Canon 5D MKIII (MK3) Announcement Imminent?

Taking the rumors from canonrumors.com and some forum posts seriously for at least a bit, it seems that an announcement for a possible Canon EOS 5D MKIII is imminent.

Random Info via canonrumors:

• Canon Australia has sent CPS management to Singapore for product training. [CR2]
• Any Canon announcement will come after Nikon’s announcement on August 24, 2011. [CR2]
• 5D Mark III’s are in the wild and an announcement is imminent [CR1]
• 1D Mark IV’s are out of stock or hard to come by in certain countries. A retailer in New Zealand actually said they won’t be getting any more. [CR1]
• 1Ds Mark IV resolution correction, I’m told it will actually be 36mp.

Since I was planning on getting a 5D Mark II these days, I hope to see increasing price drops on the camera kits very soon - since there are already visible price drops around the globe. On Amazon.com the price for the Body still is $2499,00. Canon Australia already lowered the price for the premium KIT from $4899 AU$ to 4499AU$, so we can hope for price drops on the international market as well. On the German Amazon Marketplace, the currently cheapest price for the 5D MKII Body (new) is 1924,90 EUR, while the Premium KIT (EF 24-105mm L IS USM) is at 2619,99 (a light price drop is already visible).

Commenting on the current question, if it is still a good idea to buy a Canon 5D MKII: YES. Why? The Canon 5D MKII is a great camera and also there won't be any new Lenses coming up so fast (at least when we talk about EF 24-105mm L IS USM), so if you need one now, go and get one. Also, if you are in DSLR-Video, "Magic Lantern" is a great and stable system, which will not immediately run on the MKIII. Some people even suggests that there might be a 1000$ price difference (at least) for an upcoming 5D MKIII.

Conclusion:
Still the 5D Mark II is a good buy, when compared to the Canon EOS 7D, since an announcement for a Canon EOS 7D MKII won't be around the corner until end of 2011, if we believe the rumors. A 5d MKIII won't be available instantly after release, so one way or the other, before 2012 you won't be able to get your hands on a 5D MKIII - and if so, then for sure not for a reasonable price. The current price difference for the 5DMKII to the 7D is 700$ - if you are into DSLR Video, that's a clear GO for the 5DMKII.

[Update] Canon Rumors has a new Blog post "5D Mark III & The Rest [CR2]" which indicates, that there could be a 5D Mark III announced in October 2011

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