I am not certain what it means (we can all speculate) but the price of 1D mkIII dropped from C$5200 to C$4800 or even down to C$4000 here:

http://www.thecamerastore.com/products/cameras/digital-cameras/digital-slr-cameras/canon-eos-1d-mark-iii

(I know, it is out of stock now)

It must mean the Canadian versions have really bad focus issues

They are dropping everywhere with the expected announcement of its replacement a few weeks out. I might get one, finally!

I'm excited! I might pick one up. I imagine they might come down a little more once or if the 1D MK IV is announced either on the 19th of Aug or early September.

The US price has dropped to. The MSRP in the US for the 1D3 is now $4k and the MSRP for the 1Ds3 is $7k. B&H sells the 1D3 new for $3700 and the 1Ds3 new for $6500.

The price drop probably has more to do with the rising Canadian loony against the U.S. greenback. Any other explanation just doesnt make sense.

Do refurb prices (I'm specifically thinking of Adorama's $3K price) also typically drop with new pricing?

I'm thinking that if they do, it may not be right away.

Mark

StevenZ:
The price drop probably has more to do with the rising Canadian loony against the U.S.

C$ did not gain that much recently. The lowest price of 1D mk III was in Nov 08 - C$4250. At that time it was $4000 in the US (C$ was stronger at that time than U$) and later dropped to $3725 (January 2009).

By the way, the lowest price of a new 1D mkII N, was $3300 ($2800 for 1D mk II in Jan 08 at Adorama, I think)

StevenZ wrote:
The price drop probably has more to do with the rising Canadian loony against the U.S. greenback. Any other explanation just doesnt make sense.

I doubt that too. When they did do an official adjustment awhile back it was more across the board in terms of products. Many lenses were reduced as well.

They jacked prices up across the board a bit a while ago, likely worse results than hoped for plus the sales leakage to US retailers blah blah even if they are the same company nobody likes to look like a schmuck. Sometimes with the currency changes by the time they react the trend of the prior 4-6 months reverses.

A few days ago I inquired about the 1D MKIII at Henry's, I was quoted $5200, sales rep told me he could sell it for $4800, not much of a price drop in my opinion.

Adorama's price on refurbed 1Ds III has just dropped $300 to $4699. That is very bloody tempting I must say. 1D III refurb price is still $2999.

I can get a grey market 1D III in Australia for $4180AUD, which is $3872CD.

Just clearing out old stock because the new pro camera will be announced in the next week or so.

I just checked with a CPS shop and the Mark III is indeed "on sale" (for under $4K Canadian CPS pricing) until the end of August.