Where the heck is the 70D or 7D mkII?

[Cgdillan]

The 60D came out in August 2010. It's been over 2 years with is a long time for an XXD body. Then even more so the 7D mkII (if there will be one). Where are they? I want a new slightly better high iso sensor with DIGIC 5 and some nice jpeg and video noise reduction.

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Its pretty obvious that there would be no 7D MK II soon, if ever after they came out with the new firmware.
I think that Canon has been working to perfect their new backlit sensor technology and will likely announnce something in early 2013.
This is just my guess, but it takes into account recent patents and news about additional sensor processing capabilities being added.
I'd much rather see the new technology than a warmed over 18mp sensor with Digic V

[weekendshooter]

I agree wholeheartedly with Spokane on this one - you can think of the T4i as a new 60D and as likely the final body with the long-serving 18mp sensor. The 7D v2 firmware is a likely indication that their new sensor is taking longer than expected to develop, but I'm sure they'll come up with something nice for 2013! In the meantime, the 7D is still the best high-end crop body around, though the D7k is making a nice case for itself as best all-around crop body now that it's price has dropped to $1000 new.

[x-vision]

Before the 6D announcement, I was of the opinion that the 7D series was done.
But considering the 6D specs, I now think the opposite. 

Most likely we'll see a 7DII in the spring of next year and a 70D in the fall, IMO.

Interesting to speculate what the 7DII and 70D will offer.
It appears that Canon's strategy is to have the 7DII and the 6D as different upgrade paths for Rebel/60D/70D owners.
But if the 6D is positioned as an (appealing) upgrade option for a 70D owner, then the 70D will have to remain more or less the same as the 60D. In fact, Canon might decide to further Rebelize the 70D.

The 7DII has more room for upgrades in terms of features.

Of course both the 7DII and the 70D will get new sensors plus Digic 5(+) processors.
We'll see.

[unfocused]

The 7D II will be released either in the spring or within one month of the Nikon D300 replacement.

The 70D will be released six to nine months after the 7DII or within one month of the D7000 replacement.

Yes, the 7D is getting a little long in the tooth, but with the firmware upgrade it is still very competitive. By comparison, the 12 mp D300 looks like a dinosaur. I don't know how Nikon manages to sell any of them (or if they do).

As digital technology matures and improvements with each generation become more marginal, expect the refresh cycles for various bodies to extend. What was once a two-year cycle in the 2000s, has become a three-year-plus cycle now. By the end of the decade, it may be four years or more. 

[jrista]

Its pretty obvious that there would be no 7D MK II soon, if ever after they came out with the new firmware.
I think that Canon has been working to perfect their new backlit sensor technology and will likely announnce something in early 2013.
This is just my guess, but it takes into account recent patents and news about additional sensor processing capabilities being added.
I'd much rather see the new technology than a warmed over 18mp sensor with Digic V

Hmm, when did Canon develop BSI? I'd love to read about that! Got a link? I totally agree, I'd rather see new technology than another 18mp 7D.

[jrista]

As digital technology matures and improvements with each generation become more marginal, expect the refresh cycles for various bodies to extend. What was once a two-year cycle in the 2000s, has become a three-year-plus cycle now. By the end of the decade, it may be four years or more.

Has Sony not clearly demonstrated that digital technology is far from mature, and has LOTS of room to continue improving? Canon has failed to improve over the last four years, and Canon has only been producing marginal gains with each successive release (1D X excluded in regards to ISO and AF performance.) Sony, along with Nikon, have been demonstrating a nearly linear improvement year over year regarding technology improvements. There are also plenty of areas where further improvements can be made...ubiquitous BSI, higher megapixel counts with concurrent increases in readout rate, further improvements to Q.E. and S/N, a shift to 16-bit ADC (from 14-bit) which could open up even further gains for higher DR, etc.

Canon needs to stop prototyping cool stuff, and actually put that cool stuff into commercial products. They have 180nm fabrication capabilities, they have demonstrated high pixel densities (2um pixel pitch) with high readout rates, and they have hinted at on-die parallel ADC technology...YEARS ago. It's time the prototypes became real-world products.

[aznable]

sony is demostrating how a once well regarded company is going bankrouptcy

[Cgdillan]

I agree that I would much much rather see a new sensor tech. vs a vamped 18MP. But I just wondering why it's taking so darn long. And I agree. Sony is killing it with sensors and are performing very well in that area. I love my 7D, and am enjoying the new firmware. But I can't help but start feeling left behind by sony sensor tech.

[Botts]

Before the 6D announcement, I was of the opinion that the 7D series was done.
But considering the 6D specs, I now think the opposite. 

Most likely we'll see a 7DII in the spring of next year and a 70D in the fall, IMO.

Interesting to speculate what the 7DII and 70D will offer.
It appears that Canon's strategy is to have the 7DII and the 6D as different upgrade paths for Rebel/60D/70D owners.
But if the 6D is positioned as an (appealing) upgrade option for a 70D owner, then the 70D will have to remain more or less the same as the 60D.

