what has Canon Rumors done for you lately

[Fairbanks]

What's the track record of this site? As far as I can tell, Canon reps do not leak anything. Ever. Nor do camera / lens testers.

Don't get me wrong: I check Canon Rumors every day. There's no question I'm a fan. I enjoy speculating about what might be coming out and hearing other guesses about what's on the horizon.

But this site has not really had an edge on any new lenses / cameras that I can think of. Take the new fisheye zoom. There was a rumor here but there was no word whatsoever about the fact that it was a fisheye (the crucial detail, IMHO). And take the new 200mm-400mm - no rumer about that either that I noticed.

What does this mean? This site is great for gossip, or immediate notice that something new has been released. But the record of actually predicting future releases is . . . pretty bad.

 

[bvukich]

I don't understand people that play farmville. People that play farmville probably don't understand why I come to CR 73 times a day.

I guess what I'm trying to get at, is that this site is for entertainment. A place for individuals to get together and talk about a common interest. And in that respect, for me, the site has been quite successful.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Lately? Well, people looking at a 60D or a 7D might be happy about the recent news of impending rebates.

Personally, CR has saved me $100 in the past year - the site broke the news of an upcoming rebate on the 7D last March. That 'rumor' was posted after I'd ordered the 7D from Amazon, but before it had shipped - I was able to cancel the order and re-purchase a couple of days later, with the rebate pricing.

 

[Civius]

Well, it has done nothing for me lately. Or ever. Except giving me hours and hours of entertaining reading. Keep up the good work!

 

[tzalmagor]

It gave me lots of fun reading for free, and the understanding that I should switch my camera brand, as I've stopped being part of Canon's target audience in 2008 (possibly earlier).

 

[Canon Rumors Guy]

What's the track record of this site? As far as I can tell, Canon reps do not leak anything. Ever. Nor do camera / lens testers.

Don't get me wrong: I check Canon Rumors every day. There's no question I'm a fan. I enjoy speculating about what might be coming out and hearing other guesses about what's on the horizon.

But this site has not really had an edge on any new lenses / cameras that I can think of. Take the new fisheye zoom. There was a rumor here but there was no word whatsoever about the fact that it was a fisheye (the crucial detail, IMHO). And take the new 200mm-400mm - no rumer about that either that I noticed.

What does this mean? This site is great for gossip, or immediate notice that something new has been released. But the record of actually predicting future releases is . . . pretty bad.

Well we had the last round of announcements, especially the super telephotos months before. The new 70-300 we had and I blew it on the 8-15 because I didnt think "fisheye".

The 200-400 is a "development" announcement. Since it's not a final product, I don't think its existence went to all the people that usually get information and leak it out. I'm annoyed by that. Especially since the writing was on the wall with the introduction of the 70-300. I have speculated that a direct replacement of the 100-400 probably wasn't happening.

This time around we got the Rebels a while ago, I've stopped caring too much about all the PowerShots outside of the SX30, S95 and G12. I over filtered and didn't post about the 320EX, though I knew about it. You try not to post the rubbish, and end up not posting good stuff. It's a balancing act I haven't mastered.

We've always done well with camera bodies... lenses are a different thing entirely. I'm not sure why that is.

Canon is not Nikon, they don't leak stuff themselves. There are a few sites that do Canon related rumors and they didn't get the 200-400 either. I am usually first with stuff if we get it right.

In the end, I try hard and sometimes things don't go to plan. I'll keep trying though.

Cheers
CR

 

[docsmith]

....and just so we are all clear...Tommy really didn't kiss Jessica behind the stadium last Thursday. That was a rumor too.

I agree, this site tends to have news first and often, in the most detail. Thanks for all the hard work in making that happen. And similar to Neuro's post, anyone that reads this site would have just saved $200 on a 7D or 60D by waiting until Feb 20. Hopefully that has done something for people "lately."

As per the rumors, honestly, I know what you mean, but I take all rumors with a grain of salt and appreciate the CR0-3 ranking system. At CR1/2, so much is said/speculated on, especially with camera bodies, it is tough to be right or wrong. But it is entertaining and, as with most rumors, there is some truth in there.

For example, a rumor I am intrigued by from a while back, that 10 lenses will be announced and/or released in 2011 ("the year of the lens"). Well, it is February 9th and I think we could "claim" four (depending on how you count them). That is already the average for a typical year, so, either we are done with lens announcement in 2011, or there may be some truth behind that rumor.

