I've been a long time watching this page and reading the forum, albeit as a 'guest.' But this particular rumour has 'brought me out of the wood work,' so to speak. I have the 7D (and also a T3i) and I shoot 'things that move' for the most part--birds in flight, aircraft etc. I have to say that I am distressed by this rumour and I hope it's not true. The 7D II, in the format that has been repeatedly stated for it, would be a remarkable camera for someone who likes to take wildlife/nature shots, as well as other "action" photography. Although the 70D looks to be a great camera, I don't see it as being a worthy 7D replacement. It only beats the 7D in a few areas where technical improvements allow it, such as DPAF giving greatly improved Live and Video focussing, both of which are of secondary importance to me, and to many other shooters. Moreover, in other areas it merely "matches" the 7D, having the same 19 point AF system. There's certainly nothing wrong with the 19 point AF system, with all of them being cross-type, but it is an older system and it is one of the items I am most anxious to see improved upon in a genuine 7D replacement, preferably with something similar to the 61 point AF on the 5D III and IDX. As if being merely "equal" to the aging 7D wasn't already enough to make the 70D unequal to the task of replacing the 7D, it is outright inferior in a couple areas. Certainly, many might say that it's only losing one fps, but that's still a step DOWN from the 2009 7D. More importantly, the smaller buffer means fewer images captured in a burst, which is a much bigger deal. And it loses two of the most useful AF modes, the AF Expansion and the Spot AF, both of which have come in very handy. I usually use AF Expansion when tracking BIF, especially if there is a background that might distract Zone mode. And I've found Spot AF can be remarkably handy, even in Servo mode, when trying to get a bird through foliage. As both AF Expansion and Spot AF are missing from the 70D, it cannot match all of the shooting scenarios of the 7D. None of this is to imply that the 70D is a bad camera. I think it's a worthy successor to the 60D and it raises the xxD line to a higher level, just a bit below the 7D as a wildlife/sports/action camera. I was actually happy to see the 70D so well spec'd, not because I want one, but because it raised the bar on what we could expect from a TRUE 7D successor. I keep reading that the 70D doesn't give room for the APC 7D Mark II, and that the rumoured spec isn't enough to justify the expected price. I don't agree at all! I'd LOVE to see the 7D Mark II come out with the rumoured Spec--24MP DPAF, 10-12 fps, dual Digic 5+ (or 6) sensor and a nice deep buffer, and a greatly improved 61 point AF system. That is VASTLY better than the 70D for someone who wants a high performance camera that will give greatly improved odds of capturing an amazing "never come again" moment.
I also keep reading about how the price drop on the 6D makes the 7D II obsolete. It's been stated repeatedly by others why the 6D doesn't figure into the matrix, but I guess I'll add my voice to that since it seems to still come up repeatedly. The 6D is NOT a competitor to the 7D Mark 2. It's not even a competitor to the 70D for that matter! Not for someone who shoots fast moving objects. If I didn't already have a 7D and my choices were between a 7D, a 70D and a 6D at the same price, I'd go for the 7D, with the 70D my second choice. The 6D would be a distant third. Again, I'm not knocking the 6D, IQ is apparently amazing, but a sluggish AF, burst and buffer make it an inadequate choice for a steady diet of photographing fast moving subjects. I see the 6D (like the 5D II before it) being aimed at a completely different kind of photographer, with very different needs. Indeed, the 6D is much more of a spiritual successor to the 5D II than is the 5D III! Anyone who buys a 6D over a 70D (or 7D) with the purpose of shooting fast moving objects has, quite simply, bought the wrong camera. If the 6D isn't really a competitor for the 70D and 7D, than that goes DOUBLE for the 7D II! I'd be willing to pay substantially more for a crop-framed 7D II over a reduced 6D, because it's a better camera for the kind of shooting I do! If you shoot weddings, landscapes and models, than by all means the 6D, with it's better high ISO IQ and it's full-frame sensor is the better choice--but it was never designed as an "action" based camera.
Now the 5D III is a much more attractive substitute to a 7D or 70D. It has the superb 61 Point AF system, combined with a decent 6 fps frame rate and a decent buffer. But it still trades a frame per second to the 70D and two fps under the 7D, and that can be significant. Weighted against that, it's AF system is superior to either, so you may still actually get more "keepers" than the 19 point AF system of the 7D and 70D. But...it's vastly more expensive than the 7D and 70D, and substantially more expensive than the proposed 7D II. If the 7D II has an advanced AF system based on the 5D III and 1DX, then the AF advantage for the 5D III goes away. In addition, if the 7D II is 10 or 12 fps, then it will be 4-6 fps faster than the 5D III. Again, that is a huge bonus for a bird/sports/action photographer! Also, like many other photographers here, I LIKE the crop frame! I like that I can get tighter framing on a small subject like a bird with my hand-holdable 100-400L lens.
As to the notion of the 7D replacement moving to the cinema line--*yawn*. Count me out then. I'm not video averse. I realize the camera must be versatile and flexible, and I welcome DPAF and all the Live View and Video benefits it brings, but I'm not looking for a "video first" camera.
So, to sum up, I REALLY hope that this rumour is a myth and that the 7D II is released next year, with all the promised features. I'd love it if they made it a 'mini 1DX' style camera, with the full 12 fps, 24 MP DPAF crop sensor, deep buffer, 61 point AF system. I'd also love for it to have the 1DX AF scenarios, for customizing Servo mode for different types of subject! That'd be cool!
Canon, please make the 7D II a reality!!!!!!!!
