<H1>Canon EOS-7D Mark III Camera Coming By Middle of 2018</H1>

My readers know me as The Wildlife Ho-tographer. I have been using Canon equipment for almost three decades. Through the years, I have owned and used almost all of Canon professional and consumer grade gear and have tested many of them on global wildlife photo tours.

As you know, I have picked the EOS-7D as the best APS-C camera on the market for action and wildlife photography fours years in a row after it was announced in 2009. The Mark II model came out in 2014 followed by the Nikon D500 in January, 2016.

Read my comprehensive review of the Mark II model. For those interested in comparing the EOS-7D Mark II to the EOS-80D, read my earlier post. You can follow my travels on Facebook  and Twitter , see my equipment bag and works on MichaelDanielHo.com

Although the Mark II camera is a dramatic improvement over the earlier model, the Nikon D500 gave the Canon camera a real challenge and of course, the EOS-7D Mark III is just 'around the corner'. The test cameras are already out of the labs and into the wild for beta testing.

There are crazy rumors flying around saying the new camera will have a 30MP sensor and burst rate of 12+ fps, etc. Frankly, that is a lot of photography noise so early in the guessing game. The trend in the past few years has been to speed up the replacement cycle of higher end cameras.

Since the EOS-7D has always been the leader in Canon's APS-C camera lineup, it is very logical the Mark III will again come with a new generation of APS-C sensor. Many photographers are clamoring for everything under the sun and a list price of $1,499. One has to be more realistic about the business of manufacturing photography equipment.

Canon is a conservative and deliberative company. They rarely try to be the first in new features but there are some tried and true features like illuminated buttons that have appeared on other manufacturers' cameras for years. A recent patent from Canon shows they have finally made that 'leap'. My personal opinion is the Mark II is already a very good camera but a few improvements will make it an even better prosumer DSLR body. I expect the Mark III model to arrive some time by the middle of 2018.

Here is my wish list for the EOS-7D Mark III :

• A slight increase in megapixels, low to mid 20s for the sensor.
• 10 fps is adequate but if technologically feasible, 12 fps is welcome
• 4K video is unnecessary for my needs but its de rigueur these days for any camera
• GPS and WiFi are also unnecessary for my needs but probably will be included
• Additional AF points to below 100 is critical with more cross-type points
• Increase in high ISO and Dynamic Range performance is critical
• Addition of illuminated buttons on the back panel is welcome