7D, 1D Mark III or 1D MarkIV

E.J. Peiker wrote:Scott, Paul, I actually think they got that way, if you bought the highest end, several years ago. My 1Ds mark II was my workhorse from November 2004 to December 2008 so a little over 4 years before I felt there was a camera sufficiently superior enough to it to jsutify athe very expensive upgrade (D3x). Similarly I kept my 1 D Mark IIn for 4 years before replacing it with a D300. I don't plan to upgrade the D300 to a D300s so I think I'm pretty much in the every other generation camp now which moved me from a 2 year upgrade cycle to a 4 year upgrade cycle.

At this point I think we should stop with increasing megapixels, except maybe one iteration for Nikon on the action body now that Canon is at 16MP. I think in these form factors, 24 and 16 are fine for a very long time. Lets focus instead on things like lower noise electronics, dynamic range, sensor design to maximize light collection and possibly even getting away from the bayer sensor, AF performance, etc - none of these are bad today but they could be further improved. I draw similarities to the computer industry. The GHz race basically ended in 2004 yet computing performance is approximately 10x today of what it was then by focusing on different ways to improve performance. Similarly I would like to see the manufacturers focus on different ways to improve image quality than cramming more and smaller pixels into a fixed space. Lets get lenses that can actually use all of those pixels to their fullest. Lets do real time on chip lens correction for CA, and linear distortion rather than using the Image processors to process more pixels. Lets leave the pixel density alone and use the ever increasing processing power to do better things with those pixels.

milmoejoe wrote:Hi Karl,

I understand the desire to buy new, but would strongly encourage you to buy used.

I also use the fredmiranda.com website. Not to say you won't get "burned", but I've traded over $60,000 in toys over the past few years and have yet to have that happen. A number of folks will even offer you a money back guarantee for X days after purchasing.

I hate to be a cynic that hurts the used photo industry, but prices are low and they're only going to get lower. The bodies that were going for 2500-2600 just two weeks ago are down +/-$200 already. Ones that sold in just hours are now taking days. The used prices change like the weather, but I bet you if there's a new camera announcement next week, there will be a handful of sub-$2000 bodies listed that same week. Many of the bodies are (reported) low shutter actuations, in excellent condition, all original materials, some extra accessories included. Pay for it with a reputable credit card via paypal and you minimize your risk.

If you're sure you need to purchase new, I'd hold out to see if anything happens.