7D added to the stable.....

[roastman]

Can't wait until my new 7D arrives. I have the 5D MKII, so adding the 7D was quite indulgent. I love the 5D for landscapes etc, but as I also want to start shooting some sports and wildlife shots, I had two options. I could buy a bigger lens (largest I currently have is a 70-200 f4), or I could utilise the crop factor of the 7D in conjunction with a 1.4 x convertor to get the equivalent of about 448 mm. I know this slows down my 70-200 by a stop, but mostly I would be shooting moving targets in full daylight, so this seemed like the best compromise.

One of my main reasons for going this way was to get a spare body. Swapping lenses can be a pain, so it would be nice to know I can reach into the camera bag and pull out a body with the lens already attached. It will also be nice to have a spare camera when travelling, just in case the 5D dies.

I have not been active with my camera since returning from Europe, so I am really looking forward to getting out with both cameras. One of my passions is Aussie Rules (mad Kangaroos supporter and member of the Suns, as they are closer to home), so the 7D might get some use! This was another factor in my decision.... At a lot of professional sports, they won't allow lenses longer than 200 mm into the stadium (they don't at Metricon). With a 1.4 x in my pocket :D and the 70-200 on the crop body, I have a lot more zoom than I would with the 5D MkII. The extra FPS won't hurt either!

There is no footy at Metricon this weekend (and no 7D until early next week), so I will head into Brisbane to grab some pano shots of the city.

[GJC]

I'm sure you'll love the 7D. I love mine, and they're great value at the moment from the prices I've seen. The fast frame rate should be good if you're into sport. That and the more focus point were the main reasons I chose the 7D over the 5DmkII when I was looking to buy my camera a couple of years ago.

[bitrusty]

You will love it im ordering another 7d soon as i love mine so much and need a second body for sports

[roastman]

It arrived today. Wow, is that frame rate awesome! I must admit the extra reach (even at the expense of fine resolution) it provides over the 5D is nice with the 70-200 f4. I was actually amazed how fast the focus is, especially as I tried it up a not-so-well illuminated side of my house. I was a bit worried about how the 70-200 f4 would focus in poor light, but although I am certain the 2.8 would be far better, this should be fine for most of my needs. I pushed the aperture to f8, just to see how much it affected it and was really pleasantly surprised. That gives me a little more confidence for when the 1.4 x arrives, as the best I will get is f5.6. I will still use my 5D MKII for most shots, but the 7D is going to be great for shooting the footy and wildlife etc. Impressive camera! If I had not purchased the 5D, I don't think I would have been unhappy if this had been my only camera. Just a little happier with both :D. Working hard and not spending money on anything else has to have some perks......

[patrickv]

f/8 setting to take the photo doesn't affect focus as in Canon EF system the focusing is done wide open, and the blades only close at the last minute during the photo capture, at th same time the mirror flips up. Unlike previous generation mechanical aperture lenses, focus and framing will always be done at maximum aperture. This is why you have a "DOF preview" button. The only way you can know how focusing would perform with f/5.6 is by testing it with the converter. You can also get an idea by trying with another lens that is one stop slower, such as just about any consumer zoom lens at the longer end (ie. 17-55 or 15-85 kit lens)

In my experience, the 70-200 f/2.8 can hunt quite a bit in low light, but then again it depends what we call low light. I'm spoiled with f/1.4 to f/2 primes some I'm used to be able to focus at 1-2 Ev.
In general, the 7D is an awesome camera. Its sensor is a bit noisy at high ISO but nothing to worry about it most cases.

I just thought about trying to focus while the camera is in DOF preview mode, but I tried it and it failed.

[roastman]

Very useful info! Once the 1.4 x arrives I will have a better idea...... Given the lighting conditions I test the f4 at, it was quite promising. I won't be shooting anything at night, so I suspect it will be fine for most subjects I would use it for. I also wanted a slightly less expensive body to leave in the car, so I always have a camera ready. I doubt anything other than the 70-200 will ever get attached to the front of this thing (unless I get something longer).

