Canon EOS 7D Mark II Review by Richard Bernabe

7d2

Richard Bernabe reviewed the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. And it is a critic review, more critic than other reviews we featured here.

About the high ISO performance:

[…] I am comfortable with results up to 2000 ISO under most conditions. ISO 2500 – 3200 is passable if I expose properly […] and use minimal noise reduction in post processing. Anything above 4000 is nearly unusable, at least with regard to my standards.

About the auto-focus:

[…] the autofocus in the 7D Mark II is a vast improvement over the 7D which was pretty good already. […] I nailed some shots that I would not have gotten with either the 7D or the 5D Mark III.

Conclusion:

[…] this is a serious upgrade from the original 7D in terms of ISO performance, auto focus capabilities, shooting frame rate, and ruggedness. These upgrades are all important to me so short of buying the 1DX, this is the best Canon DSLR for wildlife photography that has been manufactured to date.

Richard Bernabe’s review comes with sample images and a lot of more information about the 7D Mark II, don’t miss it for a critical point of view.

[via Richard Bernabe]

Canon EOS 7D Mark II price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Weak Yen Brings Canon Production Back to Japan (Reuters)

Canon Rumor

Thanks Martina

Reuters reports:

Jan 9 (Reuters) – Canon Inc and other Japanese electronics companies want to bring production of some goods back home, reversing a years-old trend of overseas manufacturing as a rapid decline in the value of the yen makes local goods more competitive.

The yen has tumbled some 8 percent since the Bank of Japan last eased monetary policy in October and is now trading near seven-year lows. Since late 2012, it has lost a third of its value due to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reflationary economic policies.

The steep slide has raised costs for firms highly dependent on raw material imports as well as those that manufacture abroad.

Now, Canon says it wants domestic production to return to 60 percent of overall output in three years, up from around 40 percent. “From now on, new copier, camera and printer products will be built at domestic factories and as they replace older products, the volume of goods made overseas will fall,” said company spokesman Hirotomo Fujimori.

[…]

No companies, however, have yet to go so far as saying that yen weakness is a big enough factor to justify the large investment needed for new domestic plants or assembly lines.

All the Canon gear I have is “made in Japan”, so I guess this refers to entry level gear or other stuff. It has also to be said that Canon usually produces the first batch of a new product in Japan, and moves production afterwards to other locations (Thailand, etc). I have always been an early adopter, trying to get the first batches of Canon gear exactly for this reason: they are made in Japan.

[via Reuters]

 

More About the EOS 5D Mark III Replacement – 3 Models Coming? (CW2)

EOS 5D Mark III Replacement
New bits emerged about the EOS 5D Mark III replacement, and the upcoming high resolution DSLR.

Canon Rumors writes:

We’re told that the next EOS 5D will come in three different versions. Two of the cameras named “EOS 5Ds” would be the high megapixel cameras with a resolution of 53mp. One of the cameras would have an AA filter and other would not. We’ve heard this sort of thing before, except we were told previously one would have a low pass filter, and the other would not. I do like the naming “EOS 5Ds”, as that may finally put to rest the “EOS 3D” moniker which has been around longer than this site has. There is also precedent on the “S” naming from the days of the “EOS-1D” and “EOS-1DS”.

The third camera would be an EOS 5D Mark IV, which would continue on the path of a lower megapixel event, sports, wildlife focused full frame camera. If this is true, I don’t believe all 3 cameras would come at the same time.

I am somewhat puzzled about the three different version of the 5D Mark IV, though it is to some degree plausible. Here at CW we heard just about one EOS 5D Mark IV recently, which is supposed to be the high resolution DSLR Canon themselves confirmed being in the works. It’s just a bit difficult to believe that Canon will make three different versions of the 5D Mark IV, since this hardly fits in Canon’s marketing strategy.

The 53MP sensor rumor surfaced before (well, it referred to 52MP), and there is some good possibility it is true. At least from a marketing point of view this makes sense because it would go beyond what Sony/Nikon have to offer.

[via Canon Rumors]

About our rumour ratings:

  • CW1 – probably fake rumor, not reliable
  • CW2 – rumor from an unknown/new source, but otherwise at least a plausible rumor
  • CW3 – a 50% chance to be real, coming from a known source, or from new source with good insight in Canon’s business
  • CW4 – rumor from a known source that was right in the past
  • CW5 – as good as certain to be true

More Tidbits About a Totally New Canon Mirrorless Camera (CW3, introducing a rumor rating system)

Canon RumorCanon Mirrorless Camera

First, I want to let you know that I start to introduce a rumor rating system. I do this because a lot of users are asking it. I’ll define five different ratings, CW1 to CW5.

  • CW1 – probably fake rumor, not reliable
  • CW2 – rumor from an unknown/new source, but otherwise plausible rumor
  • CW3 – a 50% chance to be real, coming from a known source, or from new source with good insight in Canon’s business
  • CW4 – rumor from a known source that was right in the past
  • CW5 – as good as certain to be true

So, let us come to the latest rumor I got. I classify this rumor as CW3. It’s not much I have been told, but I think it has a good chance to be true.

I have been told (thank you very much) that Canon will release a mirrorless camera that will not be another EOS M. What the source told me, is that this will be a completely new design and concept. The source also stated that this new mirrorless camera could be announced soon. This could happen for CP+ in Japan next month, though I tip on a later announcement, possibly before Summer 2015. According to the source, he got the information from a Canon rep.

For the time being I can not say if this new mirrorless camera will be the full-frame mirrorless cam we got word some weeks ago. I think it will not be FF since I was also told that while Canon has such a camera on their radar, it is a long term project that will not be released in 2015.

So what can we expect? A mirrorless camera with the EOS 70D or 7D Mark II sensor seems plausible, and we got a tip pointing in this direction. I do not think Canon can afford to release another MILC without a sensor featuring Dual Pixel Auto-Focus. That would just be crazy, having such an advanced technology.

For the time being we know nothing about the specs, just that it will most probably have a 20MP sensor.

As usual with rumors, keep the salt ready. You are welcome to let me know your thoughts in the comment section. If you want to share rumors or tips you are welcome to do it here in a totally anonymous way.

Stay tuned.