Some people here believe that the current rebates on the 20D and 1DmkII are an indication that Canon will be announcing a DSLR that would somehow appeal to both 20D and 1DmkII fans.

Realistically, what would you like this camera to be?

of course they will :-) but who knows when they will do so, I am waiting for an upgrade to the 20D before I upgrade form my 10D.

I'll kick it off with my unreasonable demands. I'd like to see a camera slotted in-between the 20D and 1DmkII at a price point of around $2,500 with:

1. 10D-style form factor with an optional battery grip
   
2. 1.3 crop, 12MP sensor
   
3. 5 fps or more
   
4. ISO indicator on the LCD
   
5. More accurate AWB
   
6. A feature set somewhere in-between the 20D and the 1DmkII
   

A decently priced FF to get the ball rolling back to 35mm format.

Useless conjecture. I want a return to the days when cameras were cameras and computers were computers, and your body was not obsolete in 12 months. I hate this endless loop of upgrades that is the DSLR world now.

I think the 1Dmk2 rebates are related to the push to sell more and perhaps compete with Nikon. I am sure there will upgrades but when is anyone's guess. If you wait until fall, you are going to miss alot of photos this summer

Historically, Canon haven't replaced cameras this quickly. The 1D II could conceivably be replaced before the end of 2005, but a lot of people expect the next 1 series to replace both the 1D II and the 1Ds II, and it's too soon to replace the 1Ds II at the moment.

So the only logically possible new camera is something which as you say, would appeal to current owners of both the 20D and 1D II to some extent, but wouldn't replace either model. However there really isn't that much difference between the 20D and 1D II to start with. If there is a new model, I tend to think that it would need to be a bit more radical than just, say, a 20D with 1 series auto focus, it would have to be tangential in some way, e.g. a kind of customer beta-test for some sort of new technology, new sensor technology perhaps. On the other hand, I could be wrong, and Canon could move to 1 year life cycles for non-1-series models, and announce a 20D replacement in August.

Speculating on what people would like to see in it is pretty pointless IMO, you'll just get lots of suggested combinations of crop factor, auto focus, metering, weather sealing, resolution etc etc. What people want is a 1Ds II for the price of a Rebel XT.

JeffBowser wrote:
Useless conjecture. I want a return to the days when cameras were cameras and computers were computers, and your body was not obsolete in 12 months. I hate this endless loop of upgrades that is the DSLR world now.

You'll get your wish in 2-5 years. The DSLR market is still in its gawky adolescent stage, but it's not going to stay there long. As an example, resolution can only go so high (Perhaps 100MP max at the high end?) before resolution increases are just not going to be a compelling reason to upgrade. Look to the evolution of flatbed scanners as an example. People don't talk much about the resolution anymore, because even the cheap consumer models are total overkill from a resolution standpoint.

I agree with you in principle. The camera I describe would be my ticket off the upgrade cycle for at least three years, which is why the conjecture is interesting to me.

I'm hanging onto my 10D until the 20D replacement comes out at least. Every other, or even every 3rd generation is as fast as I am willing to upgrade. Upgrades for the sake of upgrading is a losing proposition.

stevei wrote:
Speculating on what people would like to see in it is pretty pointless IMO, you'll just get lots of suggested combinations of crop factor, auto focus, metering, weather sealing, resolution etc etc. What people want is a 1Ds II for the price of a Rebel XT.

I did stipulate "realistically". But heaven forbid having a pointless discussion on an Internet message board--that would forever change the medium!

Digital Cameras are more "Digital" than "Camera". And the premium for "digital" is still too high. With Film, cheap or expensive, every body supports FF. There are wide range of options that you can choose, from a disposable to High-end SLR. They are all FF.
With Digital, those $500 P/S pretend as if they were cameras with the sensor as small as my pinkie nail.
I'm with Larry. I want to see reasonably priced FF. I also want to see non-SLR FF digital cameras.

JeffBowser wrote:
I'm hanging onto my 10D until the 20D replacement comes out at least. Every other, or even every 3rd generation is as fast as I am willing to upgrade. Upgrades for the sake of upgrading is a losing proposition.

I'm shooting on a 10D for exactly the same reason.

Canon upgrades have been evolutionary advances and niche-splitting. For example, the 20D and 350D moved incrementally up from 10D and 300D, but not so much that they made the 10D and 300D obsolete (avoiding a disaster similar to Nikon rolling out the D70, which cannibalized the D100; the new Nikon strategy looks more like Canon's).

So a "30D" to fill one of the rungs between the 20D and the 1DmkII would make a lot of sense. I expect it would be 10 or 11mpx OR 1.3x (not both at once), sub $2000.

In the future, though, I expect to see updatable sensors somehow independent of the body perhaps along the lines of the Leica Digital-Modul.....the body may sell with a basic ciruit, and a pricey handgrip would contain a preemptive circuit with with an upgrade. Can't say how long this will take, but sooner or later the middle of the market will not want to be buying $1500 throw-aways, just to add a couple mpx every 2 or three years.

These digital camera seem to be getting so good (Silky smooth ISOs, fast shutter speeds, large image files, near instant auto-focusing, and instant controls) that I kinda wonder when the rapid camera sales are going to stop because maybe Canon has outdone themselves (to a degree..), or maybe after the next slew of cameras it will not be worth the upgrade price because the cameras are so good?

I think what the major camera companies need to do is to bring the prices down, for the most part they all have super features, but are still very very expensive. Back in the day, my Father told me that if you dropped more than $500 down on a camera body, people would call you insane unless you were a working photographer professionaly. I would like to see those numbers return! Heck, I honestly don't know what all canon can "upgrade" to their latest D/DS cameras, aside from maybe more megapixels (though the files sizes are starting to get huge) and *possibly* even better ISO performance (possibly opening up smooth 3200 and 6400?) Honestly, what is left to upgrade?

A pro-DSLR which has a computer for you to surf the net and cell-phone attached perhaps?

a "shooting black car against overcast sky" button, so the car is perfect and the sky is perfect.... in one exposure

I'll bet GPS-enabled is coming next.

Don't care as long as it's going to drop the price of 1DmkII big time...

based on 20d but

1. 45 points AF system
2. >15 raw buffers.

that'd be cool.

My unreasonable request

GPS enabled, built in WIFI 802.11a/g, 120GB HD, FF, IS built into the sensor, 196point af, 85fps, ISO 10K as clean as ISO100

If thats not whats available in the next release... I am not going to be sorry with my MK2 purchase

I'd simply want a 20D with the autofocus system and interchangeable focus screens and eye control focus. Seems reasonable. A larger buffer would be nice too.

Pretty much what the 3 is to film.

Carson

My dream camera:

8.3MP sensor
good iso response
5fps
1.6x crop
ettl-2

hmm.. wait, I already own it.

I think this thread should be moved to DPreview. _poke_

Dun forget ECF.

I'm not a Canon body expert, but wouldn't it be called the 3D instead of a 30D?

increased ability to crop (with higher megapixel sensor) - superior high ISO quality - the proliferation of model specific software...

In my opinion these make upgrading with each generation smth. that professionals would consider seriously. And perhaps, upgrading with every other generation is not toofar off for the advanced amateur. There is a pretty good chance waiting for three generations would bring with it the danger of 'being out of the loop'...

I do not think that the flatbed scanner (or dedicated film scanner for that matter) comparisons are useful given the 'percieved' future prospects for 35mm film in the consumer market from today's perspective. And there is always the Bill Gates goof-up (was that about memory or Hardisk size?) to remember.