New Canon 5D Mark III - $2900 on eBay - less than a BMCC!

Excited about the Magic Lantern RAW hack, but don't want to pay $3500 for a body-only 5D Mark III?  Here's a brand new 5D Mark III for $2900 from 6th Ave Express via eBay - less than the price of a $2995 EF Mount Blackmagic Cinema Camera.   6th Ave provides a 1-year parts and 90 day labor warranty. Limited quantity available.

I have not been a big fan of Canon DSLRs for video, but with the RAW hack, the 5D Mark III is suddenly back on the map as the large sensor, interchangeable lens DSL camera with the best resolution and dynamic range.  Sadly for Canon, it is now arguably better than some of the top-end "Cinema EOS" cameras, such as the $12,000 Canon 1D C  - and close to the image quality produced by the $14,000 C300.  Not bad for a $2900 camera.

Magic Lantern does it again - continuous RAW video from the Canon 5D Mark III!

Andrew Reid at eoshd shot this video on his 5D Mark III with new pre-beta test software from Magic Lantern:



This is very big news - RAW video from a $3300 hybrid still/video camera body. If Magic Lantern can turn this into production software and releases it for free, it is a real game-changer.

First, it undermines the price of the $12,000 Canon 1D C Cinema EOS camera. If this free software upgrade becomes widely available for the 5D Mark III, Canon 1D C sales will likely dry up.

Second, it threatens the use-case for the 2.5K RAW $2995 Blackmagic Cinema Camera, which is yet to ship in large numbers.

The question becomes, would you rather buy a $3299 full frame Canon Mark III still/video camera that is in stock right now and upgrade it to RAW with free software - or would you rather order a $2995 video-only RAW Blackmagic Cinema Camera with a micro 4/3 sized sensor that might ship sometime in the next few months?

I know what I would do.