EOS Bodies

[arimus]

<p>A while back due to financial problems I ended up having to sell some of my camera gear, I'm now in the position where I can rebuild my equipment. I used to have 40D (having started with a 650, then a 30E and finally a 20D before upgrading to the 40D) so will be sticking with Canon. Looking now at the EOS 7D with a great deal of interest but wondered when Canon are likely to be launching either another x0D or xD model? Don't really want to get a 7D today and find if I had waited a few weeks I could have got 3D (or still got the 7D but with a lower price).</p>

<p>TIA</p>

<p>Richard.</p>

 

[craigd]

<p>So far there are only rumors. Last year some people were expecting a 60D announcement, but Canon brought out the 7D instead. The 5D Mark II has been out less than two years, so I wouldn't expect a Mark III until next year. There have been rumors of a 3D for some time, but Canon has yet to show any clear sign that they intend to introduce another single-digit series.</p>

<p>If you think you'd be happy with a 7D, I'd say go ahead and get one. You can drive yourself crazy chasing rumors.</p>

[mbkissel]

<p>If anyone knows when new models are coming out, they're not talking. I agree with Craig; if you want to use one now, then buy a 7D now. Great camera. You won't regret it. </p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>"Don't really want to get a 7D today and find if I had waited a few weeks I could have got 3D (or still got the 7D but with a lower price)."<br>

Unfortunately, the way things are going in the Digital camera world this is bound to happen. I waited and waited for a new version of the 5D to come out, but instead first the 40D, then a few months later the 50D came out. I already owned a 30D and although this camera is viewed as inferior to the much anticipated 40D and even the 50D, I did not bother to upgrade. Why, because the 30D satisfied all my needs at the time. <br>

A few months after proudly purchasing my 5D, the 5D Mk II came out and my investment was sharply lowered. Does that mean I need to sell my 5D ? Heck no I wanted a Full frame camera and that is what I got.<br>

Canon usually upgrades their digital cameras to keep up with their competitors every 4 or 5 years. So if you wait too long it might be too late. Just keep a close watch on the rumors and rebates that sellers are offering, this should be a tell tale sign.<br>

The downside of having the newest and latest gadgets is that you often have to upgrade the accessories also. Things such as batteries, vertical grips, computer software, computer space, then there is the learning curve... It might just be cheaper to keep her. </p>

[digitmstr]

<p>All you could do, if you are so inclined, is wait for the next big photo show and see what Canon announces. Other than that...it's all useless speculation.</p>

<p>Obvious observation du jour: if the EOS 7D has all/most of the features you need today, get it and start having fun with it.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Like Harry, I have often been a harbinger of new models -- as soon as I buy the old one, the new one comes out in a couple of months.</p>

<p>I just got a Canon T90, so I'm expecting the first EOS camera (650) any day now. :|</p>

<p>I'll try to let everyone know if I buy anything new, so you'll know to wait a while longer.</p>

<p>Anyhow, it seems that way. In seriousness, the best time to buy a new camera is after it has been out nearly a year. Any bugs will have been worked out, and unless it has been a major bow-wow they won't replace it for another year or two.</p>

[nathangardner]

<p>If you wait around for the new model you'll always be waiting b/c there will always be a new model. I'd get the 7D now, and maybe even look for a used one, I've seen them pop up for reasonable prices. If a X0D upgrade does come out, it won't be as good as the 7D. Other than that, the next release will most likely be the 1DS IV, which will probably be around $8500. I don't see a 3D anytime soon. So unless you want to wait for a camera that may never happen or are willing to sell your first born, then I'd say to get the 7D now.</p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>I'd say get the 7D. Now. It's an awesome camera and it's good enough that it doesn't matter what comes out next. I love mine. I'm a bit like JDM though; I just got a "new" EOS 650 and am having a blast playing with it.</p>

[steve_dunn2]

