5D Mark III Sooner Than Later [CR2]

[ereka]

I'm not usually this indecisive ... but there again ... help me someone ... PLEASE!

How much do you want to spend and how much do you not want to spend? If you want to spend $2K and do not want to spend $3K then you got your answer! (and my answer too)

That's the dilemma i.e. I wouldn't mind spending $3K (or whatever the equivalent is in GBP) provided that the extra investment is worth it - and I won't know that until the final specs are known. In the meantime, I have potential paid work that I can't realistically undertake with my current kit The paid work hasn't materialised yet but hopefully will do prior to the official Mk III announcement. I fear I might be forced into an early (maybe premature) decision.

[skitron]

...I'm wondering whether the current new 5D Mk II price is likely to go up/down and also what is likely to happen regarding availability (of new bodies as I'm not keen on buying a second hand body)!

I just bought one myself because I'm not going to budget $3K for one but was fine with budgeting $2K. I saw someone else here bought one recently as well and sold the bundled software so he's in for about $1760 I believe. I don't see them dropping much if any lower than that for body only. I got the Adorama software bundle with mine and it's all stuff I'll use so it made for a particularly good deal for me.

[skitron]

I have potential paid work that I can't realistically undertake with my current kit The paid work hasn't materialised yet but hopefully will do prior to the official Mk III announcement. I fear I might be forced into an early (maybe premature) decision.

If you can get a bundled deal like here in the US and sell the software, I'd think you aren't going to lose money if you get a payed job or two and then sell it when the 5D3 comes out. But if you can't do the paid jobs without one it makes even more sense to do it now. Plus at least in the US it can be written off as a business expense for the current tax year if you buy before Jan 1.

[contrastny]

Good point and I'm wondering whether the current new 5D Mk II price is likely to go up/down and also what is likely to happen regarding availability (of new bodies as I'm not keen on buying a second hand body)!
[/quote]

I'm in the same situation. I'm wondering if the price will hold at 2k or go up soon...

I figure I can probably sell my 50D body; 10-22mm f/3.5, and 17-55mm f/2.8 (although that will be hard since I love that lens), and pick up the zeiss 18mm and wait for the new 24-70 to come out for the 5d II

[kirispupis]

I would be interested in knowing which will happen first
1) 1D-X begins shipping
2) 5D3 is announced

My suspicion (and hope) is that the 5D3 will be a D800 competitor and will therefore be around 30 MP.  I just can't see Canon letting the D800 go essentially unchallenged.  Unless they cripple the AF, a 5D3 with the same sensor as the 1D-X and the AF of the 7D would cause a lot of people to seriously consider whether the 1D-X is worth twice the price.  I know I would be one of them.

[K-amps]

I would be interested in knowing which will happen first
1) 1D-X begins shipping
2) 5D3 is announced

My suspicion (and hope) is that the 5D3 will be a D800 competitor and will therefore be around 30 MP.  I just can't see Canon letting the D800 go essentially unchallenged.  Unless they cripple the AF, a 5D3 with the same sensor as the 1D-X and the AF of the 7D would cause a lot of people to seriously consider whether the 1D-X is worth twice the price.  I know I would be one of them.

This has been discussed before but here it is again... at the MP levels we are today; does it really matter a whole lot? you will find most people preferring a clean High ISO 18mp sensor to a regular/noisy 30mp sensor. So with that being a toss, the rest of the features on the 1dx should be able to make the purchase justifiable over the 5d3 at 2x the price.

[LetTheRightLensIn]

Good things come to those who are patient. 

Yes, but he who hesitates is lost.   

+1 The early bird gets the worm!

hmm but then gets eaten by the hawk, oh dear.... -100000000000000000000000000000000000

[Woody]

We can all thank Nikon for this

[traveller]

We can all thank Nikon for this

I'll thank Nikon if the 5D Mk. III finally gets a better AF system!

