Buy a 5D Mark III or Wait for ??? in 2014

[KBStudio]

Kind of hoping for a new chip that competes with the Sony/Nikon overall quality. Wait or purchase a 5D MIII? Talk here is that Canon will not give us a new camera in 2014. If true, the question is wait til 2015 sometime, or buy a MIII. Have Mark II, access to several Mark III, at work, but need a personal camera update.

I am a working Pro and have personal experience with all Canon chips and several Nikon chips. So, please, no discussion over C versus N. Thanks.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Hope is nice. Holding your breath would be a bad idea.

In what way is your 5DII falling short for you? For me, it was the AF. The 5DIII would have been a solution, but I got the 1D X. I didn't have issues with the sensor-based IQ of the 5DII.

 

[Dylan777]

Hope is nice. Holding your breath would be a bad idea.

In what way is your 5DII falling short for you? For me, it was the AF. The 5DIII would have been a solution, but I got the 1D X. I didn't have issues with the sensor-based IQ of the 5DII.

+1...AF system is my #1 reason jumping from II to III.

 

[takesome1]

If no discussion of C vs N then I suggest you reword your original post.
You opened up the topic in your first line by saying Canon needs a chip to compete. Either it was a flame or a poor choice of words.

I think it unlikely that we see a 5d III replacement this year, the body hasn't been out long enough.

 

[RGomezPhotos]

If you don't need the speed, the III is totally fine. ISO performance is AMAZING and AF is just a nudge short of the 1DX performance. Great bang for the buck.

 

[danski0224]

I'd definitely wait for the 5DIV. Just make sure that the pictures you want to take will wait too .

 

[slclick]

2014, The year of the LENS...great deals on a 5D3 now.

http://www.canonpricewatch.com/blog/2013/12/deal-match-eos-5d-mark-iii-body-only-for-2699-at-bh/

Sure it's expired but these have been popping up here and there within 100$ of each other

 

[KBStudio]

If no discussion of C vs N then I suggest you reword your original post.
You opened up the topic in your first line by saying Canon needs a chip to compete. Either it was a flame or a poor choice of words.

I think it unlikely that we see a 5d III replacement this year, the body hasn't been out long enough.

I know that the Sony chips(Nikon) are better in dynamic range and especially the gradation in the middle tones. This is from comparing my Mark II and Mark III files with Nikons D600, D7100, D3x and a few D800s. This comparison was done on jobs allowing direct evaluation. I have also compared, in studio, the Leaf Aptus 45, Imacon's older chip, 5D Mark II and Mark III. For most usages, the Canons were great. Again, the middle tone gradation was the only issue. Both the medium format chips have much larger pixels. Thus the tonal breaks were very smooth compared to the Canon's.

But back to the reason(s) for my question. AF is a major advantage of the Mark III as is its better high ISO performance. But at ISO 100-320, I can not differentiate between the cameras. So is a 3300 dollar price justifiable if only for AF and high ISO performance? Kind of a rhetorical question.

 

[neuroanatomist]

If no discussion of C vs N then I suggest you reword your original post.
You opened up the topic in your first line by saying Canon needs a chip to compete. Either it was a flame or a poor choice of words.

+1

The fact that Canon dSLRs outsell their Nikon counterparts indicates that Canon is more than competitive, they're winning the competition.

So is a 3300 dollar price justifiable if only for AF and high ISO performance? Kind of a rhetorical question.

It's a question everyone needs to answer for themselves. For a whole lot of people, the answer was/is a resounding yes. The way you phrased your posts, apparently your answer is no, and that means you shouldn't buy a 5DIII. I certainly agree that if you shoot mainly static subjects at low ISO, the benefits of the 5DIII over the 5DII are minimal.

 

[KBStudio]

I guess the real question I was hoping could be answered, but of course can't, is when will Canon introduce a chip comparable to Sony's in a full frame format? Only Canon knows.

 

[takesome1]

I guess the real question I was hoping could be answered, but of course can't, is when will Canon introduce a chip comparable to Sony's in a full frame format? Only Canon knows.

The title of the forum is Canon Rumors, not Canon Schedule.
Unless a release is imminent you are probably as well off consulting a psychic.
I heard there are several on line that will give you the answer for a small fee charged to your credit card.

With Canon's silence about upcoming camera releases, I am not optimistic for a new high MP body next this year.

