Canon 60D/7D

how about more than 9 AF points? That’s the only thing that will convince me to grab a xxD/7D over saving for a 1D/1Ds body.

i) Improved sensor dynamic range at low ISO

ii) Exposure bracketing options of 5 and 7 shots

iii) More AF points, hopefully in the ballpark of 20

Let’s push it :

The Top Ten Wish List for 50d replacement

1) Bigger sensor, 1.5 crop instead of 1.6 thus giving more space to pixels (then less noise). 50-6400 iso is a must.

2) Uprated AF, with more AF Points, and AF micro adjustments

3) Chromatic aberration correction, better quality noise reduction

4) New battery with more stamina and more infos about current consumption of the energy

5) GPS chip inside body to enrich EXIF infos

6) Larger screen with Better thumbnails rendering and less reflections

7) Better weather sealing overall

8) Focus bracketing and other bracketing improvements (9 shots ?)

9) Full HD video @ 60fps, with working AF

10) LAst but not least, a new DIGIC V with more features (like NIKON), and 10 fps in high speed mode shooting……

What you guys think ?

1) ~21megapixel (crop 1,3 would be nice)

2) ISO 50-12800

3) 1080p with 50/30/24fps

4) DIGIC V

5) no internal flash please

6) GPS

7) min. 11 AF-Points

8) a little bigger body

9) new battery

10) microphone port

Buy a 5D MK II, or wait for the 1D MK IV. The XXD series is not going to change to a different size sensor, or a bigger size. Lets hope they don’t go to the $100 battery with internal chip. Why would anyone want a different battery? I’ve taken 1000 shots with one charge using my 40D and the BP-511A.

Sure..$1,000 more ? Still want it ?

there are some things i would like to see like more auto focus points but i dont expect that to happen, especially because it didnt happen on the new 5D line.

a higher dynamic range is probable but i dont think will be a big improvement.

something i would really love to see Canon try out is image stabilization (in camera) this would help keep the price of the lenses down while Canon improves on the quality of glass.

I don’t think the 50D was any more than a tweaked 40D.
Canon’s problem is that the 450/500D now has a good 9-point AF and Nikon has the D300/400 with a much higher count (although certainly not better than the 50D, it sounds like it is).
A revised AF, new battery grip (the current one ain’t great IMO and lags heavily behind the superb camera body)and some true usability tweaks would go a long way to showing the market some real progress. 1.3x crop would be terrific but a MAJOR surprise.

In body IS. hopefully Nikon jumps the gun and forces Canon to go that route. I don’t see Canon doing it without alot of sales pressure.

I would say 14.2 or more likely 16.1 megapixels and not the 15.1 50D has now. And ISO pushing up to 25,600 just for PR reasons, only usable at 12,800. About 1 1/2 full stops on noise improvement from the 50D and 40D. Dynamic range up stop. They probly have to redo their A/D conversion pipeline to match Nikons. And Kodak’s ‘panchromatic pixel’ will be an improvement from the Bayer pattern currently used. Black Silicon won’t be around for a few more years so a 1.3 crop factor would be a good step up from 1.6 or use a 1.5 or 1.4 crop factor.

I don’t think there will be a 7D. Canon has settled into a xxxD (amature), xxD (enthusiast), xD (pro) divisions for DSLRs. It makes sense.

What people seem to be asking for is a second enthusiast camera (maybe a xxDs) that would be full frame and maybe $500 more, but would be not up to pro standards like as is the entire xD line – so it would in the same body with pop-up flash and offer the same MP/features as the xxD.

I think that would be a smart move for Canon, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

I would not be surprised to see an eventual Micro Four Thirds camera from Canon some day (a xxxxD perhaps with an EF-m lens line and EF adapter for it). My guess is they are waiting to see if it catches on. I think it will, especially given the attention to HD video shooting that has leaped ahead of the DSLRs in their first attempt.

