holiday sales for years, and reporting on camera pricing for decades – and I just don't think the Cyber sales deliver the truly brilliant bargains of yesteryear.

Sure, there are some good reductions on some older models I would highly recommend – such as on the Canon EOS R5 for $2,799, but that's not a model that will suit everyone's budget, and the price reduction is easily explained by the launch of the Canon EOS R5 Mark II.

And then there are the saving we are always every Black Friday - such as great memory card deals, or bargain security camera deals. If you are going to buy a new SDXC card, or a Blink camera, this is definitely the time do it.

But what I still look out for is a brilliant deal that I didn't expect - and that no one on earth could dispute was a truly mega discount. And this year, my prayers have been answered!

The Canon EOS R100 was always a great value camera. Until its arrival, mirrorless cameras had started to become an expensive step-up from the DSLRs or 35mm SLRs from the past - and I feared that an affordable entry model into interchangeable lens hobby photography had gone.

The R100 delivered a mirrorless version of the legendar yCanon EOS Digital Rebel – the camera that started the popular DSLR revolution – with the R100 and kit lens selling for under $500.

But this Black Friday, Canon and its retailers has offered us a genuinely brilliant discount - offering us the R100 with 18-55mm zoom for just $349! It is a price so good, that I am already seeing some retailers (such as Adorama) already running out of stock.

If you want one today, I have noticed that Walmart is selling the bundle for $349 (and selling itself, rather from some third-party partner, so you could pick up in store). B&H also has stock, although is currently shut for the Sabbath - but it may be worth waiting if you want to upgrade the nearly-as-brilliant two-lens R100 deal.

big black friday bargain

Canon EOS R100 + 18-45mm lens | was $499.99 | now $349
Save $150 at Walmart Canon's most entry-level mirrorless camera is also its smallest and lightest – but it's still quite a beast! Its 24.1MP APS-C can shoot 6.5fps bursts and 4K 24p video, and it comes with a versatile 18-45mm lens (2 8.8-72mm equivalent).

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Big bundle option

Canon EOS R100 twin lens kit | $829 | $499
SAVE $330 at B&H With the money you save on the basic kit, why not upgrade to a two-lens bundle - which is also heavily discounted. The RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 and RF-S 55-210mm f/5-7.1 lenses are both image stabilized, for smooth shooting. Comes with bundle of bonus accessories including case, memory card, cleaning kit and filters.

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See our full Canon EOS R100 review. And if you want to build a system, check out our recommendations for the best lenses for the Canon R100

• I predict Canon's R100 will be the biggest EOS camera for 20 years

• Canon R100 vs R50