In the market for a 5D. Should I wait?

Rob E

Rob E

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Good Morning all,

I'm wanting to upgrade my 7D to a 5D and there seems to be some tempting deals on offer at the moment for the mk3. However, one thing that has made me reconsider are the rumors surrounding the 5D mk4 expected to be announced in early 2016. Will this have a huge impact on the price of the 5D mk3? I'm still undecided about buying a 5d mk3 now, wait until the mk4 is announced and then purchase a mk3 or even consider a mk4 (price dependant).

Any advice would be great!

Thanks,
Rob
 
Why get the MKIII - the MKII is a very advance camera and will do everything better over the 7D.

I don't think the price on the MKIII will go down that much.

Again people will say put your money on good lenses as those you won't be upgrading any time soon.
 
wblati said:
Why get the MKIII - the MKII is a very advance camera and will do everything better over the 7D.
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Really??? The 7D is a sports camera, the 5d2 is more suited to studio.
19 A/F points vs 9
~8fps vs ~4fps

The OP hasn't said what they use the camera for, but given it's a 7D one would have to err on the side of sport photography over studio.

To answer the OPs original question, if rumours are to be believed then the 5d4 is due to be announced Q1 or Q2 2016, with I'd guess a couple of months before they are available (at the early adopter premium) and undoubtedly it will be more expensive than the 5d3 is currently.
You need to ask yourself if you are prepared to wait 6 to 9 months and pay (probably significantly) more for a camera whose specs are still only guesswork, or whether the 5d3 at current prices will deliver what you need.

Disclaimer: If the 5D4 is released the day after you buy something else, it's not my fault!
 
The MK2 will feel like a backwards step to the 7d with regards to the autofocus, I cant help you make your mind up other than to say the MK3 is an outstanding camera.
 
The 5d lll is around 2k now where as it was 3k when it went on sale back in 2012 until it dropped to £2400 some 6 months later and pretty much stayed at that price till this autumn. It would be fairly reasonable to think the mk iv won't drop in price till next winter if it goes on sale the 1st have of the year. So you gotta ask whether you're prepared to wait that long or keep using what you got or pay the over inflated price of around 3k or more when it goes on sale.
 
Rob E said:
Good Morning all,

I'm wanting to upgrade my 7D to a 5D and there seems to be some tempting deals on offer at the moment for the mk3. However, one thing that has made me reconsider are the rumors surrounding the 5D mk4 expected to be announced in early 2016. Will this have a huge impact on the price of the 5D mk3? I'm still undecided about buying a 5d mk3 now, wait until the mk4 is announced and then purchase a mk3 or even consider a mk4 (price dependant).

Any advice would be great!

Thanks,
Rob
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Rob, been there and done that - the issue we all go through and there is never really an answer, cos the new version comes out, but it's too expensive, so we wait for the price to drop - can then afford / justify the price, but then the rumours are out for the newer version to come out and the whole process starts again...

Yes, when the new 5D comes out, the mkIII will probably reduce some (but anyones guess by how much) and you might be able to pick up a 2nd hand version from people upgrading, but it'll probably be a while before the 2nd hand price drops significantly I would have thought...

Best advice, if the mkIII is what you are after, then go for it and start enjoying it now :)
 
a1ex2001 said:
I wouldn't buy now I would wait the release of the mk4 will inevitably lower both new and second hand prices for the mk3
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I wouldn't bet on that. Well, whilst 2nd hand prices will almost certainly drop a bit, I expect that retail prices are already factoring in the arrival of an updated version.

I bought my 7D about 2 months before the 7d2 came out. I knew (well as much as anyone did) that the 7D2 was on the horizon, but the 7D did what I wanted and the prices had dropped to a very reasonable figure. I kept an eye on prices post the 7D2 and they didn't drop to by significant amount, and infact were quickly unavailable which means I would have had to had bought a 7D2 and paid the early adopter premium.

As @andyred says, if you are always looking for the best price and highest specs, you get stuck in a vicious cycle of when the price reduces there will be noises about the next version arriving soon.
 
