Canon’s general manager of the Image Communication division, Takeshi Tokura, was recently interviewed Toyo Keizai about the success of the R5 and R6. In it, Tokura seems to suggest that 8K was important to include in the R5, especially to beat competitors.
With the launch, there was a significant negative press regarding the overheating problems of the R5 in the 4K and 8K video modes. Tokura says the reason the camera still sells well despite these hardware restrictions is because video performance is not important to the camera’s main market.
“I do not think video-focused users are driving the reputation of this new product,” he says. “I was particular about the 8K specification, and I was enthusiastic about putting it out in front of other companies first,” Tokura says.
Tokura admits that the R5 was not meant to be aimed at video shooters and that the 8K specification was only included to beat competitors as the first to implement it, which of course looks good on marketing materials.
According to Tokura, sales of the EOS R5 are ‘more popular than expected’.
“The EOS R5 is a professional product and the price is quite high. Not only the body, but also the (sales of) interchangeable lenses for full-size mirrorless cameras are still growing, and I feel that it shows the solidity of the R-series, ”says Tokura.
Canon’s success despite the collapse of the camera industry in 2020 is particularly surprising, especially considering the high price of the R5 and R6 products. Tokura attributes this to good timing, high performance and good marketing.
“In the first place, it has a high performance and a strong product appeal,” says Tokura. ‘The timing of the release was also great. The camera market has grown significantly since the spring and we were able to introduce new products when it recovered. In some ways, the return of the market was a backlash. ‘
Tokura says the last key to success was basically marketing: the EOS R5 name, the inclusion of the 5, contributed to the hype that the camera sold.
Toyo Keizai’s the full interview is particularly revealing, as the Canon CEO is much more candid with the publication than any representative tends to be when it comes to interviews with Western media. It provides very good reading and can be found here.
(via Toyo Keizai via EOS HD)