Canon 7D on it's way out?

[distant.star]

So, no, it doesn't mean a 7DII is coming soon. Or, if you prefer, yes, it means that a 7DII is coming soon, just as surely as the upcoming storm we're expecting in the Northeast US was caused by a butterfly flapping it's wings in China.

Yes, bring the chaos, big brain!!

Given what I see in "the marketplace" at this point, I believe Canon is organizing their EOS line into two streams, both equally important (and probably equally profitable).

1. A well-defined 1.6 crop sensor line.

2. A somewhat less well-defined full-frame line.

The 1.6 line ranges from DSLR entry level (e.g. T3i) with some good trickle-down high end features to a high end (e.g. 7D) for serious enthusiasts and even some pros who need speed, reach, etc. I believe the IQ quality in this line exceeds what 99.99% of its users need.

The full frame line is defined by something like the new 1Dx that Canon keeps talking about at the top and lowering through some range of models to a 5D version that could be considered the full-frame entry level camera. This is where they try to provide the most desireable tools for the videography crowd, the landscapers who don't want to haul big MF and bigger LF stuff into the wilds, and both professionals and amateurs who can afford (and want) the best available for a wide variety of applications.

While it's fun to speculate about what technology and models may be in the future, I don't give much credence to anything that falls outside those parameters, at least for now. The 1.3 crop, for example, is out of the picture for now. That doesn't mean Canon can't come back with it if needed for some new strategy.

Personally, I plan to live in the 1.6 high end and the full-frame low end. I expect both lines to be reasonably well defined sometime this year. So I'll upgrade my trusty T2i (two years old now and going strong) to a 7D type camera. And I'll get a 5D type for the full frame. More than that I don't need.

Meanwhile I'll continue taking pictures and having great fun doing it.

 

[awinphoto]

Nope... 7D isn't going anywhere, but if they upgrade the 5d series to justify it's premium over the 7D, i would anticipate what improvements the 7d2 would have.

 

[jrista]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

Personally... i don't think so.

the reason is simple:

If canon will end the 7D series, than Nikon will be alone (whit the D300s replacement) in the APS-C area without a real competitor. And the semipro APS-C marketplace is huge.

I highly doubt it. The 7D has a key position in Canon's professional lineup as the full 1.6x crop body. A lot of people need and want that extra reach, especially in a high resolution sensor. I don't think the 7D is going anywhere, on the contrary, I think it will be solidified as a key player in the Canon lineup as the crop-action body, hopefully with a significantly less noisy sensor and improved AF in its next release.

 

[moreorless]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

The arguement that Canon would kill the 7D and up the specs of the 70D to fill its boots never made sense to me, why would Canon kill the more credable brand in favour of the lesser brand when either could be used on the same product?

 

[K-amps]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

Canon has 4 lines in the APS-C arena: I have always thought, thats too much.

However I don't think they will get rid of the 7D. More likely the xxD or xxxD line might go as they merge into each other. The xxxxD line will stay since it gets buyers into the DSLR world, once they have lenses, they can upgrade.

The phenom was started with the xxxD Rebel... but now the buyers are a bit more specialized, hence 3 lines will work. It is like Toyota came up with the entry level car back in the day... the Corolla. It then grew in features and size and became as large as what the Corona started out with. But then they needed smaller models to replace the Corolla and they came with them as needed (similar to the xxxxD).

The 7D is the halo/ Flagship product for APS-C sensors, can't see them ditching that.

 

[AprilForever]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

The 7D is the halo/ Flagship product for APS-C sensors, can't see them ditching that.

Indeed. Although, an APS-C 1D body would be great...

 

[BDD]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

Kill the 7D?? Where did this rumor come from?? Ridiculous!!! LOL!!! It's not going to happen any time soon.

It's the best non-FF DSLR Canon has. And I don't think I'm really going out on a limb by saying that I think it might be the best non-FF DSLR on the market. If I were buying my first DSLR today it would definitely be the 7D bar none. At least if you go by specs. I haven't played around with one yet.

Would be interesting to see what Canon does to upgrade the 7D to "Mark II" status. Not that I'm consider it. How would they make the 7D better than it is? More high ISO range?

 

[nicku]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

Kill the 7D?? Where did this rumor come from?? Ridiculous!!! LOL!!! It's not going to happen any time soon.

the ''rumor'' came from many posts over various threads regarding the 7D combining with 5D in a 5DX...

hope canon will announce the 7D2 soon; i really need a fast , good quality (In terms of noise and sharpness) APS-C camera for my projects.

