New Canon rumors surface about the R8 Mark II and new lenses
Well, the R6 V is now out, and people are done clicking on articles for that, so its natural that the rumor mill will start thinking about something else.
The R7 Mark II, which was guaranteed to come out this year, is now relegated to "we won't talk about it unless we know for sure". I was under the impression that's the way the particular rumor sites worked in the first place.
This is why, with CanonNews and even when I was writing for other places, I more or less stayed out of the rumors. It used to be in the past (putting on my grumpy old man sweater) that we'd rank or rate how legitimate the rumor was, so people would know if a rumor had a high degree of confidence. Why? Because some people may plan around these rumors, so if it's a random anonymous email, then it's a good idea that it's rated as such when people are creating articles about the rumor.
But that was in the past, and now the game, especially with one site in particular, is that anything and everything gets published; it's all for the clicks and not in creating good content anymore.
Moral of the story? Rumors are rumors and should be considered very untrustworthy. My empathy goes out to anyone who sold their R7, thinking the Mark II was right around the corner. Gone are the days of Nokishita Camera.
Regardless of all that, we know that Canon will do something this year in terms of lenses and cameras, but there is uncertainty.
The economies in the West are a nightmare. Helium for fab plants is in short supply as long as the conflict in the Middle East continues, and it may take months or even years for the helium supply to level out for fabrication plants. It's the little guys (like Canon) that may get hit first in terms of supply. Then there rare earths, and if Canon and other companies that China may decide are dual-use, don't get them anymore. Again, needed for fab plants.
The current rumor mill is that an R8 Mark II is coming out. This is a little of a surprise, as I really can't see anything urgent for that camera, as Canon is really just racing that camera down to the bottom in terms of pricing. So I'm not sure what Canon has planned there (if the rumors are true). I'd love to see more of a brick-style camera, still with an EVF if my wishes would come true for this camera.
If anything, Canon needs to flesh out its lower-end APS-C lineup a little more as the R100 isn't as heavy a mover as it should be in the Canon lineup, and the R10 and R50 are popular but getting a little old in the tooth in terms of features and capability when its competition from Fujifilm, etc., are not resting on their laurels.
The rumors also suggest another VCM, longer than 85mm. I had published an article somewhere on a patent application (2026-034653) for a 100mm f/1.4 VCM lens. Canon may make this lens to round out the series. However, as I noted in the article, it's very rare for Canon to publish a patent application before the lens is released. Also, with VCM, there's the rare earth problem, but Canon may get the finished parts directly from China and bypass that with lenses; for that, I have absolutely no idea. There was a mention of a new super telephoto, but just a price range. Not sure what good that was, but here we are.
I'm not necessarily going to publish much on the rumor side of the industry, just because of general distaste for where it has gone, not to mention other things as well. I'd much rather stick to news, patents, and other tidbits and morbid thoughts I have, so stay tuned. Oh, and we do have a couple of cool surprises coming to the website this year.
Stay tuned, and thanks to everyone who still reads my little corner of the world.
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