Re: New 500 & 600 Availability [CR2]
I'll venture a guess that the 500 and 600 will get pretty much the same spec updates as the 300 and 400 got:
4-stop IS
~5-12% weight reduction
better IQ
no loss in AF speed with III-series TC's
video zoom (where it smoothly zooms to where you manually indicate)
new coatings
and, of course, last but not least:
~50% increase in price
if you scale it the same way that the 300 II and 400 II were scaled, the new 500 f/4 should cost just under $10K, and the new 600 f/4 should cost about $12.5K.
in terms of weight, which is what I think everyone is really looking for, the following reductions would get you the following overall weights:
current 500 f/4 - 3870g
5% reduction - 3670
12% reduction - 3400g
current 600 f/4 - 5360g
5% reduction - 5090g
12% reduction - 4710g
unless we see the same insane weight reduction on the 600 as canon managed to squeeze out of the 400 (and whether or not that weight remains the same after they fix their manufacturing process), I don't think it'll take the 600 into hand-holdable range. every bit counts, though; it'll certainly be easier to lug around on your shoulders