Purchase 5DIII now, or wait for 5DIV?

[chrisnosleep]

So I'm on the fence about whether I should wait and hope for the 5DIV to come out within the year, or go ahead and finally put down the money for the 5DIII. Also, any input on what people are thinking the 5DIV is going to be priced at would be nice. If its more than $1000 higher than the 5DIII or more than a year out, I probably won't be in the market for it after all. I currently have the 70D and 6D usually paired with the 70-200 2.8 II and I shoot mostly sporting events. The 70D does a decent job for the outside events, but anything indoors is too grainy. The 6D does fine on the graininess indoors, but misses focus way to often. So this is my dilemma, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[craiglove]

I have no idea when the 5D4 is coming out, but prices on the 3 are plummeting. Canon dropped it from 3400 to either 3000 or 3100 and there are many new ones on eBay for $2199 which is a great price! I remember thinking what a deal I got on mine at $2600. I have the 5D3 and the older 7D and really like both. A friend just bought the 6D and loves that. They are now down to $1299 new on eBay which seems like an excellent price. I did not believe him at first, but read many reviews and the 6D sensor is quite a bit better than the 5D3 at high ISO's and low light. About two stops better. Amazing. I shoot both video and stills and the 5D3 is reportedly far superior to the 6D for video. The fact that Canon just dropped the 5D3 price may mean the 4 is coming sooner. I have no idea. Waiting could easily be a full year, so that part is up to you. The 3 model is excellent and fulfills all my needs. Best of luck!

 

[chrisnosleep]

I have no idea when the 5D4 is coming out, but prices on the 3 are plummeting. Canon dropped it from 3400 to either 3000 or 3100 and there are many new ones on eBay for $2199 which is a great price! I remember thinking what a deal I got on mine at $2600. I have the 5D3 and the older 7D and really like both. A friend just bought the 6D and loves that. They are now down to $1299 new on eBay which seems like an excellent price. I did not believe him at first, but read many reviews and the 6D sensor is quite a bit better than the 5D3 at high ISO's and low light. About two stops better. Amazing. I shoot both video and stills and the 5D3 is reportedly far superior to the 6D for video. The fact that Canon just dropped the 5D3 price may mean the 4 is coming sooner. I have no idea. Waiting could easily be a full year, so that part is up to you. The 3 model is excellent and fulfills all my needs. Best of luck!

The deal B&H has going on right now is really pushing me to buy the 5DIII right now, $2449 after rebate. And I know it will take great pictures and solve my focus problems of the 6D, but how much better will the 5DIV be in comparison. I will have enough saved up again next year to buy the 5DIV, but that extra money could go for lenses instead if its coming out soon.

 

[RichM]

So I'm on the fence about whether I should wait and hope for the 5DIV to come out within the year, or go ahead and finally put down the money for the 5DIII. Also, any input on what people are thinking the 5DIV is going to be priced at would be nice. If its more than $1000 higher than the 5DIII or more than a year out, I probably won't be in the market for it after all. I currently have the 70D and 6D usually paired with the 70-200 2.8 II and I shoot mostly sporting events. The 70D does a decent job for the outside events, but anything indoors is too grainy. The 6D does fine on the graininess indoors, but misses focus way to often. So this is my dilemma, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I have the 5d3 and am very happy with it, for what that's worth. I've found the 5d3 and 7d2 combination a great sports shooting setup. The 5d3 usually has either my 50mm of 16-35mm on it, and the 7d2 has the 70-200 - 2 different perspectives on an event. Not knowing the specs, timing or pricing on 5d4, I'd recommend the 5d3. I like it so much that I think I'll be hard pressed to move to a 5d4 right away.

 

[sunnyVan]

I'm waiting for the release of the next full frame camera whether it's 6dmk2 or 5dmk4 or something else. I just want to see what new technology is being offered. At which point I'll decide whether the new cameras are worth the high launching price ($2500 for 6dmk2, and $3800 for mk4. Just my random guess.) However, it's more likely that I'll get 5dmk3 at that time at an even lower price than now. That's my plan.

 

[luckydude]

I have the 5DIII and the 7DII and recently shot a hockey tournament as a semi pro (the pros hired me).

