About the shipping schedule of kyu camera

Hello, this is Ando, co-founder of kyu.

Thank you so much for your patience.
We’ve finally reached the point where we can announce the start of product shipments ⛰️

It took much longer than expected, but we’ve been able to bring to life something that we genuinely believe is good.

We know the schedule has been delayed multiple times, and we haven’t been able to share progress updates as often as we should have. Even so, many of you continued to support us—and for that, we’re truly grateful.

Current status & shipping update

We will begin shipping in early August, in order.

Right now, inspection is underway at the factory.
After that, all units will be shipped from Hong Kong to our office in Kyoto.
There, we’ll carefully inspect each unit one by one before shipping them out 📦

Depending on this process, it’s possible that some units may be flagged for issues, so we cannot yet confirm how many we’ll be able to ship at once.

As soon as we know for sure, we’ll send an update.

Why were there such major delays?

It ultimately comes down to our lack of experience.

Thanks to advice and knowledge from many people—including pioneers in this field—we were able to avoid some mistakes. But most of the setbacks we encountered were very specific, complex, and tightly intertwined.

We especially struggled with:

• fine-tuning the aluminum CNC process and anodization finish,

• refining and adjusting the resin mold, testing prototypes, and redoing that cycle.

In addition, compared to major manufacturers, our small production volume presented a number of challenges:

• low production efficiency due to frequent line changes and setup time being costly per unit,

• limited access to components due to minimum order quantities (MOQs) and strict supplier terms,

• inconsistent quality from lack of feedback loops and production stability,

• prioritization issues within the factories.

That said, we also found a surprising amount of promise in small-batch production—something that goes against the typical belief in the hardware industry that “you have to make in mass to make it work” or “it won’t be profitable otherwise.”

We’re beginning to question that assumption.

Bold design and experimental experiences that aren’t bound by what’s “normal”—
That kind of forward-thinking craftsmanship might be exactly where small teams like ours can shine.

A request to you

kyu is still a work in progress.

That’s why we want to grow it little by little, together with all of you who use it.

We’ll continue to keep you updated regularly via email on our progress and any changes.

Also, we’re currently planning an event where we can hand-deliver the product to those who ordered.
We’re looking to hold this in Tokyo and Kyoto, and will share more details once confirmed 🫡

Thank you again for your continued support.