Why I Purchased The Canon 5D Mark IV In 2019

The last time I purchased a professional “studio” camera was back in 2012 when I upgraded from my Canon 5D Mark II to the Mark III.  The Canon 5D Mark II was my first full-frame camera, which I used for two years before pre-ordering the Mark III.  The Mark III has been the best camera I’ve ever used, and has been in service for seven years.  It’s hard for me to believe it’s been that amount of time even as I type the words.  When the Canon 5D Mark IV came out in the Fall of 2016, I was tempted to upgrade.  As a member of Canon Professional Services, I was able to get a Mark IV on loan for evaluation.  It had a few incremental upgrades, but ultimately I didn’t see a huge leap forward in capability or image quality.  So I continued to soldier on with my outstanding Mark III.

Over the last few years, the digital photography market has seen huge distruptions.  Mobile phone cameras have all but done away with the need for consumer grade point-and-shoot cameras – I’ve owned many which I used as backups to my DSLRs, and when I didn’t want to haul around a camera bag full of lenses.  But I can now get pro-level results from my phone – no need to buy a point-and-shoot anymore.  Mirrorless digital camera technology is starting to mature and legitimately challenge DSLR technology.  It is this particular disruption which made my current upgrade such a difficult decision.  It’s clear to me that DSLRs will go the way of film based cameras over the next three to maybe five years.  And I’m sure I’ll go that way…eventually.  Why not now?  In short, I’m undecided as to which brand platform.  This is a huge decision because of the subsequent investment in glass.  You don’t want to pick a brand/platform based on today’s gee-whiz technology feature, only to be stuck with that brand due to the investment in lenses tomorrow.  The DSLR wars were always between Canon and Nikon, with Sony being an also-ran.  But Sony has a huge lead in the mirrorless segment – Canon is playing catch up.  Do I gamble that Sony, with their lead in mirrorless over the last decade will be able to maintain that lead over a company with decades of photography technology dominance?  That’s the million dollar question.  Or at least a question of a few thousand dollars with of significance for me.  But let’s see what the dollar outlay to move over to Sony would be for me today:

-Sony A7 III:  Once of Sony’s cheapest and at the same time most capable full-frame mirrorless cameras.  $1800.00.

-Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS:  $1200.00.  This would be an identical lens to a work horse for my Canon DSLRs

-FE 100mm F2.8 STF GM OSS:  $1500.00  Another work horse Canon equivalent.  Perfect for macro and great for portrait work too.

-FE 70-200 mm F2.8 GM OSS:  $2600.00  The Canon L Series 70-200 is probably my least used camera (because I mostly use my DSLR in studio) but this is such gorgeous and versatile lens for any sort of outdoor sports or action.

That’s a grand total of $7100.00.  Ouch.  But it’s better in nearly every conceivable way than the Canon 5D Mark IV, and gets me out of the past and into the future.  But a very uncertain future with Sony – can they maintain their market dominance?

During the course of my research, I even discovered that Sony has a competitive offering to Canon Professional Services called Sony Imaging PRO Support.  That certainly puts Sony on an even more even playing field with Canon as I’ve come to really rely and depend on CPS.  But much like CPS Sony requires that you buy at least two full-frame camera bodies before you eligible to join the program.  So if I switched over, it would be at lease a couple of years before I would be eligible – not until I upgraded whatever camera body I would first purchase.

WHAT ABOUT CANON MIRRORLESS?

Within the past couple of years, Canon has jumped into mirrorless.  Just over a year ago Canon (finally) released their first full-frame mirrorless offering – the EOS R.  The camera didn’t set the world on fire with its specs and has been described as being “unfinished.”  Even though it lags behind its mirrorless competition, It really is quite comparable in image and video quality to the 5D Mark IV, but costs a lot less at about $2300.00 (or about $3,399 with the RF 24-105mm).  But what’s more exciting than the EOS R is Canon’s new RF mount lenses that are made for the EOS R. Canon’s new RF lenses are described by DP Review as being “simply spectacular.”  Now Canon just needs to release a camera body that will be able to compete with the likes of Sony and others.

I have faith that Canon will “get there” within the next year to two years.  I could have purchased the EOS R and used an available adaptor to use my EF lenses on the RF mount – but that’s a compromised solution to use a camera which is, at best, as good as the 5D Mark IV.  So I’d still need to purchase an RF lens or two to get started, which would be costly.  I was able to purchase the 5D Mark IV brand new from Canon on a Black Friday deal for about the same price as the EOS R – that represents a discount of about $1000.00 off the original 5D Mark IV retail price.  Giddyup!

I’ve always advised people to buy the glass, not the camera.  Canon has always had an advantage in this area.  If Canon can get their collective act together in the mirrorless segment, it would really be in my best interests to stick with them, if for no other reason for CPS.  I probably could have gotten another year or more out of my old 5D Mark III, but after seven years and who knows how many shutter actuations, I’m nervous it’s going to up and quit on me.  Buying my 5D Mark IV buys me time.  Time for Canon to release a great full-frame mirrorless body to ween me off my current DSLR dependence.  At the price that I picked it up for, I really can’t go wrong.