They wanted tighter shots than I normally do (I usually shoot the 5D w/ the 200mm f2.0) so they pushed me to use the 7DII. I tried, I didn't like it. Probably me not getting how to use the 7DII, it's new to me. But my kids are my judge and they looked at the pics and said "these are not as good as you normally do".

So I went 5D + 200mm + 1.4x and everyone was happy. See here:

http://www.mcvoy.com/lm/daryn/index.html

I paid something like $1700 for the 7DII. 5DIII are selling for $2200-$2500, right? My opinion is the 5D is a better option. It's the best body I have ever owned.

As for waiting, why? There will always be a better body in the future. I shoot hockey because my kids play it and they are 5 and 3 years away from being gone from my daily life. I want to capture as much of our time together as possible, there is no way I'd wait for a better body.

And quite frankly, the 5DIII is so crazy good that you have to be a little nuts to want better. Don't get me wrong, I want better. I really wanted the 7DII to be more than it is, I'm greedy. We all are. But come on, the 5DIII is an amazingly good camera. I could see myself shooting it 10 years from now.

 

[tphillips63]

Have you considered either a used 1DX or a gray market one? Probably a bit more then the 5D Mk III new but does have advantages. About $4200 or so is what I have seen the new gray market ones for.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Folks keep asking the question. The answer is "Do not Make Purchasing Decisions Based on Rumors" A exception might be a CR III rumor with photos of the product. Rumors are not reliable in general, they are great for discussion, but don't take them too seriously.

Some have been waiting thru 7 years worth of rumors to get a 100-400mm MK II.

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=24709.msg485936#msg485936

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=17409.msg322719#msg322719

 

[chrisnosleep]

Folks keep asking the question. The answer is "Do not Make Purchasing Decisions Based on Rumors" A exception might be a CR III rumor with photos of the product. Rumors are not reliable in general, they are great for discussion, but don't take them too seriously.

Some have been waiting thru 7 years worth of rumors to get a 100-400mm MK II.

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=24709.msg485936#msg485936

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=17409.msg322719#msg322719

Thank you for the links. I did search briefly before posting but didn't find those.

As far as my questioning, everyone has good solid answers, both here and those other links. And, if it was purely based on rumors, I wouldn't have even posted. But when you look at the timetable of body releases, the rumors and what the market is doing, it seems like the 5DIV should be dropping very soon. But then again, I don't have the ability dig in and find out whats going on at the electronics shows, and what-not, like some of you may.

When I got the 6D last year, it was the same sort of deal that B&H has right now for the 5DIII. I still feel like I got a good deal, but after shooting with the 6D for a year, I really wish I had just invested in the extra grand and purchased the 5DIII instead. Then, right now, I'd be looking at $3-4K on some really nice glass instead of another body. I really don't want to be in this position again next year, but as my yearly budget for camera gear isn't bottomless, if they bump the sensor up to around 30mp, improve high ISO noise and increase FPS on the 5DIV, I know I'll be a big ole sucker and have to have it instead of lenses for another year. I know there's always going to be a better camera around the corner, but if it drops in 3 to 6 months after I purchase the 5DIII, I'm going to feel really burned.

@tphillips63, I know to many people that would be a good option, but I'm one of the unluckiest people around. Used or grey market, I'd get it and something would go wrong. Then I'd really be bummed.

 

[danski0224]

Price drops and gray market deals could be nothing more than slow sale and strong dollar corrections.

Canon announcements on the 1DX and 200-400 1.4x had big delays from announcement to availability... and a big natural disaster. So, maybe no more "announcements".

Reality is that no one outside of a handful of people know.

Buy now if you need it, sell later if the next one is mo bettah.

 

[Maiaibing]

Folks keep asking the question. The answer is "Do not Make Purchasing Decisions Based on Rumors"

Correct. But Canon's Camera Executive statements are not "rumors". A new high megapix Canon camera is comming. He has confirmed this twice and in December added "soon".