[kirispupis]

This has been discussed before but here it is again... at the MP levels we are today; does it really matter a whole lot? you will find most people preferring a clean High ISO 18mp sensor to a regular/noisy 30mp sensor. So with that being a toss, the rest of the features on the 1dx should be able to make the purchase justifiable over the 5d3 at 2x the price.

That was kind of my point.  If you have a 5D3 with the same sensor as the 1D-X and the same AF as the 7D, would the 1D-X really be justified at 2x the price for most people?  You get a more rugged body, two card support, better viewfinder, faster AF and fps, more bracketing, better metering, and other 1 series features but unless you're truly earning a living through photography these won't be worth the extra cost for many.

Of course, there are a lot of assumptions here.  No one really knows right now how much better the AF and metering are on the 1D-X.  Also if the 5D3 comes out at 30 MP then the 1D-X can count on better low light performance.

A similar problem happened to the 1Ds3.  When the 5D2 came out the extras provided by the 1Ds3 weren't really worth it for many photographers.

[willrobb]

Will be very interested to see the specs, but still I'm really happy that I picked up a second (very cheap) new 5DmkII body recently :-)

[Dylan777]

I ALMOST bought a 5D Mk II today, but now I'm undecided again! For the sake of a few weeks or months, should I hold out for the Mk III (at least until the specs are confirmed, in which case I could at least make an informed decision as to which suits my needs best)? There's no doubting the Mk II is a nice camera. I handled one for the first time today, in a camera store and I have to admit I was surprised by just how solid it feels. Having grown accustomed to using a 1 series over the last six years, I thought the 5D Mk II would feel 'plasticky' and a lot lighter but that was far from the case. It felt good - a LOT better than I thought it would. If the image quality is as good as it's reputed to be, no wonder people fall in love with it (especially given the relatively low price point). The three preset buttons C1, C2, C3 also appeal to me what a good idea! Not a camera for serious sports photographers or twitchers I suspect, but for studio work or landscapes it seems like unbeatable value for money, especially at current record low prices. I'm not usually this indecisive ... but there again ... help me someone ... PLEASE!

I recently bought 5D II @ B&H for $2k. I sold the software bundle that came with it for $220 on CL. so my 5d II is $1790.

To me...YES- is it worth the upgrade from 60D to 5D II. Before I was forced to use my 580EX II when shooting indoor with minimal of lightt. And now with 5D II....no 580EX II needed. Even the ISO at 1600 the image is still good.

Will see what 5D III has to offer...but for now, my 5D II is giving me great results. I'm enjoy it so much 

[Dylan777]

...I'm wondering whether the current new 5D Mk II price is likely to go up/down and also what is likely to happen regarding availability (of new bodies as I'm not keen on buying a second hand body)!

I just bought one myself because I'm not going to budget $3K for one but was fine with budgeting $2K. I saw someone else here bought one recently as well and sold the bundled software so he's in for about $1760 I believe. I don't see them dropping much if any lower than that for body only. I got the Adorama software bundle with mine and it's all stuff I'll use so it made for a particularly good deal for me.

YES - that's me. I bought 5D II at B&H for $2k and sold the software bundle for $220 on CL. so my 5D II final price is $1790. Even a year from now...I think I might be able re-sale 5D II for $1500-$1600.  Will see what 5D III has to offer us. For now...I love my 5D II.

[Boyer U. Klum-Cey]

Pulled the trigger on the MKII at sub 2k and have been the kid in the candy shop ever since!
Background in videography, 9 year TV credit, but got to olde to haul bigg cameras and lighting.
Current 7D, and new, to me, 5D MK II, certainly exceed my talent.  But, thanks to this site, am learning rapidly.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Since Nikon is in a bind and needs to release a replacement for the D800 soon, It is very likely that Canon will announce about the same time.  Canon does not need a new camera as bad as nikon, not being able to sell D700's in Japan over Christmas must be costing Nikon a lot of Karma.