The follow-up for the Canon EOS 7D Mark II has been talked about for the last year or two, with varying degrees of information being passed onto the rumor sites. This has obviously lead to a lot of speculation about the future of the flagship APS-C shooter Canon.

We're now being told that no EOS 7D Mark III is coming down the pipeline from Canon. Instead, we're going to see a replacement for the EOS 80D that will move slightly upmarket to cover the prosumer and enthusiast APS-C shooters.

We're told that there will be an EOS R camera body that will come to replace the EOS 7D Mark II. However, we weren't told whether or not the replacement would still be APS-C or if we'll see a full frame camera in its place.

We've heard an APS-C EOS R camera body prototype exists, but Canon themselves have said their future is in full frame cameras due to their higher margins and the desires of the marketplace.

Maybe we'll see two separate “sports” EOS R cameras in the next year or two, one to get the EOS 7D Mark II users and another later on to entice the EOS-1D X Mark II (or Mark III) shooters. As with the switch from film to digital, I imagine EOS-1 professionals will be the last to fully embrace the EOS R system.

Take all of this with a grain of salt, as the information hasn't come from known sources. It just happens to make a lot of sense to us.

More to come…

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159 comments

  1. "It just happens to make a lot of sense to us."

    I'm interested in your final comment, as this surely only makes sense if you think Canon are indeed going to phase out cameras with mirrors?

    If one believes Canon really are going to keep mirrored and mirrorless going, as they have said, then I'd have thought normal replacement cycles (allowing for some stretched resource when launching a new line) would make more sense?

    I ask out of interest in what else you are hearing, rather than coming out to profess either that the R-series is or isn't the end of the mirror :)

    Stoical.
  2. Wont be to surprised if indeed 7D series was killed off and x0D series was bumped up tonits previous status.
    So back to where the 50D and below were? I could live with that.
  3. The latest iterations of the x0D series were already quite close to the 7D series.
    So a merge sounds reasonable.
    But I would be disappointed if there was too much drop down to x0D and only a little step up in 7D direction.
    We'll see...
  4. It's an interesting direction - I've been pretty curious as to what would happen with the 7D series for a while. I always felt that the 7D series was a lot of camera for the price, but the landscape has changed since the 7D II. Lots of lower cost APS-C cameras have a high frame rate now, but not all seem to have the same build quality. I mean, a number of mirrorless cameras are getting outrageous burst speeds when using an electronic shutter, and maybe those are where Canon expect's the competition to be for a 7D-type camera, hence possibly a move to mirrorless.

    Maybe that sweet spot for high-speed DSLR cameras is getting too narrow to slot in between the new entries with high frame rates and the 1D series of top end FF speed demons. I guess we'll see
  5. That could be bad news for an awful lot of amateur wildlife shooters out there who have been putting up with the horrid sensor in the 7D2 in the hope of something better. I'm not yet convinced that mirrorless cameras can handle the focusing required using long lenses and tiny subjects. I know my M50 isn't up to it.
  6. It rather seems obvious to me, with slew of new RF lenses. Or... I believe we will se "last bastion" of Canon DSLRs. 7D III is believable. Also 90D and some kind of 1D. and that´s the end of the road I´d guess.
  7. The latest iterations of the x0D series were already quite close to the 7D series.
    So a merge sounds reasonable.
    But I would be disappointed if there was too much drop down to x0D and only a little step up in 7D direction.
    We'll see...

    Until they add the extra controls dropped from the 50D such as the back joystick I don't think they are comparable.
  8. Not a new direction. Simply reverting back to pre 2009. I actually like my 7d2. If the 7d2 had offered video comparable to the Gh4 , or a 7d3 to a Gh5 I wouldn't have left Canon .

    they can't easily. they would have to drop the articulating screen, then basically you'd have a 7D Mark III anyways. the pre 2009 camera basically turned into the 7D. The 60D was stripped down from the pre 2009. that's what it will be going forward it seems.

    this rumor seems to be stating that outside of maybe some better performance and perhaps better weathersealing, we're getting a 90D and the 7D Mark III just doesn't happen. the pre-2009 camera line ceases to exist.
  9. I have been fearing this for some months already.
    A few months ago, at a gathering for the R-series, a Canon employee (and not just anybody) told that Canon was perfectly happy with competing the D500 with the 7D Mk II: it is so much cheaper that it keeps Nikon from gaining too much market share and thus gives Canon "other opportunities". He would say no more.

