Is their such a beast??

Viral marketing is also a factor. Although many people don't like to believe it, both Nikon and Cannon hire people to post stuff both in support of their cameras and against the competition.

Being the largest gorilla at the party, Canon has a big, big target painted on their back.

Besides, negative marketing has really taken hold and is going to become more common with blogging and the Internet. That's where in order to sell your product in a competitive environment, you hire someone to blog all day and complain about how bad your competitor's product is. If it goes on long enough, even the mainstream media can pick up on it .

The mainstream media are increasingly susceptible to Internet rumors, too, since they are all going broke, downsizing their reporting staff so more and more are just importing stories from the Internet, and less staff to verify accuracy. The newspapers I worked at over the years always had a TV set going in the newsroom, to pick up any breaking news. Now everyone is on the Internet all the time.

who cares what people think? i just buy the camera to use it.

There is no such product that pleases 100% of the purchasers 100% of the time. Ever.

That being said, the amount of negativity you read on any bulletin board / message forum is heavily weighted towards people with problems, because most people who don't have problems aren't posting on message boards about how they're not having problems.

gjl711 wrote in post #6580353
Maybe it's just that now news travels so fast via forums like this. Any issue in the first batch are instantly spread across the planet and everyone who picked one up is sensitized and looking for the issue.

Yes, it does travel fast - that is for sure. It seems that most issues are resolved fairly quickly too.

Sfordphoto wrote in post #6581302
who cares what people think? i just buy the camera to use it.

It's always been my decision in the end but I do like to read what is being reported.

m-bartelt wrote in post #6581340
There is no such product that pleases 100% of the purchasers 100% of the time. Ever.

True.

m-bartelt wrote in post #6581340
That being said, the amount of negativity you read on any bulletin board / message forum is heavily weighted towards people with problems, because most people who don't have problems aren't posting on message boards about how they're not having problems.

True again. It hasn't stopped me from buying the camera that appealed to me.

Eagle wrote in post #6579938
I don't think any new bodies get bad press, but with internet forums all new bodies get people complaining. Or is that whining?

Maybe a little of both...

gjl711 wrote in post #6580353
Maybe it's just that now news travels so fast via forums like this. Any issue in the first batch are instantly spread across the planet and everyone who picked one up is sensitized and looking for the issue.

How very true this is.

Sfordphoto wrote in post #6581302
who cares what people think? i just buy the camera to use it.

Same here. However like most things that are complicated pieces of electronics and machinery, I tend to avoid buying right away in case there are problems. Most of the time things get exaggerated but there are real issues that pop up in new Canon products (as with any manufacturer).

I'm in no rush to get the 5D2 so if there are any problems (hopefully not!) they'll be well known before I've decided whether or not to put money on the table for one.