Is the Long Overdue Canon 7D Mark III Arriving in Early 2019?

Is the Long Overdue Canon 7D Mark III Arriving in Early 2019?

It’s long been assumed that the successor to Canon’s cropped-sensor stalwart, the 7D Mark II, will arrive in 2019. We’re now getting news that an announcement might be coming in the first quarter of the new year.

The Mark II was announced in 2014, offering very appealing specifications at a very accessible price point. No other DSLR from Canon has waited this long to be upgraded and its successor is long overdue, especially, as noted by TheNewCamera, given that Canon does not have a flagship APS-C DSLR after the Mark II was discontinued earlier this year.

Given the age of its predecessor, improving its specifications won’t be difficult, but what can we expect from the Mark III? A fully articulating screen seems a certainty, as does a boost to the number of megapixels and autofocus points. TheNewCamera suggests that it will contain the new Digic 8 processor and will offer video shooters 4K at 60 fps, a significant step up from the Full HD on the Mark II, and a direct challenge to its Nikon equivalent, the D500

One of the biggest appeals of the original 7D was its fast burst rate, giving stills shooters a very tasty 8 fps that was then upgraded to 10 fps with the Mark II. The Mark III might seek to push this a little further, allowing it to trump the 10 fps of the Sony a7 III and the D500. Combined with improved high ISO performance, wifi, and improved battery life, Canon, with its massive choice of lenses, might be able to create a strong option at a time when many are shifting to mirrorless systems.

What are your expectations, and can the 7D Mark III make an impression when the likes of the Fuji X-T3 are providing such solid specifications for run-and-gun hybrid shooters?

Andy Day's picture

Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He's addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means.

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21 Comments

Oh God!!! I've just bought a mk.ii and I'm struggling to get to grips with that !!! I've got enough technology to be getting on with thank you !!

I sure hope so. I shoot the MKII quite a bit for my ski imagery. When the light is bright the camera is great but in low-light it really struggles. IQ takes a big hit aver ISO 1000. More AF points would be very welcome too.

For a while I was unsure if I should get the 80D (newer tech) or the 7D Mark II (faster performance) while waiting out the Mark III, and I ended up now owning both. I notice that the 80D handles the lower thousands ISO better, but the 7D Mark II pulls through more detail at the higher end when compared side by side. Albeit neither is usable in the higher range, haha. I think I have my 7D Mark II Auto ISO capped at like 1600, maybe lower. I'd really love to get that number up for the Mark III.

Ha, no. (ISO)

in 2019 people still buy overpriced aps-c cameras?

Don't know yet. I'll get back to you in a couple weeks or so.

in 2019 people still talk down about aps-c?

7DII is NOT discontinued. The old productnumbers has just been replaced with new productnumbers for packages/kits including the Canon WiFi SD-card as standard.
PS. I would find a 7DIII interesting if it (ever?) happens, but I'm still a happy 7DII user :-)

Aha. Thanks for clarifying. I checked two or three sources, all saying that it had been discontinued but that makes much more sense.

If it had focus stacking like Olympus I might be interested, that would be 1000x more important that wifi. If not no more new Canon's for me.

It’ll have 4K with an 8X crop at 20 FPS, and it’ll go all the way up to 6400 ISO

I love my 7d mkii if it wasn't for a majority of my photos being concerts it'd probably keep using it. But finally putting it and the sigma 18-35 up for sale.

As a day one shooter and still using. I would like to see the intelligence of the AF improved over more points. Increase of MP count would be nice but not needed. An articulating screen is an obvious addition. An actually useable 4k. 60/120 1080 would be an awesome addition to video capabilities.

To what it is worth I've been completely satisfied with the 7d2 and will keep it as a back up to the 7d3 because my accusations are way too high to sell used and from what I originally spent for the day one price.

4K at 60 fps? From Canon? Is the release date April 1?

I don't have a lot of hope. If it's typical of Canon, it will be another ho-hum incremental improvement. But I'll keep an open mind.

I am interested in the specs, but waiting for the 7Dmkiii has forced me to move on with my kit. We'll see what a new 7D brings to the table (if it even comes to dinner :/). I want to see that 7dmkii autofocus system ramped up.

If it is to be announced I will definitely be paying close attention at the absolute minimum.

I would find it a terrible idea to introduce a flippy screen and not really what the 7D line is about (heavy duty, all weather, reliable). I don't understand wishes like this, or other fancy user conveniences. This camera is a "mini 1DX companion". In that regard it is in no way overpriced. Hear that damn smoothy creamy shutter that animals barely notice above 20-30 meters, even at 10FPS. That's the kind of "non-feature" the 7D2 for example is irreplaceable to me.
The only fancy feature I agree would be helpful is that the screen is touch sensitive so focusing in live view or for video is a tad easier/faster.
Then for the less fancy features I wish:
- Better high ISO handling, even if I find it quite good it wasn't on par with Nikon at release date
- Better dynamic range (that is an area the 7D2 is a bit limitated imo)
- One or two more buttons around the mount, placed higher than the one that serves the dof preview by default as it's not super comfortable to reach (I use it to switch to single point AF so I would like to have 0 difficulty to press it)
- Lossless compressed raw is probably a done deal with cr3 but I wish it anyway
- Better battery life
- Quick delete files (like double press the delete button like with the Nikons, couldn't find a similar procedure)
- Make the dual cards slots be the same flavor and same speed

"No other DSLR from Canon has waited this long to be upgraded and its successor is long overdue..."

That's incorrect. The timespan between the original 7D's announcement and the 7D Mark II was 5 years and 14 days. The timespan between the 7D Mark II's announcement and today is only 4 years, 3 months and 5 days.

This isn't an announcement, merely a rumor of a possible announcement.

I understand that. But the 7D III would have to be announced September 30, 2019 to qualify as the longest timespan between model upgrades. That's still quite a ways off. Saying "No other DSLR from Canon has waited this long to be upgraded..." at this point seems to be a bit premature, even if the 7D II will be announced in 2019.

Thanks for flagging that, Sean. Mark is right in that we haven't had the announcement yet, so I may prove to be correct. The other thing to consider is that the announcement date and the launch date are different things, so that's another factor to consider. Either way, it's a LONG time, so I hope you'll forgive the inaccuracy. My apologies! 😊