I think that the 5D partially fits into this xxDs gap. It is halfway a pro and halfway an advanced amateur camera. I would however greatly welcome a low (not more than 15) megapixel FF SLR with decent AF and motor drive. It would be a smart move, especially given the massive success of the D700. Thus Canon would have a semi-Pro/advanced amateur line that mirrored the 1D/1Ds flagship divisions. One for speed and ISO performance, and one with high resolution. Nikon will most likely go similarly when the introduce the D3x sensor in a D700 body, presumably the D700x.

What is everyone’s bizarre fascination with 1.3 crop sensors? The market requires standardization for sensor formats and APS-H doesn’t fit the established model. Alienating EF-S lens users in a consumer-grade camera line is complete lunacy.

I’m usually not one for internet tirades, but I do think I’ve had enough. Nikon did it right: if you own a DX lens, you can still use it on FX bodies (albeit ‘cropped,’ to use the term appropriately). Canon shot itself in the foot with its EF-S lens design and now the consumer-grade camera lines can only go full-frame at the expense of its targeted market. The consequences of doing so are too devastating unless some alternative can be developed in the future (mirrorless bodies like the Panny G1 might nullify the problem).

If you are a member of the horde currently frothing at the mouth about how Canon should move the xxD line to 1.3 or full-frame: you may continue your pipe dreaming so long as you are fully aware that, despite what you want and what the various photography forums spew forth every day, your claims are illogical and, as such, unlikely to ever come true.

actually, having used both the D300 and 40D, the D300 AF is WAY ahead in terms of AF tracking. in terms of single point they are equal. sorry 1.3x can’t happen because then you loos EF-S compatibility. they really need more points and a better spread pattern. The football shape just isn’t that great.

Nikon’s better dynamic range isn’t because of their A/D conversion, its because of the larger photosites on their sensors.

DN, haha, this is, after-all, a rumor site. So vain specualtion is par for the course. I do agree 1.3 APS-H sensors are gonners. Personnaly I like a FF or a 1.6 depending on what I’m shooting, kinda like having a teleconverter with no lens.

I don’t think at this point there is a valid reason Canon could not put a FF sensor in a xxD body and call it xxDs just as they have split up the xD line into three different bodies (1DmkIII, 1DsmkIII, and 5DmkII) and the xxxD line into what, four bodies now?

That will be a dream come true.

But as long as Nikon and Panasonic do not make the first move, I won’t expect any response from Canon in the stabilization department.

Why not just add two choices to the xxD line and split it, 1.6 or an FF for a bit more? This would stop all the whining about enthusiasts not being able to afford a FF body for their lenses and give Canon a leg up on Nikon without cutting into their pro line.

I think the three lines are quite well defined by price point matching interest level. The xxxD line at $800-900 is mostly plastic, and is aimed at the point and shoot crowd who want some lens options and a bit of manual control. The xxD at $1500 certainly offers a better build, feature set and accesories than the Rebel but doesn’t give you the toughness of the pro line – it’s targeted at andvanced amatures who don’t want to be seen with a Rebel and EF-S lens in hand. Then you jump to $2700, $4500 to $8000 for the pro line for those who are making their living and expect pro level tools and quality – frankly I think $2700 is a bargain for any pro and I dont see why Canon would make a pro camera at a lower price point.

Where I see price point and interest level room is between xxD and XD. It makes no sense to me to offer pros a dumbed down 5D for less. It makes more sense to offer a FF sensor at the xxD level.

I certainly would not favor less choices by merging lines.

Wish-list:
*same or less MP for improved high ISO (one can dream)
*new, improved micro-lensing technology again for better high ISO and less vignetting
*full environmental sealing
*in-body IS (I spent a lot of money on IS lenses but I don’t care, I still have some primes that could use it)
What I don’t care about:
*GPS – useless gadget that will just unnecessarily ass to the price
*MP3 player – I can just see this one coming…
*Any kind of movie mode

I’ll tell you what would be killer is to coat the microlenses with the same coating they are using in the new blue ring ‘L’ lenses. It will never happen though.

