News of a new Canon 7D hit the net last Friday sending everyone into an absolute tizzy. If you listened closely you could hear the sound of a collective gasp from all the current 7D owners (self included) who thought their camera was now obsolete.

Despite this wave of controversy, I’m happy to say to all the 7D HDSLR shooters: relax and breathe deeply. Because unless you’ve got a side job taking pictures of the Easter Bunny at the mall or shooting mug shots down at the county jail, these features are essentially meaningless.

However, if you’re a studio photographer, the new 7D Studio Version will be essential. Specifically, this camera is for anyone shooting pictures of someone or something that has a barcode. Those shooting youth sports, graduation or year book pictures, forensics, auction houses and catalog photographers will hale this camera as a godsend.

The 7D Studio Version can utilize select USB barcode readers, or wireless Bluetooth readers using the Canon BU-30 Bluetooth adapter. The camera itself has modified firmware giving it the ability to interface with the reader. Once a barcode is scanned, it will imbed metadata onto the image which will make it easy to sort instantly. The device totally automates your data management required for shooting, and delivering images that correspond to a barcode. Once scanned, the subject’s data appears on the camera’s LCD screen.

At a recent School Photo Boot Camp in Memphis, Canon debuted their new EOS 7D Studio Camera at the first public demonstration of the new system. According to Boot Camp Instructor Chris Wunder, reaction to the camera was overwhelmingly positive. “This camera represents the Gold Standard for photographers who use barcode customer tickets to link images and order data.” He went on to say, “As the barcode information is embedded in the picture’s metadata, it’s not necessary to have a laptop computer on site to tether to.” Bottom line, you can identify lots of customers and their orders in just seconds, saving you time and decreasing your overhead.

With the 7D Studio Version, studio photographers get a huge boost and the opportunity to enjoy a truly meaningful feature. To my fellow 7D HDSLR Shooters, you can rest easy. And, trust me when I say when it’s finally time to retire your 7D and replace it with a the latest HD enabled DSLR, Canon will make sure you’re the first to know!