Ricoh Japan has issued a quick notice explaining that two of its cameras, the Ricoh GR III and Ricoh GR IIIx, are going to be delayed in shipping while it sorts out some supply problems.
While the Ricoh GR III has was released in 2019, the new Ricoh GR IIIx was only announced a few weeks ago – is supposed to be available next week.
• Read more: Ricoh GR III review
Posting on the Ricoh Japan website, the firm explained that (translated from Japanese), “there is a delay in procuring some parts” that are used in the Ricoh GR III, and so it may take “some time” before delivery.
It also mentioned that while the Ricoh GR IIIx will still be on sale from 01 October, it will also take “some time before delivery is available”. Given that the GR III and GR IIIx are basically the same camera with a different lens, it makes sense that a supply problem affecting one would also affect the other.
While Ricoh provides no timescale for when the issues will be resolved, it does apologize for the delay and for “any inconvenience caused to our customers and related parties.”
To be fair, Ricoh is hardly the first camera manufacturer to have been affected by supply issues in the turmoil of 2021. The Canon EOS R3 went out of stock just days after its announcement, with Canon citing greater demand than expected. A host of Canon RF lenses and other accessories were also listed as being in short supply.
The Fujifilm 33mm f/1.4 lens was also hit, with the maker again citing higher-than-expected demand as a reason for the shortage. Nikon, meanwhile, had to apologize for delays to the roll-out of its retro-styled Nikon Z fc.
While manufacturers will generally say that these delays are the result of their products being simply too darn popular for their own good, the fact that it’s an industry wide trend does indicate that the problems are perhaps a little more structural than that.
With costs of shipping and freight also rising around the world, and a global semiconductor shortage continuing to plague the tech industry, we’d expect to hear a few more announcements like these over at least the next few months – and possibly beyond.
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