5D MarkII - to buy or not to buy

[Guillermo Ibanez]

Hi everyone,

I'm at the point where I'm going to need to buy a new camera really soon. I currently have 7D and 60D but i reckon that for the new one I should finally go Full frame so.....up until one week ago i was certain to buy 5D MarkII but the recent developments and announcement of the 1DX, I'm reconsidering.
I can't really afford 1DX but it seems to me that this is only the beginning of a new line of cameras and similar features will be found in the 5D MarkIII.....
so would you wait to get the new one or just go for 5DMark II which is already a great great camera?!

thanks,

[John Wiley]

The 1Dx is not going to be available for 5 months, and I doubt the 5d mkIII will be around too soon after that - they wouldn't want to steal their own thunder. Even if a 5d mkIII was announced immediately after the 1Dx is available, it will still be a while before it hits shelves, even longer before before there is steady stock, and even longer again before the prices settle.

Of course, this is just my (very uneducated) opinion.

[Buba Kastorski]

you will definitely love FF, but to buy now or wait is always tough question, John is right, it is going to take quite a while before 5DIII will be available, at best third quarter 2012, meantime it hasn't been announced yet :)

[Guillermo Ibanez]

thanks for replying.

Something tells me that you're both right, it's just that seeing the specs of the 1DX......I guess its in the nature of the business, there will always be something better and newer waiting for you....but i think that I'll wait at least until Nov 3rd ; )

[Bill Pryor]

There's always going to be a new camera. It is impossible to be current for long, and it doesn't matter. Just because a new one may be slightly better doesn't mean the one you just bought is obsolete. It seems to me these days that the improvements are incremental. An image from 5DII probably would be indistinguishable from the same image from a newer, better camera unless you spend way too much time comparing the side-by-side. And when people watch a movie, nobody compares shots. People make movies with the 5DII and it looks gorgeous on a big screen. Sure, there will be something better, but there will always be something better. It doesn't matter now because the current cameras are good enough.

I rarely buy anything until either I need it for certain production work, or if my old camera is getting really old and/or has problems. I moved from the 7D to the 5D because I needed wider angle lenses and I already owned a number of old Nikkor lenses. The price of the new lenses I needed for the 7D would have cost about what the 5D cost, and I like the look of the old lenses anyway.

[Ken Diewert]

Guillermo,

There are a lot of good, barely used 5d's with low shutter counts around these days. And I saw a reputable retailer selling brand new ones a few months ago for about 800.00 less than I paid for mine.

This one looks to still be for sale. Used two hours.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/private-...k-bag-etc.html

[Jon Fairhurst]

I wouldn't assume that the 5D3 will come out after the 1D X. The 5D2 started shipping soon after the announcement in late 2008. With nearly a 3x difference in price, the 5D and 1D markets are quite different. Prospective 1D X buyers can keep their current 1D body, buy a 5D3 as a stopgap cam, and upgrade to the 1D X next year. Prospective 5D3 buyers won't casually move up to the 1Dx.

Canon has a big announcement at a New York photo show on October 26th. The brochure shows an EOS logo. An LA announcement at Paramount follows on November 3rd. I expect a 5D3 announcement (if not more) in New York and a digital cinema announcement in Hollywood.

I'd wait until the New York and LA announcements. You might want the newly announced gear. And if you want a current 5D2, prices will fall as new cams start to ship...

[Don Miller]

Yes, wait until Nov 3 for Canon's announcement
Red Scarlet news that same day in the evening too.