After much deliberation (some of it on the forums here) I decided this morning to cancel my 1D-X order. For those who are on the waiting list at Adorama this should be good news as I was among the first to preorder there.
The final straw was simply the following two realizations.
1) I already have the ability to take good photos. There's nothing about the 1D-X that will radically improve my photography in any way. While I'm sure it's a nice camera, I would not expect those who pay attention to my photography to notice the difference.
2) From a "photography progression" standpoint, it is far more worth it to invest in equipment that allows me to take photos that I am currently unable to. For example, two recent purchases (within the last 30 days) that I have made include high speed photography triggers and the 8-15 fisheye. Without this equipment the following two photos would not have been possible.
http://500px.com/photo/4506025
http://500px.com/photo/4466164
Therefore I cancelled my preorder and moved the rest of you up a bit.
I must admit that the following did not help from a rumor standpoint (though the above two points were what made the decision).
1) The main thing I wanted in the 1D-X was high ISO support. If the 5D3 does this then that will work for me. Still, I will not preorder the camera but will instead wait for it to actually be released before deciding.
2) I am a bit worried that the 1D-X is a rush job. The fact that none of us have seen full res images seems to indicate that the firmware is not finished enough where Canon feels full res images are indicative of the final product. Rumors of battery issues and the glaring omission of F8 AF also seem to indicate that Canon rushed this camera to meet the D4. Given that Canon had huge AF issues with the 1D3 and many photographers are not happy with the AF capabilities of the 1D4 in low light, I do not have much confidence that Canon can produce a high quality camera that is rushed. Maybe the camera is all that, but I'll let other photographers do the $6800 experiment.
The final straw was simply the following two realizations.
1) I already have the ability to take good photos. There's nothing about the 1D-X that will radically improve my photography in any way. While I'm sure it's a nice camera, I would not expect those who pay attention to my photography to notice the difference.
2) From a "photography progression" standpoint, it is far more worth it to invest in equipment that allows me to take photos that I am currently unable to. For example, two recent purchases (within the last 30 days) that I have made include high speed photography triggers and the 8-15 fisheye. Without this equipment the following two photos would not have been possible.
http://500px.com/photo/4506025
http://500px.com/photo/4466164
Therefore I cancelled my preorder and moved the rest of you up a bit.
I must admit that the following did not help from a rumor standpoint (though the above two points were what made the decision).
1) The main thing I wanted in the 1D-X was high ISO support. If the 5D3 does this then that will work for me. Still, I will not preorder the camera but will instead wait for it to actually be released before deciding.
2) I am a bit worried that the 1D-X is a rush job. The fact that none of us have seen full res images seems to indicate that the firmware is not finished enough where Canon feels full res images are indicative of the final product. Rumors of battery issues and the glaring omission of F8 AF also seem to indicate that Canon rushed this camera to meet the D4. Given that Canon had huge AF issues with the 1D3 and many photographers are not happy with the AF capabilities of the 1D4 in low light, I do not have much confidence that Canon can produce a high quality camera that is rushed. Maybe the camera is all that, but I'll let other photographers do the $6800 experiment.