Canon Cannot Keep Screwing It's Customers Over

[HoneyBadger]

When you buy tech items within a month or two of their release.... of course you will pay a lot more than half a year or a year later. Can canon continue this? Well, you were an early adopter, I was an early adopter and other were as well so yes they can as long as we keep buying. Also, it is hard to find the 5DIII much cheaper than 2999 from a reputable dealer. I stick with amazon, adorama and BH and they wil not have it much cheaper than that unless its a very special deal somehow. I got "lucky" and amazon dropped the price to 3350 for a few hours one day and I made them price match me since I bought mine for 3499 a week before lol.

The key is to wait until it drops, buy when you absolutely need it, or buy it and enjoy it and not worry about the price drops that will always come a half year after a tech item is released.

[earwaxxer]

My biggest complaint about what Canon has been dishing out with their DSLR's in the past 5yrs or so, is that you can almost depend that they are not going to work right out of the box. You need to wait for several firmware upgrades, and even then the problem may not be fixed. I was VERY discouraged when my 40D stopped working due to a bad shutter after a couple of years. As I read more about that particular problem, it was pretty common. Thats not good.

And dont get me started on their lenses. They continue to lag behind third party lenses. Even after the mkll and mklll attempts!

[kdsand]

I don't understand why ppl get upset about firmware updates - generally I think they are a good thing. As fa as the shutter going out. Well that would suck but it is warrantied.

Can't really argue withe you about the lenses. Love my 40mm though its a great little thing & a good value. 

[cliffwang]

If I knew the camera would drop almost $1000 since release, I would have waited.
If I knew that I could purchase the camera for the same price that I did(at release) now, and get a free L lens... I would have waited
Point is, I believe that these price drops occured too soon.

Honestly, how many of you purchase items that drop this much of a price in 6 months?
when I purchase an iPhone, its the same price until... the next iphone comes out.

The flat screen TV that I purchased for $1500 when it came out almost a year ago, is till $1200

You know not ever smartphones can keep it value as good as iPhone.  Same thing here, camera price could drop very fast.  Remember the golden rule, supply and demand.

[redz1006]

As photography is just my hobby, I usually am not an early adopter.

Everyone knows price would drop several months after initial release or when a new model is about to come out.

Bought my T2I when the T4I was about to be released and got a pretty good deal.

At the rate these prices are falling, I might just have a new FF body or 7D in the bag before the end of the year.

So....I'm not complaining at all !!! Pretty sure there are a lot of us out there too.....

[agierke]

do you complain about the depreciation of your car after you drive it off the dealerships lot? because that is alot worse than what any of the camera companies are doing.

this is not a new trend....its the primary reason i dont buy camera gear within the first year of its release. sry you feel burned, but this is how it goes and its been this way for a while.

chalk it up to a learning experience and show a little patience next time.

Which car are you talking about?
By the way, many people know cars will depreciate and for the most part you can pretty much KNOW how much in how long.
Did you know that this camera would loose over 25% of it's value in 6 months?
With the car, you can make a decision based on an educated assumption.

yes i knew the camera would drop in price within the first 6 months to a year. just like every other camera model has in the last 10 years. how much it dropped did not matter to me.

i am a pro so i make my purchases based on the need of my business and what my business can sustain. these are professional tools for me to make money. i also love photography and am blown away at the advancements of the technology in such a short time while continuing to get GREATER value for LESS MONEY.

i am very happy to see more and more people enjoying digital photography but it is downright annoying to hear people complaining about the price or performance of PROFESSIONAL LEVEL gear (especially non pros). it smacks of entitlement. these cameras and lenses are high performance tools that are blowing away what was possible even 5 years ago.

these are TOOLS not INVESTMENTS. if your portfolio drops in value by 25% i can certainly understand being upset. but the 5d mrk 3 has the SAME VALUE as it did the day it was released because it is still capable of the SAME PERFORMANCE. if you were unaware of the trend of price drops in the first 12 months...well now you know and you wont make the same mistake next time.

you have a phenomenal tool that is capable of providing great photographic opportunities. ENJOY IT.

back to the car comparison...if you bought a brand new Ferrari at 100k and a year later it was only worth 75k would it be any less bad-ass? the answer is no.

[verysimplejason]

My biggest complaint about what Canon has been dishing out with their DSLR's in the past 5yrs or so, is that you can almost depend that they are not going to work right out of the box. You need to wait for several firmware upgrades, and even then the problem may not be fixed. I was VERY discouraged when my 40D stopped working due to a bad shutter after a couple of years. As I read more about that particular problem, it was pretty common. Thats not good.

And dont get me started on their lenses. They continue to lag behind third party lenses. Even after the mkll and mklll attempts!

