Just preordered the 5DIII, price is definitely $3499.99

[Nikon]

Any suggestion on the best place to steal one?

Talk to the guy who recently stole gear at one of the tradeshows.

Never fear ... I have an alternative, you could sell your plasma ... at $50 bucks a pop, you could be the prooud owner of a mk III in just 70 plasma sales!

First you need the Mark III finder app.  Watch the video here, this guy is able to 'borrow' one: http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2011/10/canon-5d-markiii-camera/

[BDD]

If it is $3500 for the body only then that means I won't have to justify upgrading my 7D to the wife.

Hopefully though the Federal Reserve will implement a bailout that involves giving everyone a 5D MKIII voucher. 

Hey, these days anything is possible.

Why wouldn't you have to justify the upgrade to the warden?? Do you not need permission for everything? The 5D3 @ $3500 is more than double the cost of a 7D (a great camera in itself...maybe one of the best non-FF DSLRs if not the best).

I like your voucher idea. If only...

[BDD]

$3499 without high MP! That's it, I'm switching to Nokia! 

No high MP = RELIEF & happiness for moi. Will be my next DSLR purchase.

Guess i will be jumping ship after all (have been a Nikon shooter for the past 30 years). Will start buying Canon glass (so much to choose from) and accessories.

[RedEye]

Just because the preorder price is $3499.99, doesn't mean the retail price will be that.  Yes, it's a good indication, but until the MSRP is announced by Canon we won't know for sure.

That being said, I was skeptical at first (thinking that $3500 must be the kit price), but that number is consistently mentioned. I'm starting to believe it. Maybe just an echo chamber, maybe the truth.  Only time will tell.

Quick question, if you pre order do you pay the MSRP price or do you pay the retail price once the product becomes avaivable?

[sailingsilkeborg]

I went to the store of a major retailer that also runs a major online camera/electronics site (One Call) at 1:00 PST, and they did not know what the camera was going to retail at, nor what dealer cost is going to be. The sales guy checked their internal pricing data base and could only tell me "it may be around $3500" retail. That may be where it ends up, but he clearly did not know for sure even now. He didn't invite me to "preorder" at that price, even though he knows I'm a serious buyer.

[D_Rochat]

$3499 without high MP! That's it, I'm switching to Nokia! 

I do not know why so many people are complaining about the price in conjunction with the mp... just ignorant consumers mislead by marketing I guess.
1) You do not know for certain what the specifications are yet to be whining about them (though we will see in hours).
2) You do not know what performance the camera will have across the very broad spectrum of photography.
3) YOU DO NOT NEED SUPER HIGH MEGAPIXELS FOR ANYTHING! You simply need to learn more about the art of photography, and stop sitting in front of your computer hoping for some gigapixel pervcam to come along.
4) Super megapixels do not make the camera more suited to any type of photography than another. Medium format cameras have higher megapixels because they have larger sensors! Larger sensors have higher resolve. In addition, the supposedly best performing MF body (PhaseOne/180) uses pixel binning to get that performance - which lowers the pixel count as far as capturing detail. All you ignorant pixelhounds need to learn about the technology and stop listening to what some marketing team or other technology blind consumer tells you.
The more pixels crammed into a smaller sensor the less broad the cameras use becomes. Sure, there is certainly a sweet spot (usage/sacrifice) but without a change in the way cmos sensors are designed/made we have already started seeing diminishing returns - such as the shooting requirements for the D800 where tripods and lighting will be the norm instead of just walking around with a camera like we all need these tools to do in some capacity.

Canon had lead this tier of photography since the 5DmkII came out. They feel they have improved the body in all regards of that tier - hence the initial selling price.

Sarcasm!
I'm actually part of the tent pitching club with this release. I have to sit on my hands until close to September though.

[Jamesy]

The 5D3/24-105 kit showed up here: http://www.photoprice.ca/product/03870/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III-with-EF-24-105-IS-Kit-price.html

No prices as of yet but it is an indication those two items might be bundled together.

[Jamesy]

I spoke too soon - they seem to have the place holder for the 5D3/27-70 II kit too: http://www.photoprice.ca/product/03869/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III-with-24-70-II-Kit-price.html

[bigblue1ca]

I'm hoping the MSRP will come down even a couple of hundred bucks??

