Deal Season is Open: What to Expect from Canon Black Friday 2020

It’s mid-November, which is the traditional start of the Black Friday deal season. This is our eleventh year of watching the Canon holiday deals, but with the global pandemic wreaking havoc on global manufacturing and supply chains, this may be the most unique deal season yet. We make some guesses below as to what we’ll see this year. Disclaimer: the below are our predictions, but of course Canon or dealers can choose to do something different, at their discretion!

Reminder: Canon Black Friday doesn’t start on Black Friday

A reminder for many of our first-time readers: Canon and other manufacturers don’t wait until Black Friday to start their deals. Many of Canon’s items will see discounts the week before Black Friday, with some other deals showing up over the following weeks.

You may also see “special deals” where dealers discount further below Canon’s pricing (or add valuable free items). These special deals are often short-lived, many don’t last even 24 hours and may not return. Often the deal may be sold out before the turkey hits the dining table. Don’t make the first-time reader mistake of waiting for the actual day of Black Friday. Jump when you see the hot bundle deals! Holiday return periods are typically extended until January, so you can be sure you will get the best deal.

EOS R5/R6: Sorry, no (official) deals this year!

Many readers have asked if we’ll see official deals on the EOS R5 or the EOS R6. Unfortunately, with the continued low supply for these two popular cameras we do not expect any instant rebates or Canon-sponsored deals for at least the rest of 2020.

This doesn’t mean you need to pay full price though, some dealers have been willing to discount. We already have a street price on the EOS R6 and a street price pre-order on the EOS R5. We’ve also posted some deals exclusively to watchlist subscribers for these items, so please add this (or other items) to your watchlist if you’re keen on hearing about future offers.

RF Lenses: only small instant rebates are expected (due to low supply)

Many authorized dealers have been out-of-stock of many of the RF lenses for the last few months (notably the RF 15-35mm and RF 85mm f/1.2 are still sold out). This is likely due to both pandemic challenges and higher-than-expected demand (thanks to the R5/R6). As a result we expect only very modest instant rebates on RF lenses over the holiday season — we’ll likely see the $100 instant savings (that we saw in the summer) return.

We don’t expect to see deals on the new RF lenses (the RF 100-500 and the RF 85mm f/2). They’re still impossible to find available at authorized dealers.

Other Cameras: we expect to see some deals on older models

This is where the meat of the Black Friday deals will be — we expect to see instant rebates, savings, or bundle deals on the 5D Mark IV, 6D Mark II, 90D, M6 Mark II, and likely the EOS R and EOS RP.

Canon typically starts most of their big holiday rebates about a week before Thanksgiving (that’s one week from now), but a few can be delayed until later. The EOS M5 clearance sale started last year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and was sold out within hours. Last year’s EOS R and 5D Mark IV mega-deals didn’t start until mid-December.

EF lenses: modest rebates expected, but nothing special

It’s surprising how quickly EF lenses have become a relatively niche product, with the bulk of Canon’s glass sales being new RF glass. We don’t expect Canon to be in a hurry to discount their old EF lenses. In many cases, supply is very limited, and they’ve taken away many of the standing instant rebates. The best time to purchase new EF glass is likely already behind us. If you’re still looking for EF glass, be sure to look out for …

Refurbished and used deals: we hope to see many!

The best way to get a great discount on lenses or cameras is through used or refurbished sales. The Canon Store will probably run some refurbished deals (their most popular is a %-off stacking sale), be sure to watch the stock at our refurbished stock tracker. Used dealers KEH, MPB, and UsedPhotoPro may also have discounts.

Used dealers will also typically extend their 180-day warranty to a full year during the holiday season — matching the Canon Store’s 1-year warranty on refurbished cameras and lenses.

Other deals have been strong this year, they may get better

For “soft” goods such as bags, tripods, accessories, and software — the deals have already been very strong this year. See the previous deals from Think Tank Photo, Peak Design, or during Amazon Prime Day. We expect similar great deals to go live over the next few weeks.

Subscribe today — don’t miss any deals!

The best way to not miss out on the Canon Black Friday deals is to subscribe. We are posting 3-4 times a day during the holiday season, and many deals can sell out in hours. You can subscribe and get notified as soon as we post — by e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, or via our RSS feed. Also, be sure to add items to your watchlist to get notified about potential exclusive, secret deals. Happy deal hunting, Thanksgiving deal season is now open!