Why did Canon Release the 5D MkIII (pure conjecture)

[Mike Ca]

Why did Canon Release the 5D MkIII?

To make a profit. And guess what? They will. 'Nuf said.

This.

I think Canon chose to stick with the off sensor ADC technology rather than going to something similar to the Sony Exmor technology because it is much easier to do high quality video in Canon's current technology.

Sony had problems with video. Some of their cameras had problems with sensor overheating and shutting down doing video. Those problems have been fixed in the newest Sony cameras. In the D800 Nikon/Sony have gotten high quality low ISO video, but the high ISO video on the D800 is still much nosier than the 5D III. I think Canon decided not to purse Sony Exmor technology a number of years ago because they thought high quality video was more important and that technology makes video more challenging.

 

[sach100]

I am not a stupid customer and will not budge just because they have a new body! Screw them! I am going to wait until the price for the quality is worthwhile.

I think you will have to hang on to your 40D for few more years. Happy shooting with your 40D! <No sarcasm>

It is beyond pathetic how some people can find reasons to justify their purchase! It is a bad purchase at that price!

In my limited experience, at least i haven't come across people who've made purchase decision only based on DR. For many many other reasons that ARE important for photographers there is Canon. Thank you.
<Again zero sarcasm>

 

[Sony]

How many times and in how many threads do we have to rehash the same old craziness?

I commend Neuro and others for their patience in explaining a few facts to people.

Canon did their market research. The found that customers were generally satisfied with the 5DII except for the autofocus, weathersealing and a few other features. They also found that real customers (wedding and event photographers) would snap up a camera with improved ISO performance. They calculated what the proper price point would be to capture the largest and virtually only remaining professional market (wedding and event photographers).

The camera is here and as Canon knew from its market research, it is selling very well to their target audience.

They didn't design the camera for people who post on forums. They didn't even design it for enthusiasts like myself. They designed it for photographers who are in a very competitive business and have to have a tool that will give them an edge. I doesn't makes a dime's worth of difference what its testing geek "scores" might be and it doesn't make a difference that it might not be what you wanted.

Damn right! Thumbs up!

 

[Ellen Schmidtee]

* Most people don't want the 5d3 to have any more resolution and I'm sure Canon knows this because they will have asked

Until it comes out. Then everyone wants it.

No, it's just that those who want more MP make a lot more noise than those who don't.

 

[moreorless]

They brought it out because it was spec'd exactly the way I wanted it....and I could not wait any longer

Would I have liked a better price? Yes....but a few hundred USD are not a major issue, and I blame that more on the weak $, not, so much, Canon.

Greater DR at low ISO? Maybe..? But more as insurance against my not getting the correct exposure. While intellectually it may seem nice to open up all the dark shadows, an image like that usually looks too artificial and is why we often tire of HDR....even if it is not garish.

More megapixels? Always nice, but has trade offs....which I guess is true of pretty much all the specs. It's like what we are told about tripods....if you want cheap, light, and sturdy, you can have any 2, but not all three.

In summary,I believe the 5D3 is an extremely well balanced system....and aim glad I jump on getting it right away (even if it is going to need some taping up).

John

The DR is VERY BAD on this body! What do you mean a maybe? Have you even seen how it compares to, say D800? It is like comparing a Fiat to a nice BMW when it comes to DR! The IQ across all kinds of situations is evident by the sensor!

If you are going to spend $3500 at least spend it on a worth-while body! Otherwise, stick with $500 cameras capable of raw - you will get the same IQ as the Canon 5D MKIII when it comes to noise, and DR.

It is beyond pathetic how some people can find reasons to justify their purchase! It is a bad purchase at that price! Something like that should have been priced at $2500, and they should have reduced the cost of 5D MKII to about $1800 - but they got greedy! Hiked the price of MKII by about $300 here in Canada!

I am not a stupid customer and will not budge just because they have a new body! Screw them! I am going to wait until the price for the quality is worthwhile. I am happy with my 40D which has better IQ than the 50D and 60D with the lenses I have!

This post just seems to illistrait the point that others are making, your looking to translate your needs to every potential user.

Resolution and DR are obviously well behind the D800 but neither are "very bad" in objective terms and I think its easy to see many users not having an issue with these.

Equally I think its easy to see many users needing the 5D3's higher FPS, higher ISO performance, better Jpeg's and much better mid ISO video perfromance.

The big issue is I'd say that the people who want these things tend to be pro's who do not spend there time posting on net forums as much as amatures who may not even be looking ti buy a FF DSLR dispite spending alot of time commenting on them.

