Will the 5D Mk II be discontinued or remain as an alternative?

[yog_sothoth]

<p>One issue with the 5D Mk III is that IMHO it is not $1300 better than the 5D MK II. If both were available at the same time I would get the 5D MK II and not spend the extra money. I really don't need sports autofocus or weather sealing, and I would prefer interchangable focusing screens to a fixed screen. </p>

<p>In any case I am hoping that the 5D MK II price drops quickly, forcing the used 5D MK II prices down to levels I wouldn't mind spending. </p>

[bobatkins]

<p>The 5D MkII will remain in the Canon lineup. The price will drop but Canon didn't say when or how much it will drop.</p>

<p>The 5D MkIII price will not drop quickly. For months the stores will be able to sell every one they get at $3499. Eventually they'll fill all the orders on the waiting list and then you might see it drop by $100 or so.</p>

<p>You can pick up a 5D II now for $2199. I'd be surprised to see the street price drop below $2000 anytime in the next 6 months.</p>

[yog_sothoth]

<p>I don't have a burning need for a 5D MK II, so I can wait. The 5D Mk II may wind up the last 24x36mm sensor Canon camera that can have replacement focusing screens, which makes it interesting to those of us with lots of good manual focus lenses that can go on Canon bodies. </p>

[bobatkins]

<p>I believe the new 1-D X has replaceable viewfinder screens.</p>

[yakim_peled1]

<p>A move made to differentiate it from the 5D3?</p>

<p>Happy shooting,<br>

Yakim. </p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<p>Canon also said that the 40D would continue in the line up when the 50D was released. Don't believe a word of it. I strongly suspect Canon only announces a model will continue at a lower price point when they have a warehouse full of old stock. In other words, all 5D2 stock held by Canon will be sold to distributors at a small discount to get rid of them. If you want a new 5D2, you need to buy one now. Canon's production lines will already have stopped.</p>

<p>I think the next move from Canon may be a new full frame camera at a much lower price point.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>The 5D II will fade away into the sunset once the old stock gets cleared... </p>

[justin_thackeray]

They dropped the price by $300 yesterday. With the 24-105 it's $2,999 in the US, I'm buying one today...

[bobatkins]

<p>That's what the price has been for a while. The Canon "estimated retail price" went from $2499 to $2199, but the price from the major vendors hasn't changed. It was $2199 (body) and $2999 (w/24-105) and it still is.</p>

<p>In time I expect it will move down, but not fast and not by $300.</p>

<p>Harry, you are wrong. Canon are NOT dropping the 5D MkII from their lineup. They explicitly said so when I met with them last week. Please don't spread misinformation.</p>

[justin_thackeray]

<p>The B&H price was 2499 until March 3, with a special 100 rebate. I've been tracking it for a while with screenshots, so the $300/200 drop is real, at least from what the going rate was in Feb. I decided not to wait and see if it would go lower, at some point the need to take pictures with a full-frame outweighs all other considerations...! </p>

[bobatkins]

<p>Adorama have been running a $2199 "special" on the 5D MkII for at least a month, maybe longer. That comes with 8GB memory, an extra Canon battery, a 3rd party grip, a camera bag and a bunch of software. It's still $2199. You have to dig around on the site to find it, but it's there! I know because I've been featuring it as a "special" on my own website for a while now.</p>

<p>I'm sure we will see moves on the 5D MkII price at some point, but right now at $1300 less than the 5D MkIII and with it actually being available, I doubt there will be much need to lower the price to make sales.</p>

[yakim_peled1]

<blockquote>

<p>Canon are NOT dropping the 5D MkII from their lineup. They explicitly said so when I met with them last week.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Why?</p>

<p>Happy shooting,<br>

Yakim. </p>

[bobatkins]

<p>Ask them not me.</p>

<p>I suppose it's because they can have a "professional" 7D -> 5D MkII -> 5D MkIII -> EOS-1D X lineup and so have a price spread of something like $1700 -> $2200 -> $3500 -> $6000</p>

<p>Canon are giving you the choice of three full frame cameras at different prices. I'm sure that quite a lot of people will want a 5D MkII at $2200 (which will probably eventually settle to a street price around $2000). After all, two weeks ago it was a camera some people were drooling over. It's been a highly praised camera for several years. Just because there's now a 5D MkIII doesn't make it any worse (except in the minds of those who simply MUST have the latest and greatest). The 5D MkIII is better, but at $1300 more expensive it certainly should be. For a lot of photographers a 5D MkII will more than meet their actual photographic needs (as well as their budget).</p>

[yakim_peled1]

<p>Do you recall any other incident when Canon kept both old and new cameras in their lineup?</p>

<p>Happy shooting,<br>

Yakim. </p>

[justin_thackeray]

<blockquote>

<p>It's still $2199. You have to dig around on the site to find it, but it's there! I know because I've been featuring it as a "special" on my own website for a while now.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Dang! I guess I wasn't checking enough places. I guess I have to bookmark another photographic site...</p>

[bobatkins]

<blockquote>Do you recall any other incident when Canon kept both old and new cameras in their lineup?</blockquote>

 

<p>Depends what you call "old" and "new". I can never keep track of the various Rebels but they bring new ones out and sometimes keep the old ones. Just think of the new EOS 5D MkIII as the EOS 6D (or EOS 4D)!</p>

[mark_pierlot]

<blockquote>

<p>Just because there's now a 5D MkIII doesn't make it any worse (except in the minds of those who simply MUST have the latest and greatest). The 5D MkIII is better, but at $1300 more expensive it certainly should be. For a lot of photographers a 5D MkII will more than meet their actual photographic needs (as well as their budget).</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well said, Bob. In fact, there may be some applications for which the 5DII is superior to the III. For example, many of us who use manual focus lenses on their II's will be hanging on to their "obsolete" bodies just because they accept accessory focusing screens (specifically, the Eg-S) for facilitating manual focusing.</p>

<p>Given that I shoot only static or relatively slow moving subjects, the capability of the 5DII more than satisfies my photographic needs. The limiting factor in my photography is my technique, not my gear.</p>

[tom_burke3]

<p>I spoke with the proprietor of my local independent camera shop this lunchtime. They're a Canon Pro centre, so they're reasonably plugged-in to Canon UK.</p>

<p>He was trying to order more 5DII's and was told that there are no more stocks of these in the UK. However, there are stocks in Europe (possibly at European HQ at Amstelveen, or at least under their control), and some of these are being shipped to the UK. However, the person I was talking to specifically told me that Canon UK were unable to say whether the European stocks would then be replenished from Japan. My contact's view was that while Canon are saying the 5DII is still in the range at the moment, he doesn't expect that to be the long-term situation.</p>

[angkordave]

<p>It seems unlikely that the 5D2 will be on sale for long. Canon are going to want to sell their MK3s. I bought a 5D2 as it is a bargain price Full Frame DSLR body $1900 new. This was in preference to the MK 3 as I had to buy a kit of FF lenses and wanted to prioritize funds towards lenses.<br>

I'm making the switch from Nikon DX which I should have done a few years ago. My decision was as much due to my interest in video as much as still image quality.<br>

Even though the 5D2 is relatively old; its streets ahead of the D700 in terms of resolution and versatility. Image quality has impressed so far. Ive tested it in challenging lighting conditions and in low light and high contrast, its impressive. </p>