Canon 5D MK3 or 6D Replacements... when?

[docsmith]

i guess what i really need is encouragement that i do the right thing with my money.

.....all I can tell you is that there is an improvement going from the 7D to the 5DIII. As I am just a hobbiest, it has caused some heartache as to if that was the best use of my money. But there is enough of an improvement, flipping through photos my wife even commented that the 5DIII pictures looked better than those from the 7D in low light.

 

[ksuweh]

Take a look:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Canon_DSLR_cameras
(I imagine that if Canon released a new 6D every year, prices would drop very, very fast).

BPLOL hit this one on the head! This is the main reason that you see such a long wait between each version of a model. It is very costly to develop new technologies & incorporate new features into a product that is up to the standards for manufacturing. Canon makes sure that it can get every penny that it can. That is why Canon does come out with new features but they put them on a new model & not a new version of an existing model. If they com out with feature "X" & you just HAVE to have it then you can get that feature ONLY if you buy camera model "F", even if you already have camera model "E". Then two years down the road when camera model "E version II" comes out with feature "X" you will buy that one also. Simply put Canon is going to sting it out so that they are more profitable, & they are masters at it! They aren't going to speed up their development process & at the same time become less profitable...... it just isn't going to happen. Buy, the 5DIII & enjoy it until there is a new model or new version or a current model that you just can't live without.

 

[Krob78]

i guess what i really need is encouragement that i do the right thing with my money.

.....all I can tell you is that there is an improvement going from the 7D to the 5DIII. As I am just a hobbiest, it has caused some heartache as to if that was the best use of my money. But there is enough of an improvement, flipping through photos my wife even commented that the 5DIII pictures looked better than those from the 7D in low light.

The low light, noise issue was the only reason I purchased the 5d3. I loved everything about my 7d except the noise in the shadows and low light work at weddings etc. It's not that the images weren't usable, for 95% of them were, it's that it caused me a lot of frustration and a lot of extra time in post processing. It was aggrevating.

I still have my 7d and although it doesn't get used as much as it onced did, I still love it and still pull it out for sports days and still often like to have it with my when I'm birding... I enjoy having both. The 5d3 solved my low light wedding and portraiture issues with processing and does take some extremely nice wildlife images, the 7d still crushes it for me on sports days... the 8ps does make a difference for me in sports...

 

[Skirball]

Scenario 1, by far the most likely: The 5DIII and 6D will be replaced on an increasely slower replacement schedule with increasingly smaller improvements as the technology is maturing. Earliest, 2015 (3 year), most likely, 2016 (4 yr), possible, 2017-2018.

if that is the case, then i would buy a canon FF camera without hesitation.

If it helps, toward the bottom of the link is a timeline as to when Canon released DSLRs. The 5D series was already ~4 yrs between releases, which would put the 5DIV release in 2016.

yes i know that.

but with all this talk about the smaller manufacturing process, i wonder if it will take so long this time?

and if they switch to a new process, will canon first use it for the flagship models only or use it for all cameras to write down the investment faster?

Who's to say? I think it's a safe bet the 5D3 won't be updated for awhile. Many on here consider the 6D to be a Rebel, so lets say they fast track it a bit and worst case scenario that they update it late 2014. Would that change your decision? Besides, if they're giving it the Rebel treatment they won't change much anyway. 1.5 - 2 years is a lot of time that you could be using your new camera. Don't get stuck in the loop of waiting for new technology, that never ends. They've released 3 new FF cameras in the last year, I don't think you'll get a bigger lull than this. If you're sticking with Canon and want a FF, I'd say now is exactly the time to buy.

