Messages

1

EOS Bodies / Re: refurbished 5d III, what do you think?

« on: March 04, 2013, 11:15:05 PM »

It actually depends where you buy it.  If you buy direct from Canon Refurb, you're close to $2500+ with tax included, etc and a 3 month warranty (which you could extend via a Mack warranty, etc).  If you can get Adorama to sell you a refurb at the Canon price, you can probably save sales tax AND get a 1 year warranty (Canon covers the first three months and Adorama covers the rest of it). 

Also, Canon refurbs aren't necessarily returns of defective or demo units; they can be units that failed some QC check during the actual manufacturing process, and were deemed feasible to adjust to factory specifications (i.e., you could very well have a brand new camera that just took a minor adjustment to make it through the process of being built).

Canon refurbished units are usually very high quality.  In the time I've been dealing with people on POTN, etc, I've only heard one bad story about a Canon refurb (and it was recently, from a member that didn't provide much information (pictures, which lens, etc, just that his 'refurb' lens had scratches on the front element)).  The fact is, there's a failure rate in even things that are bought brand new, so there's always an inherent risk (take, for example, the WD 500gb passports I bought on shellshocker from Newegg not too long ago; the first one I opened didn't work out of the box / wouldn't be recognized by the PC.  The second one was.) 

2

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 7D - Worth Buying ???

« on: February 14, 2013, 10:33:12 AM »

Loved my 7Ds when it was a choice between them and the crappy AF on the 5D2. Since picking up the 5D3's and 1DX, I can't even look at the 7Ds. My wife uses them and even now, she is grabbing one of the 5D3s if they are available. The 7Ds collect dust...

The 5D2 and the 7D's are now sadly museum pieces...

Save and go FF.

5D2 and 7D are hardly museum pieces.  Are they top of the line? By no means.  Just because Canon released the 5D3/6D doesn't magically make these antiques though.  This time last year, the 5D2 was still a staple for photographers - even though it was over four years old.  The 7D, while not being a spring chicken, is still pretty much the best crop-body, non 1D/5D body you can get for the money. 

What's more, prices are going to drop as rumors come out, etc.  The fact is, these are still great quality for the money cameras -- so long as you don't buy them new (or even refurbished).  Good condition 7Ds can be had for under $1000 (which is less than even the Canon Loyalty Program) and patient buyers can find excellent condition 5D2s for not much more ($1200 seems to be the line people gravitate towards for quick sales). 

In terms of buying new though, I do agree that it's not the best purchase. 

3

EOS Bodies / Re: Frimware on 7D version 7.7.7??

« on: December 12, 2012, 07:44:45 AM »

Huh. can you actually enter the 'factory menu'?  If so, what options does it give you?

4

Canon General / Re: Black Friday Deals

« on: November 02, 2012, 11:39:51 AM »

Well.. MAP will stop the advertising of those deals - I know with certain companies that have restrictions like that I commonly hear 'prices too low to advertise' - by going to the website and going through at least part of the process (adding to cart, etc) you can usually check the price before purchasing, and that may reflect a better deal.  MAP technically (from everything I've seen/read) stop the sale of items below that price, it's literally just the advertisement. 

5

EOS Bodies / Re: Hands On with the 6D at Photoplus CPS Lounge

« on: November 02, 2012, 07:45:27 AM »

I got to check out the 6D @ Photoplus as well, and my findings are largely in step with most of the above. 

I didn't really get to put it through its paces because I could only go on Saturday and the CPS Lounge was closed (open for clean and check pickups only), but they had a couple out on the floor.  I didn't even bother with the other focal points - though I was interested in how exactly they planned on running 11 AF points as a design. 

From what I saw, focus was a bit quicker than the 5D2 and seemed to hunt less in sub-par lighting conditions.  There was no card in the body (taped over too, as expected); I would have hoped they would have left a card in so we could at least review the images we took (even if only on the LCD screen on the back). 

