Is 5dmkiii a good investment in the long run?

[Z]

No expendable item is ever considered an "investment".

If you use it to generate revenue, it is an asset.

[7enderbender]

No digital camera is an "investment" unless you mean it's value as a money generating professional tool. There may have been a few cameras in the past that were an actual investment but those times are over given how much more or less disposable technology is now in there and how short the life cycles have become.

That is very different from "wanting" one and being able to use it for quite a while.

[lexonio]

Thank you for your replies. As bvukich correctly mentioned, by "investment" I meant an ability to skip getting f/2.8 lenses and getting away with f/4.0. I think I'll hold for a month and see what the final price will be once the market settles down a bit.

[infared]

No expendable item is ever considered an "investment".

If you use it to generate revenue, it is an asset.

LOL!!! now you are talking.... ( I always laugh at that phrase...."is buying _whatever_ a good investment"), I don't know what word should replace investment: expenditure, "use of your hard-earned cash", whatever...but not investment...especially with the turnover in the digital camera market. 
Seems like a great camera, but for me and my use I am DEFINITELY just keeping my 5DMarkII. I do not need all the bells and whistles, I actually like it simpler.  LOL!....What can I tell ya. $3500 toward some Apple Stock would be an investment!!!!!

[dswatson83]

I like to think of it this way. Any camera you get has an initial $250 drop in value when you open the box because now it's used. After that, these things only loose between an additional $250-500 over the next 3 years. You could resell in 3 years for over $2700 unless Canon decides they over priced this model.

If you got a 3 year old mark II 6 months ago at $2300 (which would have been a good price), you loose the same $250 once you open the box because its used, and in 3 years your camera will loose alot of value. A 6 year old Mark II will be worth less than $1000 most likely contributing to over $1000 in lost value.

If you can in any way afford the initial investment (which you can get back any time you want to sell your body and get out of photography), you will loose less money purchasing a new body every 3-4 years when a new model comes out than purchasing a 3-4 year old model at a discount and upgrading that with another 3-4 year old model 3 years later.