What is everyone’s bizarre fascination with 1.6 crop or full frame sensors? I agree with other posts here that 1.3 crop would be ideal for a prosumer level camera. Canon would get a sligtly bigger sensor than the competition which they could use for better sensitivity or higher pixel count or a mix of the two.

It would also differentiate better between the xxxD cameras without Canon having to hold beck on features like they do now (like no AF micro adjustments on the 500D). 1.3 crop would also make sense for lenses, you wouldn’t need quite the extreme quality that a full frame sensor does.

Canon will also have to move the 1D to full frame to compete with the D3 so a new 1.3 ccrop xxD wouldn’t be a direct competitor to the 1D-series.

I can’t compatibility with EFs lenses as a problem, there aren’t any guarantees that xxD will stay 1.6 crop forever and with some improvements to the xxxD like 5 fps and xxD AF module that basically doesn’t cost anything Canon could easily make a camera that would satisfy most EFs users as good enough.

bigger sensor -> larger pixels & better DR + wider FL equivalents

Don’t need movie mode either!!!!!! Thats why their are camcorders!!!!!

I have a slightly more reasonable hope for the 60D:

– More bracketing shots (up to 9). HDR is becoming quite popular, and Canon will start to lose out to similar priced Nikon’s that can do this. It’s already even technically possible, they just have to allow it in their software.

– Digic V would be cool. And certainly help to separate this model from the new Rebel.

– I don’t need higher ISO levels, but maybe the new processor could bring better quality at the current levels.

– It will have a movie mode. No question about that. I just want it to have normal, standard fps.

– It will have higher megapixels. I’m guessing a minimal bump of up to 17-point-something, but wouldn’t be surprised to see it match the 5DM2.

– An updated AF system.

– GPS would be a cool nice-to-have, but not a necessity. I’d actually expect this in the next rebel before we see it built into any other DSLR, as that’s the best target demographic for such a thing. But they could make it easy for an affordable GPS add on to be used.

What about in-camera IS? I’m relatively new to this business, but I’d like to see this more than anything. What’s the deal with this…?

Cheers

Canon has invested a lot in stabilized lenses so they say that’s better. They also said that you can’t have IS in the body for full frame cameras and Sony proved that they lied with the A-900. Anyway, it’s a feature a lot of Canon users want for the non-stabilized lenses, but don’t expect it anytime soon.

why would you think that they would match the 5d mkII megapixels with a 60D? the XXD has always been sort of a baby 1D, and the 5D mk X a baby 1Ds. Also if they put that many pixels on a sensor that size, anyone who needs any sort of noise performance at all would realize canon was off their nut and switch to nikon, and frankly, if they did that with the mkIV I’d be one of the first to go.

In what way is a 5D Mark II a tougher or more pro camera than a 50D?

– It is only partially weather resistant – just like the 50D
– The 5D Mark II is a much slower camera in term of FPS, shutter lag and mirror blackout times
– slower AF compared to 50D

I never said I thought they _would_, I said I thought they’d go up a bit, to 17. I merely said that I wouldn’t be _surprised_ if they went as high as the 5DM2.

Personally, assuming the stay with 1.6 crop, I’d be happy with them staying at the current mp count. More than anything, I want them to allow better bracketing options. Especially since it’ll cost them nothing really, and will help separate this camera from the Rebel lineup for a fast growing market segment (HDR photographers) without having to up the mp count or go to full frame, which would encroach greatly on the 5D line.

I agree with refining the AA filter, and making auto high ISO correction not turn people’s JPEGs into a pile of mush. Do keep in mind that they can’t remove the AA filters entirely because otherwise you would end up with that weird effect with very small patterns the name of which permanently escapes it.

this is the 60D page. 60D, as is the 50D’s updated model.

