Canon Surveys for 5D Mark III

[Z]

There was one missing option in the list of questions. That is the ability to see constantly illuminated red AF points instead of the miserable, frequently camouflaged, often invisible tiny black AF points.

-PW

If it's any consolation I wrote about that in one of the free text boxes, and I bet I'm not the only one.

[Chuck Alaimo]

Forget about inflation, exchange rates, and all that. Those are all excuses. The 5D3 doesn't have to compete with a 5D2 released at $2700 4 years ago. It has to compete with the D800, which has a much better sensor and sells for $3000.

Back to this again...the d800 has a great sensor for studio work and landscapes... the mk3 has a great sensor for wedding, events and sports.  Can the mk3 do work in the studio?  You betcha.  Can the mk3 shoot landscapes?  You betcha, can the D800 shoot sports, events, weddings...for sure it can.  But is that where it is strongest?  No for both.  The mk3 is competing with the mk3 in a certain sense, but not really in the overall - each body specializes in one area of photography. 

I have many friends here i nthe wedding business, both nikon and canon shooters --- and by and large whenever a nikon user asks other nikon users what they would choose if they wanted to upgrade to FF for weddings, they get told - d700, d3, d3s, or d4 if the budget is big enough.   Even the ones that have a d800 admit that at a wedding it doesn't come out of the bag.  Many mention the d700 cause its good in low light and has reasonable file sizes.  These aren't my words, they are the words of nikon users!!!!

I agree with you that the mk3 is not competing in price with the mk2, that would be silly because the mk3 is much improved over the mk2.

And finally, at least looking at the amazon top seller list, the mk3 is currently at 13th on the list, with the d600 at the 12th spot and the d800 at the 16th spot ---and oddly enough the mk2 at the 10th spot.  If this is similar to whats happening at the other dealers then the mk3 is handling itself quite well...

[Chuck Alaimo]

Forget about inflation, exchange rates, and all that. Those are all excuses. The 5D3 doesn't have to compete with a 5D2 released at $2700 4 years ago. It has to compete with the D800, which has a much better sensor and sells for $3000.

Right, it does have to compete against the D800, which was priced lower at introduction.  Happily, the 5D3 price is coming down.

However, the question of a "better sensor" depends on the intended use and the preferences of the user.  I prefer Canon color for photos of people, so the 5D3 has the better sensor for me.  If I were a landscape photographer, I'd probably favor the D800 sensor. 

And other important factors come into the equation.  Without a smaller Raw file format and without a super-quiet shutter mode and without Canon ergonomics and certain Canon lenses and the Canon radio-controlled flash, the D800 is less attractive for me, and therefor less competitive even at a lower price.  For these reasons, the 5D3 competes very well for some photographers, whether priced the same as the D800 or higher.  It comes down to the needs and preferences of the photographer. 

So there are multiple factors, some of which have greater importance to certain photographers; DR is just one of them.  Back when Nikon didn't offer a full-frame camera or any camera with excellent high ISO performance, some photographers still preferred Nikon because other factors were more important to them.  This is why reducing camera competitiveness to just one or two factors and a price doesn't work.

There are obviously many photographers for whom the D800 will be a better fit and likewise many for whom the 5D3 will be a better fit, notwithstanding any price differences.  It's apparent that Canon and Nikon intentionally design at least some of their products with somewhat different buyers in mind (with a good deal of overlap, of course) — this way they don't have to compete strictly on price.

+1 ...others have said it so I'll repeat it...why are we so dogmatic about this that we can't just use 2 systems if the needs for both are that great?  I shoot weddings, portraits and events as my bread and butter...but I do also shoot landscapes and cityscapes and urban decay, etc, etc too.  If demand for my art were to get to a point where I could live off of it, then yeah I would seriously consider picking up a d800.  But, right now for me the service end is more lucrative - and yeah, the 5d3 is the better camera for that kind of work.