5D3 or 5D4

I skipped the 5d3 as I had gotten the 5d2 the fall of 2011.

For the past 5 years the 5d2 served its purpose as I learned more about the craft of photography. Now though it's time to upgrade.

My current kit consists of :
5D2
Sigma 35mm 1.4
EF 50mm 1.2l
EF 135mm 2.0l

And

Fuji X-T1
XF 16mm 1.4
XF 35mm 1.4

To afford a 5D4 I'm going to sell the Fuji, the Fuji lenses, and the Sigma 35 to help fund it.

Then I get a nagging feeling do I really want to spend that kind of money when the prices of the 5D3 are sure to drop and remember coming from a 5D2 the 5D3 to me is utterly amazing.

I rented a 5d3 last week and felt like a fool for never upgrading. The focus system alone would have been worth the money.

So now I'm torn, do I sell some gear and go for the 5d4, or pick up a 5D3?


I mainly shoot weddings, portraits, and family. I'm not a working photographer, but do pick up a job or two a month. Well I guess that does make me somewhat of a working photog but I haven't decided to go all in with photography just yet.

My to buy list for the next few months is.

New body.
16-35mm haven't decided which one.
85mm - waiting on sigma to announce a art series.
70-200is ii

Obviously the 5d4 will cut into one of those lenses, erasing it from what i can afford.


What to do.

If you have waited this long I would get the 5D4. It's gonna be expensive. Especially if it's not your livelihood. Personally it's not in my DNA to pay $3.5+K for a camera body. It wasn't til last summer that I finally got the 5D3. But I paid $2K via Greentoe.

We have no idea when the 5D4 will be out for purchase, nor what its price will be. The 5D3 is a huge upgrade over the 5D2, I am not convinced that the 5D4 will be as large an upgrade. The 5D3 is at least 1/2 the price of what a 5D4 will be.

The smart bet is to get the 5D3 now, or just when the 5D4 is announced, causing it to dive down a bit in the used market. Use it for a couple of years, sell it and upgrade to the 5D4 once the reviews are out, and Canon has issued 1 or 2 firmware updates to fix their issues they invariably have.

Will you need 28mpx of resolution?
Will you need 4K video?
Will you need 3-4 stops of shadow pulling capabilities the new sensor brings?
Do you need to shoot at ISO 12800 or 25600?

If not, then there won't be much else that the 5D4 will bring to the table for you, I believe. If so, your decision becomes a bit harder, and more expensive...

I def do not need 4K video.
The 28mpx would be nice but no, it's not a major selling point for me.

The new sensor sounds amazing but again , I'm still pulling out great images with the 5d2.


I rarely need more then ISO 3200.

I'd go for the 5D3 personally.

One is tangible.............o​ne is not...............

5D3

I would wait for the 5D-4's release, final Spec.'s, & Reviews, and decide if it offered, what I considered, significant advantages/improvement​s worthy of my "upgrading", and additional cost.

Upon release:
- It will be 1 to 2 months before you can get your hands on one
- It will be at least $1500 more
- The 5D3 prices on the used market will drop upon the announcement
- We don't even know when the announcement is
- It takes about 2-3 weeks to get really good analysis of the camera's capabilities after hitting store shelves.

We already know that:
- It will have an AF system that is probably most like the 1DX, which the 5D3 already almost has.
- It will have less than 50% more resolution.
- It will probably be about 1 stop better at high ISOs.
- It will allow for better shadow recovery by 2 stops or so.
- Whether it has built-in wifi, or has to use the newly announced inexpensive wifi adapter, you will have wifi, but you probably could add this to the 5D3 then too if the latter, so this could be a push.
- Maybe slightly faster burst speed, perhaps 8-9 fps.
- Perhaps some form of touch screen

If you are a patient soul, then definitely wait for the announcement and then quickly snag up a 5D3 if the price per capability isn't there. There is a small window where the 5D3 will really shoot down on the used market, but after the initial shock of the announcement wears off, the 5D3 prices will stabilize a bit higher after that.

Personally having had a 5D3, and was then totslly underwhelmed by the 5D4 rumoured specs, I got a great deal on a grey 5DS R ...
No Regrets at all!
Way to go .. Imo .. Next best thing to a Sony Sensor lol.
Thats what I would do. Great IQ!
AF is fine too.

Only negative is you will want a 4K monitor to domthe images justice and it will shatter your PC! And storage but so worth it.

I remember upgrading from the 5D to the 5D3 years ago. I waited a while after it was released then got a good deal from Amazon in a bundle with the 24-105mm. After selling the lens for $800, I ended up paying about $2400 not too long after its release. I also remember that the 5D2 went down to $2000 before it was discontinued.

If you can wait long enough, I think you'll get a good deal like that too.

But I'm a lens-before-body type of guy, so I would spend the money on what lenses you don't have buy need first.