One of the biggest deals in Canon's DSLR lineup just got a re-work: the EOS 7D Mark II is official, as announced on stage at Canon's Photokina 2014 press conference. This is the DSLR to revamp the already excellent original 7D model with a host of new features.

Primary to the 7D MkII is its new autofocus system, complete with 65 autofocus points - all of which are cross type for heightened sensitivity in both portrait and landscape orientation. The system also utilises the same Intelligent Tracking and Recognition Auto Focus (iTR EOS) technology as seen in the top-end 1D X.

Under the hood the 7D Mark II hosts a 20.2-megapixel CMOS sensor, the same top chip as that found in the EOS 70D, but reworked for its appearance in the 7D Mark II. Given that the 70D was one of our favourite cameras of last year, it's a good foundation to be based on.

Dual Digic 6 processors make for fast performance too, with 10 frames per second burst shooting available to match that new speedy autofocus setup. The shutter is good for 200,000 cycles too. Shoot in bright light, shoot in low light, shoot practically forever: the 7D MkII's ISO 100-16,000 range puts most lighting conditions at your fingertips - or push this to ISO 51,200 extended if you really need.

One thing lacking in the 7D MkII is a tilt-angle LCD screen though, something we're seeing more and more in compact system camera competitors. Instead we're served a fixed 3-inch panel without touchscreen, but the large optical viewfinder does provide a full 100 per cent field of view.

As technology moves forward, so does the EOS 7D MkII. Now complete with GPS built-in to the camera, geo-tagging your images is simplified, which is ideal for cataloguing those shots taken far and wide.

Video capture is another major feature, providing 1080p capture at up to 60fps with a new anti-flicker mode to eliminate flickering lights such as fluorescent lamps. With both microphone and headphone jacks on board, and a clean HDMI out, the 7D MkII even makes it possible to time sync two cameras. We're sure plenty of videographers' ears just pricked up.

Other high-end features include an integrated Speedlite transmitter for controlling Canon's flashguns off camera.

The EOS 7D Mark II will be available from November with an RRP of £1,600 body-only.