Canon EOS 7D mark II … is finally real

Canon EOS 7D mark II (image from Canon press release)

A month ago, I wrote of the Canon rumor mill and the forthcoming EOS 7D mk II.  Today, Canon officially announced that camera.

  • With 65 auto-focus points, your subject can anywhere in the frame (far away from center) and still achieve focus
  • Low-light shooting to ISO 16,000  (push it to ISO 51,400, but with added noise)
  • Excellent auto-focus in low light
  • Burst shooting at 10 frames-per-second
  • HD video at 60 frames-per-second
  • Uncompressed HD video output via HDMI connector
  • Built-in intervalometer  (with any other Canon DSLR, an external Canon intervalometer costs $130)
  • Priced less than $2000

—>    Canon EOS 7D mark II – first impression

—>    Scott Kelby’s first impression of the 7D mk II

I have been using the 5D mk II and chose not to upgrade to the 5D mk III when that was released (about 18 months ago).  The 7D mk II is the camera I was expecting and need for video and sports applications. (I do wish it had a tilting LCD screen.) On some points, Nikon’s cameras may still have an edge over the Canon 7D mk II.  For example, the recently announced Nikon D750 includes Wi-Fi, a tilting LCD screen, may yet have better image quality at ISO 12,800.  Yet, the 7D mk II price tag is $500 less than the D750 !

The whole Canon vs. Nikon thing is so over-done.  Both companies succeed in pushing each other to  new heights.  Fact is … my lenses and other accessories are all Canon and I don’t care if a particular Nikon camera has one additional feature.  Cameras are like shoes … the most important feature is how it feels to you.

 

The Next Big Thing – The “Buzz” Around New Cameras

Regarding possible upcoming cameras, the rumor mill regarding Canon cameras is ridiculous. Back in 2007, the rumors were circulating about the upcoming EOS 5D mark-II, which was not actually available until 2009.  Sometimes, I wonder if the manufacture is secretly feeding the anticipation buzz.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I am patiently awaiting the EOS 7D mark-II, a revision of the 7D.  Over the past 12 to 18 months, rumors have been cropping up every month and the predictions just keep slipping further out, month by month.  The latest rumor suggests the camera will be announced the Photokina show in September 2014.

 

Why 7Dm2?  Because it promises a few features that would be useful to me.  First, faster auto-focus and high-speed shooting for sports (maybe 10 frames/second), similar or better than the existing 7D model. Second, auto-focus for video similar to the 70D, which was released several months ago.
These features are not curiosities that I simply “want”; these are limitations in my current DSLR, which I seriously need to remedy.

Canon to make Big Splash in September

If the camera is announced in September, there is only a very small chance that it would actually be available to purchase by end of this year.