    But whether this particulat rumor is true or not: it was clear that a top-of-the-line cropped camera for action photographers by Canon is far away.

    If by the end of this year, no 7D Mk III is anounced, I will switch to the D500. I want the best cropped action camera there is available. Price is not that important.
    If Canon does not want to offer it, then I have only one choice; to change brand.
    I am sure my present Canon rear will sell quite well, so no problem in that area.

    This does not make me happy, after using Canon SLRs and SLRs for 30 years.
    But I am sure that those that like to reply "go to Nikon then" to posters who write about relative advantages of the Nikon D500, will be quite content to read this.
  10. I agree completely with you, and a s a message to Canon, it is now 5 years ago pretty much since the 7DMKII came out and If there is no serious replacement camera with better AF and Sensor, I'm selling my Canon Gear (2 x 7DMKII, 600mm IS II, 400 DO II, etc etc,) and going back to Nikon..

    As a birder I need reach and smaller files, and its just not about selling camera bodies to me and others its about long expensive lenses too, not delivering a 7DMKIII will have some very serious bottom line implications.


    That could be bad news for an awful lot of amateur wildlife shooters out there who have been putting up with the horrid sensor in the 7D2 in the hope of something better. I'm not yet convinced that mirrorless cameras can handle the focusing required using long lenses and tiny subjects. I know my M50 isn't up to it.
  11. I am possibly crazy to think this, but i'm expecting the following quote to mean that the M5 mark II could be the 7D replacement. If a higher end EOS M sells well there could be a crop R in the future...

    "The second camera we’re told that is coming for sure in 2019 is a replacement to the Canon EOS M5. We’re told this camera will feature an all-new 24mp sensor and would put a larger gap in features between the top of the EOS M lineup and the EOS M50."
  12. ... (if) no 7D Mk III is announced, I will switch to the D500...

    This is one reason why I don't believe the rumor. While I usually do an eye-roll when people threaten "I'm switching..." I do think this is a reasonable concern that Canon is surely aware of. Several thoughts (some conflicting)

    • For birders, it's all about the lenses and unless you have the means to buy a $7,000+ big white lens, Nikon, Sigma and Tamron offer the only options over 400mm. My point is that the camera body is really just an accessory for the lens, so switching camera brands is not as big of a deal as it might be in other cases. On top of that, the cost of travel is often a much bigger investment than the equipment. All that means that these buyers are less bound to Canon than others.
    • It's very hard to move customers downward, as Canon found with the 50D to 60D move. So, the 90D would need to be a significant upgrade in fps, ergonomics and durability to hold on to customers.
    • On the other hand, I have found the higher megapixel count, improved autofocus, additional f8 focus points and improved low-light performance of the 5DIV to often overcome the lack of reach and slower fps when compared to the 7DII. (I find the buffer a bigger problem than the slower frame rate.) In the back of my mind, I've thought that if the 5D series ever gets to about 35mp, it would pretty much eliminate my desire for the 7D. However, we are a generation or more away from that happening.
    • Nikon tried abandoning this market and eventually found they had to come back to it in a costly way in order to retain and try to win back customers. I find it hard to believe that Canon would repeat the same mistake.
    • Canon would need to have one heck of a lot of improvements in their mirrorless bodies to compete with the 7D and I don't think the technology is there yet, so I find that option implausible.
  13. Until they add the extra controls dropped from the 50D such as the back joystick I don't think they are comparable.

    My main reason for the 7D2 was the robustness. I wanted a camera that could withstand rugged use in poor conditions, yet be more portable than the 1DX. No other option in the Canon lineup than this beast!
  14. I am possibly crazy to think this, but i'm expecting the following quote to mean that the M5 mark II could be the 7D replacement. If a higher end EOS M sells well there could be a crop R in the future...

    would be kind of impossible really for Canon to think this. none of the M bodies are weather sealed, and certainly none of the lenses are. then you have the fact that outside of maybe the 32mm 1.4 most of the lenses are not enthusiast / prosumer, but more consumer lenses.
  15. The latest iterations of the x0D series were already quite close to the 7D series.
    So a merge sounds reasonable.
    But I would be disappointed if there was too much drop down to x0D and only a little step up in 7D direction.
    We'll see...
    Of course we’ll be disappointed. People aren’t going to pay 7D money for 80D camera. I hope I’m wrong.

    I need a new 7D, and it would be better if EOS R line offer 7D alternative

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