 

[sdsr]

1. No matter when you buy a camera, it's a near certainty that something even better will be released later.
2. But it seems reasonable to believe that the closer you are to the most recent FF releases, the further you are from the next one.
3. So unless there's some reason to believe that Canon will change its schedule other than wishful thinking, now seems a good time to buy one.
4. (And unless you need to photograph things moving about fairly rapidly, I would have thought a 6D was sufficient - the images it creates are at least as good as (some say slightly better than) the 5DIII's.)
5. On the other hand, if you're patient you may want to wait until later in the year in case the 7DII contains miraculous advances that somehow make it more attractive than a 6D or 5DIII
6. A used/refurbished 5DII is better than what you currently have and it doesn't seem likely that their price will go down much within a year or so; so you could buy one now and, when the 7DII comes out, buy whichever of the 7DII, 6D or 5DIII seems more appealing at the time.
7. Meanwhile, if this is an option wherever you are, you could rent a 6D and/or 5DIII, compare them to each other and what you presently have, and ponder whether they have any shortcomings that matter to you and that seem likely to be addressed by an upgrade. You could also throw in a D600 to the mix and discover whether potentially superior shadow recovery is something you would ever benefit from (you may conclude, as I did, that any differences in that regard between a 6D and D600 are trivial).

 

[hamada]

ok... that helps me making a decision.

one more question about the 5D MK3 and 6D.
one thing im not very happy with is the default skin colors out of my 7D.
they are to redish.

and while im pretty good with photoshop it´s annoying that i have to adjust the skintones.
i have a 300 euro olympus M43 that delivers much better skintones out of camera.

are the skintones better with the 6D and 5D MK3?
what are your experiences?

 

[docsmith]

Skin tones are better on the 5DIII compared to the 7D.

EDIT---I know this is common, but I often look through flickr groups when making a decision about a lens or camera. Here is one dedicated exclusively to the 5DIII
http://www.flickr.com/groups/canoneos5dmarkiii/

 

[lee]

I think a higher mega pixel will be coming soon however it will cost a lot of money. I am sure it will be geared towards the pro for studio work with great DR and color tones. my guess is that it will be in the 4k-8k range.

 

[hsbn]

ok... that helps me making a decision.

one more question about the 5D MK3 and 6D.
one thing im not very happy with is the default skin colors out of my 7D.
they are to redish.

and while im pretty good with photoshop it´s annoying that i have to adjust the skintones.
i have a 300 euro olympus M43 that delivers much better skintones out of camera.

are the skintones better with the 6D and 5D MK3?
what are your experiences?

With Photoshop/Lightroom you can change your camera profile to get the "correct" skin tone. Search Colorcheck passport or Custom DNG profile. I never have any skin tone problem with Canon. Doesn't mean to offense, but from what you are saying I think you should spend more time to learn more about photography than chasing gears. I was in the same situation at you, always hold out for the best. But now, I'm more confident with my techniques and knowledge. I can proudly say throw me any camera I can make good pictures. What's the point of printing big but crappy photo right? There is always something better. If Canon release something "better" within a year, they can release something better than better in the next year, and a year after. Do you want to wait forever? Or do you want to get out and enjoy photographing the world? Just my 2 cents.

 

[hamada]

With Photoshop/Lightroom you can change your camera profile to get the "correct" skin tone. Search Colorcheck passport or Custom DNG profile. I never have any skin tone problem with Canon.

yeah i know.
still i would want to have as correct colors as possible out of camera.
and it´s well known that canon has a little RED issue.
there are even jokes about the CANON RED... not for nothing.

Doesn't mean to offense, but from what you are saying I think you should spend more time to learn more about photography than chasing gears. I was in the same situation at you, always hold out for the best. But now, I'm more confident with my techniques and knowledge.

again, as i wrote to the other guy, you have not carefully read or understand (maybe my bad english) my postings.
i have no problems using a 5Dc or 5D MK2 .. but i would not want to buy one when i know i can get even better stuff soon for the same (or nearly the same) money.

that´s what my post is all about.

 

[Chuck Alaimo]

I'd say don't wait. The 5d3 and 6d fit niches that won't go away, the niche canon will seek to fill with more MP and DR is such a different niche that I don't see them rushing to replace the current offerings.

And seeing what they are doing, we will see a few new FF bodies, my guess is big mp in 1d style will be announced this year but not available till next year. And a smaller 5dish one will be announced and released in early 2014. Both will most likely have features studio and landscapers will lust for, and us wedding shooters will be looking out for the new thing for us in 2015 (more likely 2016). I don't work for canon so this is just guessing, but it sounds like a logical path.

