5D Mark III & The Rest [CR2]

[WarStreet]

I have said in prior posts I fully believed the 5d would come out BEFORE the 1d or 1ds. The 5d mark ii crushed 1ds3 sales due to the same sensor, fraction of the cost... I believed canon learned their lesson, release the new 5d first, then after 6 months or so (after the initial rush and hype has settled a tad), come out with an even better 1ds that would make peoples mouths water... that way people have the incentive to buy the 5d AND the 1d, rather than just the 5d.

The idea of delaying the 1ds for the market reasons you mentioned is interesting but I doubt it will happen. This time, the gap between the 5dIII and 1dsIV should be bigger. We can expect 2x digic V for the 1ds, and 1x digic V for the 5d which will be more gapped than the previous 2x digic III vs 1x digic IV.

Sony did 24mp @ 12fps in a "cheap" camera and that likely they are going to release 1 or 2 FF cameras with aggressive specs/pricing. We should expect that the 1ds to have at least very high resolution (higher than 5dIII) and speed, together with some other innovations such a crop mode, square sensor and the latest useful small features such as built in gps and wireless. Actually there are other innovations I am thinking about they might add, but they are too mad to mention them here If they feel the innovations are not strong enough, they might even tweak the price.

I can't wait to see some facts rather than just guesses !! The A77 gives us some hints of what to expect, and my expectations are high !

 

[awinphoto]

I have said in prior posts I fully believed the 5d would come out BEFORE the 1d or 1ds. The 5d mark ii crushed 1ds3 sales due to the same sensor, fraction of the cost... I believed canon learned their lesson, release the new 5d first, then after 6 months or so (after the initial rush and hype has settled a tad), come out with an even better 1ds that would make peoples mouths water... that way people have the incentive to buy the 5d AND the 1d, rather than just the 5d.

The idea of delaying the 1ds for the market reasons you mentioned is interesting but I doubt it will happen. This time, the gap between the 5dIII and 1dsIV should be bigger. We can expect 2x digic V for the 1ds, and 1x digic V for the 5d which will be more gapped than the previous 2x digic III vs 1x digic IV.

Sony did 24mp @ 12fps in a "cheap" camera and that likely they are going to release 1 or 2 FF cameras with aggressive specs/pricing. We should expect that the 1ds to have at least very high resolution (higher than 5dIII) and speed, together with some other innovations such a crop mode, square sensor and the latest useful small features such as built in gps and wireless. Actually there are other innovations I am thinking about they might add, but they are too mad to mention them here If they feel the innovations are not strong enough, they might even tweak the price.

I can't wait to see some facts rather than just guesses !! The A77 gives us some hints of what to expect, and my expectations are high !

What we are expecting and reality are two seperate things my friend... We should know that by now with camera manufacturers... Remember the economy is down, times are tough, and profits are probably, while up, are not AS up as expecting... So expect them to do what's right for their company and profits... hence the two releases, the cheap first, gauge reactions, perhaps make a tweak or two based on those reactions to the 1ds... then plop the big boy...

 

[moreorless]

I don't think we can really say for sure whether the 7D is "due" for a refresh or not given that its never happened before, my feeling is that its not going to have as long a product cycle as the full frame models.

Unless theres really nothing they can do about it I'd be supprized to see Canon let Sony and potentially Nikon steal a march on them with megapixels which have afterall been a large part of there marketing for crop DSLR's.

I dont think it has anything to do with full frame cycle or not, it's regarding what canon thinks is "pro" "semi pro" and consumer... Canon, at least in passive literature has stated they feel the 7D is a pro level camera, such as the 5d series and 1d series... That may be debatable to us photographers and "pro" photographers, but that is canon's line in the sand. (CPS membership for platinum(the highest level) requires 2 7d's or higher). The xxd series has infamously been known as the prosumer or semi pro cameras even though the 60d has made many scratch their heads in this categories... The rebels or consumers in the eyes of canon.

