Here's the skinny
As most of you may know, I am behind Lens Rentals Canada along with the “Bank of Peter”. Things have been going so well, that we're ordering new stock almost daily.
This is a list of lenses that are nearly impossible to get from Canon and have followed the same stock issue path as the EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS before it was replaced. Heavy backorders, then most get filled. Then eternally backordered until an announcement.
24-70 f/2.8L
We need about 3 of these lenses a day, no joke. There was a few weeks in April that this lens was tough to get. Then a small flurry of stock came about and most backorders were filled in May. Now in June, folks all over Canada and other places around the globe have not been able to get the lens. Some backorders are going on 3 weeks.
I currently have a few on order from Canon Canada and will keep an eye on whether or not we get allocation of stock.
50 f/1.4
This lens has also been backordered in a lot of places. We cannot get our hands on any. I'm not overly upset about that, but I'd love a new one.
TS-E 24 f/3.5L II :)
This lens takes about 2 months to get everytime I order it. It's not being replaced, but it must be super popular.
All of this may mean nothing, or it could be the signs a lot of people are hoping for.
cr
17 Comments
seems like 24-70 is everywhere in the state. can’t you guys just drive over the border?
Canon manufacturers lenses in batches, and makes a quantity based on the forecast for sales. They also seem to have kept their inventory very tightly controlled.
This seems to result in the effect you see, a batch comes in, their warehouse empties quickly, and then its backorder until a new batch is made. They have been in this mode for 2 years now, and do not seem to be able to anticipate the strong sales.
This also makes it difficult to know if a lens is being phased out, or production is held up while waiting for lens components to be replentished.