the more bodies the merrier ! almost like a party! I wonder what the Vegas odds are .... 
I'd suspect Canon has a 10-12mp 1.6x sensor designed, it be easy enough to kick into production and drop it in the 30D body and call it a 40D.
The other interpretation, which I suspect is the correct one, would be -
What is coming out,...will be nice... I have finally heard what is to be announced, but I promised, I won't say anything.. but believe me,.......there is a special something in the system that will open the door to much newer possibilities,...on top of the next pro camera..Ok, I'm not here to debate Nikon vs Canon, being a user of both
myself. But, from the looks of things, August will be a big month
from both companies, with new releases in DSLR's.
Nikon we know will be introducing a new DSLR in about 15 days.
Canon has historically announced new DSLR's every August for the
past couple of years, so we can expect them to answer to Nikon.
Competition is a good thing, and like I said, I am not here
encouraging a debate of Canon vs Nikon, but I am indeed looking
forward to see what both companies will roll out.
My predictions:
Nikon: The D70 will be replaced, because the D50 will remain
Nikon's entry level DSLR, seeing how well it's selling like hot
cakes, there is no reason to discontinue it. The D70 needs an
overhaul, seeing how the D50 easily trumps it in image quality, and
Nikon needs to plug in the gap between the D50 and D200, so expect
a $999 D70 replacement, its obvious.
Canon: This is where I can't really see a clear new arrival. The
30D was recently introduced, so I can't see an update to that, nor
the Rebel XT, which is already remarkably close to the 30D in
functionality and features, while remaining entry level. What is
needed is a plug between the 30D and 5D. So I'm thinking a 1.3x
crop DSLR to not eat up 5D sales, and still give an upgrade path to
20D and 30D owners. The body will be a competitor to the D200, but
offering 1.3x weather sealed semi-pro body is the answer to the
D200, while not jeopardizing 5D or 30D sales. Price: $1499-$1999.
Wether I am right or wrong, we will see in a few weeks. As I
stated, these are my predictions
Normally credible sources have stated an August annoucement (the actual start of shiipping may be later however), so I'd expect things to start moving soon. Hopefully though we won't get a repeat of the "accidental" leaks while sites like DPReview hold to their NDAs like last time; Nikon seems to have changed its ways, so hopefully Canon will follow suit. Personally, I don't see how the mish mash of the genuinely informed leaks, deliberate or otherwise, mixed in with wild speculation does any real good. Sure, it gets people wound up for the official announcement, but surely it also has people expecting far more than actually gets delivered.
Well, not 40D since Canon is a Japanese company...
However the 5D photosites are larger, and this is why the noise performance is better. If you put 10~12MP in a 1.6x, it would only get worse (even acknowledged by Canon as the reason for the 8MP sensor). The only think Nikon is beating the 30D on is pixel density - and that is completely arbitrary since any MFG can cram P&S sized pixels in for the sake of winning the MP "race" - it isn't like DSLR tech can't manage 30MP on a 1.6x sensor in 2006.
Yes, I wonder what advancements have been made. Really though, the sensor performs about 85% as well as I could want it (since I learned to push exposure to the right, I have no issues with noise or dynamic range).
If Canon has increased their S/N ratio and simultaneously increased the number of pixels, you needn't worry about not experiencing it. After all, they are keeping APS-C around, and they will have plenty of things in store for the 30D's successors.
Andy - simple: It has 8fps, best servo tracking of any camera in the industry and weather sealed and good high iso noise performance.
If they are speaking in American English terms, I would take this to mean that with the current production costs, the 1Dmk2n's would continue production even after a unified 1-series camera were released (ie FF but with 8.5fps) until the point where the price of the unified camera line could "replace" the need for the cheaper camera.
