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| p.2 #1 · True value of the 5D3? | |
pKai wrote:
Access wrote:
This explains the high price well, but not the volatility. Is paying a premium for new camera releases within the first six months or so the 'new normal' among Canon products or among the industry in general?
This volatility is cyclical but nothing new. I remember this sort of thing on and off going back to the 1980s when I first got into photography. Hot items would come out and for a while everyone would hold close to list price and then the discounting would begin. Eventually, prices would settle.
It makes sense that Canon would release the 5D3 at say, US$3500... and get all the early adopters. These people are likely to be established successful pros, which look at cost much differently than a consumer, and well-off amateurs that will pay almost anything for the latest widget. After this tide subsides, then the price comes down for "the rest of us" and they get another wave of sales.
Frankly, the trend of the past few years where an item comes out at a price and stays that way is IMHO, the anomaly. I first noticed this with the 70-200 2.8L II which came out at US$2500 and stayed there until very recently. I was expecting it to drop after a few months like many items had been doing and it never did..... Seems like almost all Canon gear that came after around that time followed the same pattern. The above mentioned economic factors could easily account for Canon trying to hold prices up for as long as they can get away with it.
That said, I think Nikon is purposefully underpricing their products to get market share back. They know that, although painful in the short term, this will benefit them in the long run if successful. I was shocked to see the D800 come out as cheap as it did....and then they doubled up on it with the D600, which is somewhat of a bargain at $2k. IMHO, the 5D3 is clearly superior, but is it $1500 better? I've never touched a D600, so IDK, but I suspect that I would be hard-pressed to find $1500's worth of "better" in the 5D3.
I've been shooting Canon for over 2 decades and am deeply invested in "the system", therefore I have no thoughts of jumping ship. For the type of shooting I do, there's nothing besides price that makes Nikon attractive to me and nothing including price that would motivate me to go through the whole PITA of a system change... I must say, however, if I were starting out with zero gear today, Nikon would get a very long and favorable look. Also, If I were a hardcore landscape or studio shooter, I would seriously consider at least adding a D800 and a couple of lenses to my arsenal. Nikon may be onto something here, marketing-wise.
Agree with most of the remarks (only I personally can't see why the 5D III should be superior than the D800, but everybody has a personal opinion here). From my own circle of photographers - most of them Canon shooters - I can say the counter is meanwhile four fellows upgraded to the D800, one to 5D III, three bought used or refurbished 5D IIs. Interesting trend is that new incoming photographers start in the majority with Nikon cameras, some with D600.
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