Canon 5D Mark III - Price Drop Details

[RunAndGun]

Hi i guess the price will drop sooner than later cause the 5D MK III ranked 20th in sales in USA & 28th in Japan as per DSLRphoto.com compared to D800 which is 2nd in USA & 6th in Japan the MK III it can't keep up with the D800 sales no matter how good it. D800 has higher MP advantage & cheaper price.

Megapixels do not a camera make... or something like that. 

A bajillion Megapixels aren't everything.  Look at both manufacturers newest flagship pro bodies. 16.2MP for the Nikon D4 and 18.1MP for the Canon 1DX.

I'm in no way knocking the D800, but there is more to a camera than JUST a sensor.  And there are people that will buy it JUST because they see 36MP and know nothing else.

You fail to recognize the obvious advantage of D4 and D800 over the MKIII - LOW LIGHT capabilities!!!!

I'm not sure that I fail to recognize anything.  I was simply saying that you can't judge a camera solely on it's resolution/MP count, but there are those that do.

[briansquibb]

Hi i guess the price will drop sooner than later cause the 5D MK III ranked 20th in sales in USA & 28th in Japan as per DSLRphoto.com compared to D800 which is 2nd in USA & 6th in Japan the MK III it can't keep up with the D800 sales no matter how good it. D800 has higher MP advantage & cheaper price.

Megapixels do not a camera make... or something like that. 

A bajillion Megapixels aren't everything.  Look at both manufacturers newest flagship pro bodies. 16.2MP for the Nikon D4 and 18.1MP for the Canon 1DX.

I'm in no way knocking the D800, but there is more to a camera than JUST a sensor.  And there are people that will buy it JUST because they see 36MP and know nothing else.

You fail to recognize the obvious advantage of D4 and D800 over the MKIII - LOW LIGHT capabilities!!!!

I'm not sure that I fail to recognize anything.  I was simply saying that you can't judge a camera solely on it's resolution/MP count, but there are those that do.

I think he read the troll sheet wrong - it should say LOW ISO CAPABILITIES

[Marsu42]

If you wait for a price drop, that wait will turn in to the wait for the 5D4.

When do you expect the 5D4 to be released? 

Personally, I would predict that the 5d4 (or equivalent ff 5d3 sensor upgrade) will be released sooner than the 5d2->5d3 period. Even if Canon would come up with a 5d2-like major firmware upgrade, that wouldn't update the sensor nor change the hardware for things like hdmi out.

If there's a $500 price drop, I want a $500 credit towards a new lens.

You could also calculate how many $$$ the 5d3 ownership has cost you every day :-p

[Otter]

There is no way the camera is dropping $1000 by next year.  The actual cost for Canon to build this camera is $2400.  They're not going to be selling it for $100 over cost.  Perhaps 2 years from now it will hover between $3000-3200.  Anyone who thinks it is going to see a huge price drop is just a victim of wishful thinking I suppose, not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Marsu42]

The actual cost for Canon to build this camera is $2400.

How do you know that??? I think this information is as business-confidential as it gets, so I'd be very surprised to read something like this on cr.

[Abraxx]

The actual cost for Canon to build this camera is $2400.

How do you know that??? I think this information is as business-confidential as it gets, so I'd be very surprised to read something like this on cr.

Ever heard of researchers like http://www.isuppli.com/ or others?
I do not know what the hw cost of the Canon are exactly in this case, though, didn't check my researches, but its certainly not that impossible to estimate. Nonetheless I agree the components like the sensor and further none hardware related costs are a factor too, still not impossible to come close. 2400 sounds high though to me...


On a side note, even though nobody might care...

I finally(!), after long long weeks of checking & comparisons (also with Nikon)
ORDERED my 5D3 as a Kit.
I reached my threshold and have a very good warranty on top from a good dealer.
Can't wait to get my beauty of the beauties 

[Otter]

The actual cost for Canon to build this camera is $2400.

How do you know that??? I think this information is as business-confidential as it gets, so I'd be very surprised to read something like this on cr.

Because my friend works for Canon and I got a MkIII for cost plus 20%, so I know what it costs them to make one.  It's not just a random number that I thought sounded nice.

[Marsu42]

Because my friend works for Canon and I got a MkIII for cost plus 20%, so I know what it costs them to make one.

Well, thank you and your friend for sharing this information :-) ... that certainly reduces the possibility of massive price drops, but I really wonder how the 5d3 can be so much more expensive to make? The 5d2 sharing basically the same sensor is sold for much less after all, and I assume Canon does make a healthy profit even with the older camera body.

Is it maybe because the $2400 include the high advertising and r&d effort for the 5d3/5dx af system, and after the r&d is returned the actual hardware manufacturing cost is much lower?

[unfocused]

I seriously doubt that any manufacturer, especially one with such a diversified product line, can say with certainty what one particular product costs them.

