Ignoring the overly-negative posts and the ones who can't seem to acknowledge Canon doing a thing wrong, I agree very much with what Interpilot and That1guyy have posted - there seems to be a glaring hole in the roadmap. Where did this rumour come from that the XXD and 7DII are going to be merged? Is it official from Canon? Because I can't understand how Canon can not address the enthusiast market in the approx. $1000-$1600 range. Looking at crop cameras, the T4i is a solid product. But based on Canon's recent history, I don't care how much of a fanboy you are, you have to admit that Canon seems to be milking every $$ they can with recent pricing, and so the 7DII will be expensive, probably pushing $2000 for most of 2013.
Now personally I am also in the category who was looking forward to the 70D body. I have a budget in the very low $1000 range. There is not a chance that I am going to pay for a 7DII, or even a 6D if its price drops $300-$500. Yet I am an enthusiast, with a small, nice collection of lenses, who has outgrown my 500D rebel and looking for something higher. I have money ready to buy early in the new year. The 7D is too heavy for me. I want a super-rebel, and was looking forward to the 70D being an improvement on the 60D, with the new 650D tech in it, plus hopefully a new, better sensor, and if lucky, MFA.
Surely there are other customers in the same situation as me? It looks like I have 3 options: 1) buy the 60D for a good price now and use it for a year while we see what happens. It looks a good camera. But I don't really want 2010 technology, I want something that is newer and will last me for some years. I also would like to get video auto-focusing, even though it is of moderate use, I still want the option. And the 60D doesn't have that. 2) Trust that the new mirrorless v2 will be fantastic, priced reasonably, released on time, and convince me to go mirrorless. 3) Change to a different brand.
I don't see that the next T5i will move up, since they need to keep the entry level camera cheaper and well under $1000. There is a chance that they could make the 7DII smaller and lighter and price it at the 70D level, with great features, to make a killer camera in that market area. That would be great, but based on current history I don't see it happening. Or the 70D being killed off could just be a rumour.
So here I am with money ready to buy, and I can't see that Canon is offering me anything. I've been a Canon user since 2002, but this is on top of the other rather annoying decisions Canon has made lately which the original poll covered (yes, they are debatable, but they certainly aren't winning fans by their decisions. They may be still able to keep their old fans.) What has Canon released lately that has made customers think 'Wow, I just have to have that product, that's a great buy'? And by great buy I mean a very good product that doesn't feel like it has been purposefully crippled in some small but key way, AND has a quite reasonable price, i.e. one that you can't wait to have in your hands to own, without the offsetting feeling of 'Ouch that cost a premium'. I remember the excitement caused by the 7D, it was like they were trying to dominate an area of the market. I understand that in 6 months time, things may be different, so I guess my 4th option is just to wait with my 500D for 6 months and see if Canon announces something new in the pipeline. But the topic under discussion here is what do we think of the roadmap, so I think it is reasonable to ask questions and criticize without people just saying 'Nothing for you on the horizon, but stop whinging'.
Comments and suggestions are welcome.