Will The Canon 7D Be Able To Take On The Nikon D700X?

With all the talk of a Canon 7D coming soon, the obvious question is which Nikon DSLR will it be head to head against.

It's unlikely the 7D will be a competitor to the coming Nikon D700X as all indicators so far point to the 7D being either a 12 megapixel or 16 to 18 megapixel (my guess) DSLR. That puts the Canon 7D up against the Nikon D700, or in between the D700 and the D700X, depending on what how many megapixels the 7D sensor ends up being.

That'll be an interesting fight either way, as I don't expect the 7D to be of the same professional caliber build of the D700 and D700X. The Canon 7D will most likely be a 5D MkII / 50D type DSLR, neither of which is on par with the D700 or D700X.

So, the Canon 7D will be an interesting competitor. The 7D is expected to be under $2K, so that gives it a real price advantage over any full frame DSLR on the market, but one can't underestimate the alure of the build quality and feature sets on the D700 and D700X.

I suspect the Canon 7D will be a great seller for Canon regardless, but it likely won't be pulling any Nikon shooters off the Nikon team the way the D700 has been winning over Canon shooters. The 7D may help stop the exodus of Canon shooters to Nikon though, which will be especially fortuitous timing with the Nikon D700X rumored to be coming soon.

Like the Nikon D700 and coming D700X, the Canon 7D will have no real direct competition. Unless Nikon unveils a stripped down FX full frame DSLR before the end of the year, the 7D will enjoy an uncontested position in the DSLR market.

These are interesting times in the world of photography my friends!

**Update: Well, I was wrong and Canon is stupid. The Canon 7D has been announced, and there's no full frame, just an updated 50D. The 7D is DEFINITELY NO Competition for the D700X**

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