Rumoured Canon 7D Mark II specs

[kadajawi]

This is interesting. If it is accurate, the 7D Mk II is going to get beaten up left right, up and down by the Pentax K-3 in terms of stills. The K-3 is just as robust, it can burst for 24 frames in raw, it has 24 MP, it is _always_ very quiet, and it is lighter and much smaller with at least as good ergonomics. It is as if Canon doesn't have any interest in APS-C anymore.

 

@MysticPictures: Where can Magic Lantern move to? I don't recall anyone having had much success hacking Nikon firmware, and with that Pentax is out of the game too, as they use the same sensor (unless the Magic Latern guys can form some sort of partnership with either company). Same with Sony. Canon seems the most hackable, or is it just because of more interest in Canon?

 

I think the main problem with the 7D Mk II will be Canon wanting to push videographers towards their Cinema EOS line. It just can't be too good for video, unless they are scared of the GH4 and need something to compete with it.

 

Currently I think Sony is the most interesting company, thanks to their alliance with Olympus on the stabilizer and their BIONZ X processor. However except for their dedicated video cameras they haven't unlocked all the potential of that processor. They too have an interest in pushing customers towards their more professional outings.

 

In that sense it is Nikon, Pentax and Olympus who could do the most, if they'd invest in video. There is no professional video/cinema camera they could canibalize. Pentax has good, Olympus great in body stabilization (though foolishly Pentax has deactivated it...), but they both claim they can't be bothered about video (then again, why has Pentax added a headphone jack?).

[hmcindie]

This is so true. Canon is letting Sony catch up and beat them. Canon doesnt care for this segment and this mk2 isnt a necessary upgrade.

 

When has Sony catched up to Canon? Only in the mirrorless market. My Canon 7d (which is so old it's funny) still takes better pictures than the Nex-7 (24mp is a bit too much). I cannot fathom how the Nex-7 gets so huge DXOMark scores compared to Canon 7d. Yeah, in ISO 100 the shadows are missing the Canon pattern noise but it has a huge amount of colour noise when pumped up.

 

Now the A7r is great on the stills side, on par with the D800. But on the video side? A bit crippled with its video just slightly falling behind the D800 because of the AVCHD codec.

[tungah]

True. And that doesn't have mean a bad thing.

I would buy a Canon camera over a Blackmagic/panasonic one even if they're better- if the difference is not big enough.

It's mainly because I live in Egypt, and as Canon is a huge company they are extremely existent in the market here, I can find service, advice, repair, a huge amount of accessories and a great sale and re-sale value. That applies to nearly all countries outside the UK, US, etc. It may not be as important for you guys in the UK and US and I imagine if I lived there I would use BM/Panasonic/Sony instead of Canons, but I unfortunately don't.

When a C300 failed on me a couple of months back (it was weirdly working but wouldn't respond any record button) I immediately made a phone call and found professionals answering me politely. a day after they picked the camera up from my house, a day after they dropped it off, perfectly working. Truly remarkable really given where I am. I can't imagine having a blackmagic fail on me here, Oh God! :D

I just can rely on Canon. Disappointed by their marketing-model and line-up but, I can trust them.

 

Exact same thing here in Brazil.

Very difficult to find Pana/Olympus lenses for sale here. And good luck in finding someone to sell the lenses to. No one is gonna buy them, unless you're practically giving them for free. It's a very frustrating situation outside US and UK.

I think the way to go here is GH4 + Nikon/Canon lenses with added bulk of Speedbooster. Ok for video, not so awesome for stills.

[Andrew Reid]

Added bulk of Speed Booster? The SB is smaller than the standard Nikon adapter. The Nikon 50mm F1.4 is similar size to Nokton 25mm F0.95 when paired with Speed Boooster on the GH3.

[pablogrollan]

Could it be that the new 7D becomes the first DSLR to implement the new h.265 codec in video mode?

 

That way it would not be 422 nor super-high-bitrate and certainly would be aimed at a different crowd than the Cinema EOS line... Same video file size but double the quality, slightly improved dynamic range and low light performance and maybe a headphone jack.

 

Sure they could add peaking and zebras (costs nothing really) + some other firmware related features, but delivering the same concept of "non-gradable" video with the much improved quality of h.265 would make it competitive in certain segments.

