I’ve only shot Canon cameras my professional tenure. The revolutionary 5D Mark II was a Godsend to artists that do video and photo. So when Canon announced the 5D Mark III, like all Canon fans, I screamed, “TAKE MY MONEY!”
Felt the price tag was a bit high for the new features and improvements but it was a push. The dual slots, more focus points, larger screen, faster/bigger/stronger bits and pieces were enough. I thought the video improvements were worth the upgrade, the photography improvements felt less of an impressive leap.
With the 5D Mark IV release date right around the corner, the fan boys (and girls) are starting to get as excited as a lightsaber-wielding-thirty-something watching the latest Star Wars trailer!
For this Canon shooter, I’m pumping the breaks.
Given the price hike trend that Canon started a couple years ago, it’s a safe bet the Mark IV will be close to $4,000. The rest of this will be based off that assumption.
Here is my current position. I have a 5D Mark III as my main photography camera and B-roll cinema style camera. For more video horsepower I’ll use my C100 (mark I, no auto-focus… me= early adapter, maybe another reason I’m not happy with Canon) along with a bag full of L series glass.
I’m completely satisfied with my Mark III. Trust me, it’s a better camera than 99% of us are photographers. Honestly, the Mark II is also. I don’t need better low-light, faster shots per second, more focus points, or more megapixels for Pete’s sake. Wifi and GPS would be nice but not a game changer (and something Canon should be ashamed of themselves for taking this long). I love my Mark III but would only pre-order if they did something drastic like add a medium format sensor (no way that’s going to happen). Would like to see every focus point allow for spot metering also.
A good portion of my work is video and for that, the Mark II and III are a dream to work with. So I ask, how on earth can Canon compete with other ‘DSLR-killers’ 4/3rds or other brand DSLR video beasts like Sony?
The only thing Blackmagic and Sony seem to do these days is innovate at affordable prices. So when Canon announces the 5D Mark IV will shoot 4k at $4k… I’m going to sigh.
Here’s an idea… take that $4,000 and invest it into Canon stock a week after the Mark IV releases. It will probably drop 2-3% and as of this writing you will get about 140 shares… then a year later when they release the Mark IVc buy it for $1,000 less and hopefully in that year Canon will announce something innovative and the stock goes up. Boom, just saved you $1,500. You are welcome internet.
