The Sony FX5 Is Delayed Until At Least the End of October

Something is seriously wrong with Sony’s planned FX5 production schedule. After an announcement in July that it would be available to purchase on August 21, it was first delayed into September and now has officially slipped again: shipping will start “from the end of October.”

The delay comes from Sony Japan, who lists it under an updated story titled, “Notice of postponement of release of professional camcorder ‘FX5’ and related accessories.” This is an update from last month when this page simply noted that the release date would be shared later. Now, it has been updated.

The release date of the professional camcorder “FX5,” which was set as “August 21st (Friday)” at the time of the press announcement on July 22nd (Wednesday), will be postponed due to production reasons. In addition, the release of the related accessories “DVF-EL1”, “XLR-H2”, and “VMC-BNCU1” will also be postponed.

The notice includes a full timeline, which shows the original announcement date (July 22), original planned release date (August 21), and now the change from what was an “undecided” new release date to “From the end of October.”

That means Sony won’t have units ready for dealers to start fulfilling orders until the end of next month — that will be more than a two-month delay if Sony can maintain this timeline.

Sony has not yet shipped units to North America-based dealers, and pre-orders for the camera have not been fulfilled. PetaPixel understands that some units may have made it to customers last month, but these are few and far between, if they are legitimate claims at all. PetaPixel has also heard that some dealers did receive units but were instructed not to release them to customers, although these reports could not be verified.

It is difficult to parse what exactly is going on, mainly due to the fact that Sony has not explained itself. Sony Japan simply refers to it as a delay due to “production reasons,” and Sony North America has not issued a comment at all on the matter. The news that the camera won’t start shipping until the end of October is likely news to some dealers, as there are some who still list an expected shipping date of October 15, such as Adorama. B&H Photo does not list an expected delivery date.

Because Sony remains tight-lipped, speculation has run rampant. Some have suggested there is a quality control issue, while others blame the July 28 earthquake in Kumamoto. Sony’s affected sensor factory resumed full operation on August 21. Unless Sony decides to share exactly what went wrong, it’s unlikely the public will ever know for sure why the camera is so far behind.

Given the high demand for the product, which Sony says exceeds expectations, even when the FX5 starts shipping, it will be quite a while before enough have been produced to meet current pre-orders. The FX5 is arguably Sony’s most important cinema camera release ever, and it’s a shame it has been marred by such a long delay.

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Image creditsHeader photo via Sony, with some elements licensed via Depositphotos.com.