Edit: oops... it is next year.

 

[neuroanatomist]

With Canon's silence about upcoming camera releases, I am not optimistic for a new high MP body next this year.

Canon is usually pretty silent about upcoming camera releases - the site isn't called Canon Announcements, either.

Besides, there's no guarantee that a high MP body from Canon will have improved low ISO DR, right?

 

[Bambo]

Faced the same issue myself (was using the Mark II). For me it was the better focusing and slightly higher FPS (I shoot a lot of sports). The added bonus was the slightly better low light IQ and the silent shutter speed (for when I'm shooting indoor events). I figured even with an announcement in 2014 we might be looking at early 2015 for the actual camera (along with the premium pricing for something new). Not wanting to miss a year of photos with the better equipment, I ended up taking advantage of the B&H deal and upgraded to the 5D Mark III. Been using it over the past few weeks and am very happy with the upgrade.

 

[takesome1]

With Canon's silence about upcoming camera releases, I am not optimistic for a new high MP body next this year.

Canon is usually pretty silent about upcoming camera releases - the site isn't called Canon Announcements, either.

Besides, there's no guarantee that a high MP body from Canon will have improved low ISO DR, right?

Yes ...but...they do post the announcements when they happen
The bad thing is once Canon announces a new body it may be months before we see it.

While there are no guarantees, it might be a fair bet that the next body will have improved video functions.

 

[Chuck Alaimo]

But back to the reason(s) for my question. AF is a major advantage of the Mark III as is its better high ISO performance. But at ISO 100-320, I can not differentiate between the cameras. So is a 3300 dollar price justifiable if only for AF and high ISO performance? Kind of a rhetorical question.

It really depends on you for the answer here --- if the work you do depands better AF. If you know your missing tons of shots because of that, then yeah, it's worth it. If the majority of your work is done as higher ISo's then yes it's worth it. If the majority of your work is controlled and slower - and the majority of work is done at ISO 100-400 then it may be best to stay on your mk2. I don't think any of us here is gonna be able to answer that for ya though.

 

[Chuck Alaimo]

I guess the real question I was hoping could be answered, but of course can't, is when will Canon introduce a chip comparable to Sony's in a full frame format? Only Canon knows.

The title of the forum is Canon Rumors, not Canon Schedule.
Unless a release is imminent you are probably as well off consulting a psychic.
I heard there are several on line that will give you the answer for a small fee charged to your credit card.

With Canon's silence about upcoming camera releases, I am not optimistic for a new high MP body next this year.

Edit: oops... it is next year.

LOL at consulting a psychic!!!! but, I don't think we need to go that far. We can use canon's history to get a better idea of when --- I think most here would agree that 3-4 years between upgrades is a very reasonable way to look at it...

but --- I'm not even sure given what your asking that waiting on the next 5 series will be what you want anyway. If you want higher MP's and more DR, I would be looking and hoping for any word on the big MP thing canon has been working on. If we look at the the ucserbase - the 5 series is meant to be a jack of all trades camera - good enough for the studio but also really good in the dark. I don't think I'm far off in saying that wedding photographers are the main client base of the 5 series - and wedding while wedding shooters would love some more DR, its a trade off...manageble file sizes and a wide usable ISO range are far more important unless you want to buy a body that's only used for 1-2 hours of the day.

 

[JohnDizzo15]

If you're okay with the AF system of the 5D2 and are only really concerned with an increase in IQ or improved gradation in the middle tones, then just swap out for a 6D. Although a negligible increase, it does have the highest DR of any Canon sensor at the moment. I also find that the files are cleaner/slightly better to work with in post than the 5D3. Just a thought.....

 

[cocopop05]

If you are after a replacement for the 5D Mark III in 2014, then Canon may disappoint you. Based on history I think mid 2015 is when the Mark IV may be released.

 

[ksagomonyants]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel that you're concerned that 5d III price would decrease a lot when 5d IV gets released. Considering some recent great deals, you can always sell it for about the same price (in case you don't like the camera).

If you aren't concerned about that, 5d III is a great camera and should serve you many years. I think many 5d III owners may skip 5d IV and wait for 5d V.

 

[tiger82]

I'm waiting for the release of the 1Dx Mark III. That's the only way I can afford the current 1Dx just like I can finally afford the 1D Mark III now that it is 2 revs out.