In my opinion, the jury is definitely still out.  I still believe this could outperform the 5D2 in many regards, but I think it should have been introduced at under $2000 personally (not because I'm notoriously cheap, which isn't the case, I assure you, but because Canon isn't going to have a hard time unloading the last of their 5D2s and they won't be in direct competition with themselves; if anything, leaving this priced closer to the price of the 5D2 may help them move the last of their product. By pricing it a few hundred dollars above rebates, I think they're going to run into people that will simply wait for the price to naturally turn downward after release, however long that may take. 

6

Lenses / Re: Does anyone use the lens hood on their 35/1.4L? Or any other lens?

« on: April 26, 2012, 06:05:25 PM »

I always use the hood, even just for the physical protection.

Same here.

+1

+1 (lt's start another +1 pyramide )

+1

I almost always do, unless my hoods aren't on me for some reason.

7

Lenses / Re: 5dmkii upgrade question

« on: April 26, 2012, 06:02:46 PM »

5D2/24-105 is definitely a nice kit.  As much as I dont want to take business away from Adorama though, keep your eyes open for Beach Camera kits on eBay, they get quite a bit lower than that..

8

Lenses / Re: Canon Direct refurbished thinning the herd?

« on: April 06, 2012, 10:08:20 AM »

Looks like they're back up to the four pages of lenses.. including a couple of relatively rare items in stock refurbished...

9

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon smarter than we think

« on: March 29, 2012, 01:00:36 PM »

Hmm. While Canon did listen to users and did incorporate user feedback into the 5DIII, their strategy is not brilliant.
In fact, just the opposite.

Raising prices in the face of ever increasing completion is ... well, just dumb.

With mirrorless cameras increasing their share in the lower end of the market, the smart strategy for Canon (and Nikon) would be to move as many users as possible upmarket, where FF has a unique size advantage.

The 5DIII should have been announced at $2600 - a symbolic lowering of the price (compared to the 5DII), designed to make a switch to FF more attractive.

Instead, Canon raised the 5DIII price by 30%, effectively repositioning the 5DIII as a camera strictly for pros.

The problem is, pros have never been the core market of the 5D series.

In case there are doubts about Canon’s "brilliant" pricing strategy, just consider that the 5DII could not be found in stock for more than a year after it went on sale. In contrast, just a week after the 5DIII’s general availability, it is now in stock in many retailers:
http://instock.1001noisycameras.com/canon-5d-mark-iii-pre-orders/

It is very safe to say that just a week after general availability, supply is already outstripping demand for this camera.
Good luck to Canon as even more 5DIII’s are on their way to the stores.

The 30% price boost is an inaccurate comparison.  This has been discussed previously (not quite sure if it was here or not) -- this price doesn't incorporate inflation over the last few years, nor does it incorporate the fluctuation of exchange rates.  The $3500 price point is pretty much in line with where the 5D2 was in 2008.

The aim of the 5D3 is the professional photographer; Canon has a 4k Cinema camera coming out imminently for film making and dedicated videographers, even though the 5D3 still produces quite high quality video.  For hobbyists and enthusiasts, the rumor mill is already kicking around rumors of an 'entry level' full frame camera that could be announced as soon as Photokina which will be what Canon uses to draw people from mirrorless cameras up to full frame. 

10

Lenses / Re: Canon Direct refurbished thinning the herd?

« on: March 28, 2012, 06:04:57 PM »

True, it would be nice to see Canon add some of their newer lenses to the lineup.  8-15 Fisheye please?

11

Lenses / Re: Canon Direct refurbished thinning the herd?

« on: March 28, 2012, 11:43:44 AM »

That makes sense, didn't even think about that, very good point.  I would think they could simply say 'on select lenses' and provide the list of what it didn't apply to, but I guess that method works a bit better if it's Canon.

That being said, I hope they come back.  BH wants $2199 for a refurb 70-200 F2.8L II, which doesn't make any sense when you can buy brand new w/ full warranty for $2299..

12

Lenses / Canon Direct refurbished thinning the herd?