  Working right out of the box, they will.  Problem is they might have bugs.  Just the same with a lot of cameras and even program applications.  Most of it are from software which is created by imperfect human beings.  I understand that part because I'm a programmer also.  I know programs as much as we wanted them to be perfect are prone to human errors.  Maybe you are complaining of 5D3?  As for your 40D, how many years are we talking about and how many actuation?  40D has a rated shutter life of 100K +/-.  If shutter failed within warranty period, they replace it.   As for the lenses, maybe their lenses lag in some areas but are still comparable to competition.  I think your only gripe should be at the prices.  That and their UWA offerings.  Only Nikon has a better one and Samyang (in some ways) though without AF.  Almost all their short focal length with IS iteration are good to excellent.   What I'm really happy with Canon is their after-sales support.  I can get free sensor cleaning and AF adjustment (since my 500D doesn't have AFMA).

[jebrady03]

I didn't read all of the posts (sorry, don't have the time) but I always laugh when I see people say they've paid for a new camera body by the jobs they've gotten.  I honestly can't say I've EVER heard of a client sitting in front of a photographer saying "hey, are you shooting with the 5D2, or 5D3?  Oh, the 5D2?  I'm outta here.  If you had the 5D3, I'd give you my money."

[tron]

but if it hurts your fanboy feelings when people dare to say that canon gear is overpriced... i beg your pardon but that´s what many people think.

It is overpriced but it is our choice whether to buy or not and what item to buy and when. So what's the point of whining?

[verysimplejason]

but if it hurts your fanboy feelings when people dare to say that canon gear is overpriced... i beg your pardon but that´s what many people think.

It is overpriced but it is our choice whether to buy or not and what item to buy and when. So what's the point of whining?

+1 on overpriced but that's because they can.  There are third party lenses and even Nikon or Sony if you're not satisfied with Canon's pricing.

[Renegade Runner]

And i'll be pissed when the 6D drops to $1600 by summer.  Oh well.  That's why I don't bother looking at the price again of a product once I purchase it.  Too depressing.

[verysimplejason]

And i'll be pissed when the 6D drops to $1600 by summer.  Oh well.  That's why I don't bother looking at the price again of a product once I purchase it.  Too depressing.

Then why not buy it only by summer?  You've still got the very good Ti1. 

[Renegade Runner]

And i'll be pissed when the 6D drops to $1600 by summer.  Oh well.  That's why I don't bother looking at the price again of a product once I purchase it.  Too depressing.

Then why not buy it only by summer?  You've still got the very good Ti1. 

I am one of those people who has to be one of the first to buy a new product.  My rebel still works well.  I just wanted to upgrade and introduce myself to the world of full frame.  No regrets.  I could never have waited until summer.  Just a sickness I have. 

[Chosenbydestiny]

I didn't read all of the posts (sorry, don't have the time) but I always laugh when I see people say they've paid for a new camera body by the jobs they've gotten.  I honestly can't say I've EVER heard of a client sitting in front of a photographer saying "hey, are you shooting with the 5D2, or 5D3?  Oh, the 5D2?  I'm outta here.  If you had the 5D3, I'd give you my money."

I don't think anyone on this thread said that. But if you're putting food on the table with a photography career it's very important to know how competitive you need to be in order to deliver modern results. We're not living in caves anymore, so people know what to expect from results, if not the camera. Not everyone can shoot the same camera past 150,000 clicks or so for 4-5 years without compromise. My 5D2's shutter died on the job, thankfully I had my 5D classic (which surprisingly outlasted my old mark II) and the shutter replacement through Canon cost about half as much as the body's current pricing. I had the option to send it in for 2-3 weeks and a risked delay, or buy a new body to take care of all my bookings. Well, realizing the fact that I'd be shooting a new body for an x amount of years for a heavy amount of shutter duty, another 5D2 would put me yet another generation behind and give me the same results. Most importantly, look at where I said "x amount of years, heavy shutter use". Lets put performance and image quality aside. The 5D2 is still a great camera today, and in some cases, so is my 5D classic. I can still do my job with them. But in the end, you have to deliver results. The more results you deliver will move you towards more and better clients. Photos are so viral, one bad photo because you "had to settle due to iso and af limitations" can easily turn what should have been a referral into an "awww, our wine toasting shot could have been nicer if this particular shot was in focus or if this one wasnt so grainy". I'm getting a lot more keepers on my 5D mark III than I ever did in past generations of cameras. More keepers will keep up with modern demands. Was it worth buying early? Hell yes it was. My workflow got faster both on the field and in post, even if just that it's worth the money for the next 4-5 years.

[Hillsilly]

I know being a professional photographer is very competitive, but I don't know if camera choice is that relevant.  At work, we regularly engage photographers for assignments.  And I see a wide variety of equipment used.  The majority are using 5Dii's and 1 series bodies.  I saw my first 5Diii only a month or so ago.  But I've seen rebels being used.  There was even a bloke who turned up with a Nikon!  Generally, when we're meeting photographers, just out of curiosity, one of the first questions is "what type of camera do you have?".  I remember one girl who said a 500D.  It raised an eyebrow, but a quick meeting made it clear that she knew her stuff and a car full of lighting equipment reinforced this.  At the end of the day, we put our trust in the photographer to deliver.  And a professional photographer generally will.  To us, it more important that the photographer understands what we want than the camera they use. (....although...admittedly....if you have a 1Dx, Hasselblad, etc it does make a very good first impression).

We've used the Nikon guy for a few jobs.  Shows how little the marketplace cares about the camera used.