I completely with the two separate upgrade paths.  And I agree that the 6D is a more natural upgrade path for a 60D user than a 7D user.  The 7D is an incredibly fast, tough camera, it is great for shooting sports or journalism, compared to the other EOS bodies except the 1-series.  An upgrade to the 7D is likely a new APS-C camera with a great sensor, the 5D3's AF, and the speed of the 7D.  The users (sports/journalism) of a 7D also probably appreciate the "built in tele-convertor".

Finally, I don't believe though that the 70D has to be crippled to keep the 6D as an appealing upgrade, I imagine the sensor quality in the 6D will surprise people, and that the DOF advantages of FF are appealing as well.

[Cgdillan]

Before the 6D announcement, I was of the opinion that the 7D series was done.
But considering the 6D specs, I now think the opposite. 

Most likely we'll see a 7DII in the spring of next year and a 70D in the fall, IMO.

Interesting to speculate what the 7DII and 70D will offer.
It appears that Canon's strategy is to have the 7DII and the 6D as different upgrade paths for Rebel/60D/70D owners.
But if the 6D is positioned as an (appealing) upgrade option for a 70D owner, then the 70D will have to remain more or less the same as the 60D.

I completely with the two separate upgrade paths.  And I agree that the 6D is a more natural upgrade path for a 60D user than a 7D user.  The 7D is an incredibly fast, tough camera, it is great for shooting sports or journalism, compared to the other EOS bodies except the 1-series.  An upgrade to the 7D is likely a new APS-C camera with a great sensor, the 5D3's AF, and the speed of the 7D.  The users (sports/journalism) of a 7D also probably appreciate the "built in tele-convertor".

Finally, I don't believe though that the 70D has to be crippled to keep the 6D as an appealing upgrade, I imagine the sensor quality in the 6D will surprise people, and that the DOF advantages of FF are appealing as well.

I agree with all of this

[Sameer Thawani]

The 60D and 7D, Nikon D7000 and Nikon D300s wars are next, clearly. Not sure why it's taking so long, but hope to see some announcements SOON

[Marsu42]

The 60D and 7D, Nikon D7000 and Nikon D300s wars are next, clearly. Not sure why it's taking so long, but hope to see some announcements SOON

We should do a poll (maybe I'll really set one up) - but my guess: 7d2 end of 2013, 70d mid-2014 ... Canon wouldn't dare to release a 70d without an updated sensor and just by stuffing video af & touchscreen into it, and the recent sensors show that Canon currently cannot do any better on aps-c - that's why they released the 6d.

Or maybe I'm wrong and Canon really simply refreshes 60d+7d with a new digic and some gimmicks...

[jrista]

Before the 6D announcement, I was of the opinion that the 7D series was done.
But considering the 6D specs, I now think the opposite. 

Most likely we'll see a 7DII in the spring of next year and a 70D in the fall, IMO.

Interesting to speculate what the 7DII and 70D will offer.
It appears that Canon's strategy is to have the 7DII and the 6D as different upgrade paths for Rebel/60D/70D owners.
But if the 6D is positioned as an (appealing) upgrade option for a 70D owner, then the 70D will have to remain more or less the same as the 60D.

I completely with the two separate upgrade paths.  And I agree that the 6D is a more natural upgrade path for a 60D user than a 7D user.  The 7D is an incredibly fast, tough camera, it is great for shooting sports or journalism, compared to the other EOS bodies except the 1-series.  An upgrade to the 7D is likely a new APS-C camera with a great sensor, the 5D3's AF, and the speed of the 7D.  The users (sports/journalism) of a 7D also probably appreciate the "built in tele-convertor".

Finally, I don't believe though that the 70D has to be crippled to keep the 6D as an appealing upgrade, I imagine the sensor quality in the 6D will surprise people, and that the DOF advantages of FF are appealing as well.

I agree with all of this

I would only disagree that the 6D IQ will surprise people...unless those people actually expect it to be much better than any other Canon sensor. Canon has not yet demonstrated an improved manufacturing process, so it is doubtful that the 6D sensor will be radically changed in any way.

[dlleno]

I would only disagree that the 6D IQ will surprise people...unless those people actually expect it to be much better than any other Canon sensor. Canon has not yet demonstrated an improved manufacturing process, so it is doubtful that the 6D sensor will be radically changed in any way.

true dat.  and extending this logic, one has to conclude that whatever sensor the 7D2 gets, it may be incrementally better than the 7D1 but still won't compare with 6D or 5D3.  I mean -- even if they could, its not likely that Canon would produce a crop body that would exceed the IQ of a more expensive FF body in the current line-up.  It wouldn't surprise me to see (in the 7D2) an increase in MP count, improvements to AF and perhaps even fps, and a measureable improvement to the ISO and noise performannce, but I guess I'm not expecting to be astonished by a market-disruptive IQ or DR.  is anyone else? 

someone in another thread (pardon the lack of reference) has already suggested that Canon has telgraphed their FF sensor offereings for the next 2-4 years or so, with the 1DX, 5D3, and 6D releases.  The big mp body is the unknown at this time, and I suspect this one to be optimized for DR and low ISO, expecially its first release I doubt it will match the ISO performance of the 5D3 for example.

but they have not telegrahped their crop sensors for 2013, and the silence of the 7D2 in this regard is defening.  I can only hope that the delays mean a new sensor and not a re-worked t4i sensor.