 

[D_Rochat]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

Kill the 7D?? Where did this rumor come from?? Ridiculous!!! LOL!!! It's not going to happen any time soon.

It's the best non-FF DSLR Canon has. And I don't think I'm really going out on a limb by saying that I think it might be the best non-FF DSLR on the market. If I were buying my first DSLR today it would definitely be the 7D bar none. At least if you go by specs. I haven't played around with one yet.

Would be interesting to see what Canon does to upgrade the 7D to "Mark II" status. Not that I'm consider it. How would they make the 7D better than it is? More high ISO range?

I've made posts with the idea that Canon MIGHT do away with the 7D and replace it with a better 70D. I think it MIGHT happen because it seems that they are restructuring the xD line-up. If someone this time last year said that the 1DIV and 1DsIII were going away and being replace with a single 1D, they would have been laughed at and told they were full of it.

The bottom line is that no one knows for sure what will happen with the current models. Even saying that they'll keep the 7D is speculation at this point.

 

[BDD]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

Sure. It's "speculation" to even say the 7D will stay. It just seems very unlikely Canon would decide to do away with a model they just brought to market. A camera that I assume has been doing very well in sales. Looks great on paper...etc. After spending the R&D/marketing $ used to bring this model to market.

If Canon DOES I'll be very surprised. I mean there's already a rumor floating around about the next version the "Mark II".

We'll see in a few months. Canon should be announcing the 5D models this month. So I'm guessing if there will be a "7D2" they'll announce that model soon after. Don't see Canon waiting till the end of the year to announce a possible 7D2.

 

[barryjphoto]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

It's called an 8D. I cannot fathom them doing away with it's top 1.6 body. I do think however they have far too many lower prosumers on board right now. I would position 2 T series bodies, one with a swivel display and the other without, and the swivel having a current 7D type AF. Then I would see an 8D with most of the current 7D features but a 5D style AF and nearly the same pixel count.

 

[briansquibb]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

Personally I thisnk the APS-C sensor is coming quickly to the point of commercial technology limitations - ie it becomes cheaper to move to a larger, lower tech sensor to get a bigger improvement.

I suspect the 7D line may stay with us but gradually fall behind larger sensor bodies and then APS-C will whither away except for the more consumer based products and the P&S/compact cameras

 

[kenraw]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

I personally think the 7D will stay and a mk2 version or x version will be released.
I would personally like the 7D to have a 12mp sensor instead if if meant sharper images and useable iso6400

at the minute I think the 7D is already pushing the sensor limit as the IQ isn't perfect

 

[JonJT]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

The xD line may or may not include a crop sensor once Canon finishes refreshing it for this new product cycle. Regardless, Canon will release a camera that assumes the duties of the 7D, with features that supersede that model. It might have a different name, perhaps something in the xxD line. In any case, Canon isn't so stupid as to abdicate the APS-C throne. Canon has been too successful in this niche to just drop it and walk away. Those of you with 60Ds and 7Ds WILL have an APS-C upgrade path sometime within the next year.

 

[Stu_bert]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

I don't think APS-C is reaching limits, Sony have a 24MP and the tech will continue to advance, but perhaps no longer bayer-based as Canon, Sony and many others look for ways to continue to grow the quality and resolution. Canon use their sensors in compacts and maybe in time in smartphones, and the tech flows both upwards into FF sensors and down into small sensors.

Specifically on the 7D - I think it will go the same route as the 1Ds/5D MK II, so the next 7D will be a larger (MP) sensor, better AF (same as the 5DX will have) but not with the build of the 1D series, and therefore also the longevity.

Whether they will consolidate lines - yup, but I think in the low-end. The 7D sits alongside in the Prosumer range with the 5DX. You need the entry level range to compete against high end compacts and mirrorless for those that want a dSLR, and then you need a bridge between the entry and the 7D, and that's what the xxD range does.

Merging the xxxD and the xxxxD to a single entry level would be the best place to consolidate I think

 

[unfocused]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

If someone this time last year said that the 1DIV and 1DsIII were going away and being replace with a single 1D, they would have been laughed at and told they were full of it.

Not true. The APS-H sensor has been an orphan for quite some time. Many people have been predicting its demise and the merging of the two lines. The only surprise was that Canon publicly announced they were ending the 1D instead of simply letting it fade away.

If there was any big surprise with the 1DX it was the reduction in megapixels.

Personally I think the APS-C sensor is coming quickly to the point of commercial technology limitations - ie it becomes cheaper to move to a larger, lower tech sensor to get a bigger improvement.

