There’s always chatter on the internet. For the longest time it was about the 7D which Canon officially confirmed last week as an ultra high end APS-C model camera designed specifically for professionals that want to stay with an APS-C sensor. Speaking strictly from the paper specs, the 7D does in fact appear to be the best offering in the APS-C format from any camera manufacturer. However, paper stats mean nothing it won’t be until the 7D is officially launched that users will be able to judge for themselves the quality of the 7D versus the competition.
With the 7D being officially confirmed, talk around the web has shifted to a vague ”3D” camera model from Canon. Lots of hopeful Canon fanboys are suggesting that it will be essentially a Full Frame 7D, that is to say utilizing the 7D’s allegedly improved Autofocus system and featuring a greatly enhanced Frames Per Second burst and possibly the weather sealing of the 7D. Is there any truth to this rumor? Is Canon looking at developing a pro FF body primarily targetted towards sports and wildlife like the 7D?
I suppose I could build the suspense before I answer but I won’t do that. No, there will be no Full Frame 3D. Here’s my thoughts as to why that will be. First let’s take a look at Canon’s offerings. Canon’s DSLR models essentially fall into 3 types of sensors:
- APS-C
- APS-H
- Full Frame
APS-C
The most common and the type which features the most camera bodies is the APS-C sensor. Canon currently offers 6 DSLR camera bodies fitted with an APS-C sensor. Needless to say that the APS-C is most common sensor type among entry level DSLRs and that is why Canon can effectively offer 6 different bodies. Nonetheless, in my personal opinon even in this popular format the product offering is crowded and Canon would be well served to consolidate and phase out some of these bodies (I think 3 or possibly 4 bodies would be better suited to the market).
The newly announced 7D is the top of the line APS-C camera and is designed specifically for those who want the very best camera they can get while still utilizing the APS-C sensor. This camera is not meant to lure users of Canon’s Full Frame or APS-H cameras based on its intended feature set alone. That might quite possibly still happen but its not its Canon’s intended purpose (more on this further down).
APS-H
Canon has offered its pro sports/wildlife targetted camera in the Canon MK-1Ds III and 1D MK III cameras fitted with APS-H sensors. The APS-H sensor is larger than the APS-C and features a 1.3x crop effect versus the 1.6x crop effect of the APS-C. If any of Canon’s own current offerings is challenged by the new 7D it would be the APS-H cameras and not the Full Frame Canon 5D MK II. The 7D is uncomfortably close to almost all of the stats of the 1Ds MK III camera as it stands currently. The difference between the APS-C crop factor of 1.6x and the APS-H of 1.3x is not nearly as dramatic as 1.6x is to Full Frame cameras.
Full Frame
Canon currently features only one Full frame offering, the Canon 5D MK II. The Canon 5D MK II has been an excellent seller for Canon with most retailers struggling to keep enough in stock. That’s the kind of problem that every company loves to have. It is selling extremely well and looks to remain that way for some time. Its MSRP price of $2699 and extensive feature list positions it very well to compete against the other full frame competitors in its price range (the Sony A900 and the Nikon D700). Although Sony is now offering a trimmed down A850 for $2000 the Canon 5D MK II offers enough reasons to justify the $700 cost difference over the Sony, mainly the HD video recording and excellent high ISO performance. At this time there is no sizeable pressure for Canon to release another full frame camera body based on the competition. By that I mean, compared to its immediate competition Canon has no measurable market pressure to produce anything more than the current 5D MK II. If Canon produced another Full Frame camera would consumers buy it? Of course they would, but Canon usually sticks to a schedule of producing new bodies as the market demands it. There’s no greatly superior competition to the 5D MK II on the market yet.
I mentioned previously that of Canon’s own offerings the one that appears to be most threatened by the 7D is the Canon 1D(s) MK III models. The 7D stats challenge the 1D(s) MKIII and possibly even makes some valid arguments that it could be the better camera (on paper). While compared to the 5D MK II you are looking at completely different cameras with completely different intended purposes. The 7D features a 60% crop factor, that’s a massive difference versus Full Frame, but compared to the 1Ds MKIII its only 19% difference in effective crop factor. At 18 megapixels the 7D is only 3 short of the 1DS MkIII (15%), the 7D features a greatly upgraded AF system, retails for $5,300 less than the 1Ds MK III and the 7D is weather sealed no less! That 1Ds MKIII is getting really hard to justify the cost difference based on paper specs alone.
So what will the next camera from Canon be? Canon has shown a clear commitment to the APS-H sensor. Now that they’ve released the 7D the differences between it and the 1Ds MKIII are hard to distinguish. Its time that Canon releases a successor to the 1Ds MKIII. I’m presuming that they will stick to their tradition and name it the Canon 1D(s) MKIV. However, if they do in fact title their next camera the “3D” I’m confident that it will not be a full frame sensor but will in fact be an APS-H offering and will be the clear successor to the 1Ds MK III. I’m confident that it will feature a significant boost in Megapixels and advantages across the board compared to both the previous model AND the 7D.
At this time, I see no compelling reason for Canon to release another Full Frame camera, perhaps when Nikon releases their own successor to the popular D700 then Canon might have a reason to revisit their Full Frame offering(s) but until that happens there is nothing on the market that calls for another Full Frame camera. Is their current model perfect? No, no camera is perfect but it is “good enough” that its selling off the shelves and that’s “good enough” for Canon right now.
