Why so secretive?! I don't get it.

Why are the camera companies so freaked about putting ads up for their new products? Do they think the competition can get a glimpse of what's going on too early? Are they afraid everyone will stop buying their other gear? I don't get it. Is it a marketing ploy to conjure up anticipation and excitement? Trying not to be first to advertise so they can base their prices on the competition's? I find it pretty irritating considering how much money all of us have already invested in their products. It's not like they're leaking info to terrorists for God's sake.

IMO which isn't worth much I think they just do it to get the hype going and get sales right off the opening bell

Well, working for a company that routinely releases consumer products we are working to a schedule that has been in place for many months and in some cases a couple of years. The launch of a product involves a coordinated effort between multiple groups of people world wide. It’s not as easy as just sort of casually saying, we are going to release xxx next month and here is what it looks like. But then our job is to glean any info we can and I’m sure some of the info we peeked at was leaked to stimulate the backroom buzz and get people talking. The bottom line is Canon seems to have delivered and most of the rumor mills hit it pretty close to the mark.

I believe Canon having the ability to alter their product on the fly prior to actual release can't afford to just let the info out. The rumor is that the 40D and the 1DsMIII was ready for release in the later part of 2006 and earlier part of of 2007 but chose not to release them. But, with recent announcement (rumor) that their #1 competitor is about to release 2 new body Canon had no choice but to anounce the release of the 40D and the 1DsMIII. I also believe that Canon will also release 5D replacement is in fact the Nikon D3 is in fact FF and will under cut Nikon's price by $1000s.

Corporate releases with everyone releasing info at the same time while making sure all vendors have everything in place can be tough. Not really secretive.

Mum2J&M wrote in post #3760439
Why are the camera companies so freaked about putting ads up for their new products? Do they think the competition can get a glimpse of what's going on too early? Are they afraid everyone will stop buying their other gear? I don't get it. Is it a marketing ploy to conjure up anticipation and excitement? Trying not to be first to advertise so they can base their prices on the competition's? I find it pretty irritating considering how much money all of us have already invested in their products. It's not like they're leaking info to terrorists for God's sake.

Might be because of all the internet experts that will say "it looks like its got abc and we all know abc is crap"

Nikon "releases" cameras it can't even ship for lack of parts.
Adobe "released" Lightroom months before they shipped it.
Super duper specs on imaginary cameras and software aren't worth much.
I'm happy as long as there is inventory to back up the hype.

Curtis N wrote in post #3771979
Adobe "released" Lightroom months before they shipped it.

That blew my mind. Release date and shipping dates for Lightroom and CS3 were so far apart it was stupid.

Adobe needs to look up "announce" and "release" in the dictionary.

Mum2J&M wrote in post #3760439
Why are the camera companies so freaked about putting ads up for their new products? Do they think the competition can get a glimpse of what's going on too early? Are they afraid everyone will stop buying their other gear? I don't get it. Is it a marketing ploy to conjure up anticipation and excitement? Trying not to be first to advertise so they can base their prices on the competition's? I find it pretty irritating considering how much money all of us have already invested in their products. It's not like they're leaking info to terrorists for God's sake.

it's the craziest thing...Canon is a company that does business. When you want to stay in business, you do smart things with your product lines and marketing campaigns that some uninformed types on the INTERNET may disagree with but don't really see your super-secretive, big picture, marketing plans.

You have to do this to make money. Because some people work there (Canon) that are in business just to make money. (probably crazy, greedy people that like to give their kids food and take them on vacations...fascists!) And there are nerds there that really only care about developing new technologies and newer, neater things. And you have to keep those people happy. And then there's the stockholders that also like feeding their kids and sending them to college and stuff. (okay, and probably keeping a few girlfriends entertained...definite​ly have to keep them happy)

You have to keep all those people happy to make more neato gear for all of us nerds! So really, it's better to just stick to the Canon vs. Nikon arguments instead of griping about "stupid" specs and how they market or announce stuff. Remember, they've ran the company longer and better than you or me, so in reality they probably know better about what they're doing.

Speaking of, when do you suppose they'll do away with those stupid direct print buttons on professional cameras!?

JaertX wrote in post #3772130
You have to do this to make money. Because some people work there (Canon) that are in business just to make money. (probably crazy, greedy people that like to give their kids food and take them on vacations...fascists!) And there are nerds there that really only care about developing new technologies and newer, neater things. And you have to keep those people happy. And then there's the stockholders that also like feeding their kids and sending them to college and stuff. (okay, and probably keeping a few girlfriends entertained...definite​ly have to keep them happy)

Speaking of, when do you suppose they'll do away with those stupid direct print buttons on professional cameras!?

LOL at the kids, food and spendthrifts.

About the print button: Never, the print button will exist forever. In fact, they just might add two, three or more print buttons...one for dad, one for mom, one for the neighbors, one for the little boy who lives down the road, etc . Someone at Canon probably thinks the existance of the print button is the BIGGEST advantage their cameras have over the likes of Nikon, Sony and Pentax

Yeah - and they put people like me in bankruptcy as I don't get paid for what I do (time with the kids) and am spending money I shouldn't to help pay for their family vacations. Although I guess after my recent spending spree, I wasn't exactly helping anyone.