Just preordered the 5DIII, price is definitely $3499.99

[Axilrod]

That could've been a place holder price put in by the store itself.. possibly based on rumor... you never know

Nope, it wasn't.  They got the SKU last night and he said that is definitely the final price.  These guys have a great relationship with Canon and I have a great relationship with them.  Plus the guy that gave me the price got absolutely no information from the web, that price was solely based on the SKU they have for it. 

[Axilrod]

Also everyone needs to take the weakness of the US dollar into account, it definitely isn't what it was in 2008.  I think they are just trying to be safe in case the currency exchange gets any weaker.

And plus, you're still getting a camera with specs that are not trailing too far behind the 1DX, but for over $3000 less!

[jalbfb]

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.

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

[Axilrod]

Dang, I was hoping the $3500 was an error and it was going to be $3000 or less.      Well I can't afford one now anyway even if it is $2500.  If figure I'm a year away and hopefully the price will slide below 3K.  Maybe there will a less expensive version without video.

There is, it's called the 5D Mark II    But seriously I'm sure the price will come down by Christmas time. 

[Axilrod]

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.

[distant.star]

Any suggestion on the best place to steal one?

[pj1974]

I've seen the 5DmkIII listed on Teds (here in Australia) for AUD$4200 body only, or AUD$6800 with "24-70mm" (I note it doesn't say "24-70mm II"!)   

My experience over several years is that Teds list / marked prices are usually higher than some other bricks and mortar stores, however some Teds staff are willing to give a generous discount / reduction.   

As with most electronic products, I expect the price of the 5DmkIII to reduce as time progresses, so that probably by the end of 2012 it will be selling substantially cheaper, and there will also be products available via SE Asia or the grey market, cheaper again. 

I look forward to people buying, using, enjoying the 5DmkIII and sharing great photographs from it.   

Happy photography everyone!   

Paul

[corntrollio]

Also everyone needs to take the weakness of the US dollar into account, it definitely isn't what it was in 2008.  I think they are just trying to be safe in case the currency exchange gets any weaker.

How does the price of the 5D3 in yen vs. the 5D2 in yen compare? My impression was that Canon tends to set pricing in yen, which is much stronger now than before, which was heavily discussed in the 24-70 2.8 II threads.

In addition, it's completely unfair to say the rumored price for the 5D3 is $1500 more than the 5D2, since $2000 is the street price  of the 5D2 after several years of the camera being available. It's more fair to compare the rumored price to the original MSRP of the 5D2 when released.

[bvukich]

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.

If released at $3500, and if the pricing follows a similar trajectory as the mkII, we should see pricing (after rebate) getting close to $3000 by Christmas 2013, and around $2700 by Christmas 2014.

You make a good point though.  A difference of a couple of hundred dollars isn't really significant. I'm a broke amateur that was planning on spending around $3500 for the kit, but one way or another I'll come up with the difference.

[RealityCheck]

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.

[Daniel Flather]

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?

[Cinnamon]

3. how can one justify a $1500 increase on body only? $2000 vs $3500

It's not a $1500 difference.  More like an $1100 difference for brand new (at current price).  The original starting of the mkii was closer to $2800.  And the mkii is how many years old?

I agree with the other posters that the price increase isn't $1500 since the Mark II's MSRP was considerably higher than the $2,000 it is now.

That being said, maybe the poster's question was how could a current Mark II owner justify the cost of upgrading, rather than how could the company justify the cost increase?

Point me to where your finding an mkii new at $2000?  Over the holiday period I was seeing $2100 with rebates.  Hell, I was seeing used mkii's going for $1900.  I buried the idea of going mkii because of the price tag and of course knowing the mkiii is right around the corner.  Still though, people are actively buying $1800-1900 used mkii's!  $1900 for a used 4 year old body design vs $3500 for brand new body with improvements?  Looking at it like that it actually isn't that much of a jump! 

and while to some (mostly the heavy landscape crew), the mkiii isn't the upgrade they've wanted, for most it is!  Higher native ISO, 61 pt AF with 41 cross type (compared to 9pt with 1 cross type)...those two points alone are considerable upgrades!

I'm not seeing Mark II's for $2k now, but over the holidays Newegg had it for $1999, and other major retailers had it for $2k as well. Some people on the forum also ordered from Henry's (the Canadian site the CR guy posted about) for around the same, too.

The Mk II is more expensive after the holidays, what I was trying to say is the Mk II could be bought for $2,000 new, but only now after several years on the market. The fact that its original MSRP was about $700 more makes this, like others have also pointed out, an $800 increase, rather than a $1500 increase.

[rocketdesigner]

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!

[rocketdesigner]

Please keep in mind that you can support this site by buying through some of the links here to go to Adorama or B&H for your pre-orders. Just sayin'...

With the traffic/page views CR guy is getting this week, his ad revenue will probably pay for a mk III

[D_Rochat]

Please keep in mind that you can support this site by buying through some of the links here to go to Adorama or B&H for your pre-orders. Just sayin'...

With the traffic/page views CR guy is getting this week, his ad revenue will probably pay for a mk III

This release has created more buzz than anything else recently. Can you tell when the releases happen from the picture?