Is the Canon EOS Ra discontinued ? - Forums

Topic starter

Mar 19, 2021

Hi,

I was wondering if the Canon EOS Ra was discontinued ?

I live in Paris and ordered it 2 weeks ago in a big specialized shop - they were supposed to receive new ones then - but since then my order remained pending.

I then cancelled my command and start looking for stock in France and in Europe : almost nothing in stock, and some astro-shop say they will receive some in late may or june. I thought it was due to COVID, but then 2 shops that I called in Paris told me the product was probably discontinued.

I checked on Internet and found that on the Honk Kong Canon website : https://hk.canon/en/consumer/eos-ra-body/product

I found some stock in BH in New York, but then you don't have the benefit from the 2 years EU Warranty... And I finally bought the last one in stock in a NL online shop. I could have bought a modded DSLR, but I wanted something that renew my old one, for both photography and astrophotography... not much choice !

I know they are made on small series, but I was wondering if Canon stopped producing them due to those "halo" problems people have with it on bright stars (but that can be solved with a Luminance Astronomik filter, as @Nico Carver found out) ?

Anyone have some info ?

If that's discontinued, I hope they will "support" it anyway (updates of firmware and so on).

Helpful Engaging

Björn Arnold

Mar 19, 2021

Hi,

The Canon Ra isn't that old. I'd be surprised if Canon discontinued it already.

On the German Canon Website, you can still find it on the current products site but also out of stock right now. I assume that they also fell victim to the current shortage of micro chips and hence production is delayed.

CS!

Jérémie

Topic starter

Mar 19, 2021

One of the sales in the camera store told me the camera didn’t sell well… not sure if he was saying that relative to other mainstream products - that would be normal considering it is a niche product - or if he was thinking about what was expected from Canon (eg. the stock has difficulties to diminish…

. The other told me maybe they was thinking of a new model - i guess this one had no clue…

Anyway, I can’t wait to test it !

Arun H

Frequent contributor

Mar 19, 2021 · Edited: Mar 19, 2021

The EOS R was Canon’s first full frame mirrorless and it was an effort to get a product out there quickly because it was obvious that mirrorless was the future and they didn’t have anything in full frame at the time that was viable. It was based on the 5D Mark IV sensor which was good but not state of the art even at the time. At this point, they have much better options even in the same price range - the R6 is a bit more pricey but far more capable than the R. So I don’t think many people are buying the R and I doubt Canon is marketing it very much. Which means they probably aren’t making much of the Ra either which is based off the same sensor as the R.

Helpful Insightful Respectful

Nico Carver

Mar 19, 2021

Hi Jérémie,

I have no idea if it has been discontinued yet. The link you found on the Canon Hong Kong website does suggest that it has. I wouldn't expect that if it has been discontinued that it has anything to do with the red rings on bright stars issue, as Canon has never acknowledged that, and I doubt they ever will. Anyways glad you found one to buy! After I found the Astronomik filter fixes the red rings, I've been very happy with my Ra. I have no doubt that Canon will continue to support it after it's been discontinued. I have bought the extended "carepak plus" warranty so if I need any repairs they will be covered for an additional few years.

Cheers, Nico

Helpful Respectful Supportive

Michael von Berner-Purgstall

Mar 19, 2021 · Edited: Mar 19, 2021

Anyone have some info ?

Greetings!
Why not ordering directly at the Canon shop? Checked and saw one in the Austrian Canon store, no problem.

best regards

Peter Robertson

Mar 20, 2021 · Edited: Mar 20, 2021

I ordered one 2-3 weeks ago. Still waiting but they did say it would be 2-4 weeks most likely. Its still being advertised so seems unlikely that it has discontinued. Having looked at R6 the R seems a great deal to me and Ra likewise.

Björn Arnold

Mar 20, 2021

Overall, I was surprised that Canon offered a dedicated camera for astrophotography. Usually a lot of people get into AP through the stock DSLR they've got and after gaining some experience, they might have their camera modified or buy a modded DSLR but for a third of the price of the Ra. Beyond that people often switch to or add dedicated AP cameras to their equipment that are even cooled.

Personally, I can imagine the Ra to vanish (if it didn't already) since I think it's a niche product within a niche if you will.

Engaging

Jérémie

Topic starter

Mar 20, 2021

Michael S.:
Anyone have some info ?

Greetings!
Why not ordering directly at the Canon shop? Checked and saw one in the Austrian Canon store, no problem.

best regards

I checked the Canon store in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy... all out of stock. Forgot about Austria :-)
But anyway, they ship only to the country of the store... they tell you to go back to the store of your own country (and it is out of stock). I found mine at https://www.cameranu.nl

Jérémie

Topic starter

Mar 20, 2021

Björn Arnold:
Overall, I was surprised that Canon offered a dedicated camera for astrophotography. Usually a lot of people get into AP through the stock DSLR they've got and after gaining some experience, they might have their camera modified or buy a modded DSLR but for a third of the price of the Ra. Beyond that people often switch to or add dedicated AP cameras to their equipment that are even cooled.

Personally, I can imagine the Ra to vanish (if it didn't already) since I think it's a niche product within a niche if you will.

I agree it is a niche of a niche in the end :-)
For example, I bought mine though I already have a cooled camera (ASI183MM Pro), but I wanted to « kill two birds with one stone » and have (i) a new Full Frame DSLR for the day that would accept my collection of lenses (Sigma, Minolta, Samyang, Mitakon), (ii) something I could use for astrophoto as well having this full frame sensor and (iii) something that I could use for travelling with a small astro setup... That’s the EOS Ra :-)

Peter Robertson

Mar 26, 2021

Pleased to report that my Canon Ra arrived today.