I cant see canon releasing an update to the 7d until next fall... (3 year cycle)

The main issue I see is how the 7D relates to the xxxD and xxD lines, those models look like there going to need sensor upgrades of some kind in order to stay competitive with the next round of Sony/Nikon DSLR's. To have the lower end lines carrying a superior sensor to the 7D doesnt seem to make alot of sense marketing wise.

As far as the 5D mk3 goes my own feeling is that Canon will stick to the formula they used for the mk2, stick the high end sensor in a smaller body with more limated autofocus. It might be unpopular with some people but the impression I get is that the mk2 has been more sucessful than the D700 so it does seem like resolution over autofocus is what people want.

 

[awinphoto]

I understand your opinion about how the 7d relates to the xxd cameras and xxxd camera... Well the 60D and t3i carry the same sensor, but are not superior sensors to the 7d... the 60D has some goodies that trickled down from the 7d and new innovations such as the much debated swivel screen... The 7d still holds it's own even after nikon upgraded the d300 to the d300s to compete with video, but the 7d has still been dubbed by many people as the d300s killer. The sony is an interesting camera but until production samples come out to really do a side by side comparison in quality and function, it's a bit too early to tell who comes out on top. The 7d compared to the newest 60d and xxd would be like the top of the line mustang whereas the 60d would be the regular mustang with the same engine but less bells and whistles and maybe the t3i would be the same car with manual roll down windows and steel wheels.... It's debatable whether people in the industry consider the 7d as "pro" or not, but canon has made a point to all but say that this is in the same category as the 5d... 5d being a baby 1ds and 7d being a baby 1d.

 

[moreorless]

I understand your opinion about how the 7d relates to the xxd cameras and xxxd camera... Well the 60D and t3i carry the same sensor, but are not superior sensors to the 7d... the 60D has some goodies that trickled down from the 7d and new innovations such as the much debated swivel screen... The 7d still holds it's own even after nikon upgraded the d300 to the d300s to compete with video, but the 7d has still been dubbed by many people as the d300s killer. The sony is an interesting camera but until production samples come out to really do a side by side comparison in quality and function, it's a bit too early to tell who comes out on top. The 7d compared to the newest 60d and xxd would be like the top of the line mustang whereas the 60d would be the regular mustang with the same engine but less bells and whistles and maybe the t3i would be the same car with manual roll down windows and steel wheels.... It's debatable whether people in the industry consider the 7d as "pro" or not, but canon has made a point to all but say that this is in the same category as the 5d... 5d being a baby 1ds and 7d being a baby 1d.

Theres a difference between the xxD and xxxD models featuring the 7D's sensor awhile after release and those lines featuring a sensor thats superior to the the 7D's, or at least with superior looking specs.

Would releasing the 7D mk2 say 28 months rather than 36 months after the original really make that much difference? The 1D/1Ds lines sticking to a 3 year or longer cycle makes sense given the investment involved on both sides but is the same true for the 7D and 5D? I suspect that the reason the 5D mk2 hasnt been updated sooner is that its linked to the 1D/1Ds.

If Canon sticks to updating the xxD and xxxD every year or so then I'd say a shorter 7D cycle might make sense. Having the pro model outspected doesnt seem a good idea as does having the lower end models only add bells and whistles for 2 cycles while the competision surpasses them.

 

[awinphoto]

Well for the most part, no other camera company has pumped out (within 2 years of the camera being out in production) any crop sensor that is superior for the 7d. The only sensor that came close was the sony but that's kinda too early to tell... It probably wont be for a few more months before theres enough tests to say yes or no. Plus it is unknown if canon really see's sony as direct competition or if it only see's nikon as competition. Now by all means, should a 70D come out or new rebel that has a cleaner and better sensor, then you can expect the new 7d to be coming soon.

Remember only 12 more months the camera will be 3 years old and ready for replacement. As of 2 years into it's lifecycle, no other crop camera has come close to outperform and resolve this camrea. If the camera was only 1year old and sony came out with the camera, then i could see the worry, but until nikon starts pumping out D400's, there's really no rush for canon to deliver such a camera.