A few friends asked me if they should get Canon’s newest DSLR* 7D. The thing is that camera is as big and heavy as the 5D Mark II. Nothing wrong with that. I use my 5D Mark II with the BG-E6 grip, making the camera the same size and weight as a 1D series. The problem is that these friends aren’t dedicated photographers plus they have kids and lugging a few kilos of equipment around is a bit difficult. The video mode is great feature for them though since they usually take small clips of their kids and not having to lug the camcorder around is a good thing.
If you look can Canon’s US line-up shown below you can see that Canon has opened up their line-up a bit more, i.e. more tiers plus also to match Nikon in terms of the D300 & D300S. The Malaysian price conversion factor is roughly 3.85-3.9 times the US price.
You’ll see the price ranges like this: Tier 1: $6999 and $3999 (1-Series). Tier 2: $2699 (5D Mark II), Tier 3: $1699 (7D), Tier 4: $1199, Tier 5: $700-900 (xxxD series/Rebels) and Tier 6: $599 (xxxxD series/Rebels).
So which tier has no video yet? The 1-Series of course and video is going there of course but that’s out of this discussion. Next is the EOS-50D. While only a year old, it lacks video, and comes with a sensor that’s not much better than the 40D. The thing is that the 500D actually trumps the 50D in the sense that it has the same sensor but has 1080 and 720 video! So of course if you’re looking for a camera that ergonomically better than the 500D (that’s the only reason why I won’t get the xxxD series, but the 7D is a bit over your budget (or size & weight limits), then you’re actually looking at the 50D. No video you say! Of course, so I think a 60D is definitely coming from the tier above. The only question is when? I mean Canon has a problem in terms of if they just dump video into the 60D, it’s gonna look like the 500D. Well, they can but they might need to cut the price a bit then. Oh well, my 7D’s coming when my 40D turns 3 in 6 months. Joy!
* The term DSLR or Digital SLR is a bit overused now considering the fact that most SLRs sold today are digital anyway. Just a pet peeve of mine that now every model has a “D” in there somewhere. 5D, 500D, D300, etc.