Some interesting thoughts from POTN:
The new camera [5D Mark II] is most likely at beta level, undergoing further tests prior to its official announcement by Canon in Fall, in conjunction with Photokina 2008. PMA Show 2008 at Las Vegas end of January is not the ideal place to announce a successor to the EOS 5D. A successor to the EOS Xti Rebel is more likely to be unveiled in conjunction with the PMA event.
A year ago, everyone/everywhere was speculating on the EOS 40D for PMA 2007 and Canon decided to unveil the EOS-1D Mark III instead.
EOS 40D and the EOS-1Ds Mark III became part of the Fall announcement of 2007 instead due to it not being a Photokina year to capitalise on. At this point of time, it is too early for Canon to announce a successor to the EOS 5D as both the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III and Nikon D3 have not been in the market long enough to gauge how much effect (sales-wise) of both against the volumes of the EOS 5D and EOS-1D Mark III.
Rebates and promotions of the 5D currently may not necessary mean it is going to be replaced soon. It may be promoted against the onslaught of Nikon D300 and Sony Alpha A700, both of which are 12MPs and APS-C DSLRs.
Also, the EOS 350D (Rebel XT) has been dropped from the 4th-quarter 2007 catalog line-up of EOS models in my country/region while the EOS 5D remains. In the 4th-quarter 2006 catalog, only the EOS-1D Mark II N was missing from the line-up while EOS 30D remained. 1st-quarter 2008 catalog will be issued at end of January. [See Geoffrey’s post at #87]
Smells like Geoffrey may be on to something here. Canon doesn’t really have to be in a rush to put out a replacement for the 5D. It’s still great at what it does. It’s still in the top 10 selling DSLRs on Amazon (while it’s listed as 18th, if you take out the repeats on different variations of kits and bodies, the 5D comes in at #10). That’s pretty impressive for a 2 1/2 year old DSLR.
Just a couple of weeks or so left until we find out for sure, but I’m sure we’ll get more rumors and rumblings between now and then. Stay tuned.
[tags]canon, 5d, mark ii, 6d, 4d, news, rumors[/tags]
This is great news for people like me sitting on the fence for buying. Actually i did buy a rebel xti less than a month ago but since then have been reading reviews like this eagerly because I can still return it (which i will do after just getting back from a trip to Japan and using it there). So hopefully a new version will come out at the end of January so I won’t be without a camera too long. Thanks for all your research
I too am in this position. I received a Rebel XTi for christmas and am able to return it up until January 31st. I am hoping there is a new rebel announcement before this time.
It sure would be a shame to already be a version behind – especially if liveview is being included in the new rebel.
Canon has already removed the current 5D from their literature promoting their professional or semi-pro product range.
In their current listings, only 3 models are listed. The 1DS MKIII, the 1D MKIII and the 40D. The absence of the 5D (even before the announcement of the new one) is pretty glaring.
Some people might try to make the argument that all of the 3 models listed are new products but remember the advertisement was a list of their PRO products and NOT a listing of their newly introduced models.
The Rebel XTi’s absence was understandable, since it is not a Pro product but the Canon 5D’s absence was, IMO, a strong hint that we may not have to wait until Photikina for the replacement.