 

[kubelik]

rather than the misses, what if we look at it from the hits:

8-15mm f/4 L Fisheye - an ultra-wide f/4 L zoom was predicted, just not that it was a fisheye
70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM - predictions ranged from a 70-300 to 100-300 to new 100-400 ... I'd say that's fairly close to the mark to what we ended up getting
300 f/2.8 L IS II USM - predicted accurately
400 f/2.8 L IS II USM - predicted accurately
500 f/4 L IS II USM - predicted accurately
600 f/4 L IS II USM - predicted accurately
60D - predicted accurately
600D - predicted accurately

if you're talking about stuff like the 24-70 f/2.8 L IS, or the 35 f/1.4 L II, or the 50 f/1.4 II ... those rumors have been around forever and probably will be sticking around for quite some time ... I don't think you can/should fault CR guy with that, you should fault the general gullibility and willingness-to-be-blinded-by-desire that humans have.

 

[franky03]

Aside from rumors, CR has helped me save some money!!!
Im from Canada and our prices don't reflect the drop of the US currency (we've been on par for the last few years)...
By informing us that B&H is now delivering to Canada without brokerage fees for a very fair amount, I have saved a ton money!!!

Thanks CR!


Frank

 

[Admin US West]

I see Canon rumors as a fun site, and as a alternative to the huge sites like DPR. It should be a place where members contribute thoughtful questions and solutions.

Welcome to Canon Rumors, and feel free to post some of your photos.

 

[ELK]

OK, guys. I'm also visiting this site a lot. What I've done recently though, I've added to google reader also nikonrumors, 43rumors, x-rumors (probably will remove that one - to little activity) and mirrorlessrumors. All these sites are run by clever and nice guys, some guys run more than one simultaneoulsy. Well, I slowly became rumors-addicted and I can't imagine a day when I won't check these RSS at least 3 times a day. I still hesitate to add sonyalpharumors for 2 reasons - 1st: Sony marketing and sonyalpha guy making too much noise

I'll just quote one of their recent post:

"(Continually updated) HOT! A77 and new E-mount lens roadmap!!! + Sigma 30mm for NEX!
Sony Japan just showed the new Sony A77 prototype!!! Attention has NOT been released! Sony Japan says it will be released mid 2011 (like we told you for months!!!). Our japanese friends could help us to translate the text found here: http://www.sony.jp/dslr/info2/20110209.html ? Thanks! There will be a new grip, new standard lens, new external flash and the long awaited 500mm f/4 lens!"

All these exclamation marks, all this pathos.... oh, no...

I love CR guy style - better say one word less than one word more.
What gives me this site? Eventually it takes me time, but I get some kind of satisfaction, when I read the gadget freaks and pixel peepers, and serious shooters comments, there's so much to learn from you, thanks a lot to CR guy, thanks a lot to you the forum people too!

 

[Justin]

Agree with many that this is a fun site and the comments make it feel almost like a community. Maybe even more so than a place like dpreview which is just too big to feel like a community to me, but maybe I'm shy in a crowd.

I wish that Canon had more frequent releases which would make the dry periods on this site more interesting. I like how 43rumors puts up all kinds of stuff like more obscure reviews and pricing and deals. But he naturally has more content due to the m43 partnership spanning a diversity of companies.

In any case, Craig, I appreciate your work here to bring us the zany and ephemeral to the concrete and actual.

 

[WarStreet]

This site helped me wait for the 70-200 2.8 is II and I am very happy I did.

But , the best part of the site is the forum and the great people in here discussing their opinions of what might expect.

another positive side of the site is the reviews of the CR guy which are different from the competition. A friendly photographer explaining his experience with the new toys !

 

[ronderick]

Rumors are fun to pick up, but I think the most important part about this site is I get a feel of the diversity of photographers and markets out there.

Frankly, if it wasn't for this site, I would have no idea about what the Canon equipment scene is like in the UK (there's really no incentive for me to check UK Amazon since I live on the otherside of the globe )

Of course, you don't want to miss out on the occassional links to reports/articles that sheds more light on aspects of the camera industry (it's great when people pinpoint these article because finding them on your own can take a lot of effort).