Some fact checking. Looking specifically at the EOS R: Street Price last summer was around $1,756. Now $1,729. Is $27 a big drop?
In my experience, the high end cameras (non Rebels) don't follow the traditional Black Friday schedule. Deals can begin anytime from October through December. I assume that is because retailers and Canon both determine pricing based on how much inventory they need to move before the end of the year and what it will take to move that inventory or hit sales targets.
But, the real point of my post was to correct the idea that these discounts "may be signaling new announcements." In fact, discounts are far more closely tied to retailers and manufacturers trying to reach sales targets than they are to new announcements.
If, as you suggest, the discounts are beginning earlier this year (I'm not sure they are) that is just as likely to be a reflection of concern about a weakening economy as it is about impending announcements. In fact, I'd guess it's more likely.
I don't think I made any comment concerning *why* these discounts came when they did, only that they seem a little earlier than normal. You seem to be reading a lot more into my comment that what I actually said.
Now, on to specifics: The EOS R is currently selling at $1,799 from
authorized Canon dealers in the U.S. Your source for street prices includes grey market items sold by non-authorized dealers and do not reflect the market price from
official Canon retail channels in the U.S.
These are all historically lowest prices for each of these models ever offered through
official Canon retail channels in the U.S.
The 5D Mark IV has never sold at an authorized price lower than $2,599 (and that was only for about three weeks with a free BG-E20 thrown in) until this announcement. For most of the past year the official price has been either $2,799 or $2,999.
The 6D Mark II has never sold at an authorized price lower than $1,299 until the recent drop. For most of the last year it fluctuated between $1,299 (which was first seen in late November, 2018) and $1,499 (early February to late May and then again from the beginning of September until the recent announcement).
The EOS R was introduced for $2,299. It dropped to $1,999 in late May and stayed there until last week's announcement, when it fell to $1,799. It's never sold below $1,799 in the U.S. from an authorized Canon dealer (which is the only way buy one and guarantee a U.S. warranty from Canon USA).
In the past, the 5D Mark IV sometimes got Black Friday specials that included either no discount or a very modest discount but came bundled with a free BG-E20 battery grip. Canon has ran the same type of promotion with the 7D Mark II, the 6D, and the 6D Mark II in recent years.
In 2018 the price of the 5D Mark IV from authorized US dealers dropped a little over halfway through November from $3,099, where it had been for over six months, to $2,799. It stayed there until early February, when it went up $200 to $2.999, then came back down to $2,799 in late April.
This year Canon did the free battery grip and an instant rebate (paid directly to the dealer) that was equivalent to $2,599 ($200 discount plus free grip and 13 months of CarePak at no additional cost) back in June. The current pricing of $2,499 does not include a BG-E20 to go with the 5D Mark IV.