Canon 5D Mark III/X Announcement March 2nd (Probably) **Update: Leaked Images**

UPDATE: **Canon Rumors is showing very convincing leaked images of the 5D Mark III. Check out the images below.** As I reported earlier in the week, the Canon announcement for the 5D Mark II replacement was originally confirmed to be February 28th (or 27th if you're in a different part of the world). Now Canon Rumors is getting word that there are events planned for France and Singapore on March 2nd. That date is looking more realistic, as there may or may not be any events planned earlier in the week. Everyone online has reported the previous date as being correct, and part of that is the way that CR rates the rumors.

Here's an explanation from their site:

March 2 will be the date for the 5D replacement. Confirmation of events in France and Singapore. There may be something else on February 28 and things were reversed, I am trying to confirm that.

So yes, I changed the announcement date rated [CR3]. I may catch a little flack for that, but it had to be done.

Canon Rumors has a rating system of CR0 through CR3, with CR3 being the highest possible rating. According to the website, CR3s should be considered fact, and this is why they are rarely given. In this case the CR3 has been changed to the new date.

March 2nd is looking like the right date (or March 1st, again depending on the time zone). The specs have not changed, so we should still be expecting 22mp. (The image above was Canon's teaser for the 5D Mark II, just to avoid confusion. They have not released a teaser for the new camera yet.)

Another possibility from Canon Rumors is that the 5D Mark II will see a price drop shortly after its successor is released. Take this with a grain of salt, but it would certainly not be surprising given that Nikon is now lowering the price of their D700 by $500.

Since so many of you are DSLR shooters, it's important to stay on top of rumors and announcements because it very well could be affecting you or your business in a big way. I'll always do my best to report correct information (and make a correction if that information is wrong), but as I'm sure Craig at Canon Rumors would agree, it can be very difficult to pinpoint exact dates until something is actually announced. Northlight Images also receives a tremendous amount of information regarding rumors, but they are less confident on the date changing.

I won't 100% confirm the March 2nd date, but one of the signs that a release is coming on a particular day is that Non-Disclosure Agreements will expire on those days. That seems to be the case with this particular date.

Stay tuned for the full list of specs as an announcement is certainly imminent.

UPDATE: These appear to be real, especially considering the tough angle it would be to photoshop the last photo. Thanks to EOSHD, Canon appears to have added a headphone output, which would allow you to hopefully constantly monitor and adjust audio. It also looks like at least one camera will be named the 5D Mark III. There could still be another camera released at some point called the 5D Mark X or 5DX, we don't know for sure. These photos look very convincing, but we can't know if this is a final product until the camera is released.

Links: The Next 5D on March 2, 2012 [CR3] - Canon Rumors

More 5D Mark III Images? - Canon Rumors

Canon 5D Mark 3 features headphone jack? Connection ports decoded - EOSHD