They never said it couldn’t be done. What they say is that in Lens stabilizers are more effective. I have found this to be generally true for the focal lengths most requiring IS, telephoto and macro (sorry for the mis-speak, I realize macro isn’t a focal length, I just can’t think of a better way to say it). This is because in lens stabilizers correct for that specific focal length, correcting what is in the image circle of the lens. (its something vaguely similar to shift, but internal) So the internal movements of the lens will overcome your movements by taking the image seen by the lens (keep in mind the bi-convex element that does this is typically about in the middle of the lens , just after the objective collects the light, but before it is finally focused by the elements following it). In body stabilizers move the sensor within the image circle. This means that they can correct a certain distance of movement with the sensor on the back end. However, lens shake depends on the focal length, so if lens A is 50mm long and lens B is 500mm long,(both non-stabilized, just for example) and the shake the same amount during an exposure, and assuming the shake causes the lens A’s image to move by 70 micrometers, or roughly 10 pixels, lens B’s image will move 700 micrometers, or about 100 pixels. (this is why lens shake is worse in telephotos. So, if there is an in-body in the camera used for exposures with both lenses A and B, and it can move 350 micrometers (about 5 pixels [remember this is a hypothetical example]) lens A is completely corrected, while lens B, our 500mm still has a shake of 50 pixels, which should stop you from ever letting your client see that one. However, an in lens stabilizer would not have had that problem.

Some manufacturers have claimed amazing amounts of stabilization from ion body stabilizers, upwards of five stops. I do not question this in the least. The thing is, that’s probably for the widest lens made for that outfit. With in-body stabilizers the amount of stabilization varies inversely with the focal length, unlike in-lens stabilization. A small problem with in body stabilizers is that, since they move within the image circle cast by the lens, they will run into the extreme edges while stabilizing. the extreme edges of the image circles of ultrawides tend to be dark and full of chromatic aberration, so this would result in a slightly lower quality image than if the exposure did not rely on the stabilization. However, it does provide stabilization for ultra-wides, which is not yet supported by in lens stabilizers due to the optical challenges there within. while stabilization is not amazingly useful for ultrawides I for one would really like to handhold a 14mm or 16mm lens around a second or second and a half exposure, I think it would open up some more creative possibilities.

Personally, I would like to see both in body and in lens stabilizers, and the in body stabilizer would automatically de-activate when the camera realized the lens was self stabilized. It is possible, but I don’t expect it.

I dont know how the 5DmkII is dumbed down. It just won Camera of Year so it can’t be that dumb.

My suggestion is to put a 15 MP FF sensor option in a cheaper body like the 50D.

-> and useless legacy EF-S lenses

Yeah what’s the big deal with GPS? And the day they put an MP3 player in my XDs body is they day I retire (freekin gimmicks, that’s what iPhones are for).

What would be nice is built in WIFI.

You left out MP3 player, 4G phone, navigation and netbook!

In Camera IS would be cool if they could do it without sacrificing pixels or image quality in any way. Otherwise I’ll stick with optical IS.

the rebel line is extraordinarily popular, so replacing it doesn’t make much sense as far as i can see. the G line also doesn’t require subsequent lens purchases.

it was supposed to say, me, I have no idea what I was doing while typing that response…

Have you guys considered the need for a d700 type camera in canon’s lineup? Is, a FF camera geared to speed rather than resolution. I expect to see oolne shortly following the FF 1d. MkIV.

Such a POSH comment, just to show up you got a 1DmkII, the 24-70L and consider you as a pro…

Come on David ! You are ridiculous.

And if you really ask… Yes, to take your vacations picture, you really spent all the extra money for nothing (except being able to write such a lame comment. But it seems to me a really expensive price just to show up)

The Nikon D700 has a pop-up flash and is weather-sealed. The two are not mutually exclusive.

You lost me after that.

I’ve never used the D700, but there’s weather sealing and then there’s weather sealing. I wouldn’t trust a suposed water proof top from a pop-up flash or even if that is what Nikon means by weather resistence. Why Nikon put a pop-up flash on a $3000 body under their excellent D3x is a mystery as to what Nikon is thinking and who their target market is with that, so I dont know if Nikon is marketing the D700 as a “pro” camera or maybe a pro backup camera with primary apeal to the enthusiats.

