Hugely Disappointed In 5D III Price

[hhelmbold]

The only thing that I am disappointed with is that the 5D MkIII get's announced and released in the same month and we have been drooling in anticipation for the 1D X for over 4 months now 

[KHAWACHEN]

Me too. I just couldn't justify the price  so I cancelled my pre-order on Amazon.

So it's out.  Seems like a great camera, but I'm incredibly disappointed in the price.  After about 4 years after the II, the III comes out at a much higher price tag.  Now, if you look at Apple, they release products every year that are better spec'ed yet they don't increase the price with each release just because it was better than the last iteration.

It's expected that technology improves, right?  I understand the dollar has weakened over the last few years but this just seems like a ridiculous price increase.  Looks like I won't be getting one, not because I can't but because I feel it isn't worth it.

How's everyone else feel about it?

[kdsand]

That doesn't work that way. For low end models, sure, but at the 5Ds place in the market, the actual manufacturing and parts cost is only a very broad, general starting point and not at all an indication of the final price. 3.5K is what Canon's research indicated is the ideal starting point in terms of price/volume. It could just as easily been 2.5K or 4.5K without any change to hardware. Heck, if they are selling the 5DIII for 3.5K, I have no doubt they could sell the 1DX for 4K and still turn a profit.

As for the "discounts" you mentioned, even then it doesn't add up.
Rate Button - 0. The button itself might cost as much as a penny but now they'll have to make a new set of molds.
FPS - Perhaps, but the lower quality mirror box parts do not amount to 150$ savings. Maybe 50$. Maybe.
Video - 0. The R&D is already done and removing software does not give you any savings.
AF Points - Perhaps a negligible discount as the cost of manufacturing the chips is pretty much identical.



And then you have to take into account that we'll be talking about a second production line and extra costs in logistics for both Canon and the vendors. The bottom line is that from a hardware point of view, there is very little justification to produce a baby 5DIII. I'm not saying it won't happen, but if it will it will be marketing driven and not technology driven. And that doesn't take into account that they are keeping the 5D2 in production for a while at least which at 2K is one hell of bargain for what you get.

 Yes exactly!
 I have worked on assembly line's I've been a fabricator and then management.
 I find it quite irritating to hear people state Canon must charge a certain price.

 The price for parts & to produce the hardware is much the same from 1 body make to the next. The cost of assembly will be nearly the same. Even the sensor and chips are similar in cost. Having variations if anything cost canon more money. That nice metal body well that probably only cost 10 or 20 dollars.

 The 7 d sensor has been a humongous money maker. Lenses they have also been a great return investment for canon. How many electronic companies can sell the same exact product for 5,10 or even 20 years?
 The research and development is yes a high expense. The longer a company can go without retooling well that's all gravy.

 So yes the only thing that dictates the price is what the market will bear. Ridiculous the hear people say canon has to defray cost or you get what you pay for.

 They can charge a high price now but in the long term it may prove a mistake.

[Axilrod]

well this is what i call a mass suicide, and i thought that the tech on the D800 was old, lmao look at the metering system on this beauty, no AF on video, black spots(a la 5dmk2), omfg no clean uncompressed hdmi out, wasn't this thing suppose to be a cinema minded kind of HDSLR king, so why the ___ this options aren't there? omg the video from the D800 is crap compared to Canon's but c'mon, at least a proper face lift to justify the price hype madness that is going on at Canon, Jesus this is not Olympus with it's bloated company, this is Canon men i use to have them since i was 15 yo.

Sure I'm a little disappointed about no clean HDMI, but it's better than a 480p signal.  I don't think AF for video is realistic with interchangeable lenses, it would be a costly feature that would increase the price even more and considering some people will never use the video feature it would just be a waste.  And no, it wasn't supposed to be the HDSLR king of cinema or whatever, the Cinema DSLR is. 

[Axilrod]

Woah ok now I was cool with the price of the 5DIII, but $490 for a friggin battery grip?  Have they lost their minds?!

[Bonnau_Photo]

I am hugely disappointed too. But not for the same reasons you are..
2 stops better ISO, Almost the same AF as the big dog. 22MP full frame. Better weather sealing. Now I can see not much of a reason to justify the purchase of the 1D X.. Faster frame rate, better body and slightly better AF.. Hard to justify the double price tag..
I seriously wish the 1Dx was $5K.

EDIT: for clarity.. I wish the 1D X was $5K

Ah, okay, just saw your edit.  Thought you trying to say what a great deal the 5D III was.

Yes actually I think it is reasonable for the price offered.. The gap is narrowed between it and the 1Dx by a long ways and now it is highly unlikely I will be buying the 1Dx when I can get 2 of these for the same price.