« on: March 28, 2012, 11:37:41 AM »

Hey all,

Has anyone else noticed that recently the number of models available via Canon Direct (refurbished lenses and speedlites) has dropped from 5 pages of items to two pages of items?  And that certain popular lenses (70-200 F/2.8L II for starters) are off the list?

Could this be indicative of what CR has been reporting, that Canon will be producing a record number of lenses this year, including but no limited to 24-70 F/2.8L II (we already know about this), 35L II, 200-400 2x, etc?  Could it be indicative of less lenses being returned to Canon?  Is Canon moving away from the practice of refurbishing and selling directly to the public?  Or is this normal? 

13

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Peace of mind for high end gear

« on: March 21, 2012, 09:02:04 AM »

Two things:

1) you don't always want to keep silica gel or drying agents in with your gear.  Prolonged exposure can dry out the rubbers in lenses and camera grips.

2) more in line with what the OP was asking, insurance is the way to go, but don't rely on homeowner's insurance.  On our policy, only the first $250 of a loss was covered -- wouldn't go far in replacing even my 5Dc, let alone anything a bit more modern in my kit.  Outside of MA (and probably a handful of other states), the most common thing I see as a stand-alone policy is a State Farm personal articles policy.  This way, you're avoiding putting in claims on your homeowners (if you were to go this route). 

The important thing is to call and talk to your agent to make sure what's covered if you're going to try to attach to your homeowners.  It may be different for others (I have to believe it, I know of a couple of people that have had homeowner's claims to take care of decent amounts of gear that were stolen or otherwise lost), but given my personal experience, I always tread lightly when homeowners being used gets mentioned. 

I buy most of my equipment on a credit card that doubles the vendor warranty.  So my 5D3 will now have 2 years warranty with the second year usually covering accidents and stolen equipment.  Quite a few high end credit cards now do this. 

An alternative is to buy a warranty from squaretrade.com.  They offer very reasonable prices (e.g. $350 for a 5D3).

Cheers

If you're talking about American Express, there are limits to these claims as well.  On another forum I read about a guy that dropped a two week old 5D2 and it split the frame apart at the corner.  Sent to Canon and was told it was 'beyond economical repair'.  AmEx gave him $1000 for the repair, so it's not a total loss, but it's still a pain.  That being said, it's definitely useful  to at least have that available, but actual insurance coverage would have absolutely been better in this case obviously. 

14

EOS Bodies / Re: Selling 5D mk ll. Reasonable price?

« on: February 27, 2012, 09:19:59 AM »

Granted, the 5D MK II for the most part is selling at $2400 now, but these used prices are not off from much when I was buying in November when you could grab a new 5D MK II for $2100 - $2200.

Actually I got mine for $2169 BNIB from B&H just before the last batch of rebates ended (I believe on 2/2/12). 

Also, probably mentioned above, but there are new rebates in the pipeline after this rebate program. Coincidentally, they come two days after the next big announcement.  If you're in the market for one, wait a week.  If you're trying to sell, the condition is very good + and the clicks are pretty low, try to get as much as you can; I could see the prices dropping down to the $2000-$2100 mark, and the used market will quickly adjust to the new prices.

15

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Help me spend my money

« on: February 16, 2012, 11:18:24 AM »

The only thing I would think to add here is that the 5Dii is still going to be plenty of body for most people once the new camera comes out (especially if, as it's being reported, it's going to remain part of Canon's lineup).  If that ends up being the case, I wouldn't be surprised if the prices on the 5Dii & kits actually start rising after the announcement of the 5D3/X/whatever it is that's being announced hopefully in ~12 days). 

The way I see it, if the announcement incoming isn't the next 5D, then it's an entirely new body, which depending on features could see it priced out higher than expected on the 5D replacement.  This would inflate demand on the 5Diis and likely result in the previously mentioned higher prices.  Obviously, I'm no expert and this is only speculation, but I honestly wouldn't expect to see prices getting all that much better after the impending announcements, whatever they may be.