Best time to buy?

[peety3]

I was hoping someone could shed some light on if black friday/cyber monday, Christmas sales, etc. are actually beneficial for someone looking at higher end camera gear? For the first time (now that I am out of school) I can start to actually think about purchasing some of the more costly higher end gear. I am looking into a Canon 300mm f/2.8L specifically (and debating internally between picking up another 7d mk II or saving a bit more to snag a used 1dx) but wasn't sure if these sales were geared generally more for point and shoots, rebels etc. Could someone offer some insight?

My opinion and mine alone: skip right past the 7D2 and find a way to put a 1Dx in your bag. Night and day differences. 7D2 with 70-300L was absolutely no match for a 1Dx with 100-400II when photographing whales (admittedly in light fog) during the day on one of our cruises. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there myself...my wife grabbed the 1Dx/100-400 and all of a sudden I heard lots of clicking, so I grabbed the 7D2/70-300L and went out on the balcony. Lots of other times I saw or felt the 7D2 just bog down hard trying to do AI Servo when the 1Dx would hammer right through. Couple that with what I consider to be rather weak high ISO performance in the 7D2, and the little chance 7D2 had to make its way into my bag just evaporated. Not that he's a god of all things camera choice, but Peter Read Miller (a longtime Canon guy) had a 7D2 as his backup body alongside three 1Dx bodies. Did he use the 7D2 for anything "front line"? Nope, only if a 1Dx went down would he swap in the 7D2.

As for the Cameras... save a bit. Also consider the 5Ds in addition to the 1Dx. If you don't need sports AF, consider the 6D instead. It's kind of the Rebel of the full-frame lineup, but unless you actually need sports AF tracking, or fast burst rates, you can save yourself a lot of money and have an awesome camera.

Having just said to get the 1Dx, this is actually the real story here. Think long and hard about a 5Ds/5DsR. IMHO, it's got sports-grade AF that'll match the 1Dx (it far outperforms the 5D3). I was a die-hard 1-series guy since about September 2007 when I got my 1D3, and stayed that way with a pair of 1Dx bodies in late 2013. Nowadays, though what I shoot has changed a fair amount, it's always 5DsR first, 1Dx as the spare cam. I shot a rugby tournament from the endzone with 5DsR/100-400II, while everyone else shot from the sidelines. I got the plays coming at me, and they all got sides of faces and the occasional cross-field play. I'll get a 1Dx2, but not until after I get a second 5DsR.