Fake EOS 7D Mark II (mock-up)

On Saturday I posted a rather weird rumor saying that Canon will not release a replacement for the Canon EOS 7D, that’s the long rumored EOS 7D Mark II (all 7D2 rumors here). The rumor goes against all previously reported 7D2 rumors. It definitely came as a surprise for us all.

During the weekend I have been contacted again by the source that told me the rumor. The source confirmed that there is no Canon EOS 7D Mark II on the horizon, but also stated that this does not mean Canon isn’t actively working on a new APS-C flagship. According to the source there will be an APS-C DSLR positioned above the EOS 70D (feature-wise) but it will not be a “7D” model. That’s to say that Canon’s next APS-C flagship will have (could have) a new naming scheme. That fits in the second part of last week’s rumor, the part saying that Canon is working on a revamping of their DSLR line-up, the source stated it is “the biggest change in Canon’s history“. The source also said that the release of the EOS 70D allows Canon to work on the next APS-C flagship without pressure (they do not feel they have to release it as soon as possible), and that they still have to see how well the Dual Pixel AF technology will do.

Whatever this means, I am starting to believe that there is a concrete chance we will never see a DSLR named “EOS 7D Mark II”. So now I am wondering a) what name the new APS-C flagship will have and b) what features this DSLR will have to stand out compared to the EOS 70D. The source stated that the 7D2 feature set I posted in the past is “close to what we will see”, but couldn’t tell any new feature and confirmed that the sensor should have 24MP and feature Canon’s Dual Pixel AF technology. To remember, the feature set I posted back in October was:

• ~20MP or ~24MP sensor with Dual Pixel CMOS AF
• Auto-Focus system similar to the EOS 5D Mark III (61 points), possibly the same as 5D3
• High frame rate, 10-12 fps
• “high grade” weather sealing, like Canon’s professional DSLRs
• Dual Digic V+ processor
• Single card slot
• WiFi & GPS
• Innovative video features
• Price around $2000
• Very good ISO performance

I am wondering what the “innovative video features” will be. I mean, we know that Canon is strongly committed to the EOS Cinema line and it would be more than natural if they extend this commitment also to the APS-C line-up. But will that be enough to sit above the 70D? I guess there must be more, as the list above suggests. An APS-C DSLR with the AF of the [shoplink 2431]5D Mark III[/shoplink], with at least 10fps, dual card slots (not listed above), a high level weather sealing, and with amenities as WiFi and GPS would for sure make sense and be on the wish-list of many professional photographer that for a reason or another prefer or have to use APS-C sensors (sport, wildlife).

So, what is backing up the possibility that there will not be an EOS 7D Mark II? First of all, as many readers pointed out in the comment section of the previous post, the successor of the EOS 7D appears to be delayed since too long. Then there is this “innovative video features” thing. If Canon is planing a sort of cropped EOS -1D C, then it would make sense to change the naming scheme. This would also fit into the suggested revamping of the DSLR line-up.

Any ideas…?

[shariff]

Update: More about the issue here.

This is a pretty weird rumor, but since it comes from a good source I decided to post it anyway. The source stated that Canon will not replace the EOS 7D with a new model, i.e. with the long rumored EOS 7D Mark II. This rumor goes against what we and others have posted in the past months about the 7D Mark II (all 7D2 rumors here).

Not replacing the 7D, according to the source, appears to be part of a general revamping of Canon’s DSLR line-up, the source stated it is “the biggest change in Canon’s history“. To me this rumor comes as a surprise and I can’t yet say if it is plausible or not. I do also not have any cue what the revamping of the line-up may imply. The only thing that comes to my mind is that the Canon EOS 70D is so feature-packed that it could be hard to beat it as Canon’s APS-C flagship. The 20MP sensor featured on the 70D is Canon’s most advanced APS-C sensor so far and it could be difficult for a 7D Mark II to offer something that is or has much more than the 70D’s sensor. I doubt that the rumored 4MP more resolution (24MP) would be enough to make a 7D2 attractive compared to the 70D.

As for the revamping, that’s what puzzles me most. It is true that Canon introduced the 7D as the APS-C flagship while moving the xxD line-up from the semi-pro segment to a more Rebel-like marketing segment (when they introduced the EOS 60D, which lacked the build quality and advanced feature set of the predecessors). With the 70D Canon moved the xxD line-up back to the semi-pro level. That could mean there is no place/no need for a 7D2. Another thing: the entry-level, full-frame EOS 6D saw a price drop in the last weeks and appears now to be stable at $1499 at all major retailers (final price after having added to cart: Amazon  | B&H | Adorama). For the time being the price difference between the 70D and the 6D is around $500 (the 70D also saw a price drop to $950). If the price difference between the 70D and the 6D gets even more reduced then I wonder where and how the 7D2 will find its own place between the other two. Just my 2 cents.

What do you think, isn’t that a weird rumour…?