I find it amusing that everyone is offering advice on somehting you didn't even ask about :)

But to the question you did ask... Any new model does have a price impact on the previous as a lot of people upgrade.. sell the old to get the new so prices for mkIII will go down when a mkIV is released.. however...you may be in for a long wait.. announcment of a mkiv in early 2016 doesn't mean it will even appear in 2016.. can be (seen it happen a lot) a long time from announcement to actual getting hands on...
 
a1ex2001 said:
I wouldn't buy now I would wait the release of the mk4 will inevitably lower both new and second hand prices for the mk3
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Realistically, how much lower can they go before retailers hit their bottom line. If they're £1500 now from some retailers, I can't see them falling much further, even with a new version having been released (when it finally is).

If you want a 5d3 now, buy one now :)
 
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Happy New Year! Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm going to wait until the announcement of the mk 4 I think. IF it is going to be announced Q1 this year then there might be some deals to be had at the Camera show this March...Its worth the wait I think!
 
Rob E said:
Happy New Year! Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm going to wait until the announcement of the mk 4 I think. IF it is going to be announced Q1 this year then there might be some deals to be had at the Camera show this March...Its worth the wait I think!
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If you're going to the show, have a look at the prices of the 5D mkiii (if that's what your going to get) and option kit lenses before you go and then you can make sure you are getting a bargain / good price :)

I was there a couple of years ago and one of the lenses we'd just bought father in law from Jessops (best price then) was around -£75 dearer at the show, even though these were "one off show offer prices".
 
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So are you waiting for something that you have no idea on regarding spec, or when it's coming out? Or getting the mk3 ???Why will the mk3 not do what you want it to do or is it just equipment snobbery ? I find it amusing when people wait for the new technology, pay a premium and have no use for it at the end of the day.

As a commercial studio we use 6d's, 5dmk2's and have only recently got a mk3 ( didn't bother with the 5ds) and they all do a job. We even have a 500d !

Why the mk3 over the 5ds? Well simple really we have need for the bigger files, and glass is a better option/investment.

If you want a great camera to shoot today, the mk3 will last you easily a couple of years, by then the mk23 may be out......don't be an equipment slave.
 
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Studio488 said:
So are you waiting for something that you have no idea on regarding spec, or when it's coming out? Or getting the mk3 ???Why will the mk3 not do what you want it to do or is it just equipment snobbery ? I find it amusing when people wait for the new technology, pay a premium and have no use for it at the end of the day.

As a commercial studio we use 6d's, 5dmk2's and have only recently got a mk3 ( didn't bother with the 5ds) and they all do a job. We even have a 500d !

Why the mk3 over the 5ds? Well simple really we have need for the bigger files, and glass is a better option/investment.

If you want a great camera to shoot today, the mk3 will last you easily a couple of years, by then the mk23 may be out......don't be an equipment slave.
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A couple of years? I'd say 5-10 years!
 
Studio488 said:
So are you waiting for something that you have no idea on regarding spec, or when it's coming out? Or getting the mk3 ???Why will the mk3 not do what you want it to do or is it just equipment snobbery ? I find it amusing when people wait for the new technology, pay a premium and have no use for it at the end of the day.

As a commercial studio we use 6d's, 5dmk2's and have only recently got a mk3 ( didn't bother with the 5ds) and they all do a job. We even have a 500d !

Why the mk3 over the 5ds? Well simple really we have need for the bigger files, and glass is a better option/investment.

If you want a great camera to shoot today, the mk3 will last you easily a couple of years, by then the mk23 may be out......don't be an equipment slave.
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:agree:

If the camera does what you want it too then why wait? Do you really think the 5D MKIII is going to be much lower than the £1500 that its available at HDEW. If you want the camera buy it, use it and enjoy it, don't try and pre-empt any future equipment release, that game is a pointless one.
 
odd jim said:
A couple of years? I'd say 5-10 years!
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Your right, just thinking about our kit, it gets hammered every day and is still as new, the higher end kit is build like a tank.
 
Why wait? There will always be something newer, quicker, faster, shinier etc in the pipeline. If you want it go out and buy it now. Prices are unlikely to fall much even after the new model is launched.
 
I think it will be a 1dx thats the next to be upgraded
 
I have no interest in the 5D mk4 because I know it will be vastly out of my price range at launch (I'm getting married this coming August too!). I'm planning on going to the camera show to seek a deal on the 5d mk3 along with a standard zoom lens. I already have a couple of FF compatible lenses but the standard zoom range will need an upgrade at the same time.
 
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