Canon Rumors, an amazing site, has posted a specifications list for what might be the Canon 70D. Please take the following information with a grain of salt. They usually add what level of rumour we are dealing with, but this time, they’ve left out such a number, so I don’t know how trustworthy this is.

Update Canon Rumors has now listed this as a CR3 which means to treat it like fact. This is super exciting!

Here are the specifications of the Canon 70D:

• 20.2mp CMOS Sensor
• DIGIC 5+
• 19pt AF System (All Cross Type)
• 7fps
• Built-in WiFi
• 3″ Vari-Angle Touch Screen LCD
• ISO 12,800 Maximum
• Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus
• Full HD Video
• HDR
• Multiexposure Mode
• LP-E6 Battery
• Announcement on July 2, 2013

Source: Canon Rumors

CanonWatch has also posted about the same release, and even included a potential flyer image which they received from Canon Rumors (though I don’t see it on their site).

With my previous post, entitled My Next Camera: Canon 70D, I discussed what I thought they would do with the Canon 70D, and I got some things right, and some things wrong.

I didn’t think they’d concern themselves with the built-in Wi-Fi, but I guess since it is a low cost addition, it makes sense. I did notice that unlike previous mentions of features for this body, there is no GPS module listed.

The Canon 70D looks like a really interesting camera body. In many ways, it looks like a replacement for the current Canon 7D, which will now look even older by comparison to this new body.

Going through specification by specification, here’s where they stack up:

If the price is less than $1000 for the body-only, which I highly doubt, then it will definitely be the body that people are looking for with regards to sports photography and high quality auto-focus from a cropped sensor camera. More than likely this camera is going to be priced around $1200, body only, and around $1500 with a decent kit lens. What lens they will pair it with is up for debate. I’ll put my money on the Canon 18-135 STM kit lens as a likely contender. Even at a starting price of $1200, I think many people will rush to this camera, despite being able to get the Canon 7D, with its weather resistant magnesium body, for between two and four hundred dollars less.

There are also reports that the new Canon 70D will have an improved auto-focus system called the Dual Pixel CMOS autofocus which will improve live view autofocus speed as much as five times current standards. If you have ever used live view then you’ll know that this is a much needed improvement, and probably going to be seen in Canon’s next mirrorless camera body as well.

The most important upgrades they could have made to keep me interested in a new camera body were a powerful autofocus system and high ISO image quality. While the ISO range is very high, and the autofocus system has 19 cross type points, I am still waiting to see examples of how well this camera shoots. I am sure we will see lots of information if they do announce the Canon 70D on the July 2 date posted above.

So am I as excited about this camera as when I last posted about it? Most definitely. Do I still see it being my next camera body? More than likely. I will of course wait for a while, as I still have a good two or three years left in the body I recently received from my fiancee, but I am glad they didn’t go with the same sensor as the Canon SL1, or the same auto-focus system as the Canon 6D.