<p>Disclaimers: I have no inside knowledge of anything Canon is doing, and have a pretty poor overall track record at predicting new Canon products. Any <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward-looking_statement">forward-looking statements</a> below are speculative, and you should take them with a grain of salt.</p>

 

<p>As others have pointed out, DSLR technology advances quickly. The engineers at Canon are always working on both individual technologies and prototype bodies which will improve upon every single model in the lineup, and no matter which body you buy, sooner or later it will be replaced with a newer model. But that isn't the end of the world. If you're looking at a particular model today, and it meets or exceeds your needs, then it will still meet or exceed your needs once its replacement comes out, and by then, you'll have been using the camera and getting great pictures, which you wouldn't have been able to do if you didn't buy anything until the new model came out. I kept my 20D until I replaced it with a 7D last year. The 20D didn't know it was three versions out of date; it just kept taking pictures every bit as well as it did when it was brand new. There are tons of other people here who are also happily shooting with "obsolete" bodies.</p>

 

<p>Prices also tend to go down over time, so chances are pretty good that whatever camera you buy today will have a lower price at some time in the future. It might be next week, next month, next quarter, or later in the year, but the price will drop. Again, you could hold off, but then you'd miss who knows how many photo opportunities. Plus, if you wait until the new model comes out and then buy the new model, you'll be paying the new-and-shiny premium price. Or you could wait until the new model comes out, missing a bunch of photo opportunities in the meantime, then wait until the new model's price drops a few times, missing a bunch more photo opportunities ...</p>

 

<p>So there are lots of ways you could justify not buying anything, because there's always a new model and/or a price drop somewhere in the pipeline. But eventually you have to pull the trigger and buy it. If you find a body that makes you happy, at a price you can handle, go for it.</p>

 

<p>The 7D was just released last fall, as a brand new segment of the product line (it's a semi-pro 1.6x body which sits above the x0D but below the 5D family; Canon has never had a model in this position before), and is not due for replacement soon. Eventually, yes, it will be replaced, but it's relatively new, and it has pretty much the current level of all technologies used in Canon bodies.</p>

 

<p>The 50D is due for replacement. It's fallen behind both higher and lower models in the product line both in megapixels and in features, and while I'm too lazy to look up when all the current models were introduced, it's one of the older bodies in the current lineup. When will it be replaced? Dunno. Canon usually likes to introduce new models at, or shortly before, major photo equipment shows, and Photokina is coming up in September, so I don't think there'd be a great deal of surprise if a 60D were to appear late this summer. But as someone mentioned above, the 60D won't beat the 7D, at least not overall; it's one notch lower in the product line, and if the 60D is everything the 7D is and then some, it's completely killed the 7D, and Canon isn't dumb enough to do that. Its specs will likely tie the 7D in some areas (same or similar sensor and new metering system are good bets), but be closer to the 50D's specs in other areas (e.g. possibly the same or similar AF system, and a lower maximum frame rate than the 7D's 8 fps).</p>

[jim_krupnik]

<p>Forget the crystal ball trick. When would you like to start shooting pictures? Now? Great! The 7D is an awesome camera (in many ways better than even the older 5DII), and you can buy one right now. Even if there is a new announcement soon after you buy, or there is a price drop soon after you buy, it doesn't matter a hoot. It will still be a great camera then, and you will have already had the benefit of using it for a period of time that could never be replaced by a future, or cheaper model that you simply can't use today.</p>

<p>Even at that, this is 2010, and new cameras are not expected to deliver great leaps in technology that was the norm for the past decade. The latest digital cameras are feature rich, and technologically mature compared to the reality of 2005. How could you lose? Besides, it will likely take several years for you to really master all that the 7D has to offer, so you might as well get started now. Any future camera that catches your eye is going to be built on the 7D foundation anyway, so it is a perfect launching point into the future. It is quite different than even a 50D, and although it looks more like a 5DII control setup, it is well beyond even that camera. Now is the time to buy a great camera, and meet the future of photography on your own terms.....</p>