It would be folly for anyone to buy a 5DIII unless you simply cannot wait or you know you are not interested in a possible 5DIV and what it will offer. Given how much Canon is behind the competition right now everything points towards a very significant upgrade compared to the 5DIII. My guess is that no matter if its called 5DIV or whatever, 5DIII prices will drop the day the new camera is out.

Maybe a 6D if people are in need of a new camera here & now since its such a value option.

 

[Maximilian]

Purchase 5DIII now, or wait for 5DIV?

Counterquestion:
How much time do you have and how patient are you?

You're talking about a camera (5D4) that is not even at the horizon although some talk about a potential announcement in 2015. This is something I will believe in when it happens.
Maybe late 2015 announcement with delivery in 2016. But maybe I'm wrong.

The 5D3 is a pretty good - no, a great - workhorse, so if you need it now buy it now.
No one here knows when the 5D4 appears.
If you don't need it now, wait and see what specs the 5D4 will have.
Some say high MP that means (probably) lower FPS and worse high ISO performance. So bad for you.
But again:
No one here knows. So why ask?

 

[AcutancePhotography]

BTY we are having this same discussion on

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=24709.0;topicseen

We might want to combine the discussions into one thread

 

[zim]

Are you a pro i.e. are you making your living from photography?

If not wait.
If so do what you have to do to make your business pay and keep clients.

 

[bostonpaper]

I've moved steadily upward from 5D to MkII and now to a pair of MkIIIs.
At this resolution and using the professional lenses, you are at or above analog (film) resolution for 35 mm.
So the 5D MkIII is fine.

If you plan on 40"x60" blowups all the time or Times Square e-posters, you might wait a year for the MkIV at 52 MP. But otherwise, with pricing dropping on the III, it is a deal.

Avoid anything gray-market or with non-US warranty provided through a shady repair lab in Nowheresville, NJ. The results will disappoint you. I have used Canon standard repair on occasion or to check a lens, with phenomenal turnaround - to my surprise and pleasure.

But the crucial thing is to buy good lenses. Don't buy Coke bottle lenses and then blame the body!

 

[Lee Jay]

As for waiting, why?

There are two reasons for me:

The 5D3 has a pretty high level of fixed pattern noise at high ISO. The 7DII seems to solve this. I'd like to see them solve it on full-frame too since fixed-pattern noise is really hard to remove, and pretty distracting to me.

I want to use this camera for video as well as stills and the dual-pixel focusing system on the 70D and 7DII are pretty game-changing in that area. Again, I'd like a full-frame version of the same technology.

Since Canon obviously has the technology to solve both "problems" (since both are solved on the 7DII) I'm looking forward to the 6D and 5DIII replacements before I purchase a new full-frame camera.

 

[Maiaibing]

You're talking about a camera (5D4) that is not even at the horizon although some talk about a potential announcement in 2015.

Canons Camera Division Executive Masaya Maeda has twice confirmed that a new high megapixel camera is coming soon. He mentioned it the first time back in SEP 2014.

DEC 14, 2014 he said: "We are thinking of a high pixel count cameras for users who want high resolution images, and it will come out soon. It will retain pixel quality while increasing pixel count.

No one here knows. So why ask?

Why answer, when you are not following the announcements from Canon?

Even if we do not know exactly what this camera will look like it would be rushing it to buy a Canon camera right now unless you absolutely need it or can exclude that you would be interested in Canon's soon-to-come-according-to-Canon-mangement DSLR.

This new DSLR will hopefully at least catch up with the substantial advances that Nikon has made since the 5DIII came out. And why should we not expect Canons newest DSLR will be better than anything Nikon has out there already?

If nothing else a new release will certainly lower Canon 5DIII prices even more.

Time from presentation to market is only a few weeks for new Canon DSLRs, so with any luck the new camera will hit stores in April if launched at the same photo show as the 5DIII was 3 years ago (guessing here).

 

[balvert]

I'm waiting for the release of the next full frame camera whether it's 6dmk2 or 5dmk4 or something else. I just want to see what new technology is being offered. At which point I'll decide whether the new cameras are worth the high launching price ($2500 for 6dmk2, and $3800 for mk4. Just my random guess.) However, it's more likely that I'll get 5dmk3 at that time at an even lower price than now. That's my plan.

