honestly im so fed up with my old 5D Mark III at this point, like it has served me well for years but the autofocus is just driving me nuts lately especially since ive been trying to shoot fast-moving wildlife out here in Colorado and half my shots are total trash because it cant keep up with the elk herds. Ive been drooling over the EOS R5 Mark II ever since it dropped cause that eye-control AF looks like an absolute gamechanger for what I do, but good grief, the price tag is just so painful tbh. Im trying to upgrade my kit before my big elk photography trip up in the mountains this coming December, but dropping four grand right now on just the body alone is honestly giving me a mild panic attack, especially with the holidays coming up and everything else getting so expensive. Do you guys think there is even a tiny chance the Canon EOS R5 Mark II is actually gonna go on sale this Black Friday, or am I just being delusional and wasting my time waiting for a discount on a brand new high-end body that probably wont budge in price until next year?
> dropping four grand right now on just the body alone is honestly giving me a mild panic attack Ngl, I totally feel your pain on that price tag, but to answer your question straight up — yeah, you're pretty much being delusional if you think the Canon EOS R5 Mark II is gonna see any kind of actual cash discount this Black Friday lol. It’s way too new (like, barely out the oven brand new) and high-demand for retailers to slash prices yet, especially with the eye-control AF being such a massive selling point. Idk if this applies to your exact budget situation, but waiting for a holiday deal on this specific body is probably a waste of time. Instead, if you're stressing about that December elk trip, here are a couple quick tips:
- Look into Canon's refurbished store or check reputable rental sites to grab a temporary body just for your trip without dropping the full 4k right now.
- If you haven't yet, try tweaking your 5D Mark III center point tracking with back-button focus — it won't magically give you R5 II tech, but it saved my butt when I was broke and shooting fast stuff before I finally upgraded. Either way, good luck out there in the Colorado mountains! That eye-control AF really is insane for wildlife once you finally pull the trigger on it, but definitely don't hold your breath for a Black Friday markdown.
So funny you ask this — last summer I was stressing over upgrading my gear right before a big trip and made the exact same mistake of waiting around for impossible holiday deals. Ngl, seeing that price tag on the Canon EOS R5 Mark II definitely hurts when youre trying to watch your wallet. Before I throw out some budget-friendly workarounds I used, are you strictly set on buying brand new, or would you be open to certified refurbs or slightly older bodies that wont make your bank account cry?
Building on the earlier suggestion, I've been through three of these release cycles now and honestly, you guys are spot on about the lack of holiday discounts. I tried waiting out a flagship body years ago and it was garbage (spoiler: saved basically nothing), so waiting for a price drop on something this fresh is a total pipe dream. If you really need that tracking for your December elk trip without dropping four grand, look into the Canon EOS R6 Mark II 24.2MP Mirrorless or even a used Canon EOS R5 45MP Mirrorless Camera since people are dumping the first gen to upgrade. It'll still handle fast movement way better than your old 5D3 ever could.
I've been through three of these upgrade cycles and you will not see a discount on the Canon EOS R5 Mark II 45MP Mirrorless this year. It launched too recently. What is your actual budget ceiling? You could look at the Canon EOS R5 45MP Mirrorless Camera or Canon EOS R6 Mark II 24.2MP Mirrorless instead.
Oh man, trying to track elk with a 5D3 must be absolute torture — wait, no, I actually respect anyone still getting results with that old sensor! Before I dive into why you won't see a discount on the Canon EOS R5 Mark II 45MP Mirrorless Camera this month (seriously, it's way too new), what kind of glass are you currently pairing with it?
Jumping in here because I was literally doing deep dives on this exact thing just last week (I'm no expert by any means, but my old camera died right before a trip so I had to scramble). To answer your question bluntly — yeah, you're probably waiting for a unicorn. Canon EOS R5 Mark II is just way too fresh for any real holiday price cuts. TL;DR: Don't wait for a Black Friday discount on the R5 II body, but look into educator discounts or zero-interest financing instead. Since you're stressing about that December elk trip and the four-grand price tag, here is what I found during my frantic research rabbit hole:
- Check out the Canon Loyalty Program (sometimes called CLP). If you have an old broken Canon body (even your beat-up 5D Mark III), you can call their sales line, trade it in, and sometimes get up to 10-15% off a refurbished or even brand new body. People use it all the time for newly released gear when standard sales aren't happening.
- Look at B&H or Adorama credit card offers. I know debt sucks (trust me, I hate it), but opening a store card for 12 or 24-month special financing takes the edge off dropping that much cash right before the holidays. Seriously though, that eye-control AF is going to blow your mind coming from a 5D III — wait, no, I mean even secondhand R5 originals are dropping in price right now if you want to save a grand and still get killer tracking for those Colorado herds.
Saw this earlier but just now responding. So funny you ask this — last summer I was stressing over upgrading my gear right before a big trip and made the exact same mistake of waiting around for a brand new flagship body to drop in price. It never happened, and I ended up scrambling at full retail. Here is what I learned from that mess:
- Brand new high-end releases do not discount for six to twelve months.
- Refurbished gear from official stores saves around 15 percent with full warranties.
- Older generations offer 90 percent of the performance for half the cost. Save your sanity and check the Canon refurbished site or look at a clean used Canon EOS 5D Mark IV instead of waiting for a unicorn discount.
> dropping four grand right now on just the body alone is honestly giving me a mild panic attack Fr tho, its actually sickening how out of control camera pricing has gotten lately. like four grand for just the body is highway robbery, and then you gotta buy lenses and cards and extra batteries on top of it. honestly the whole industry is just pricing normal enthusiasts right out of the hobby unless youre made of money or a professional getting paid top dollar. it drives me crazy how tech companies just release these crazy expensive flagships knowing full well people are desperate to upgrade from older gear, and they just laugh all the way to the bank. everyone hypes up these new bodies like you cant take a decent photo without eye-control autofocus or a million megapixels, but half of it is just marketing fluff designed to empty your wallet. remember when a high end camera didnt cost as much as a used car? sorry for the rant but it just makes my blood boil seeing how greedy these companies have become. youre definitely not delusional for wanting a discount, its just that the corporations dont care about us regular folks struggling to afford their gear. idrk what the solution is cause at this rate nobody is gonna be able to afford new gear in a few years anyway... it just sucks big time.
Came here to say the same thing lol. Great minds think alike I guess.