Major announcement: Canon has discontinued the EOS R5 – so should you still buy it?

It’s a nostalgic time for photography. Canon has discontinued the Canon EOS R5, a camera which the community has come to love since its release in 2020, and which regularly featured in lists of the best Canon cameras over the years.

A few days ago, Asobinet reported that Canon had quietly marked the EOS R5 as ‘discontinued’ on its Hong Kong website.

As yet, we don’t know when the model will be discontinued in other regions, but we can assume that the manufacturer will want to deplete inventories first.

Canon also hasn’t stated why it’s discontinuing the R5 but, with the release of its successor, the EOS R5 II in 2024, and now the EOS R6 III in 2025, a safe bet is that attention is now firmly on these newer generations of full frame hybrid cameras.

The EOS R5 was Canon’s breakthrough camera in the mirrorless generation, featuring a 45MP CMOS sensor, 20fps burst mode and 8k video recording – the first consumer mirrorless camera to boast this.

While the R5 remains an all-round workhorse, with its discontinuation now in motion, should you still consider buying this camera?

I say yes; I think the most likely scenario is that Canon discontinues the R5 in other regions in the near future, there’s no reason to believe it will stop servicing the camera any time soon.

Although Canon is yet to announce an end of service date for EOS R5, the manufacturer typically offers a 10-year service period for all its cameras from the official release date.

In fact, on its official service page, it lists that the original Canon EOS R6 (which was launched at the same time as the R5) will be supported until May 2030. So it's reasonable to assume that the EOS R5 will be serviced by Canon until at least then.

Keep in mind too that the EOS R5 is a professional grade workhorse with an entire ecosystem of Canon RF lenses available to it, and that many photographers still, and will continue, to use it for at least the next few years.

The discontinuation of the R5 might actually come as a blessing for some photographers as the price may become cheaper as Canon clears out remaining stock. Although, this is an assumption at best as, being a fan favorite, the manufacturer may not need to slash the price.

However, if you’re looking for the latest video capabilities including open gate recording, and you also want the fastest, most versatile Canon autofocus available, then really you want to look towards the EOS R5 II or R6 III. We’ve written a Canon EOS R5 vs R6 Mark III comparison to help you decide.

So, this marks the end of production of the EOS R5, Canon's first and highly successful foray into higher-range full frame hybrid cameras.

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Take a look at our review of the best lenses for the EOS R5 and R5 Mark II and the best lenses for the EOS R6 III.