26.4mp 5D Mark III Mid-year? [CR1]

[Cannon Man]

I disagree with CGG that it makes sense to use the sensor from the flagship high resolution model in another model costing 60% less. The 5D2 severely damaged 1Ds3 sales.

I agree, its not smart to give it the same sensor than the flagship model, The next 1Ds should be ahead of the pack in all aspects except for maby video. Somehow i doubt the next 5d would come yet, i dont see a big demand for it yet.. People will still buy the 5D MkII, but i think people want to replace their 1DsIII's with a new model. And people looking to buy a pro dslr are waiting for the new model because the 1Ds III has been out for quite some time now.

[gmrza]

Very sensible rumor - even though it's hard to believe that the 5DIII will come before the 1DV (or the 1DsIII successor).

Still sticking to my prediction that the next camera from Canon will be the 1DV  .
The 5DIII will come later. Same specs as in this rumor but with the 1DV sensor - likely 30mp, though, not 26mp.

What is not clear in my mind is whether or not Canon will risk going to market with a 1D or 1Ds as the first camera with a DIGIC V processor - there is strong conjecture that in order to push more resolution, Canon will need a processor that has more throughput than the DIGIC IV.  To push the images expected from the next generation 1D or 1Ds, dual DIGIC IV may not cut the mustard.

It is likely, at least in my mind that Canon may not want to take the risk of making a 1Ds or 1D the first product with a DIGIC V - although maybe a Powershot G13 could also fulfill that requirement. *grin*
It may also be necessary to bring a new generation of DIGIC processor into mass production first in order to be able to deliver the chips cost effectively for a 1D or 1Ds platform.

All conjecture of course!

[CR Backup Admin]

It is likely, at least in my mind that Canon may not want to take the risk of making a 1Ds or 1D the first product with a DIGIC V - although maybe a Powershot G13 could also fulfill that requirement. *grin*
It may also be necessary to bring a new generation of DIGIC processor into mass production first in order to be able to deliver the chips cost effectively for a 1D or 1Ds platform.

All conjecture of course!
[/quote]

Canon has always introduced their new digic processors on 1 series cameras.  Then they trickle down the new technology to the lower priced cameras.  There is little risk in doing this, even if a catastrophic issue happens, they do not produce many of the high end cameras and can retrofit them all.  They have plenty of profit $$ to work with.

However, if the same thing were to happen to a point and shoot sold by the hundreds of thousands, then the risk is higher, there is only a tiny amount set aside for repairs and maintenance, and a replacement would cost about the same.

Most introductory issues are solved by upgrades to the software.  Software upgrades can even work around hardware issues, so after the years of development and testing of a new processor, the risk of something big going totally South is very small.

[prestonpalmer]

Looks good to me!!!! 

[neuroanatomist]

Canon has always introduced their new digic processors on 1 series cameras. 

Not true.  Digic IV was introduced on the 50D, then used in the 5DII, the 7D,  the Rebel T1i, and even a bunch of PowerShots, before making it into the 1D IV.  The 1DsIII still uses dual Digic III chips.

[Sinsear]

This sounds plausible. I seriously, HIGHLY doubt that the 5D3 AF will be as good as the 7D. The whole point of the 1 series camera is to combine the features of the 7D (speed/AF) with the 5D (image quality). The maximum number of cross type AF points that the 5D3 will have is 9, with maybe 10 or so linear type AF points. This is probably the best case scenario (worst case is having exactly the same AF system as the 5D2).

[Portpix]

My one wish is they include dual CF card slots.  For wedding photography and photo journal style a dual slot would be of great benefit.  But alas I don't think it will :-(

[martijn]

The lack of any video details for the successor to the 5DII -the trailblazer for DSLR-based video, after all- makes me doubt this rumor, really...I still think it's unlikely we'll see this camera before the end of the year.

[Stuart]

I'd still like a popup flash on this camera - flame me.

With such modest specs, i think there has to be a few better hidden features, maybe dynamic range.
The fps seems to be a good step up and there must be a significant abount of processing going on to do the AF and get the images through fast enough at 26MP with one DigicV.

[foobar]

(worst case is having exactly the same AF system as the 5D2).

If that's the case, they'd better market it as a sort of retro-camera.
Seriously, the AF system has been the main point of critique on the 5D2 from day one.
If they screw this up...

I'd still like a popup flash on this camera - flame me.

+1, unless Canon implements a new radio-based flash triggering system.

[gmrza]

Canon has always introduced their new digic processors on 1 series cameras. 

Not true.  Digic IV was introduced on the 50D, then used in the 5DII, the 7D,  the Rebel T1i, and even a bunch of PowerShots, before making it into the 1D IV.  The 1DsIII still uses dual Digic III chips.

I had forgotten about the 50D before the 5DII ;-) - It seems that in the past, Canon have either regarded introducing a new DIGIC chip on a 1 series camera was either too high risk (whether due to real or perceived issues) or they needed the volumes of one of the cheaper models to get the cost of the chips down to a reasonable level.

[fred134]

Sounds very incremental. Thus, very credible :-) If true, I suppose all the innovation would be on the video side.

On the stills side, I hope the AF area would be larger than 7D AF (not just copied on 24x36), else even 19 cross points don't look that much incredibly better than the single one of my 5 years old 5D1 (same AF than 5D2)...

[HughHowey]

My one wish is they include dual CF card slots.  For wedding photography and photo journal style a dual slot would be of great benefit.  But alas I don't think it will :-(

I'd rather dual SD slots, or at the very least: one of each. The speed of new SD cards is making the form factor of CF look dated. And really, there's no point sticking to one just because people have invested in one or the other. Memory is too cheap these days to use that rationale.

Just my opinion. I end up buying new cards for every camera I purchase, because the old ones go with the last unit when I hand it down to my wife or sell it (or keep it). Files keep getting bigger with each body, and so do my memory cards. Do any of you really stick your 256 *Mega* byte CF into any of your new bodies? Or do you go and purchase a new 133X card to handle the crazy increase in FPS and MP? Yeah, me too.

[lol]

On the surface, this sounds too conservative. A small change might be ok on a consumer model with annual refresh cycle, but this jump feels like too little to me. The open question would be what about the other features not mentioned in the rumour?

[mathino]

...maybe we'll see better high ISO performance with 'less' mexapixels than expected 30+ Mpx. That would be really nice to see in new FF body.