Marsu42 said:
Many people disagreed, but I have to say the future is so obvious because the only reason to keep the mirror around is the af systems, and once mirrorless af is competitive enough for joe sixpack it's bye bye traditional dslr. Only the pro bodies will keep the mirror for advanced af and because these people won't want to switch to an evf.
I fully agree with you, that "mirrorless is in the near future" and personally I welcome that. But exactly how "near" is the bright mirrorless future?
Two important areas are still very much "under construction" today:
1. AF ... yes, we are getting closer ... BUT the 650D hybrid AF implementation really is "first generation" and for sure still has a lot of limitations that keep it from being truly "hi-end" - compared to what current 7D user gruop expects in terms of AF performance.
2. Viewfinder ... the even bigger reason for a mirror box + prism in cameras! The majority of the 7D-target audience [= photo enthusiasts + semi-pro on a budget + pros for focal-length-limited/fast action assignments] would certainly not yet accept even the best current EVFs as an adequate replcement for the 7D viewfinder [not to mention a much larger and brighter FF DSLR viewfinder]. Myself included.
I expect construction in these 2 areas to take long enough, to definitely require a 7D II [if not even a Mk. III!] to "bridge the gap" until a truly "pro-grade" APS-C mirrorless will come to market.
Situation is the same for Nikon, btw ... I believe there will be an APS-C D300s successor (D400), because Nikon is not ready for a hi-end mirrorless either.
The next one or even two rounds of hi-end APS-C DSLRs [7D II ... 7D III] will also be required to help the 7D user-base getting their minds and wallets around the fact that they will also need to buy new lenses - on top of any investment in EF-S and EF glass - if they want to reap the benefit of more compact lenses, working natively, without adapter on their new mirrorless. ;-)