A Question of Timing

[Jonathan Wienke]

I think capital preservation is a foolish goal; if you want that, buy gold. ANY DSLR you get is going to lose value fairly quickly. Waiting for the next best thing to come along means you're not out shooting and honing your skills.

[jani]

Besides, since the 1Ds2 was annouced in Sept 04, I would find it very surprising if Canon were to release a new flagship model before Sept 06, which is still 16 month away at best.

True, but there are two important things to keep in mind here:

1) The 1D MkII was announced shortly before the end of 2003, two years after the announcement of its predecessor. The successor to this camera is due for an announcement around Christmas this year, if Canon wants to keep the same schedule.

2) Nikon's D2X is putting pressure on Canon from the cheaper end, and Mamiya ZD is putting pressure on Canon from the expensive end. It would be good PR for Canon to announce a successor for their top models this Christmas, although a few 1Ds MkII owners might be miffed for a few months like the Epson 4000 owners were.

So Canon may have something up their sleeve. Well, they most certainly have something up their sleeve, but whether it's an ace or the two of clubs, and when they're going to play it, remains to be seen.

[caerdruagh]

More to the point, how many lenses can resolve enough detail to make 20mp worth it? Already with the 1Ds II and the D2x people are finding that very few lenses can bring out the best in either camera.

[rothberg]

I thank you all for your thoughtful responces.  In the end, I can not bring myself to sell the big gun.

There is a small but noticeable differeence between prints made from the D20 at 20X30 and prints made from the Ds1.
Even after processing with DxO (am I the only person that thinks that that software is NOTHING SHORT OF MAGIC?)

Enough that I can tell the difference, in other words, enough of a difference to matter.

So I'll take my lump when the next one arrives.  Skipping generations seems a worth while approach. Ah for the days when you bought a Hasselblad and three lenses and were done.

[rothberg]

I own a 1Ds and recently bought a D20 as a backup. I am finding that I am pleased with the results of the D20 almost all the time, particularly at print sizes of 14X17 or smaller.  The 1Ds is much heavier and often in the places I am shooting becomes an "event".  I have neither problem with the D20. It just doesn’t look professional and I am therefore largely ignored and left alone to shoot.

In view of the fact that the 1Ds is already a generation behind and only going to decrease in value with the announcement of the 1Ds Mark 3 or whatever I am thinking of selling the 1Ds and banking the $$$ towards the next generation 20MP wonder that will no doubt be announced with in the year.

It means not making really big prints for a while (for which there is minimal professional demand) but I figure that the day the next generation is announced it devalues the 1Ds by maybe $2000.  I am interested in the collective opinion of the forum as to wisdom of this attempt at capital preservation

[BernardLanguillier]

In view of the fact that the 1Ds is already a generation behind and only going to decrease in value with the announcement of the 1Ds Mark 3 or whatever I am thinking of selling the 1Ds and banking the $$$ towards the next generation 20MP wonder that will no doubt be announced with in the year.

Besides, since the 1Ds2 was annouced in Sept 04, I would find it very surprising if Canon were to release a new flagship model before Sept 06, which is still 16 month away at best.

In the mean time, who can swear that, say, Minolta will not have released something so good that many the Canon and Nikon users will have switched already?...

Regards,
Bernard

[Peter McLennan]

The  confluence of the words "big prints" and "minimal professional demand" struck a chord with me.  

If it's true (and I don't know if it is) then maybe the endless chase for more megapixels is slowing.  I mean, how good is good enough?

[David R. Gurtcheff]

Where I exhibit my work, I sell more 13"x19" size prints than I do 16"x24" or 20"x30"s, but the 20"x30"s gets peoples attention, and brings in customers! No way would I limit my ability to make bigger prints.
Dave