New Canon cameras to be announced before PMA

With the PMA (Photo Marketing Association) trade show taking place next week, the interwebs seems to be talking quite a bit about the possibility of Canon updating their product line, replacing the older models over 18 months with newer, better, shinier ones. Rather than announcing the new cameras at the show, they tend to release the news to the press the week before, which means that this week is very likely when we'll be hearing about the new cameras hitting the PMA.

Nikon's entry into the high-end full-frame professional market was in August 2007, with their 12 megapixel Nikon D3. Although some believe that this is the first opportunity Canon has had to respond to the competition, I feel as though it is Nikon who is acting in response to Canon's products; Canon brought full-frame digital to the professional market first, with the Canon 1Ds series, and then later to the prosumer level with the Canon EOS 5D. Announced in August of 2005, the 5D came onto the market in October of 2005, filling the gap between Canon's professional 1D line and their EOS prosumer line of cameras. With the 5D in production for over two years now, people have been guessing since last February about the possibility of a Canon 5D replacement. Indeed, I had thought such a release likely too, as I had bought a Canon 5D in July of 2006, thinking that a new model would be out by the time Comic-Con rolled around again, and was surprised when it didn't happen.

What's due for an update on Canon's DSLR line?

• The Canon 5D prosumer line. It just needs a refresher to add in all the new features found in Canon's consumer models; 3.0" inch screen, Live View, dust removal. Whether they call this update the 7D, 3D or 5D Mark II remains to be seen, but this product is due. I expect the price of the sucessor to remain close to $2000. In anticipation of this announcement, eBay, craigslist and the like have had many second-hand 5Ds listed for sale as those who want the lastest and greatest sell the old to buy the new.
• A new Digital Rebel. Every 18 months, a new consumer-grade DSLR model is unveiled with more new features and improvements over the last. The last one, the XTi (400D) was announced in August of 2006 -- February 2008 will be the 18th month, so the 450D is a no-brainer.

Everything else that Canon has is too new for an update; the 40D, the 1Ds Mark III and the 1D Mark III were all announced last year.

The evidence?

• The price of a Canon 5D with a $1000 24-105 IS L lens ($2749) has dropped far below the price of the Canon 5D when it was released in October of 2005 ($3499). In this bundle, the 5D is effectively costing $1700, less than half as much as it retailed for 2 years ago.
• UPC code to the Canon 7D posted this past Friday.