Whortwhile to go for 5D Mark II?

[BlueMixWhite]

The D800 just leaked on an official Nikon site... as a Jan-Feb release... the 5DIII must be close as well

That's the problem, it's so close yet so far with the 1DX coming.

 

[wickidwombat]

i got sick of waiting and grabbed a couple of 5D2 a few months ago for me and my wife I paid a bit more than the current bargains for them but hey we are using them and shooting funnily enough i was waiting to see what the D800 specs were to decide whether to sell off all our canon gear and switch to only nikon or to sell the nikon gear and go canon
I chose canon for a variety of reasons f8 AF on the 1D was one hahahaha I also prefered the general interface and layout of the canons over nikon probably the main driver to change that and consolidate our gear and stop buying 2 of every type of lens.

Overall the more i use the 5D2 the more i like it and the more i accept it's shortcomings, it really is a good camera for what it costs

 

[miked588]

This is the problem Im having as well, I've been trying to decide to pull the trigger and get the 5DMKII now but I feel like as soon as I buy it canon will "announce" the MKIII. I know the camera is "dated" as someone posted earlier and I know it doesn't exclude the fact that it's still an amazing camera. Not sure if I should buy now or keep saving. :-\

 

[elflord]

This is the problem Im having as well, I've been trying to decide to pull the trigger and get the 5DMKII now but I feel like as soon as I buy it canon will "announce" the MKIII. I know the camera is "dated" as someone posted earlier and I know it doesn't exclude the fact that it's still an amazing camera. Not sure if I should buy now or keep saving. :-\

Prices are low on the 5D Mk II, probably because of speculation of an upcoming 5D Mark III.

Everyone gets excited about technology (and those who read rumors sites obviously have some interest in new developments and tech), but for all the buzz surrounding new releases, gains in tech are incremental.

Take ISO (for example since it was mentioned here). On the ISO component of the DxO Mark test, the Canon 5D classic (not the Mark II) is the 9th best of the cameras in that database. It's within half a stop of the 5D Mark II, and within 1.25 stops of the top ranked camera, the nikon D3S. The 8 cameras in front of it are all full frame -- no APS-C.

Even the old 5D classic not only is still an excellent performer, it has the full frame advantages -- as neuro points out, it's like an instant upgrade for all your lenses. After all, why drop a bundle on f/1.4 primes and f/2.8 zooms and then mount them on a body that makes them f/2.2 and f/4.5 ?

So the calculation at least for me was, from the crop to full frame was a substantial upgrade, but the reality is that from one version of a camera to another, the newer one will have some nice new features but the bump in performance will be incremental (even if the reviewers rave as if it were revolutionary, a closer examination will typically reveal otherwise)

 

[Richard8971]

Prices are low on the 5D Mk II, probably because of speculation of an upcoming 5D Mark III.

Mmmm, perhaps. Prices are low right now for the 7D as well. I paid $1550.00 for mine about 2-3 months ago and now I can get it for almost 200 bucks less than that! (At B&H) I would imagine it is just the normal cost "droppage" of technology that has been around for a bit. Kind of like how cars get cheaper as the selling year comes to a close. Nothing wrong with the car, they just know that they need to make room for future models. Not the same thing, of course, but in principle it is. The 5D2 and 7D are the oldest cameras in the EOS lineup at this time. (3.5 years for the 5D2 and 2.5 for the 7D)

D

 

[jasonsim]

Sorry to burst everyones hopes, but I'm doubtful Canon will announce a 5d III until Oct. at Photokina. And even then...it won't be available until well into 2013. It will cost a hella lot more than the 1999.99 I paid for my 5D II last month with free 16GB Extreme III CF card and Lowepro bag.

Canon announced the Pixma Pro 1 back in Oct. 2011. They said they were on the ship heading for our shores...BS. There is still no sign on when they will be available. Same for the new 300mm, 400mm, 500mm and 600.

If you all can wait until 2013 for a 5d III, you might as well wait for the 5d IV in 2016. It will have dual digic VI processors ISO 819,200 and will have 10FPS and 105 zone metering.

 

[Richard8971]

Sorry to burst everyones hopes, but I'm doubtful Canon will announce a 5d III until Oct. at Photokina. And even then...it won't be available until well into 2013. It will cost a hella lot more than the 1999.99 I paid for my 5D II last month with free 16GB Extreme III CF card and Lowepro bag.

Canon announced the Pixma Pro 1 back in Oct. 2011. They said they were on the ship heading for our shores...BS. There is still no sign on when they will be available. Same for the new 300mm, 400mm, 500mm and 600.

If you all can wait until 2013 for a 5d III, you might as well wait for the 5d IV in 2016. It will have dual digic VI processors ISO 819,200 and will have 10FPS and 105 zone metering.

Well said. I have always said to buy NOW what you can afford and learn it well and equip it with the best lenses you can. The 5D3 and 7D2 are great to dream about, but unless you can go buy one, they might as well be made of gold and given away for free!

D

 

[crjiro]

i'm glad i pulled the trigger as well at under $2K. The cam is amazing (from 550D). The AF is not an issue for me but had to get used to the adjustment. I don't really need the extra mps and i'm very satisfied with the ISO performance (stills). I use GH2 for most video and like to use the MkII for people/portrait video shots.