The latest rumor surrounding the 5D’s imminent replacement is not pretty. Some nut claims to have talked to multiple Canon reps who both confirmed that there will be NO 5D REPLACEMENT at this year’s PMA, (coming up in a few weeks) in fact it won’t be until Photokina 2008 (fall) that we see such a camera.
If true, this could be bad news for Canon in general. EVERYBODY is expecting the camera, and they expect it NOW. The 5D is about 3 years old, it is essentially a 30D with even slower specs. While 1.6x users now have the blazingly fast 40D, that has speed specs on par with the Nikon D300. The only thing the 5D has going for it is the amazing sensor that set world records for resolution, detail and high ISO image quality in general. Not counting the D300, the next best thing is the 1Dmk3 which costs more than twice as much as the 5D…
And we all know that soon Nikon will have it’s own affordable FX DSLR, in fact originally I predicted that if Canon released their next affordable FF body, Nikon would try to be hot on their heels. Even if that doesn’t happen, 6-12 months WILL see Nikon’s first affordable FX body, no doubt about it. If Canon waits ~8 months to release their 5D successor, Nikon will probably be hot on their heels with a camera that is better for $500-750 more. D300X is the code name so far. Basically just think of how the 40D compares to the D300, and then think full-frame sensors instead of cropped. The AF performance will be the same, the speed specs in general will be the same, and those are the features everybody cares about. Except the 5D replacement will possibly be 14-16 megapixels, while the D300 FX will probably just have a D3 sensor at 12 megapixels.
Of course, I don’t believe the rumor anyway. It’s still “game on” for the 5D replacement to be announced some time in the next 3 weeks… Canon will probably have a good 6-8 months of glory before the Nikon competition comes. Nikon may also try to come out with a D3X this year or early next year, at 22-24 megapixels. Ouch.
Alright, you can shoot the messenger now!
=Matt=
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