During my friend's wedding a while ago, I had a chance to speak to one of the photographers he hired for the event. It turns out that the young photographer started a studio with several friends, and their main tool is several 5D2s.
To make a long story short, one of their major sales point was to shoot the before-noon actions (wife saying goodbye to her family, groom arrives at bride's house to pick her up, ceremony at the church, etc.) in both video and stills, do the edit work during the afternoon, and make the clip ready for a wedding banquet premiere. For a case like this, they need several 5D2s, and their other equipments are centered on these bodies.
Well, my friend was very impressed with their service and ended up recommending them to other people.
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OK, why the long anecdote?
I don't know about the US, but here I think there are up-and-coming photographers finding new business models with the 5D2, and I think the market is slowly changing to expect the video+photo all-in-one service from the wedding photographers (needless to say, the groom got the recommendation of the studio from another satisfied client).
Echoing other people on the forum, the 5D2 is a camera which is a tool - it's just that it opens up the possibility of combining the capability of great stills with the capability of great video into one body. I think even today a lot of people are still exploring new possibilities of what the 5D2 offers, and some even building a professional career by starting off with a hefty investment.
So yes, in this way I think with all the fanfare for the 5D2 out of the way after so many years, people are still buying this well-received body. With so many users out there, I think there's a pretty well-rounded verdict on its strengths and weaknesses.
The older photographers in my office often lament about how their older film bodies were able to last them years. While most people today expect electronic products to be upgraded in short cycles, it seems a bit strange that people are being excited about Canon NOT upgrading their product.
I think it's all great for the company for going after profits, but unless ur a stockholder, what does a company's market share have to do with us?
While we have little say over the product decisions, we always have the ability to sell our stuff if we don't like it. It's not like we're bonded to it for the rest of eternity.
Frankly, I rather have a trustworthy body in my hand that behaves according to my expectation and giving me no surprises. It's also great if I can find well-rounded support from Canon and other 3rd party support for it (lenses, accessories, etc.).
It's fun to listen to rumors about 5D3, but why get upset about it when nothing's written in stone? The older model still works fine, right?
Gears are important, but there are also things that can only come about if the tools have been around long enough for people to use it thoroughly. It seems like the idea that 'products are made to last' has been all but forgotten by the onslaught of modern consumerism
...just my 2 cents.