I'm not suggesting that they don't assign a cost to the product, I'm just suggesting that it is inevitable that the assigned cost has to factor in a number of assumptions that are not so easily segmented. Certainly, for their own internal accounting purposes, they would try to keep the camera division costs separate from the office machines division. And, I'm sure they try to segment the costs out as much as possible within a division – calculating real costs where possible and assigning shared costs as best they can.

But, costs don't fit neatly into clear assignments to individual products. Just use sensor research as an example. At some level, the research benefits every sensor they develop from the smallest point and shoot to the 1Dx. The cost of research unique to a particular sensor or format can be assigned, but the embedded costs of having a sensor development division must be allocated over the entire product line. Product development research must also be shared across products. The allocation will be done using hundreds of assumptions, many of which are made according to the overall goals and objectives of the company, not necessarily based on what percentage of the entire product line an individual product represents.

Ultimately, Canon is a single company and that means that various divisions must supplement one another depending on current market conditions, so that the entire product line survives over time. Just this spring, in their shareholder call, Canon stated that the office machines division was down and profits from the camera division were able to offset those losses.

This doesn't mean that Canon will or can lower prices. It doesn't mean that the $2,400 figure for the 5DIII is right or wrong or that they haven't assigned that number to the cost of the camera. It means that it's a little crazy to try to say "this camera costs this much to make" and even crazier to say "Canon is ripping me off because this camera should only cost this much."

In the end, the only relevant cost is the cost the consumer is willing to pay.

[Marsu42]

This doesn't mean that Canon will or can lower prices. It doesn't mean that the $2,4000 figure for the 5DIII is right or wrong or that they haven't assigned that number to the cost of the camera. It means that it's a little crazy to try to say "this camera costs this much to make" and even crazier to say "Canon is ripping me off because this camera should only cost this much."

You're correct, thanks for expanding on the alleged $2400 price tag.

But I think there's still is a baseline price which includes just the manufacturing costs (parts (patent fees for ip, in-house and 3rd party parts), labor and shipping) without return of invest for r&d and setting up the whole assembly and without costs for supporting the whole Canon enterprise, including support & warranty.

This is the price the 5d3 will not drop under even if it's manufactured for 100 years. While it might be interesting how higher it's for the 5d3 vs. the 5d2, of course this has no meaning for real world consumer prices.

[LSV]

A couple of days ago 5D3s were selling for $3150.68 on Ebay. Let's hope that the price drop will accelerate.

[unfocused]

This doesn't mean that Canon will or can lower prices. It doesn't mean that the $2,400 figure for the 5DIII is right or wrong or that they haven't assigned that number to the cost of the camera. It means that it's a little crazy to try to say "this camera costs this much to make" and even crazier to say "Canon is ripping me off because this camera should only cost this much."

You're correct, thanks for expanding on the alleged $2400 price tag.

But I think there's still is a baseline price which includes just the manufacturing costs (parts (patent fees for ip, in-house and 3rd party parts), labor and shipping) without return of invest for r&d and setting up the whole assembly and without costs for supporting the whole Canon enterprise, including support & warranty.

This is the price the 5d3 will not drop under even if it's manufactured for 100 years. While it might be interesting how higher it's for the 5d3 vs. the 5d2, of course this has no meaning for real world consumer prices.

Absolutely agree.

[Richard8971]

I bought my 7D about 5 months ago and the price was about $1550.00. 2 months later it dropped to $1400.00. Now the price (at B&H) is back up to $1550.00. The 7 is holding it's value quite well even though it is almost 3 years old now. I don't regret buying it at the higher price because it was a fair price when I bought it so it isn't a big deal.

The 5D2 listed at $2200.00 shows that it still holds it's value really well. We just bought a lightly used 5D2 w/ grip from a friend who recently upgraded to his 5D3 and was really motivated to sell. We paid $1600.00 for our 5D2. We can't tell it from a new camera. (Less than 25K clicks)

I can't see paying full retail for anything (prices always change, rebates, sales, whatever) unless your NEED truly outweighs the costs. And if that is the case, pay what you need to pay. I have lots of friends who rushed out to get their 5D3's and are now dumping their "old" equipment to pay for it.

My camera stock is growing and I am paying half of the cost new! I love it!

D

[ruuneos]

5D3 At local dealer at the moment 3299€ original price 3799€ = 500€ off, they also are selling their 1D3 store "Demo-version" for 2899€!
And euros aren't comparable for dollars, for example 5D3, 3299€ = $4 153 (Current course: 07.02.2012 - 01:45 - Finland)

[dochawk]

The actual cost for Canon to build this camera is $2400.

How do you know that??? I think this information is as business-confidential as it gets, so I'd be very surprised to read something like this on cr.

Because my friend works for Canon and I got a MkIII for cost plus 20%, so I know what it costs them to make one.  It's not just a random number that I thought sounded nice.

You paid Dealer's cost + 20% not the manufacturers production cost.  This is what car dealers tell you when they say they are giving it to you at cost (they aren't including the manufacturer's incentive in that by the way).  You got a great deal, but way overestimates the production cost.  Per unit manufacturer's is an ever changing amount due to the economies of scale.  R & D/1000 is alot different then R & D/100000.