I'm sure it will, it's just a question of when, maybe Xmas 2012?  But hell if you can pay $3300 you should be able to pay $3500.

Maybe my thinking is off or my budget is a little different, but if I'm thinking of something I need or really want, and it turns out costing $3499 instead of the $3000 I was hoping for, well I might complain a little, but I'd still find the money or wait a little until I have the difference.  I think most (not all, most) people, if they can spend $3000 on the camera they can spend $3499?

[BDD]

Just because the preorder price is $3499.99, doesn't mean the retail price will be that.  Yes, it's a good indication, but until the MSRP is announced by Canon we won't know for sure.

That being said, I was skeptical at first (thinking that $3500 must be the kit price), but that number is consistently mentioned. I'm starting to believe it. Maybe just an echo chamber, maybe the truth.  Only time will tell.

Quick question, if you pre order do you pay the MSRP price or do you pay the retail price once the product becomes avaivable?

You'll likely be paying the pre-order price. Which isn't likely to change for at least a year. Depending on where you live. Up here in Toronto prices aren't very negotiable. Especially for new cameras. The cost for the 5D2 didn't get a $700 discount till early this year (down to $1999.95 CAD from the original $2800 debut price...incidentally, the cost has just gone up to $2500 CAD in Toronto...no matter since I'll be buying a 5D3).

[Arkarch]

(one more attempt at posting)

Before Ted's Camera 5D Mark III link went down

I compared prices BH vs them to get ratios

The D800 is 79%  (BH - $3000 vs Teds - $3800)
The D4 is 76% (BH - 6000 vs Teds - $7900)
The 5D Mark II is 92% (BH - $2400 vs Ted's - $2600)

Ted's price 5D Mark III - $4200
Suggesting a range of $3200 - $3800 for the 5D Mark III.

Oh, The Ted's link did go down about 9:30 am their time... hmmm, wonder if they got a phone call
 

[dnie]

Good camera. In Australia, it costs 6500 A$ for a kit with 24-70mm f/2.8 II L.

[Axilrod]

I'm sure it will, it's just a question of when, maybe Xmas 2012?  But hell if you can pay $3300 you should be able to pay $3500.

Do you work for Canon?

Nope, just an educated guess based on the information available.  I'm certain about the $3500 price tag, but any guess I make about the price coming down is as good as yours, just speculation.

[NormanBates]

the 5D2 was announced 17-sep-2008, with a $2700 price tag
back then (105 yen/usd), that was 285.000 yen

fast forward, and today (81 yen/usd) 285.000 yen are exactly $3500

so that's a very, very fair point to make

but also: the D800 sells for $3000, and I don't see it lacking in many respects...

[Axilrod]

I went to the store of a major retailer that also runs a major online camera/electronics site (One Call) at 1:00 PST, and they did not know what the camera was going to retail at, nor what dealer cost is going to be. The sales guy checked their internal pricing data base and could only tell me "it may be around $3500" retail. That may be where it ends up, but he clearly did not know for sure even now. He didn't invite me to "preorder" at that price, even though he knows I'm a serious buyer.

You're talking about one salesman at a shop, and I'm sure he'll tell you tomorrow that you can preorder for $3500.  And do you have a personal relationship with these people or are you just another customer walking into a photo store?  Is this store one of the 17 stores that Canon chose to carry the C300?

In my situation, I know the people at the shop very well, and have spent over $20k there in the last year.  They are also the biggest canon dealer in Georgia.  They didn't invite me to do anything, I went in there with $4k and demanded that I get one of the first ones they get.  They wouldn't take my money, but they put me on the list.  I asked if they thought it might be any cheaper or more expensive, and they said no, not to worry because they already had the SKU in the computer for it, $3499.99.

People have been saying $3500 all over the web and they said the same thing, meaning that is the set price until proven otherwise.  I go to the shop, and they say $3500.  If that's not enough for someone to believe that it's going to be $3500, they must really really want it to be cheaper.  See when you really want something, you'll cling onto any little shred of evidence that you may be right.  Even if you read 10 articles contradicting your belief, you'll only focus on the one article you found just to hold on to that little piece of hope.  It's called confirmation bias, and if you have a brain this affects you, and that's ok, it affects me too.  But in this situation I am indifferent, if it cost $4000 I wouldn't care, and if it cost $3000 I wouldn't care.