Messages

181

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon 5D Mark III - Price Drop Details

« on: March 06, 2012, 11:52:42 AM »

Here are my predictions:

$2999 this Christmas
$2499 next Christmas

The 5DIII will be in better supply than the 5DII, so the price drop will be quicker.

182

EOS Bodies / Re: Hugely Disappointed In 5D III Price

« on: March 06, 2012, 12:15:49 AM »

If the 5D3 can't maintain the 5D2's enormous sales advantage among videographers, I'll have my new camera about as soon as I can afford it.

Hehe, agree.
Very good analysis overall.

I also think that the 5DIII price will erode because of videographers.
In addition to Canon omitting some key video specs from the 5DIII ('clean' HDMI, 60fps 1080p), there are strong indications that Sony will be announcing their A99 model this fall - an SLT camera with 24mp FF sensor.

Sony's A900 and A850 were not very popular for still photography.
However, if Sony plays their cars well, the A99 might become very popular with videographers.

If the A99 has 'clean' HDMI, 60fps 1080p, and is priced around the $2000 mark, it can easily become the video DSLR of choice for many of those who are now buying the 5DII and (potentially) the 5DIII.

The possibility that a large group of buyers might migrate to the competition will surely prompt Canon to lower the 5DIII price.
My prediction is that the 5DIII price will drop to $2600-2400 next summer and stay at that level for a while.

183

EOS Bodies / Re: Understanding the price increase on the 5DIII

« on: March 05, 2012, 10:07:05 PM »

From my experience I'd say Canon could sell the 5D3 for $1500 and still would make profit. But as many are willing to pay more Canon takes more... It is that easy...

Exactly.

There's pent up demand in the market for an "affordable" (ahem) Canon FF camera with an advanced AF system.
The 5DIII delivers just that and many will pay the initial high price.

But the 5DIII is also meant to be a high volume product (relatively speaking), so the price will inevitably drop.

This is called "price skimming" and seems to have become Canon's standard pricing strategy for all of their photo products. 

184

EOS Bodies / Re: Understanding the price increase on the 5DIII

« on: March 05, 2012, 09:54:10 PM »

As much as it sucks, it's the global economy and the weak USD that's the primary culprit here.

As others have said, please explain why other Japanese companies have not increased their prices with 30%.
Also, did German car makers (BMW, Audi, Mercedes) jack up their prices with 30% when the euro was super-strong before the 2008 crisis?

Attributing the 5DIII price increase to the strong yen is simplistic and naive.

Canon simply repositioned the 5DIII a bit higher - the same way they repositioned the 7D compared to the xxD series.
If they used a different name (say 5DX or 3D), the repositioning would have been more clear.
For some reason they chose to stay with the 5D name, causing a sticker shock .

Right now the 5DIII is priced higher than the competition (D800) but the price will come down eventually.

185

EOS Bodies / Re: Is '22' the magic number?

« on: March 05, 2012, 12:27:03 AM »

Is anyone else betting that the new crop of APS-C DSLRs (pun noted) will feature a 22MP sensor? It would be in the ballpark for previous percentage resolution increases and is about the bare minimum that most people can notice.  It would also tie in nicely with the 5D MkIII's resolution for marketing purposes.

If they want to give them the same quality movie mode then my guess is yes.
but they might be willing to stick with 1dx quality movies (well with more noise of course due to a smaller sensor)

My thoughts exactly. Can't say what is more likely, though.

If the next generation crop cameras share parts of their hardware & firmware with the 5DIII, it's likely that they'll also get 22mp.
It would have been easier for Canon to develop them together - but this might not have been a priority for Canon.

186

EOS Bodies / Re: Which Body follows next?

« on: March 03, 2012, 07:10:32 PM »

Canon needs a new model to reinvigorate the Holiday sales at the end of this year.

The most likely candidate is the 70D. Announcement at the of August.

187

EOS Bodies / Re: So who thinks there will be a 7D Mk. II now?

« on: March 01, 2012, 09:04:44 PM »

So does the 7D line live on or just get replaced by the 70D?

Depends on the 5DIII price that will be announced tonight.

If it's $3500, then yes, the 7D line will live on a happy life for a couple more years.

But if the 5DIII is announced at $2699 tonight (which is my bet), then expect the 70D to replace the 7D this fall as the top-of-the-line 1.6x model - with 22mp, 19 AF points (or more), 6fps, and 100% viewfinder.

All that for $1299. Let's see who will miss the 7D then.

188

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon 7Dmk2 any rumors??

« on: February 29, 2012, 01:34:46 PM »

Yeah... It is discontinued.

Seriously... if the 5D MKIII has improved AF, weather sealing and FPS, the only difference for a 7D upgrade becomes crop sensor, and at that point... why bother.

Exactly.

Only problem is the 5DIII's crazy rumored price.
At $3500, the 5DIII can hardly be a merger of the 7D and 5D lines.

