another hands on pre-view on the 7D...
 

I have to agree that the 7D is the test bed for the next 5DMKIII... I'm just wondering how
long Canon will use the 7D as the test bed before Canon releases a full frame version
of the 7D? And they will...

Canon 7D First Look Report

As much as the 5D Mark II was a test bed for the 7D... Canon obviously has a development plan to build on feature sets with each new camera. This is nothing new - it's a natural progression of how technology works. You shouldn't count on a new 5D model until the current one has some more distance put on its release date of just one year ago.

These are primarily still cameras, although the 7D is admittedly the most video-centric SLR they've ever built. But we shouldn't forget that there are legions of still photographers buying the 5D compared to those relative few who are primarily using it for video purposes.

What Canon really needs to figure out next is how to scale their video pictures better. The aliasing resulting from their "binning" technique is just not acceptable in the long run. And the 7D seems to suffer in that area, too.

As beautiful as the results from these cameras can be, they still leave a lot to be desired in terms of workflow, ergonomics, and even quality.

Canon was definitely caught off-guard by the enthusiasm for the 5D's video capabilities. How quickly there's a replacement will depend upon a lot of things; not the least of which might be how quickly sales fall off for the 5D now the 7D is available. i.e. Is the demand for the video capabilities as big as those on the forums think it is? Also, Canon has already hinted here and there that it's working on bringing out a "serious" video camera based on the technology of the 5D. They may be focusing on that as the "next" step before they bother bringing out an update to the 5D

Lots of things will happen, and I bet in two years you'll be able to get a better, cheaper, more capable camera: if you can wait. And though I have no idea what will actually come next, I am pretty confident that a Mark III (or 3D) or whatever, won't have the same three year gap that was between the Mark I and the Mark II.

Yes, this is going to definitely be interesting to watch. I think Canon is by-and-large really running the technology show right now. If they release a "serious" video camera based on a DSLR sensor, they had better figure out some of the issues with quality of image. It's a neat kludge right now, to shoot with the 5D and get what we get. I doubt "serious" video customers will be so forgiving of the shortcomings, though, when all of the ergonomic, audio and other issues get worked out otherwise, and the price tag goes up.

In a lot of ways, Canon has sort of painted themselves into a corner here. They inadvertently let a genie out of the bottle with a low-cost, high quality DSLR that shoots 1080p video. Do they follow it up with more traditional video camera features (form factor, XLR audio with manual gain controls, servo zoom, etc.), inevitably raising the cost of such a camera and potentially its glass? This would probably force them to abandon the DSLR feature set. Or, do they just continue to improve the DSLR line and shy away from such a drastic change of gears?

Neither course of action is especially clear and easy for Canon to navigate from here forth. But no other company is nearly as well positioned in the market to take things in a whole new direction, either.

The 5DMKII was a natural progression of the original 5D... and at the time that the original 5D came out it was because photographers were asking Canon to bring out a cheaper FF camera body... at the time, Canon offered the other FF body, the 1Ds, but at a price of $7000..
So Canon put a full frame sensor into the 20D body and called it a 5D.
Plus it was a good time to bring out the 5D FF body as sensor manufacturing was much cheaper and the manufacturing yields were better.

There has been some speculation that Canon put the video on the 5DMKII as a response
to the RED Scarlet... I think it was just a design study Canon put in place...

The 7D is coming to the plate with just about every bell and whistle that Canon can put into a camera body at that price point...
The newly designed focus hardware is a obvious test bed for the 1DMKIII replacement... as is the dual Digic 4 processors to get the frame/sec up to par with sports shooters... Its not a new implementation.. the 1D body's always had dual processors to get the speed required for sport shooters.

The 7D is going to be a very nice camera...

I can't wait to see what Canon puts out next for the eventual 1D pro bodies and the 5DMKII replacement....