[Seabee]

I absolutely loved my 7d fps until I had a turn of my friends 1d lol....... I now want a 1dx !'
Great camera though so enjoy and have fun!!

[Bear Dale]

How do you find the IQ of the 7D compared to the 5DMKII?

[Mary Anne]

Congrats on your new camera, thats a great pair you have now .
Like you I enjoy the cropped frame for wildlife though my 40D is getting on, I am waiting for the 7D's successor or the 70D.
I also have a nice lens that does not get much use now seeing I also have the 5D Mk11

[roastman]

Hi Jim

Not sure about the IQ yet, as I haven't shot anything worthwhile. I took it to work with me this afternoon and checked the focus shooting in the fading light with the 70-200 on the body. Still really impressed with the focus! If it can focus in that sort of light, it will definitely do everything I need from it. I know the image quality will not replace my 5DII, but I got it more as an action/wildlife/walk-around camera. Anything that involves a nice scene and a tripod will still mean using the 5D.

I was intending on shooting some city shots on the weekend. I will try to get some shots of the same subjects to compare the quality. I think the main problem is HOW do you compare a full frame to a 1.6 crop body? Not sure of what would be a fair method of testing? Apart from physically getting 1.6 x closer with the full frame body and taking a shot with the same lens/focal length (not always possible when shooting across rivers/highways etc), how do you compare. Zooming your lens in/out is not going to help, as the lens is likely to be sharper at certain parts of its range.

Realistically, as I did not buy it for art photos, provided it is sharp and fast, I don't care if the IQ cannot match the 5DII. Still, if I did not have the 5DII, I expect I would be very happy with this as my main camera.

[roastman]

I thought about waiting....... Sadly, I am a very impatient person and I had some gift credit cards burning a hole in my pocket. One of the reasons I preferred the 7D was the fact the batteries from my 5DII will fit, plus they also use CF cards (I have a lot of money invested in memory). In reality, the 7D is probably not a huge improvement over the 40D (I believe they are a very nice camera), so I can understand why you would be waiting to upgrade. The 60D would probably feel like a down-grade from the 40D, even with the extra pixels. I know the 60D is a very nice camera, but they just don't FEEL as nice as the 40D/50D.

[patrickv]

If you pixel peep or go for high ISO, the 7D is not as good as the 5D2.
It most cases the difference can't be seen on prints at A4 and A3 sizes.

The 7D has a vastly superior focusing system to the 5D2 and faster fps, which comes in handy in for action and/or low light, and in general I find it much more pleasant to use. As an example, while the 5D2 will actually take cleaner images in medium/low light, it will hunt like crazy with anything else that super fast primes, such as the 24-70 f/2.8.

The 5D3 is basically a combination of the 5D2 (FF sensor) + 7D (focus, more speed) + 1-2 extra f-stops of good quality usable ISO, and a few other details/firmware improvements. It's the ultimate "somewhat affordable" Canon camera. (1DX is way out!)

I know a few people who have upgraded from the 40D/50D to the 7D and are loving it. It has improved focus, ISO, firmware, fps.

[roastman]

Yes, would love a 5DIII..... :p While the frame rate is not as high as the 7D, I think I could live with it given most of my shots are landscape etc. It is still a very useful frame rate if you know your sport (and therefore know when to push the shutter button). I would have preferred to buy the 5DIII, but as I have not had the 5DII for very long, it was a question of $. Pity!

Still, I now have a very nice combination and a back-up body. I hate switching lenses, so I suspect I will be carrying two bodies around a lot when I am out shooting pics. The extra weight will be a pest, but the convenience will be priceless. Wish I had this combination when I was over in Europe. I missed a lot of candid grab shots, as I did not have enough glass. I am not bold enough to stick a camera in a strangers face, so having that little bit of extra length (crop body with the 70-200 always fitted) will be useful.