That is my plan. When the 5DM4 comes out I will decide if the price is worth the upgrade. The M3 will only get cheaper and is a great camera. Since I currently have two 6Ds I am no hurry to do anything. A good position to be in.

 

[3kramd5]

You're talking about a camera (5D4) that is not even at the horizon although some talk about a potential announcement in 2015.

Canons Camera Division Executive Masaya Maeda has twice confirmed that a new high megapixel camera is coming soon. He mentioned it the first time back in SEP 2014.

A new high megapixel camera isn't necessarily a 5D4, which is the topic at hand. It could easily be a 1DSx, 1DS4, or some new line.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Folks keep asking the question. The answer is "Do not Make Purchasing Decisions Based on Rumors" A exception might be a CR III rumor with photos of the product. Rumors are not reliable in general, they are great for discussion, but don't take them too seriously.

Some have been waiting thru 7 years worth of rumors to get a 100-400mm MK II.

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=24709.msg485936#msg485936

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=17409.msg322719#msg322719

Thank you for the links. I did search briefly before posting but didn't find those.

As far as my questioning, everyone has good solid answers, both here and those other links. And, if it was purely based on rumors, I wouldn't have even posted. But when you look at the timetable of body releases, the rumors and what the market is doing, it seems like the 5DIV should be dropping very soon. But then again, I don't have the ability dig in and find out whats going on at the electronics shows, and what-not, like some of you may.

When I got the 6D last year, it was the same sort of deal that B&H has right now for the 5DIII. I still feel like I got a good deal, but after shooting with the 6D for a year, I really wish I had just invested in the extra grand and purchased the 5DIII instead. Then, right now, I'd be looking at $3-4K on some really nice glass instead of another body. I really don't want to be in this position again next year, but as my yearly budget for camera gear isn't bottomless, if they bump the sensor up to around 30mp, improve high ISO noise and increase FPS on the 5DIV, I know I'll be a big ole sucker and have to have it instead of lenses for another year. I know there's always going to be a better camera around the corner, but if it drops in 3 to 6 months after I purchase the 5DIII, I'm going to feel really burned.

@tphillips63, I know to many people that would be a good option, but I'm one of the unluckiest people around. Used or grey market, I'd get it and something would go wrong. Then I'd really be bummed.

If I can suggest something.

Make a plan. Decide what type of photos you take, what focal lengths you use, and what it is that is holding you back. Also decide the urgency of your gear needs.

I have a 5D MK III, and had the MK II, the MK 1, several 1 series, and many of the APS C. I've also had DSLRS from Nikon and Minolta. My Nikon D800 was fine, but the high MP slowed down processing a lot, particularly noise reduction, so its not a general purpose body, but more for studio or landscape with a tripod. All are just tools, and, while I like fine tools, I could do pretty well with any of them except when it comes to high ISO shooting.

I used my 5D MK 1 as a backup to my MK III last week, and actually found that I preferred the look and colors better than my 5D MK III. Unfortunately, ISO 3200 was not really enough, since I needed a higher shutter speed, so a lot of photos were blurred due to motion of the performer.

I'd be happy with a 6D, I don't go for using high FPS, but rather resort to timing, its really not that difficult. I've done 10 FPS, and I don't like wading thru hundreds of photos to find the one I would have taken with a 1 shot setting.

So, decide what you actually need to reach your goals, and then purchase the items 1 at a time, or as a group.

You can get a pretty good price on a 5D MK III thru Canon Price Watch ($2399). Its from a authorized dealer, with full warranty. It may be a better deal than the one from B&H.

As for prices, its a matter of global economics, and demand coming together to create a buyers market. The US dollar is strong, which means it will go further on imports. This plus slow sales overall continues to push prices down. This also means there is little incentive for Canon to introduce a $4,000 1D Mark IV and see few sales. They can cut prices on the MK III and make more money.

The one area where they need to act fast is in the mirrorless segment, they can easily see that they are missing out in getting a share of those sales. Expect a mirrorless camera to arrive soon, and it just may be FF. Also expect a new series of lenses for the mirrorless. That's one area that might be worth looking at before you buy.