[eosjames]

I agree with Kadajawi. 7DMkII will be a small notch above the T5i. I personally would not be interested if it does not have at least 4K.

[Germy1979]

Even if it did have 4k, the codec will be cannibalized on general purpose. Simply for the fact that 2 Cinema EOS cams will become insanely irrelevant based on image quality alone. Justifying built in ND for that price gap will be for lack of a better word: stupid.

Although that's never stopped them before. Lol

[James Benet]

7D Mk II specs will probably be underwhelming considering the track record of Canon in Video for DSLRs.

 

It will probably have much better ISO performance than the 7D and ad a couple of MP to the equation. 

 

My educated guess is that the 7D mk II will be this:

 

-20MP ISO 25600 Better Hi Iso Performance than original 7D.

-Firt ever hybrid Canon Viewfinder, changes to EVF for Video and Silent Shooting mode.- This will be the killer feature!

-Phase detect CMOS like the 70D for improved AF in Video mode.

-AF in stills will be improved in some minor way.

-1080p 60 at long last

-Same 4:2:0 video to card. Same 5D Mk III bit rates.

-Touch screen capacitive- NO Flip Out screen 

-Still some aliasing but reduced video moire just like the 5D Mk III    

-Same softness as 5D Mk III will need post sharpening. Not GH quality 1080p.

-Wifi  plus assisted GPS

-NO 4k  of any kind

-Headphone jack

-USB 3.0 Transfers from Camera

-Center sensor crop EX Tele mode like the GH series for video.

-SDHC and CF slots

-HDR Photo mode like other recent cams.

 

I would be surprised if this extra stuff was included:

720p 120

4:2:2 HDMI out 1080p 8 or 10 bits

Time Code

 

 

NAB rollout?

[Julian]

NAB? It's a photo camera. Which also does video...

 

Your specs list wouldn't surprise me. I don't expect the hybrid viewfinder though.

[MysticPictures]

When has Sony catched up to Canon? Only in the mirrorless market. My Canon 7d (which is so old it's funny) still takes better pictures than the Nex-7 (24mp is a bit too much). I cannot fathom how the Nex-7 gets so huge DXOMark scores compared to Canon 7d. Yeah, in ISO 100 the shadows are missing the Canon pattern noise but it has a huge amount of colour noise when pumped up.

 

Now the A7r is great on the stills side, on par with the D800. But on the video side? A bit crippled with its video just slightly falling behind the D800 because of the AVCHD codec.

Compare Sony's implementation of the AVCHD codec to Panasonic's. Not even close. Sony has underwhelmed greatly on the video side. As snazzy as the A7s look and perform on the stills side, they're a huge letdown on the video side. 

[MysticPictures]

7D Mk II specs will probably be underwhelming considering the track record of Canon in Video for DSLRs.

 

It will probably have much better ISO performance than the 7D and ad a couple of MP to the equation. 

 

My educated guess is that the 7D mk II will be this:

 

-20MP ISO 25600 Better Hi Iso Performance than original 7D.

-Firt ever hybrid Canon Viewfinder, changes to EVF for Video and Silent Shooting mode.- This will be the killer feature!

-Phase detect CMOS like the 70D for improved AF in Video mode.

-AF in stills will be improved in some minor way.

-1080p 60 at long last

-Same 4:2:0 video to card. Same 5D Mk III bit rates.

-Touch screen capacitive- NO Flip Out screen 

-Still some aliasing but reduced video moire just like the 5D Mk III    

-Same softness as 5D Mk III will need post sharpening. Not GH quality 1080p.

-Wifi  plus assisted GPS

-NO 4k  of any kind

-Headphone jack

-USB 3.0 Transfers from Camera

-Center sensor crop EX Tele mode like the GH series for video.

-SDHC and CF slots

-HDR Photo mode like other recent cams.

 

I would be surprised if this extra stuff was included:

720p 120

4:2:2 HDMI out 1080p 8 or 10 bits

Time Code

 

 

NAB rollout?

 

So who are these changes supposed to satisfy? Videographers? Not even close. Not at $2,000. Canon will have to pull a rabbit out from there sleeve on this one to entice videographers. They've been left in the dust by the Blackmagic's and Panasonics. They need a game changing feature the likes of IBIS or 422. 70D autofocus system isn't going to cut it.