OK, I see your point now: the real effectiveness of the weather sealing of a camera with a pop-up flash is irrelevant, it is only the theoretical effectiveness of the weather sealing–which is whatever you declare it to be–that matters.

There’s just no arguing with that…so I won’t bother.

i would lke to see a Virtual Horizon Graphics Indicator while looking through the viewfinder or on LCD

rofl

Oh, by the way, nikon pop-up flashes work as commander flashes for their speedlights, making them actually useful.

NO. that will also perform that function, and is of course required on D3 and D3x, but the pop-up of the D90 D300 and D700 will command an off camera flash in the same way that the ST-E2 will for Canon. And its quite effective, I’ve seen my friends D300 with his SB 800.

From what I’ve seen it’s hard to compare the D700 with the Canon line, it’s price point is the 5DmkII as you said, and it’s FF, but only 12.1 MP and no video. If I were a Nikon shooter I’d buy D3x and D3’s. Nice cameras.

Any flash on your camera can slave other flashes if they are slavable. I prefered radio slaves in the studio and I never do studio flash on auto with speedlights so slaving speedlights is not something I would do. Now I use Photoflex Starlight QL 1000 watt lights with softboxes anyway, no flash, just good solid light and they work with video too.

I find the whole focus point number a non-issue. It’s like how many angels can you fit on the head of a pin? I dont care. I’ve never missed a shot because my camera didnt have enough focus points.

None of these cameras are water proof. For $3000 it should have some weather resistence and the D700 does, but according to Nikon it’s not as good as the D3/D3x, and I suspect the popup flash is part of the reason. Of course, you need a weather sealed LENS too for it to really matter.

yeah I agree, I just wish they’d lose the whole rebel name thing.

I’d not be surprised if Canon eventually came out with a faux DSLR micro four thirds line like Panasonic and Olympus.

or if you were a budget shooter you could get a D700 and a battery grip for it, and have the same sensor as the D3, the same AF as the D3, and 8 fps, for $300 instead of $5000.

here’s how the D700 fits in the line-up relative to Canon.

5D mkII is to the 1D mkIII as the D700 is to the D3.
more or less.

Zac, you neglected to say your scenario is only true for thru the lens flash metering slaving speedlights together on AUTOMATIC. I have no need for it, and even if I did I’d still rather not have the popup flash on my camera.

I have tried the popup flash on my 50D only to have most of my lenses block part of the light output, my impression is Canon did not give a single thought to people using L lenses with a popup flash, cuz its not a pro feature…nuf said.

I don’t shoot sports often. When I have shot football, track & field, motocross, or fast moving animals, I have not been disapointed and thought “darn if only I had more focus points that shot would be sharper.”

I agree to disagree with your assessment of weather proofing meaning you can shoot in the rain. Good luck with that and don’t say I didn t warn you.

The 50D has better sealing than that line used to have, but as people I know have come back from Glamis with broken 50D’s from the dust/wind/sand I do not believe it is up to pro standards, which was my point all along.

As for weather sealing Canon vs. Nikon, the Nikon Rep I asked said none of their lenses are claimed by Nikon to be “weather sealed” though some do have a rubber protective rim on them and some are more resistant to weather than others, they do not call any of their lenses weather sealed. Canon does assert weather sealing on certain L lenses.

The D3 is also more rugged and rated for double the shutter cycles than the D700 so in the long run the extra $2k is well spent, and should the D700 ever crap out on you, you could lose the income from the job too. Is it worth it if you are living off your camera? I dont think so. Sure if it’s a hobby or side job, buy the D700 if that’s your budget, it’s a nice camera.