I think you are underestimating technology, which is usually a losing proposition. Manufacturers may be pushing the limits of what is available right now, but you can bet the research and development departments are working feverishly on the next phase. Fuji for one, has already announced new digital-organic hybrid technology that they claim allows APS-C to outperform full frame.

In theory, full frame will always outperform APS-C, but as technology moves forward, they are converging and may eventually reach the point where only a handful of specialized buyers care about the differences.

It's the best non-FF DSLR Canon has. And I don't think I'm really going out on a limb by saying that I think it might be the best non-FF DSLR on the market.

Definitely.

Canon has 4 lines in the APS-C arena: I have always thought, that's too much...The 7D is the halo/ Flagship product for APS-C sensors, can't see them ditching that.

True, but I wonder if Canon would really save much by combining or dropping some of the Rebel models. They all rely on hand-me-down technology, so the cost of minor differentiations may not be a major factor for Canon. I suspect that many Rebels are purchased in person (as opposed to mail-order) and sales people like to be able to move customers up in price by offering a variety (This is the low-end model, but for just $XX more, you can get this.)

 

[Chuck Alaimo]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

I've been using a 7D for just over a year and a half now and love it. Yes it has shortcomings, but, what camera doesn't really? With that said, as a beginner pro, the 7D does fill a niche for those of us who are breaking into the market and aren't doing so while being privately wealthy.

For a while now I have been considering going FF. And the only thing anywhere near my price range is the 5d series. But, the 5D mkii seriously lacks in AF capabilities. I just got done with a brief rental on a 5D mkII and after having the FF experience, I can say there is a definite market for the 7D series, and hope they don't turn the 7D FF. I have a feeling my bag may expand, and when it does it will have 2 bodies - a 5dmkiii (not sure if the rumors are gonna be true, ie a split 5d series with the mkiii and the 5dx, if it goes that way I'd probably go mkiii) improved 7DmkII for situations which i need range. My 70-200 2.8 will work very nice with the 1.6 crop, making it effectively a 110-320mm lens - if i went FF and only FF, i'd have to drop a couple grand more to get a fast super tele lens, or sacrifice a few stops with an extender.

With that said, I guess i don't really care if they call it an 8D or a 7d mkII. It's more what makes sense on a budget...

 

[Cbadie]

So I called back and got the same feedback. This shop is not ordering any more 7D for now because they think there may be a replacement coming....they are have done the same for the 5DMKII. The shop also noted that they may re-stock these after about a week or so since they do not know anything for sure.....

 

[dr croubie]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

Think about it this way:
When the 7D came out, canon engineers were well aware that the 1D4 (which came out a month or two later, i think) would be the last of its kind. R&D takes so long, that they already must have had the 1DX in the pipeline then, they knew the APS-H was dead, they knew the 1DX fast-framerate and FF sensor was the future. They knew that 1D3 and 1d4 users would be upset by the less-pixels-on-target (i don't think they're stupid enough not to). So they tested the market with the 7D mk1, for an APS-C small-bodied fast-framerate sports and wildlife camera, and it did well.
I see the 7D mk2 (or 2/3/4/6D) and being a step up again, maybe with the 45pt AF, maybe with a new somewhere in between 30pt or so. MP doesn't matter, either better-looking 18MP or somewhere up to 24 to compete with NEX-7 & (rumoured) D400, nice and sealed, maybe even a bump to 9fps. f/8 is a wish I don't know if it'll come true. But in short, besides the 1DX, there's going to be a cheaper FF camera (the 5D3), and a pro-specced APS-C sensor for birds and wildlife (if that's the 7D2 or a new name is not relevant), then all the xxD/rebels below...

 

[briansquibb]

Re: Canon will end the 7D series life?

I think you are underestimating technology, which is usually a losing proposition. Manufacturers may be pushing the limits of what is available right now, but you can bet the research and development departments are working feverishly on the next phase. Fuji for one, has already announced new digital-organic hybrid technology that they claim allows APS-C to outperform full frame.

In theory, full frame will always outperform APS-C, but as technology moves forward, they are converging and may eventually reach the point where only a handful of specialized buyers care about the differences.

I was not talking about technology advances but commercial technology advances. It is easily possible to make a 1.5 litre engine develop 1000bhp. But it is a lot cheaper to develop amd build an 8litre engine to develop 1200bhp.

Computer technology is ahead of sensor development (in its timeline) - but there hardly been any significant progress in PC 'power' for the last 3 years. The push has been in multi core - ie 2 cores go faster than 1, rather the speed the single core. Even the entry PC's now have a minimum of 2 cores, midrange have 4.

For sensors the easy (read cheap) way to get more from a sensor is to increase the size - and I believe we are getting close to that point