Expect a lot from the 1Ds Mark IV

Compare these two cameras for a minute. The first one offers 21.1 megapixels at 5 frames per second, at up to 1600 ISO for $10,999. The other does 3.9 frames per second at the same file size, offers better low-light performance at up to 3200 ISO, and does full HD video too for only $3,999.

On the face of it, there’s little comparison, with one only slightly higher specced but at a much higher price point than the other. The cheaper is almost certainly a smarter buy for most. So from a commercial perspective it would seem perplexing then that they’re both Canon cameras and that Canon continues to allow the consumer 5D Mark II to undermine sales of the company’s flagship 1Ds Mark III.

Granted there are certain aspects of the 5D that aren’t up to the 1 series standard (like build quality and the autofocus components), but Canon tells me it’s a fact that the 5D’s success is costing them 1Ds sales. They’re just selling so many 5Ds, you see, that these are more than making up for reduced sales of the top model, and that’s the whole point.

The 1Ds has been around long enough to have presumably paid for itself many times over from the company’s perspective. In reality it’s also very close to being superseded by something else which probably affects Canon’s pricing considerations somewhat. But when its replacement arrives later this year, and needs to reach maximum profitability to pay for itself and then some, unlike the 1Ds Mark III it must offer photographers some very compelling reasons to spend the extra money above the price of the very popular and much cheaper 5D.

Canon is not likely to bring a new flagship camera to the market that has any chance of floundering under the weight of competition from its own product-line, so the EOS 1Ds Mark IV will bring with it very significant improvements if it’s not going to become a victim of the 5D’s enormous success.

wade@wadelaube.com

www.twitter.com/wadelaube

Related Posts:

• For when nothing less will do
• Canon – where’s the GPS, where’s the WiFi?