Those who know aren't telling. Those who are telling don't know. [Originally Posted by bouwy
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Actually, Canon's release schedules can be easy to predict sometimes. Look at the 300D series:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Canon_DSLR_cameras
The first three came at exactly every 18 months, like clockwork. With the 450D Canon switched to every 12 months, like clockwork. That's why the release of the 550D was so obvious and easy to predict.
But for other model lines, Canon is not quite so consistent. As for the 5D series, we only have two cameras to go on. It was 36 months between the 5D and 5D2, so if Canon sticks to that it would mean another 1.5 years before the 5D3.
We've been given one interesting indicator of the timeline in this case. Canon, for the first time ever, announced that they were working on a free firmware update for the 5D2 6-9 months in advance:
http://www.canon-europe.com/About_Us/Press_Centre/Press_Releases/Consumer_News/Cameras_Accessories/EOS_5D_MarkII_Media_Alert.asp
If a 5D3 was coming soon, such as summer or fall 2010, I would not have expected them to make such an announcement or go through the work of adding features to the firmware. An improved 5D2 would only reduce sales of the 5D3.
So my guess is that it will come one year from now (Feb 2011). I also wouldn't be surprised if Canon went with the 3-year duration before the 5D3, either. Then again, I think the sales of the 5D2 were far higher than they expected, so they may want to shorten the schedule to 2 or 2.5 years take advantage of increased upgrade churn revenue.
Here's my guess:
- 36 MP
- Improved low light performance
- Same low-end autofocus as the Canon 600D (when it comes out)
- 4 FPS
- Improved video performance
Obviously I don't really have any clue. [
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