As we all know, a lot of RF mount lenses have been hard to come by for quite some time. Most of these issues are obviously attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the supply chain issues that are still ongoing across many industries.
From Canon Japan
We have received more orders than expected for each of the following products, and it will take some time before delivery.
We thank you for your many orders and apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers.
- Canon RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM
- Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM
- Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro
- Canon RF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM
- Canon RF 600mm f/4L IS USM
- Ring-type tripod mount E (B)
Most of the retailers I have spoken to have been told not to expect inventory numbers to rise until at least mid-August. The unreleased lenses will ship as scheduled in very limited quantities, so if you have preorders in, there's still a chance that you'll get your lens on time.
Why are they only listing these lenses?
Why are they saying "unexpected demand?" The 100-500 was announced a year ago and the 14-35 was announced about a week ago. How can demand be "unexpected" both for a lens that's been on the market for a year and a lens that just began accepting pre-orders a week ago? Do they even know yet what the demand is for the 14-35?
Is this the full statement from Canon? No mention of shortages of components? No reference to COVID-19 impact?
No indication of when they expect supplies to catch up to demand?
Are we talking a two month delay or a six month delay?
That's the strategy I've been using, Keith. There's no downside. These RF lenses are not going on sale anytime soon and you can cancel if you change your mind.
I don't expect my 100-500mm copy to arrive before Sept. 2021 at the earliest, actually I am expecting it spring 2022...
My concern is that when Canon have sufficient stock/capacity to sell then the demand will dry up by cancelled orders causing excess pre-sales inventory. You might say that is a good thing for consumers as there will be sales discounts to move the excess stock but we do want Canon to be reasonably profitable in the long term to maintain/increase their R&D budget.
I wouldn't buy the EF version if I'm not planning to shoot DSLR in the future. I'm sure the RF versions have couple of refinements to the electronics even if the optics are the same and don't need to fiddle with adapters.
It is not the first time Canon has faced these situations -- it used to be that people will get on multiple lists every time a new EOS 5D or whatever was launched too. I think they have a reasonably good internal projection of demand.