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Takeshi Tokura, Managing Director of Canon’s Image Communication Business Division, was recently interviewed by Toyo Keizai on the success of R5 and R6. In it, Tokura seems to suggest that 8K was important to include in the R5 primarily to beat its competition.
At launch, there was significant negative press involving the R5’s overheating issues in its 4K and 8K video modes. Tokura says the reason the camera continues to sell well despite these hardware limitations is that video performance is not important to the main camera market.
“I don’t think video-oriented users are contributing to the reputation of this new product,” he says. “I was particular about the 8K specification, and was excited to launch it first, before other companies,” says Tokura.
Tokura admits the R5 wasn’t meant to be aimed at video shooters and the 8K spec was only included to beat the competition and be the first to implement it, which of course looks great on the marketing materials.
Echoing sentiments reported last week, Tokura says sales of the EOS R5 have been “more popular than expected.”
“The EOS R5 is a professional product and its price is quite high. Not only the body, but also the (sales) of interchangeable lenses for full-size mirrorless cameras keep growing, and I think that shows the strength of the R-series, ”says Tokura.
Canon’s success despite the collapse of the camera industry in 2020 is particularly surprising, especially given the high price tag of the R5 and R6 products. Tokura attributes this to good timing, high performance, and solid marketing.
“First of all, it offers high performance and a strong product appeal,” Tokura says. “The timing of the release was also excellent. The camera market has seen a significant dip since spring and we were able to launch new products when it recovered. In some ways, the return of the market was a positive wind. “
Tokura says the last major key to success was essentially marketing: the name EOS R5, including the 5, contributed to the hype that sold the camera.
Toyo Keizai’s The full interview is particularly revealing, as the Canon executive is much more candid with the post than any representative tends to be when it comes to interviews with Western media. It makes for very good reading and can be found here.
(via Toyo Keizai via EOS HD)
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