So I'd say snag what you need now, if d800e is the way, sell off your canon stuff and replace it. Or, fill the FF needs with a 6d, 5d3 or 5d2.

 

[Chuck Alaimo]

on a side note....using a new process for sensors and other improvements that may make their way into the big MP body, and how that would force canon to replace the 5d3 and 1dx sooner - just look at the 5d2 and the 7d. The 7d left a lot of 5d2 users saying WTF because of the differences in AF. Did canon leap to relase and improved 5d2? nope. They waited and released what they had planned to release on the schedule they had created.

Also, re: big MP, I really feel that these new bodies will be very medium formatish and be built with that in mind --- Hasselbad's only go to ISO 1600 and have a burst rate of - 1 frame / 1.1 seconds. A high res sensor with great DR built for studio and landscape will probably fit this model, though be a bit less stringent in ISO and burst rate.

 

[Krob78]

on a side note....using a new process for sensors and other improvements that may make their way into the big MP body, and how that would force canon to replace the 5d3 and 1dx sooner - just look at the 5d2 and the 7d. The 7d left a lot of 5d2 users saying WTF because of the differences in AF. Did canon leap to release and improved 5d2? nope. They waited and released what they had planned to release on the schedule they had created.
Also, re: big MP, I really feel that these new bodies will be very medium formatish and be built with that in mind --- Hasselbad's only go to ISO 1600 and have a burst rate of - 1 frame / 1.1 seconds. A high res sensor with great DR built for studio and landscape will probably fit this model, though be a bit less stringent in ISO and burst rate.

Agreed Chuck, I don't think they have any intention of changing their marketing strategy or production schedules at all. I wouldn't if I was them, they have a working model in place that seems to keep them in good position with regard to market share...

 

[pgsdeepak]

I was in a similar situation recently and made the jump from 40D to 5D Mark III. I dont have a lot of money either and I dont make money from photos. So I wanted a camera which I can use for a long time and I did not want to regret when new models come in. This was my thought process

1. Just because another superior model come in a year or two, waiting did not make sense. Wait means, I will have to miss a valuable year or two taking photos with my existing camera (which is still excellent, but not nearly as good as a 5D MIII). Then I would miss those good photos which would have been excellent if I take with a 5D MIII (or 6D in some cases)
2. 5D MIII has excellent IQ and features which is on par with or better than some of the best cameras out there for the price. So the chance of feeling bad due to a newer camera release was minor for me.
3. if a new model comes in a year or two, it will take another 8-12 months for the price to drop. if you buy it just after release, you will still keep thinking whether you spent a whole lot more than you actually should have. If you wait, then you are waiting for 2 - 2.5 years. precious time wasted
4. By the time you buy, rumors of new sensor, new features and new technology would already be in place, so the thought process and dilemma continues.
5. If I buy Nikon 800E, I will have to change all my lens, buy a better computer (to process those huge files, you will need a lot of processing power. Even 5DIII raw images drags photoshop on a 2012 Macbook pro with i5 Pentium processor). More money on hard drives, new lens, expense, expense and more expense and for some reason I dont like Nikon, (may be because I never used anything other than canon from Point and Shoot onwards.)

So forget about future releases and buy the camera you really want and start taking photos with it. If you think about new releases, the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy fans will never be able to buy a phone as they release a new model with more cool features every year!!!

 

[bdunbar79]

Honestly, if I didn't have a FF camera right now, and I wanted one and could afford one, I'd probably go with a 6D if I were just a general purpose photog or I shot a variety of things professionally. I think going with a better sensor over the 5D2 is smart.

 

[J.R.]

i know nobody here knows what canons plans or is doing in the future.
but what do you think?

does this camera generation will last as long as their predecessor generations?
in case of the 5D MK2 that was 4 years.
i would not want to wait that long.. but when a new generation is out in 12 month i could wait.

Not a chance in hell that anyone knows what Canon's plans are. Canon seems clueless themselves

There is no point waiting or hoping for an update to an existing camera. The 7D users are waiting for the 7D Mark II for over the past year and a half and there is no clue when the Mark II will be released and with what specifics.

