Do I wait for the Mark IV?

1D IV will show up in October per northlight.

If money is a factor, get the MKIII if and when the IV is announced, I predict the prices will temporarily hit levels of about $2,000 to 2,200, and that is a great deal. Don't mind the naysayers about the AF issues, those were resolved back in March with the 2nd round of fixes. Mine was one of the original bodies picked up by Getty, and it never exhibited any of the issues mentioned, but I sent it in both times just for resale. It was a great camera and I really, really miss it.

In the last 6 months, the love of the MKIII has tremendously gone positive to a level it should have been upon release.

casey487 wrote in post #8589150
I'm really getting into my prime with photography, especially sports photography.

I've just graduated and had access to a Canon 1d Mark III throughout school. I know only have a Canon 5d Mark II, not a bad camera obviously, but not a fast sports camera.

I am kind of just looking to test the waters and see what people think about if I should wait till the Mark IV is released or buy a used Mark III. Money is some what a factor, but this is my life so it will be an investment either way. I'm just looking for your thoughts...

thanks

First of all, as of this writing, THERE IS NO MkIV. It has not been announced or even hinted at by Canon. Rumor and speculation always runs rampant on forums like this, it doesn't mean there is or isn't a new model of the 1D series in the works, just that there are a lot of people who are more interested in speculating about what the next model might be or what they think it should be than in putting the tools they already have to work and taking better photographs.

If money is a factor, you might consider looking for a good used MkIIn. IQ-wise it holds its own against the MkIII and can be had for right around the $1k mark or less these days. Personally I like the MkIII's user interface better but between my MkIIn and my MkIII I really don't see a lot of difference in IQ under normal shooting conditions. The MkIII is better at high ISO definitely. If that's the kind of shooting you do a lot of then the MkIII would be a better choice, but more expensive.

Either way, even if there was an announcement of a MkIV tomorrow, I wouldn't even consider touching one for at least 6 months or so, until they've been out in the hands of the pros to see if they are free of some of the teething problems that the MkIII had when it was first introduced. So, in that case picking up a used MkIIn or MkIII would be my choice at the moment instead of waiting for who knows how long for a camera that hasn't even been announced yet.

MKIINs usually go in the $1600-$2100 range (don't they?), and the MKIII has the better ISO performance, micro-adjustments, larger screen, better button interface, longer battery life, and a few other minor items.

Guess we will see what happens on Sept 29th, if there really is an announcement....