 

[DavidRiesenberg]

The DR is VERY BAD on this body! What do you mean a maybe? Have you even seen how it compares to, say D800? It is like comparing a Fiat to a nice BMW when it comes to DR! The IQ across all kinds of situations is evident by the sensor!

The DR is VERY BAD on the D800! Have you even seen how it compares to, say a welding camera? It is like comparing a Fiat to a nice BMW when it comes to DR! The IQ across all kinds of situations is evident by the sensor!

 

[NormanBates]

OK, I don't have a clue what customers want
more mpix? more DR? richer colors? lower price?
guess what: the D800 beats the 5D3 at basically every aspect of image quality you care to compare, and it's cheaper too
whatever customers want, they'll probably find it on the D800 (sadly that probably will be "more megapixels", sigh)

with the 5D3 finally shipping, we should soon see if sales are anywhere close to those of the D800
if they're not, looking at what happened with D700 vs 5D2, I'm expecting the 5D3 to fall to $2700 by mid-summer; if that hapens, I may buy one

* July 2008: Nikon launches D700 at $3000
* Sep 2008: Canon launches much better 5D2 at $2700
* Dec 2008: D700 has fallen to $2320, 5D2 still $2700
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Nikon-12-1MP-FX-Format-Digital-3-0-Inch/product/B001BTCSI6
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Canon-21-1MP-Frame-Digital-Camera/product/B001G5ZTLS

 

[Cfunkexplosion]

Step 1: Release 5D Mark III

Step 2: ???

Step 3: Profit

 

[Loswr]

Step 1: Release 5D Mark III

Sounds a lot better than collecting underpants... ;D

 

[unfocused]

It is like comparing a Fiat to a nice BMW when it comes to DR!

Just a piece of advice. Obscure references don't work very well as analogies. I have no idea if a Fiat is better or worse than a BMW. Nor do I care. But then again, I don't really care whether a Canon 5DIII or a Nikon D800 scores higher on some equally obscure, arbitrary test.

 

[kdsand]

Step 1: Release 5D Mark III

Sounds a lot better than collecting underpants... ;D

Better than a panty raid?
???

 

[traveller]

It is like comparing a Fiat to a nice BMW when it comes to DR!

Just a piece of advice. Obscure references don't work very well as analogies. I have no idea if a Fiat is better or worse than a BMW. Nor do I care. But then again, I don't really care whether a Canon 5DIII or a Nikon D800 scores higher on some equally obscure, arbitrary test.

FYI - Fiat own Ferrari... ;D

 

[Loswr]

Step 1: Release 5D Mark III

Sounds a lot better than collecting underpants... ;D

Better than a panty raid?
???

FWIW, it was a South Park reference. Read more, if you care...

The Gnomes' Business Plan:

 

[unfocused]

It is like comparing a Fiat to a nice BMW when it comes to DR!

Just a piece of advice. Obscure references don't work very well as analogies. I have no idea if a Fiat is better or worse than a BMW. Nor do I care. But then again, I don't really care whether a Canon 5DIII or a Nikon D800 scores higher on some equally obscure, arbitrary test.

FYI - Fiat own Ferrari... ;D

Ha! Thanks. I guess that helps. I know both are better than my 2000 Ford F150. On the other hand, if there is eight inches of snow outside, my 4x4 Truck is probably going to do better than either. Which is kind of the point with cameras: test results are nice, but what makes a difference is how you use it and what you personally need.

 

[kdsand]

Step 1: Release 5D Mark III

Sounds a lot better than collecting underpants... ;D

Better than a panty raid?
???

FWIW, it was a South Park reference. Read more, if you care...

The Gnomes' Business Plan:

8)
"I see" said the blind man
as he picked up his hammerand saw

 

[briansquibb]

Resolution and DR are obviously well behind the D800 but neither are "very bad" in objective terms and I think its easy to see many users not having an issue with these.

Equally I think its easy to see many users needing the 5D3's higher FPS, higher ISO performance, better Jpeg's and much better mid ISO video perfromance.

The big issue is I'd say that the people who want these things tend to be pro's who do not spend there time posting on net forums as much as amatures who may not even be looking ti buy a FF DSLR dispite spending alot of time commenting on them.

I can just imagine a pro that specialises in the budget end of the family portrait market (like I seem to get when they have zero budget) getting really hot under the collar about IQ from issues caused by noise and low DR when printing out their 7x5 family pictures at 100iso. Well I guess not then .....

 

[CanonLITA]

FYI - Fiat own Ferrari... ;D

So what? BMW own Rolls Royce..

Ha! Thanks. I guess that helps. I know both are better than my 2000 Ford F150. On the other hand, if there is eight inches of snow outside, my 4x4 Truck is probably going to do better than either. Which is kind of the point with cameras: test results are nice, but what makes a difference is how you use it and what you personally need.

