Clint Milby
One of the most anticipated cameras appears to finally be making its way to market as the legendary Canon 7D gives way to the 7D Mark II. Rumors have been circulating for the past two years as to when a successor to the 7D would surface. The most recent rumors now say the new model will be formally announced the first of September 2014, just prior to Photokina. What’s different about these most recent yarns are the fact that Canon has slashed the price of the camera by $500.
Everyone is desperate to see the new 7D. When I say desperate, I mean like the desperation of people who see Bigfoot or UFOs. Case in point, the above picture which made the rounds this week is purported to show a prototype of the 7D Mark II under the guise of a bed sheet. I totally get it too because the Canon 7D was my very first DSLR, and I loved it dearly.
Since 2009, the Canon EOS 7D has become a staple of indie filmmakers and photographers alike. The camera served to enable a variety of filmmakers to shoot music videos, commercials, features and even porn with a DSLR. It also served as a gateway for many photographers to shoot stunning HD video for the very first time.
Although the 5D Mark II has been credited with starting the HDSLR Revolution, its use for video capture was more or less a happy accident. The 7D was truly designed by Canon to be a moviemaking machine. With a dedicated start/stop button for video, a full metal chasis and speciality gaskets and seals to guard against the elements one might face during the rigors of film production, it truly was a movie making machine.
In regards to the 7D MarK II, here’s what our little birds are saying:
- A GPS system
- Pop-up flash
- Built-in Wi-Fi
- 20 megapixel sensor
- ISO exposure of 100-12,800 extending to 25,600
- 1/8000 shutter along with a Quiet shutter mode
- Phase detect Auto Focus (19 area)
- Continual shooting up to 8 frames per second
- Buffer sizes of 15 for RAW files
- 126 for JPEG files
- 3.0″ 1040k dot LCD touch screens
- viewfinder with 100% coverage and a 1.15x magnificatin
Sounds awesome right? I suppose, but despite what I’m sure is a solid DSLR, it lacks two key features paramount to every shooter today: 4k video and RAW video. With the Sony’s A7s, Panasonic’s GH4 and BMCC4k, the 7D Mark II may not be the dream camera we were all hoping for. Stay tuned for more details as they arise.
