Canon vs. Nikon Entry Full Frame

With Photokina coming up as well as the rumours of Nikon releasing a “entry level” full frame camera (backed up with leaked photos of a D600) naturally it has been assumed that Canon would do the same. Naturally there have been very many different ideas and thoughts of how this would be fit into the Canon lineup. Personally the idea of a 7D mkII being made an entry level full frame and the 70D taking the place of the current 7D while fixing the xxD family naming scheme that the 7D/60D messed up makes the most sense to me.

This makes a lot of sense for Nikon, for them to fill the hole left by the launch of the D800 in their camera lineup. The huge megapixel count combined with the equally large 3,500 price tag put it far out of the hands of those hobbyists and semi-pro who long for a full frame camera but don’t have the memory or need for such large files. The D700 is not as pretty of an option for the primary reason it was knocked down very early in it’s life by the 5D mkII, lack of video. At this point in time if someone shooting Nikon wished to film video with a full frame they would need to either get a D800 or a D4. This is where there is an open spot in their lineup for a sub-2000 dollar camera.

This move does not make as much sense for Canon on the other hand. With the introduction of the Canon 5D mk III the 5D line did not encounter a major leap forward in capability, it was more an act of refining the line. Receiving a focusing system from the 1D series and a body layout from the 7D. Unlike D700 a 5D mkII is quite capable of shooting exceptional HD footage. A used 5D mkII can be purchased refurbished from Canon for around 1,700 and from individuals a price around fifteen to sixteen hundred can be expected. Rumor has it that the Canon “entry level” full frame will be a more stripped down body with less pro features to keep it from interfering with the 5D market share with a sub $2000 price tag. The problem here is that the 5D mkII exists, which unless the new camera has some kind of new innovation or leap forward (use of STM enabled lenses is not one) it will not be able to preform better than the 5D mk II. In essence the problem is if the new camera is priced too low it will interfere with sales of the xxD and xxxD/Rebel series and if the price is too high it will not sell due to the existence of the 5D mkII, a problem not seen by Nikon.