Canon 5D MK3 or 6D Replacements... when?

[hamada]

first, this is not a troll post.

let me explain, im not rich but i spend all my spare money on photography and travel.
right now i have saved enough money to make the jump to fullframe.

but im not sure if right now is the best time.

i fear that if/when canon updates their sensor manufacturing (im sure they will soon), replacements of the current cameras will come faster then usual. 

and of course i want the best for my hard earned money.

im pretty happy with my 7D right now.
thought for landscape work there is this lust for FF. 
i would love to have a canon camera like the D800E.
something around 30-32MP from canon with great DR and clean shadows you can push without introducing so much noise.

i can not switch to nikon, i could not afford it and i did not like the nikon handling.
as i said im not rich but over they years i have collected pretty good canon equipment.
always in mind that i may switch to FF, i bought good quality lenses (only EF-S i have is the 10-22mm).

i know nobody here knows what canons plans or is doing in the future.
but what do you think?

does this camera generation will last as long as their predecessor generations?
in case of the 5D MK2 that was 4 years.
i would not want to wait that long.. but when a new generation is out in 12 month i could wait.

[Pitbullo]

It is said that the Canon big MP camera is to be announced this year. I bet it is gonna be very pricy, and since you are happy with you 7D for now, I´d continue to save up money, so you´d have the cash when they release the camera.

[hamada]

It is said that the Canon big MP camera is to be announced this year. I bet it is gonna be very pricy, and since you are happy with you 7D for now, I´d continue to save up money, so you´d have the cash when they release the camera.

nah.. i don´t think i will spend over 6000 euro on a camera.

the canon big MP camera that is rumored is out of my league.
i don´t want a brick 1 series body.   and 40+ MP is also more then i want.
28-32 MP would be great for my needs and my epson printer.

nikons D800(E) would be fine from the price.

a 5D MK4 with a new sensor, better DR and around 30MP for 3000 euro that is my dream camera. 

[siegsAR]

I know you're not trolling. It sometimes passes my mind too, what you're asking. Specially when's the 6D replacement gonna arrive. 

4 years maybe? Wished I knew.

[Rienzphotoz]

i would not want to wait that long.. but when a new generation is out in 12 month i could wait.

There will be no replacements for 5D MK III or the 6D "in 12 months".
By the way, 5D MK III already has an AWESOME sensor.

[RLPhoto]

The 5D3 is not limiting me in anyway. I can print huge, it's fast, it's accurate, it's feels great to operate. It could indeed be my camera for the next 10 years if canon fixes minor issues with firmware.

[Nishi Drew]

i would not want to wait that long.. but when a new generation is out in 12 month i could wait.

There will be no replacements for 5D MK III or the 6D "in 12 months".
By the way, 5D MK III already has an AWESOME sensor.

I would go as far to say the 5D Mark II has an awesome sensor, especially in comparison to what the 7D spits out even at ISO 400 in daylight. But in this day and age with ISO and DR and all the Mark II lags behind even the lower level competition. Of course, in comes the 5DIII, but is the sensor that better over the Mark II? Well, for ISO, and the brief upgrade in DR and bits yes, while even with the much needed AF, quick response and awesome sealing the price isn't right for what it is today. And considering video hasn't improved much, and some would say degraded with the soft image it produces (although, sharpening is possible, and no more moire at least).

So to the point that I too feel the same way, wait it out for Canon to get back on their feet with real improvements, or get what's available now and use it until that day comes. It's been a year for the MkIII, and if all goes the same then there's 3 more years, that's a whole lot of photos captured in the uber dark, and of the fast action kind. While how's it with the 6D, it's not even a semi-pro camera, and it might get the XXD treatment and have a MKII of that released winter of 2014. Although, if Canon is still Canon today then the "6DMKII" will just have the same sensor anyways

[hamada]

there is no question that the 6D or 5D MK3 sensor would be more then sufficient for me.
i mean gallery prints and landscape books are produced with worse cameras.

the problem i have is more about an "investment concern".
even when it´s good enough... i would feel bad when i see a much better FF camera (sensor) next year and i can´t afford it then (because i spend my spare money on a 6D or 5D MK3 today).
i know it sounds weird... but i bet many feel that way. 

i started with photography a few years back and i always felt the urge to go fullframe.
but i always said to myself "wait for the next generation of sensors and buy good glass today".
now after all this waiting i was a bit dissapointed to see that the image quality has not much increased from the 5D MK2.

i can´t shell out a few thousand dollars a year for new camera stuff, like some other people here. i spend a lot of my money for travelling.

but i sense the overall opinion is there will be no new canon FF camera (i can afford) before the end of 2014?!

[BPLOL]

Take a look:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Canon_DSLR_cameras

It helps you to understand and guess the time frame.

