Canon Hong Kong Teases Product Release Sept. 14

Canon’s Hong Kong office posted a teaser image on Facebook indicating it had something to say on September 14. Rumor sites have been indicating the much-desired R3 camera would be released on that day. Also expected to be released soon are a 100-400mm budget zoom lens and a cheap 16mm prime, neither of which would pair particularly well with the upcoming body.

Canon’s R3 release has been a patchy affair. They officially “pre-released” it with an announcement in early spring, and then re-pre-released it with a bit more information a month or so later. Neither could be called a “development” announcement, a form used by some Japanese manufacturers to indicate that they are investing behind a particular platform or product. With both pre-releases, Canon deliberately did not divulge some important information, particularly the resolution of the sensor.

Even as Canon reps shepherded pre-production units to YouTube influencers, Olympics sports shooters and others, all of the photographers allowed to use the camera were admonished specifically not to divulge specific pieces of information. None appear to have, although EXIF information from some sports photographers social media postings showed that the sensor is likely to be 24 megapixels.

The teaser image from the Hong Kong team is a bit odd in that it shows a mountainous ridge in a snowstorm. This may allude to the expectation that the R3 may be “released,” but that actual production units might not make it into people’s hands until November, according to some rumors. Or it might be just a bit of cheap clipart that was on a marketer’s hard drive that morning. These teaser releases typically suffer from poor production values.