Time to re-tell the story of how I got my 5D III <sigh>
I shot film for years. When digital first emerged, I bought one of the very first digital cameras. As a bit of a technology geek, the camera was "interesting" and certainly did get the attention of people around me. But as a photographer, I found the images didn't compete with what I could achieve with film. Whenever I had something serious to shoot, I'd grab the film camera. But I'd grab the digital camera to play.
As time went by, I'd try a new digital camera, and another... but the cost of a DSLR was prohibitively expensive. I was already spending $800 on an "advanced point & shoot".
Finally I started to notice that more and more people had DSLRs are that they were starting to produce images that could compete with what my film cameras could do... so I put my toe in the water... by purchasing a Canon T1i.
I used that camera heavily for several years, but wanted to get back to the "full frame" size of my 35mm film (actually I really wanted to get medium format, but that's ludicrously expensive.) So I decided I would buy a 5D II.
As I'm all set to go out and buy the camera, another camera friend suggests "Oh, well I wouldn't buy the 5D II NOW... the 5D III is 'just around the corner'." I asked how he knew this and he put me on to tracking the rumor sites. So I started tracking the rumors.
Yes indeed! The rumors indicate the 5D III was coming out in about 3 months... then 6 months, then another 3, then the first quarter of next year, and so on. Each time I waited. Each time I was disappointed. Each time there was ANOTHER rumor -- more likely to be accurate than the last.
I reasoned that "I've waited this long... I may as well wait a couple of months longer."
This goes on for 2 years and well into my third. My birthday was approaching and my partner had been talking to ANOTHER photographer... who told him to "just buy the 5D II".
There were a few reasons:
(1) There was no specific reason to hold out for a 5D III. We didn't know what features the camera would bring and quite frankly the 5D II was good enough.
(2) Since the 5D II had been out for quite a while, it was easier to find better pricing on it. You didn't have to pay TOP dollar for it.
(3) The initial purchase price of any new model is not going to be discounted and you'll like pay premium dollar.
(4) Even if the 5D III comes out a month after the 5D II... your 5D II would be so new that you could turn around and sell it for a decent price and buy the 5D III. Consider that loss of value as the "rental price" of the 5D II.
So I did break down (or rather, my partner did) and surprised me with a 5D II for my birthday.
Within 2 months the 5D III came out.
The rumors are NOW telling us there may be THREE different versions of the new 5D "IV" (I have to put that in quotes because we don't know what it'll be.)
My current advice is... if you need a camera now... buy it now. If you want to wait, then wait... but "wait" while realizing that every day you don't own it may be a day you wished you had it to capture something important to you.
If you carry this rationale all the way through to it's logical conclusion... it makes more sense that you not buy ANY camera until about 1 day before you die. That way you'll die while owning "the most up to date camera available in your lifetime". Of course... that implies not owning a camera for 99.9% of your life. If this logic seems absurd to you, then perhaps you should just go buy the camera that meets your needs as far in advance to you being on your deathbed so you can maximize your days of picture-taking happiness.
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