The threat from the Decepticons never seems to go away – at least, it won’t if Michael Bay gets his way. In what might seem an unlikely but very welcome pairing, Canon has teamed up with Takara Tomy – the company behind the Transformers toys) to produce Canon EOS R5 mirrorless cameras that are actually Transformers. At a quick glance, these EOS R5 cameras with lenses look quite convincing but up close, it’s easy to spot their secret. There appear to be two models of the “camera”. One is an Autobot which, naturally, turns into Optimus Prime R5 while the other turns into Decepticon Reflector R5. Obviously, these aren’t real functional cameras and they’re 80% scale compared to the real thing. They’re also not too terribly expensive if you’re a collector of these sorts of things. They’re probably not the kinds of toys you’d buy for your young child, though.
Despite not being real cameras, the companies seem to have worked together to put a surprising amount of the original details into them. Looking at the rear side of them in camera form, for example, reveals a surprising amount of detail that actually looks like a real camera on first glance – if not for all the gaps where parts unfold out, allowing it to transform.
No part of the camera goes to waste, either. Everything transforms into some part of Optimus Prime R5 in his robot form. Even the lens cap becomes a shield to defend himself from his foes! Of course, Decepticon Reflector R5 also has a shield. Yes, the video above says “Decepticon Refraktor R5” but according to the press release, his name is actually Reflector.
And because no Decepticon is complete without a camera to shoot selfies and videos of their mayhem for Instagram and TikTok, Reflector comes complete with a mini camera of his own, too! Unfortunately, this one isn’t a real camera, either, though.
Optimus Prime R5 is available to pre-order now for ¥ 19,800 (around $150) and Decepticon Reflector R5 is also available to pre-order now for ¥ 19,800 from the Takara Tomy website. Try not to be too impatient with delivery, though. Both EOS R5 Transformers aren’t expected to be released until late February 2023. [TFormers / TFormers via The Verge]