After I thought about my original post for a minute I realized that I feel the 5D 3 is reasonable and the 1Dx is overpriced for the small gap between them. I am not crazy and want to throw away money and that is what I thought the original post was saying..

[MikeHunt]

I'm fed up of reading this forum today and hearing people complaining about the 5DIII pricing. Did you ever think it was going to sell for less than $2500? The prices will be lower when it hits the high street stores when it first comes out. But most importantly,

1) Do you NEED a 5DIII?

if not, shut up.

2) Can you afford a 5DIII now?

if not, shut up.

3) Can you ever afford a 5DIII?

if not, shut up.

4) If you can afford it but are not considering buying it

shut up

5) If you want to buy a 5DIII but will wait for a year when the price drops, then why are you complaining about the prices NOW? It is irrelevant.

shut up

6) If you actually need a 5DIII and really wanted to buy it now for pro use. Well done. You fall into the 5% of population here on this forum. Your opinion and rant is valid.

Everyone else, stop jumping on the bandwagon and stop complaining.

00q I think you are the one that needs to shut up.  Have you forgotten this is a forum where people can come and speak their minds?  If you don't like it, go away.  There are many people in the boat of they need or want a MKIII, will be getting one one day ect...but can't because of he price.  Don't be ignorant.   Let them speak their mind and bitch away just like everyone else who bitches about the amount of focus points, the iq, the dual card slots being different, the amount of mega pixels ect...  Not a big deal.  So relax and stop hating on people that have an issue with the price because if you haven't noticed there are a lot of them.

ps.  You are an idiot.

Ditto.

So many elites on this site acting as if they really are Pro's.

Today's price announcement was at the TOP-end of the expected range. Members have a right to complain that Canon is seeking to clean-up (prfoitwise) from the early-adopters who have more money than sense

I have seen quite a few comments suggesting that Pro photographers have no problem paying the high prices and its only the amateurs and dreamers who have issues with it.

Personally I have a hard time understanding that. Isn't Pro photography a business? And isn't it the function of a business to make as much profit as possible, i.e. make as much money for as little outlay as can be managed? Maybe some people think paying more for your kit makes you more of a "Pro" than others? I dont know.

Some justify the price by saying things like "yeah but look the technology is improving and all that costs big bucks, look at what they did with the sensor and what about R&D for the 5D Mark IV? etc . . ." It's my observation that in practically every other area technology is getting more and more sophisticated while also getting cheaper and cheaper.

And I am not just talking about mainstream high volume items where shear numbers enables pricing to be very low. I have other niche hobbies like music recording and amateur radio. In amateur radio the hot thing right now is Software Defined Radio. Incredible and previously unheard of power possible through hugely more powerful A/D chips while being comparably cheaper than the tech it replaces. And that is all done in a niche market that is much smaller than the intended customer base for the 5D. R&D for this tech is currently progressing at a very rapid pace.

I dont think that the problem is just the price being £3000 its also about the perceived value for money in a world where more sophisticated tech is getting increasingly cheaper.

Just my 2 cents

Jason

Pro photography is a business, and its a competitive one.  Not all pro's are at the same level of experience - some have been pros for years and easily justify and afford and preorder immediately.  Others like myself, are just starting out, and money is tighter, but we still have to make the most prudent decisions on where to place it.  And on that level, this year for me is turning out to be both very exciting and depressing because theres so much new stuff, but what can my budget maintain?  I really need to evaluate my needs vs my wants vs the potential ROI with what ever moves i make.  I'm staring my second year as a pro, and working on a 7d.  I know I need to move to full frame, but I'm also intent on the goal of doubling my 2011 income (from 14K to 28K.  And while the mkiii might grant an immediate gain in image quality, will it lead to more paying jobs than investing in speedlights, pocket wizards and modifiers?   Which comes first?  My art photography would get a huge boost from either the mkiii or the d800, but the ROI on art would never justify the purchase.  For events/portraits/weddings though, it will be very hard indeed to compete with other togs using systems that provide both higher ISO than I can attain, and cleaner shots at that high ISO than I can attain.  Even with a bunch of speedlights, if you can shoot at 25600 ISO, and have it be cleanerr and less noisy than what I can do at 3200 ISO, then I'm kind of stuck only taking jobs in well lit places, or lowering my prices, or offering more perks and service - all of which eats away at my bottom line. 

In short, the decision to spend $3500 on a body is not an easy one, pro or not.  With that said, it is on my list of goals to have one of these by fall!