My take on the lineup:

5DmkII D700

21MP 12.1

3.9 fps 5 fps

HD Vid No vid

9 AF 51 AF

$2,699 $3,199 (both from B&H Photo after rebates)

“or if you were a budget shooter you…”

not implying that for a working full time pro that the D700 should be preferred over the D3 for the reasons which you have correctly elaborated.

why is your take on the line-up nothing more than a list of specs? “5D mkII is to the 1D mkIII as the D700 is to the D3.” remains true. The 5DmkII is like a knocked down Ds and the D700 is like a knock down D3, that should be the basis of comparison, a direct comparison between them is as silly as a direct comparison between a 1D mkIII and D3x.

plus D700 from B&H is $2999 with instant $300 rebate http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/570162-REG/Nikon_25444_D700_SLR_Digital_Camera.html
putting them both at $2699

I re-read that, and I have to apologize. I did not mean to be so rude. For some reason technical accuracy is obsessing me tonight.

Zac,

My point of the specs is that they are not the same. 21MP vs. 12.1MP, video vs. no video. You found a better price on B&H then I did, so they are the same price, and maybe they hold the “spot” in the companies line up, but I’d want one or the other for entirely different reasons and shooting needs, so I have trouble equating them as the way you have. To me it seems Nikon and Canon have market researched different target users at that price point.

I think we’re disagreeing with each other while trying to make the same point. let me run it by you.

5D mk II = D700

The 5D mk II is similar to a 1Ds, only not built to the same standards as the 1 series.

the D700 is similar to the D3, only not built ot the same standard.

So the D700 does not directly compare to the 5D mkII, rather they are conjugates of one another, succeeding precisely in the area where the other is weak because it was intended for the exact opposite purpose.

yeah I’d agree with that, Zac.

Hey David, Do you have a site I could check out? I’m 90% you’re pro, since you have at least one Ds and 400 2.8, I’m curious to see your stuff.

Yeah I make 98% of my living the past 25 years with my cameras, still and video. No other income source. The other 2% is Flash programming web stuff. I’m not laying claim to being the best, I know several guys I think are far better photographers then I’ll ever be, but I make my clients happy and that pays my bills. I do a lot of stuff for the legal field that pays well, some good corporate clients doing their catalog shots, training videos, some ads & promotional stuff, the occasional event, and I shoot for myself just because I like to wildlife & scenic. My current site is more of a flash example I did to show a client.

i am waiting for a FF DSLR for about 1000$, even if it takes 1-2-3 years. Until then I would use my old EOS 650. I am not willing to buy any cropped lens!

Be prepared to be disappointed if anyone is even expecting any of the features posted.
:D

Moire**

OK. It still takes time to adjust the focus and take multiple shots. so I do not agree with the usefulness in all but the astro example. furthermore, in those examples, if the camera had a good tracking AF (more points, with better tracking algorithm) there would be no problem. also in your examples you are amazingly optimistic about the subject wandering into the bracketed focus. about the astro example. you now have a 920,000 dot screen on the back of the camera. why would you waste many shots through which you would need to sort to find the correctly focused one when you could just do critical manual focus, and only have in focus shots?

also please explain this comment: But with focus bracketing, you get multiples, *and* they can extend to get the other contestant as well. I don’t quite get what you’re trying to say.

> OK. It still takes time to adjust
> the focus and take multiple shots.
> so I do not agree with the usefulness

For small adjustments, focus can be changed in milliseconds, and it can be done while the previous image is being transferred. Remember, this doesn’t use the AF sensor – it’s a fixed set of steps ahead of calculated (or set) focus, thru there, and past. Or vice-versa. The speed of the camera won’t be focus limited, it’ll be limited to the rate the camera can snap. So you’re definitely wrong here. It’ll be just as fast, and therefore just as useful, as H/drive is. You’re not going to argue that H/drive is useless, are you? (smile)

> furthermore, in those examples, if
> the camera had a good tracking AF
> (more points, with better tracking
> algorithm) there would be no problem

One problem comes because lenses often don’t match cameras and critical focus is often not possible with the AF feature, especially with wider apertures and narrower DOFs. Particularly true for fine macros and astro, both areas of ridiculously critical focus (micro-focus adjustment is another desired feature.) Another comes because sometimes you MISS tracking because the subject gets out of frame.