I believe the 6DII will not see the light of day until the end of 2015. A 5DIV, I believe, end of 2014.

I mean, the next step for Canon, from what I see, is for a big FF MP camera that will cost a fortune, and APS-C models.  A new, affordable FF camera, like the 6D: not so soon. The 6D doesn´t look like a yearly Rebel (I imagine that if Canon released a new 6D every year, prices would drop very, very fast).

[pdirestajr]

All modern cameras are pretty amazing. If you can't get adequate results from current gear, or even an "old" 5D mkII, I think there are bigger issues that more megapixels and a little more shadow detail can cure.

People have been successfully creating photographic images for generations. There will always be advancements in technology.

[hamada]

All modern cameras are pretty amazing. If you can't get adequate results from current gear, or even an "old" 5D mkII, I think there are bigger issues that more megapixels and a little more shadow detail can cure.

People have been successfully creating photographic images for generations. There will always be advancements in technology.

please read my postings again so you understand what they are about... this doesn´t help me a bit.

an analogy i read here on this forum:

i need a car to get to work.
i can buy a volkswagen for 19000 euro and it does the job perfectly fine.
still, who would buy a volkswagen when he can get a way better mercedes for the same money?

with all this talk about the outdated canon manufacturing and a switch to a smaller litho process soon, i just fear it´s a bad time to buy a canon FF camera right now.

thoughts i have, maybe things will change much faster at the end of 2013 and in 2014.

[docsmith]

First, the most direct answer would be that I can see two scenarios for replacements:

Scenario 1, by far the most likely:  The 5DIII and 6D will be replaced on an increasely slower replacement schedule with increasingly smaller improvements as the technology is maturing.  Earliest, 2015 (3 year), most likely, 2016 (4 yr), possible, 2017-2018.

Scenario 2, less likely IMO:  Canon releases the advanced sensor technology with the 7D II and the large MP camera body.  They feel that they can not have their flagship cameras (1Dx and 5DIII) without this technology, so they release the 1DxN and the 5DIIIN in 2014.

But addressing you situation, now is the perfect time to buy.  The camera bodies have been released for a year, the prices have dropped as all the early adopters bought their cameras.  I am also a hobbiest and just went from the 7D to the 5DIII in February.  I was very concerned that I wouldn't be able to see much of a difference as I was very happy with the 7D.  I can report that the difference is significant and very noticable.  It isn't the increase you see going from a point and shoot to the 7D, but it is significant in terms of high ISO performance, better AF, increased resolution and some other minor improvements in IQ.  More specifically:

• ISO 100-400, in good light, the competition is close in terms of IQ.  But my keeper rate, even in good light, with the 5DIII is significantly higher than with the 7D.  The AF is so much better.

• ISO 400-800:  you start seeing improvements with the 5DIII IQ

• Above ISO 800:  Forget it, the 5DIII IQ is so much better.  I am using it up to ISO 12,800 if you don't crop the image much. 

• Low light AF: the 5DIII is significantly better.  I was recently shooting birds from forest trail.  Limited light but there was still light.  I alternated between my 5DIII and 7D with my 100-400L.  I had 1 keeper out of 15 shoots with the 7D and ~9 keepers out of 12 shots with the 5DIII

• AF General:  The 5DIII is just more accurate, especially if you are trying to focus on something specific within clutter (say a bird in a bush).  The 5DIII stays on the subject better where the 7D bounces from the subject to clutter so much more. 

• Overall, IQ:  Better colors, more color depth, and the noise is a much finer grain that it is easily taken care of in post. 

• Also, it surprised me, but I need to post process my images less with the 5DIII than with the 7D.  I am simply making fewer adjustments and the image is responding to those adjustments better.

In short, I recommend you make the jump. 

[hamada]

Scenario 1, by far the most likely:  The 5DIII and 6D will be replaced on an increasely slower replacement schedule with increasingly smaller improvements as the technology is maturing.  Earliest, 2015 (3 year), most likely, 2016 (4 yr), possible, 2017-2018.

if that is the case, then i would buy a canon FF camera without hesitation.
 

[Dylan777]

I don't know how much MP is required for landscape. The photo below was taken with 5D III and cropped nearly 80%. The IQ is still good for my ave Joe's taste

THIS IS ME: I don't like waiting game...buy what you need now.

[hamada]

I don't know how much MP is required for landscape. The photo below was taken with 5D III and cropped nearly 80%. For my ave Joe's taste, I'm still happy with the result. 

the more the better..
i have an epson 3880 printer.

for best prints at 360 PPI and A2 size i could use 8500x5900 pixel.

i know, i know, with bigger prints you can get away with less resolution.
but why?
photographer tend to view (inspect) prints from 15-20cm anyway, no matter how big the print is.

for my taste around 30MP would be great. it´s still an acceptable filesize (in megabytes).