CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: an old camera.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

No problem with that.
As I said do an update and re-label it as a new higher priced model.
Most companies have for some time as you say provide firmware updates to existing models.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

In the early 2000s, firmware updates for Canons and Nikons rarely added any new features. They just fixed bugs in the firmware. The prevailing philosophy was that you wouldn't buy a new camera if you didn't have a reason to. The reason was that you had to buy new hardware to get the new firmware features in it.

Real Nikon Lover Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Cameras? What about cars? Nothing new on any of the lots locally. All used with overinflated prices. I want to buy a new Corvette and the only way to do that is order it and wait MONTHS! Or go find a rare one on a lot and pay $16,000 over MSRP. RIDICULOUS!!! LGB

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

That was then not now.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Of course. The point I'm making is that the world has changed in favor of software (firmware is just software flashed onto a ROM chip). It is a mindset that came from the computing industry. The camera companies used to release new flagships every 7-12 years or so. For a while with digital, it was happening every year to three years. Now that development has matured a bit, and firmware updates can extend the market life of a model, the camera manufacturers are less eager to hack up new bodies every few years.

The economy has an influence, too, as does the shrinking market for adjustable cameras. Smartphones ate the bottom of the market almost out of existence in about a decade. The cost of development remains similar, though, so it takes longer to recover it from sales.

There are all sorts of doomslingers out there. "Brand X is dead." "Format Y is dead." "Brand Z is no longer #2..." I look at it as a bit irrelevant. Buy what you need. The market for used gear is HUGE. If your brand dies tomorrow, you probably have plenty of used gear from which to choose, at bargain basement prices, because the "herd" will have jumped on some other format.

I used Nikons and Canons for years. Nikon was always fond of saying they hadn't changed their lens mount in decades. Canon showed them the foolishness of that at one point, by coming out in the mid-1980s with the EOS system and the EF mount. We had just bought an A-1 that used FD/FL mount. Did we care? Meh. No, actually. We applauded.

Years later, as AF became important and electronic lens control became important, Canon found it easier to produce digital cameras that sold well. They made sense.

Still, the SLR concept and its complex mechanics was a problem for some of us. The digital camera is essentially a video camera. We wanted to be able to use it that way. Mirrorless designs solved that.

Nickaroo

My Friend's and I received our Z9's a month ago. One of my Friends just received His New Canon R5 about a month ago. You should find a reputable Dealer and that will lead You to the Promise Land. I have a Friend who is Authorized to sell Sony, Canon, Nikon, And Fuji and there have been zero problems getting the new models since the 2nd week of January.