just sold my Canon 1DC, now I'm experiencing seller's remorse...

[Nicholas Natteau]

I know this sounds strange. But having followed events in recent weeks and being somewhat spooked by the dramatic price drops of the Canon C300 to $12K and the 1DC to 10K, I went ahead and sold my 1DC fearing that Canon might soon release an update later this year to its EOS line that would cause the 1DC's price tag to drop still further.

Now in hindsight I'm wondering whether I didn't actually make a fatal mistake doing so, as I cherished the 1DC's beautiful image quality while I worked with it. I really didn't want to part with the 1DC and was hesitating to sell for the longest time. But another voice kept telling me that sooner or later Canon itself will refresh it's line, and better to sell mine now before it depreciates still further.

I look back now and see the 1DC footage I shot and I really do miss the 1DC terribly.
But is something else from Canon coming later this year that's even better?

Or did I make a fatal mistake in parting with the 1DC too soon?

Interested to hear anyone's thoughts. Are you in the same position I am?

 

[Jordan_S]

Well, the price won't go up. Wait a bit and buy another for a tad less. Or buy another now knowing there's someone else who thinks how you thought.

Usually, the IQ of cameras really does not improve much at all with newer models. What changes with the latest releases is the ease with which a better image may be obtained.

 

[cpreston]

This is just my hunch, though I did read the same idea just recently on another forum. My guess is that Canon is just going to EOL the 1DC and never replace it. They've kind of screwed themselves. They misjudged the market on price, never got a user base for the 1DC and have mostly stopped supporting it. The 1DC is just a 1DX that shoots 4K. That 4K costs an extra $6000 over the price of a 1DX or 100% more. They are assuming that 4K costs $6000. Now they have the A7S that shoots full frame 4K for less than just the premium they chose for the 1DC over the 1DX. They've got nowhere to go if they want to bring in a new product. Plus, the 1DC was technically part of their cinema line and the C100 and C300 have been selling at a vastly higher rate than the 1DC. Just looking at their numbers, from a business standpoint they should just kill their Cinema DSLR and focus on the other C series cameras.

All that being said, they may add an H264/265 or some similar 4K video to their crop frame or full frame DSLR's in the future, but it will probably be similar to the lower bit rates of the GH4 and not a direct replacement for the 1DC. It is interesting because it seems that most of their marketing for the 1DC has been for the 4K motion stills capture for weddings and events. The GH4 and A7S can't really compete with that yet due to the need for external recorders. They also don't have the 12FPS RAW when you really want to capture the moment in high detail and don't have to worry about scaring people or animals with the sound of the machine gun shutter.

 

[niki]

try renting out a Arri Lt with some kodak film for your next job…you'll soon forget all about your 1dc…that's what I did..

 

[Scott Freestyle]

.. I think you made the right decision. I have been playing around with the idea of getting a 1DC.. but there are too many compromises with it, and it's a little overpiced. 5D Mark 3 RAW will give you better results at the moment... and you can wait until they figure out the right way to do 4K onboard.

The A7S isn't the answer in my opinion... its a lovely camera and has some great features, but too many compromises for the 4K.

 

[Nicholas Natteau]

Thanks very much everybody for your feedback. Scott, interesting that you should mention the A7s. I just ordered one, but not so much for the 4K as for low light work. I currently have a GH4 and absolutely love the 4K @ 100 Mbps. I really shoot only 4K with the GH4 except for slow motion 96fps. But I very much miss the beautiful colors I got out of the 1DC, especially when it came to skin tones. I know that there's no ideal "one" camera out there.

 

[wallrc]

Don't feel any regret - as others have said, the price of 1DC's (and cameras in general) ain't going up, you can rent a 1DC for specific jobs if you want to, or rebuy in a bit when prices are lower or there's a cracking deal on a used one.