I also welcome the apparent change of course, but it may be just a response to the cry for better high ISO quality. That required different technology, and the CCD they had available allowed to achieve just that.
Canon is positioning this camera a the ideal photojournalists extra camera for rougher areas where discretion is needed. The Panasonic LX3 had greater high ISO performance so that has been a problem for their claims. Still they got out two supporting quotes from major agencies for the camera's use in photojournalism.
It looks like it's
a Sony CCD (it's specs are a perfect match). The somewhat larger potential wells and the binning capability will theoretically allow much better high ISO performance, but we'll have to wait and see what the actual implementation together with the DIGIC 4 can do.
With the articulated LCD, VGA video, HDMI output, high ISO capability, image stabilization, optical zoom range, it looks like a very versatile camera. It'll also be interesting to see how the economy affects the sales.
The articulated screen is to me a loss as it's small! Even hanging over a building, I know where I'm pointing well enough and just want to not fall! No way I'm looking at the screen!
Still, I can see it being helpful for video where one may want to observe the frame and aslo outside the frame to see who is going to enter the movie.
Canon is certainly not the first Digicam MFR to reduce the number of pixels in return for quality. I believe it could have been Fuji that made this move a year or so ago.
This summer, I used my 5DII for a Wedding only. Otherwise it was the G10. The 5D and it's fine lenses never saw daylight otherwise. The images of the G10 are perfect for street photography, stitched landscapes or architecture and street portraits as well as family pictures. The potential for adding on a 580 EX II flash or an STBII and controlling banks of Canon Speedlights, I've never used, but it's there.
I will likely get the new version if the high ISO claims prove true for one simple reason: it's shutter is absolutely silent! That means I can take pics at a concert without someone going ballistic. I'd love Canon to allow us to disable the green light on the top which announces to all the stewards and ushers that a picture is being made!
I don't know of another low light capable camera that is that sstealthy. Maybe the LX3?
Asher