The best camera you can shoot with is the one that is available today, not a year or so down the road. The 5D3 is an awesome camera and is likely to fulfill whatever your shooting requirements are. If you shoot landscapes primarily, a 6D will give you similar / slightly better IQ than a 5D3 for a lot less $$$ while sacrificing some of the features of the 5D3 (which I don't think you need shooting landscapes).

 

[heavybarrel]

With Photoshop/Lightroom you can change your camera profile to get the "correct" skin tone. Search Colorcheck passport or Custom DNG profile. I never have any skin tone problem with Canon.

yeah i know.
still i would want to have as correct colors as possible out of camera.
and it´s well known that canon has a little RED issue.
there are even jokes about the CANON RED... not for nothing.

Doesn't mean to offense, but from what you are saying I think you should spend more time to learn more about photography than chasing gears. I was in the same situation at you, always hold out for the best. But now, I'm more confident with my techniques and knowledge.

again, as i wrote to the other guy, you have not carefully read or understand (maybe my bad english) my postings.
i have no problems using a 5Dc or 5D MK2 .. but i would not want to buy one when i know i can get even better stuff soon for the same (or nearly the same) money.

that´s what my post is all about.



Actually, hamada, I think that guy made a really nice point about just buying the 5DII. A used II is already quite cheap and I don't think it will go down all that much more if/when a 5D4 were announced. That way, you can enjoy the FF experience for a few more years and then SELL IT when a new one is announced and you won't lose too much money. I'm not sure why you think a used 5DII will be similar money to a new 5D4 but that is just not true.

 

[hamada]

Actually, hamada, I think that guy made a really nice point about just buying the 5DII. A used II is already quite cheap and I don't think it will go down all that much more if/when a 5D4 were announced. That way, you can enjoy the FF experience for a few more years and then SELL IT when a new one is announced and you won't lose too much money. I'm not sure why you think a used 5DII will be similar money to a new 5D4 but that is just not true.

i only wanted to make clear my post is not about image quality concerns... just "purchase value".

i think i will go for the 6D and keep my 7D.

the other option would be to sell the 7D and go for a 5D MK3.
but i think i am more flexible when i keep the 7D.

 

[J.R.]

Actually, hamada, I think that guy made a really nice point about just buying the 5DII. A used II is already quite cheap and I don't think it will go down all that much more if/when a 5D4 were announced. That way, you can enjoy the FF experience for a few more years and then SELL IT when a new one is announced and you won't lose too much money. I'm not sure why you think a used 5DII will be similar money to a new 5D4 but that is just not true.

i only wanted to make clear my post is not about image quality concerns... just "purchase value".

i think i will go for the 6D and keep my 7D.

the other option would be to sell the 7D and go for a 5D MK3.
but i think i am more flexible when i keep the 7D.

Why do you want to keep the 7D? Why not to sell the 7D and get the 5D3 which is better than both the 7D and the 6D put together ... unless you absolutely need to have 2 cameras.

I hope that you are not buying into the 1.6 crop factor magnification myth as a reason for retaining the 7D.

 

[J.R.]

Why do you want to keep the 7D? Why not to sell the 7D and get the 5D3 which is better than both the 7D and the 6D put together ... unless you absolutely need to have 2 cameras.

I hope that you are not buying into the 1.6 crop factor magnification myth as a reason for retaining the 7D.

he has a A2 printer.
imho it is no myth when you print big.

http://www.robsphotography.co.nz/crop-factor-advantage-7D-5DIII.html

Crop an image from 5DIII to the same field of view as an image from 7D

Gain in image width (in pixels) as a result of the above 45% pixel density advantage

Uncropped image width of 7D = 5184 pixels

Cropped image width of 5DIII

to same field of view as 7D = 3568 pixels (5760 x 22.3 / 36.0)

Relationship: 7D is approximately 45% greater than 5DIII.

+1 .... It matters but ONLY if you print large. I missed the post regarding the A2 printer