> also in your examples you are amazingly
> optimistic about the subject wandering
> into the bracketed focus

It’ll work in some situations, and not in others. Just like every other camera technique we know. You’ll have to plan an appropriate bracket and know what you’re doing, and then the world will have to co-operate. I’m not saying it’ll fix all these situations, just that it will help address them.

> about the astro example. you now have
> a 920,000 dot screen on the back of the
> camera. why would you waste many shots
> through which you would need to sort
> to find the correctly focused one when
> you could just do critical manual focus,
> and only have in focus shots?

Because in most astro situations, you can’t SEE the stars; what shows up in a four second exposure is NOT what shows up in the viewfinder during live view. For instance, if I point my Æ’/2.8 200mm at the sky, wide open AT Æ’/2.8, it can’t see stars at all (on the viewfinder.) I have to find a planet, AND, because of atmospheric wavering, it is STILL very difficult to achieve critical focus. This all also assumes I have a tripod built like a battleship, since I’ll need 10x view to even try. Focus bracketing would let me get the shot if I could get close. Or at least improve it! As far as sorting thru them goes, that’s not a problem, would take mere seconds. I have to do that now, because I have to make multiple tries at MF anyway. Nothing lost there.

> [Explain:]
>> But with focus bracketing, you get multiples,
>> *and* they can extend to get the other contestant
>> as well

If you’re using a narrow DOF, you might get the contestant nearer you, but not the one further away (or vice versa.) This is likely because narrow DOF = faster shots = wider aperture. Stopping martial arts takes *lots* of speed. If you were using focus bracketing, you could set the bracket wide enough to scan thru the area and shoot behind them, on the one in back, in between them, on the one in front, and in front them, too. This could catch you more action in more places, and also might catch them as they move (as a pair around the ring, also useful with wider DOF.) These would be as close in time as the camera’s shooting rate would allow, and give you various focal depths for the action.

If you’ve not tried to shoot dan-level martial arts, I can see how this might not make sense to you. As an instructor and a photographer, I can assure you it’d be useful. You can’t plan these kinds of shots — the action is too fast to plan for. DOFs required vary wildly. As it is, I use camera automation (H/drive) and a much wider DOF than I want to, which in turn limits the ability to stop action. Compounding the problem is that these things occur in gyms that tend to be poorly lit, and flashes aren’t a good idea.

I’m really late on getting onto this, currently researching Canon SLR’s and notice the huge gap in price from 50D [AU$1900 RRP] to the 5D [$4800].

There seems to be a need to slot something in between here; So here’s my ideas for the “60D” Development:

– 50D to replace 40D, and retain numbering as 50D then 50Di (ii,… etc) for future updates. Slight drop in pricing of the 50D, though more expensive than the 40D was.

This will leave 2-3 “Consumer DSLR” to choose from with the xxxD models;

– 60D to become a semi-pro line;

[I don’t like the 7D moniker for this line, though a jump to 70D would be OK]

– 1.3x Crop (YES, No EF-S lenses on this series) for a lower pixel/area ratio;

– Weather/Dust Sealing

– 15MP is sufficient at 6fps;

(Range to remain approx 5MP less than 5D models througout lifecycle)

– Perhaps do away with mirrored viewfinders and gain hi-res, 98-100% coverage EVF to keep the body size smaller than 5D. [And compete with Micro Four Thirds]

– HD Video will continue to be move into these cameras, Stereo Mics please, and full compatibility with “V-Series” lenses too

– Articulated HD Screens: I’m sure the cost difference of articulated vs fixed screens is negligible given the welcome protection it affords, and extra practicality, especially with videos

– Perhaps offer both SD and CF slots given this is between the consumer and pro lines

– Price at about 50% more than the current 50D Price [approx AU$2800]. Justifiable, given what ought to be much better image quality.

Other incremental upgrades (eg AF points) are a given, but I really don’t want to see any of the following:

– Flash, onboard flash’s are pretty redundant;

– Touch screen LCDs, save it for the iphones

– Onboard GPS/WiFi – but should be a much cheaper option than it is at the moment.

[Wifi should be added to 5D/1D as standard, given the very low cost to add in]