But if the 5dIII price turns out to be closer to the 5DII intro price ($2699), then it's quite certain that the 7D line will be discontinued.

189

EOS Bodies / Re: *UPDATE* The Next 5D on March 2, 2012 [CR3]

« on: February 28, 2012, 02:14:46 PM »

There is no "one size fits all" in the end. The Nikonians themselves are divided over the best resolution for the D800(E).

...

I realize that studio photographers (and maybe wild life ones) would like to see a camera with the biggest MP they could possibly get. One has to ask what percentage of Canon's potential sales does this segment make. If the bread and butter is somewhere else, that's what Canon would naturally focus on.

What a sensible post. Agree 100%.

It should be quite clear by now that there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to these high-end cameras.
So, by trying to hit a sweet spot, Canon and Nikon will inevitably anger a certain number of users.

I also think that the rumored specs of the 5DIII are fantastic and I truly hope that the rumored $3500 price is the kit price, not the body-only price.
With these specs and the right price, I have no doubts that the 5DIII will be another great success for Canon.

190

EOS Bodies / Re: What is the latest for the 7Dmkii/70D?

« on: February 27, 2012, 10:19:43 PM »

I have a very strong feeling that we won’t see a 7DII.

Canon will keep selling the 7D at its current reduced price till the end of the summer.
Then the 70D will be announced and the 7D will be discontinued by the end of the year.

The 70D will have to compete with the D7000 and the NEX-7 (and their successors), so it will have to be spec’d and priced very competitively.
Thus, the 70D will inherit many of the advanced 7D features (19-point AF system, 100% viewfinder, etc.).
Some of the speed and ruggedness of the 7D will be lost, though.

191

EOS Bodies / Re: 5D Mark III/X Information [CR1]

« on: February 15, 2012, 10:37:52 PM »

http://photos.imageevent.com/sipphoto/samplepictures/Pixel%20density%20test%20results.jpg

Sorry but this is an apples vs oranges comparison.

Due to higher production volumes and economies of scale, the small sensors in digicams and cell phones are made on newer and more advanced technologies than the larger sensors in DSLRs.

So, it’s not the small pixel size that makes image quality better but the newer, more advanced tech used in the small sensors.

For the same technology, the house wall analogy applies: a larger number of rooms leads to increased wall area and decreased living space (for any given area).

And no, no microlens magic can (fully) compensate for loss of active area on a sensor.

192

EOS Bodies / Re: 7D Guinea Pig

« on: February 15, 2012, 03:14:49 PM »

Here's my thoughts on the current situation, especially with the rumour of no 7Dmk2

'Guinea Pig' is a bit too strong of an expression but overall your point is valid, IMO.

Ever since the 7D was released, it's been obvious that the 7D 'platform' will be shared with a FF model.
From that perspective, the 7D was/is the testbed for this shared 'platform'.

This bodes very well for future 5DIII/X buyers, since they will be getting a camera that's been in field testing for two-three years .

I think Canon originally thought that the 7D and its FF brother will happily coexist together.
The way things are going, though, 7D might just get a FF replacement instead of a FF brother.

The Nikon's D7000 and Sony's Nex-7 lowered too much the price of the 'enthusiast' models.

To be competitive with these models, Canon needs to lower the price of the 7DII or beef-up the the specs of the 70D.

The first option is not good for business.
But if Canon beefs up the specs of the 70D, then the 70D will kill 7DII sales - just like the D7000 killed the D300s sales.

So, the rumor that there will be no 7DII makes quite a lot of sense actually.

193

Lenses / Re: The future of the EF-s 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM

« on: February 11, 2012, 06:55:46 PM »

I am curious what you think.

As others have said, let's see what Canon does with the 1.6x line.

I have a strong feeling that there won't be a 7DII.

The 7D is fantastic but it seems to me that Canon expected to sell it at a higher price.
Since this is not happening, I think we'll see the 70D going back to being the top-of-the-line 1.6x model.

In this scenario, there will be no need for a mark-II of the 17-55 lens.
The current lens is already good enough and also expensive enough.

Btw, no worries about the specs of 70D.
It will be spec'd more or less like the 7D but will likely have a smaller/lighter body, so that pros don't buy it instead of the 5DIII  .

194

EOS Bodies / Re: 5D Mark III Sighting?

« on: January 23, 2012, 04:13:50 PM »

The 5DIII is coming, woohoo!!!

Finally a real leak on this forum.

The 5DIII and 7DII will be sister cameras, as Canon has always intended.
My guess is 24mp/6fps on the 5DIII and 18mp/8fps on the 7DII.

195

EOS Bodies / Re: 7D Mark II for Photokina? [CR1]

« on: December 31, 2011, 03:16:47 AM »

just up the 7D mk2's FPS and AF plus possible use different ASPC sensors with the 70D upping megapixels and the 7D mk2 ISO performance.

+1.