Heavy + big wheels + snow = abandon ship!

Certain xdrive BMW are probably going to do better, while the Fiat Campagnola (www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=893&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=iveco+campagnola&btnG=) or even Panda (www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=893&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=fiat+panda+4x4&btnG=) are certainly going to do better.

Which is exactly the point with cameras. At the customer product level is not the company's capability that shape the product: if you want a Ferrari that beats an F150 on the snow, they could easily make it (actually, they did: www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=893&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=ferrari+ff&btnG=). The point being, companies produce what they think is more profitable to them (short and long term profitability are two different animals, granted), and not what is best for the customers or what is the best they can do. And this is because finance/business people are in charge, not the engineers (which is good since companies should stay in business to begin with). Then again, when they will be asked to build the new Hubble telescope things may change.

 

[V8Beast]

Here's my crazy theory.

Canon released the 5DIII in its current state because it conducted extensive market research on what its largest segment of potential buyers wanted in a camera. They then prioritized specifications of the 5DIII targeted at that market, and built it to attract those buyers. I know, it' a crazy idea ;D

 

[Marsu42]

Here's my crazy theory.

The 5d3 always reminds me of a Simpsons episode: Homer is hired to design the perfect family car, and the car company's boss tells his techs to shut up and do everything Homer says because what the customers want is certainly what they'll buy, right? The result is a car that is indeed crazy and the company is broke.

So Canon did everything their customers wanted, even included the 1dx's af though at a slower speed. And since it's everything everyone asked for, 3500$ is a fair price, isn't it? But obviously there are even many Canon fans who aren't happy, Canon marketing should have watched more Simpsons.

 

[Chuck Alaimo]

Here's my crazy theory.

Canon released the 5DIII in its current state because it conducted extensive market research on what it's largest segment of potential buyers wanted in a camera. They the prioritized specifications of the 5DIII targeted at that market, and built it to attract those buyers. I know, it' a crazy idea ;D

How absurd!!! no large company would ever do this!!!!! (sarcasm!) heheheheheh


I think the proper word for all of this nonsense is hyperbole! "Hyperboles are exaggerations to create emphasis or effect. As a literary device, hyperbole is often used in poetry, and is frequently encountered in casual speech. An example of hyperbole is: "The bag weighed a ton."[3] Hyperbole helps to make the point that the bag was very heavy, although it is not probable that it would actually weigh a ton."

This is very evident here -

If you are going to spend $3500 at least spend it on a worth-while body! Otherwise, stick with $500 cameras capable of raw - you will get the same IQ as the Canon 5D MKIII when it comes to noise, and DR.

It is beyond pathetic how some people can find reasons to justify their purchase! It is a bad purchase at that price! Something like that should have been priced at $2500, and they should have reduced the cost of 5D MKII to about $1800 - but they got greedy! Hiked the price of MKII by about $300 here in Canada!

I am not a stupid customer and will not budge just because they have a new body! Screw them! I am going to wait until the price for the quality is worthwhile. I am happy with my 40D which has better IQ than the 50D and 60D with the lenses I have!

there are many other examples here, even the person who sited this - http://www.fredmiranda.com/5DIII-D800/ , a three page review that talks about both camera's. Conveniently though, the only page that person seemed to read there was page 2, and the only thing they noticed was the shadow grab. I don't think the test was even a fair one at all - they upsized the mk3 file to match the res of the d800, then did 100% crops? Thats not apples to apples at all. aside from that bit on page 2, there were more images posted from the canon, and the reviewer even spoke of mostly using the canon due to live view focusing issues in the d800. The reviewer also seemed to salivate over the Tilt shift lenses from Canon. The reviews conclusion is this -

"Finally, I leave you with an image of my silhouette, captured without my consent by the illumination of a full moon that guided my path as I said goodbye to my favorite falls. The bottom line, is that these are both amazing tools for photography. There are good points and bad points to both. Nothing is ever perfect and the best advice I can give, is for you to evaluate your needs and make your decision based on what you primarily shoot. There are workarounds to every problem but ultimately a photographer needs to know the camera's strengths and weaknesses in order to get the most out of it."

Now that is a statement that lacks hyperbole! This whole conversation has really just turned to tech spec fanboyism.

I personally love all the car references. And I think they are apt. BMW, Ferrari, Ford. Yeah, the Ferrari may have a top speed of 200 mph, but, do you live near the Audubon? Do you rent time at a race track? When do you ever get to use that beast at anywhere near its potential? I fear that is what shall happen here, people will by the Ferrari camera body and drive it at 30 mph on city streets....