I couldn't agree more... I've been a pro for the last 7 years and just recently I got a second body.  Like you I used the 7D professionally for almost 2 full years exclusively and recently got a 5d2 which I plan on liquidating to get the 5d3.  Unless you are one of the top 5% of pro photographers, things aren't always glamourous... the more gear you get, the more overhead you occur, the more overhead you get, the more ROI really becomes important... Then you got fierce competition, you got clients in a down economy slashing budgets let alone advertising budgets, or struggling families deciding if they can afford you to do their pictures... Heck I have a client who is having a wedding in lake tahoe trying to negotiate lower wedding photos... Really?  If you are having a wedding in tahoe, you can afford photos.  We got to do what we got to do in order to put food on the table, a roof over our families heads, and keep our book keepers and IRS happy and off our backs... It is what it is.  As for me I plan on picking one up as soon as possible (and a few clients checks come in). 

Wedding photographers in W.Europe are charging as little as 250/day whilst the lucky ones can make 700-750. That means the have to do 5 or 6 Weddings just to cover the cost on 1 x body, nevermind  the rest of their accessories. The marketplace has become too competitive and neuveau riche amatuers are pushing up the price of all Canon products e.g. 24-70 MkII, 5D3 and how about a 600EX + ST-E3 = $1,0000!!

[cliffwang]

There is no way in heck as an amateur I'll be able to justify the mark III, but I'm probably going to buy the mark II, but not sure when it will be safe to do that.  I've found a good price here:

http://bestpricephoto.com/h/product_info.php/canon-eos-5d-mark-ii-211-megapixel-digital-camera-body-p-17452?csv=gg&osCsid=bf0b926da9798ef2fae7a536460da34e

But, do we expect it to drop further than that?

STAY AWAY from that website. Look at it on resellerratings.com. You will never get your camera from them at the agreed to price. It's well known scam.
I think the 5d mk ii will get down to $2k new, so hopefully we can find them used for around $1700 when people start selling off theirs to upgrade.

Many people are selling their 5D2 for 1500 on craigslist already.  I am very curious what are going to happen in the 5D2 market.

[briansquibb]

Wedding photographers in W.Europe are charging as little as 250/day whilst the lucky ones can make 700-750. That means the have to do 5 or 6 Weddings just to cover the cost on 1 x body, nevermind  the rest of their accessories. The marketplace has become too competitive and neuveau riche amatuers are pushing up the price of all Canon products e.g. 24-70 MkII, 5D3 and how about a 600EX + ST-E3 = $1,0000!!

Why do us amateurs get it in the neck then?? More like the people that nip off to Jessops and buy a base level DSLR and start charging stupidy low prices that destabilise the quality end of the pro marketplace.

[Peerke]

Perhaps mentioned before, but if US $ 3500,- is too much, how about € 3570,- for us lucky folks in Europe  ?

I just hoped the price will be more reasonable in Europe, like with the 5dII, which in the US is $ 2400,- and in Europe (Netherlands) € 1750,-. The same ratio would mean a 5dIII for € 2550,-.
Why do I have to pay € 1000,- extra or even, why would I pay € 1800,- more than the price of a 5dII?

I know, the marketing boys did well and the Canon sponsored Pro's talk about at least 2 stops better ISO performance, great AF and more, but for the price of one 5dIII I could buy 2 5dII's or a 5dII and some great glass.

From what I read, the 5dIII looks like a dream camera to me, but for the time being, I will stick to my 2 crop camera's and practice a bit more. Not even the 5dIII will make my skills better .

[briansquibb]

How many times do we have to explain the difference between the current discounted street price of the 5DII and the msrp from Canon??

Why not compare with the current msrp of the 5DII and you will find it a lot closer

[Boyer U. Klum-Cey]

As a semi-amateur, I am still working on mastering my sub $2000 5dII.  5dIII does look good though.

[djw]

Yes, very disappointed with the release price. I was planning the FF jump and was OK with the 3K price. However at 3.5 I cannot buy one without the feel Canon are just trying to capitalise on the market share the Mark II gave them.

The Mark3 looks amazing just too rich for my blood ATM-guess Canon will also miss out on the three lenses I was planning to buy.

Cheers,

David

[kdsand]

I'm fed up of reading this forum today and hearing people complaining about the 5DIII pricing. Did you ever think it was going to sell for less than $2500? The prices will be lower when it hits the high street stores when it first comes out. But most importantly,

1) Do you NEED a 5DIII?

if not, shut up.

2) Can you afford a 5DIII now?

if not, shut up.


3) Can you ever afford a 5DIII?

if not, shut up.

4) If you can afford it but are not considering buying it

shut up

5) If you want to buy a 5DIII but will wait for a year when the price drops, then why are you complaining about the prices NOW? It is irrelevant.

shut up

6) If you actually need a 5DIII and really wanted to buy it now for pro use. Well done. You fall into the 5% of population here on this forum. Your opinion and rant is valid.

Everyone else, stop jumping on the bandwagon and stop complaining.

Pin head

[D_Rochat]

MSRP at the time of release,

5D - $3299 usd
5D mark II - $2699 usd (now $2499)
5D mark III - $3499