665 of 692 people found the following review helpful:
Does the 7D beat full frame cameras?
No, but it's so good that one starts to contemplate this question, which was never the case before the 7D was introduced. Both systems, crop and full frame, have their pros and cons and place in photography. But before I get into that let me say I have not been as excited about a camera since the introduction of the 5D MK I four years ago. That's because the 7D raises the...
151 of 183 people found the following review helpful:
The 7D a mixed bag
This camera looks great on paper, but....
The good news: the 7D packs lots of pro features you'll love, like a big and bright viewfinder and LCD screen, weather seals, a dampened mirror box so that the noise from the slap doesn't startle wildlife, automatic sensor cleaning on startup and shut down, micro adjustment for optimizing the performance of...
This review is from: Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD (Body Only) (Electronics)
No, but it's so good that one starts to contemplate this question, which was never the case before the 7D was introduced. Both systems, crop and full frame, have their pros and cons and place in photography. But before I get into that let me say I have not been as excited about a camera since the introduction of the 5D MK I four years ago. That's because the 7D raises the crop camera bar to the point where crop users will not feel at a disadvantage to full frame camera users, especially if coupled with awesome ef-s lenses such as the 17-55 f2.8.
How so? The 7D sets a new standard in four major ways.
1. It produces whopping 18MP pictures, which are just 3MP shy of the current top of the line full frame Canon cameras. Just few years ago most pros were producing stellar results using the 1Ds MKII 16MP camera. Now you have more MPs in a crop sensor, that's a major achievement. This achievement translates into bigger prints and, perhaps more importantly, cropping power. Out shooting wildlife with a 300mm instead of 400mm? You can crop the 7D files down to 50% of their original file size and still obtain sharp pictures. It's just not that easy with the 1D MK III 10MP files.
2. Many worried that extra MPs in small crop sensors would translate into nosier pictures, but the amazing thing is that this camera produces images with what seems to be less noise than the 1Ds MKII. The noise level is very good. At ISO 1600 I still prefer pictures coming from my 5D MKII, but below ISO1600 they are very close. Frankly, I can go with either camera because most of my professionally shot portraits and product pictures are shot at ISO100. At ISO100 both produce very clean files and are practically indistinguishable.
3. Focus is the one area that was lacking on the previous 1.6 crop Canon cameras and this camera changes that. It's not a 1D in focus speed and accuracy, but it's the next best thing compared to them. It's faster than the Canon 5D MKII, which is known to be slightly faster or around the focus performance range of the 50D and 40D.
4. The drive chain is fast, so fast it's beyond anything I needed in my professional work in portrait, commercial, and product photography. Going through pictures taken at 8fps produces very little difference from frame to frame. One probably has to shoot a very fast moving subject/object to see the advantage of such fast drive system.
There are obviously many other things that I have not covered in this review. But based on the above, all I can say is that this camera has really raised the bar for all cameras and made it much more affordable to obtain a professional level camera for all types of photography. If you were considering buying the 5D MKII as an upgrade give this camera a test because it might be all you need.
As for the advantages of crop cameras I always find it odd that casual users who shoot many things but focus on landscape think they need a full frame to realize their potential. Crop cameras such as the 7D and 50D are fine for most users and offer many advantages including:
1. greater depth of field at lower aperture for landscape photography
2. greater tilt and shift effect because of sensor size relative to effect (8mm in shift is greater in effect relative to a 22mm sensor compared to a 35mm sensor)
3. greater magnification with micro lenses and extension tubes because of smaller sensor (1:1 in full frame equals 35mm, 1:1 in crop equals 22mm)
4. smaller lighter lenses with wider aperture that achieve greater reach (such as the 17-55 2.8 vs the 24-70 2.8 similar reach but much lighter and smaller)
Traditionally the three areas full frame cameras outshine crop cameras are a bigger brighter viewfinder, shallower depth of field for portrait photography, and better ISO performance, which on the last point the 7D has proven not be an issue anymore.
And for the second point really, most beautiful low depth of field portraits are done around f2.8-2.0 in full frame (going wider will make depth of field too narrow to place two eyes in focus). Hence, if one is using a wide prime, a crop sensor will produce the same depth of field at 2.0-1.4. Considering an affordable 50mm f1.4 lens on crop has the same field of view as 85mm lens on full frame there is really no reason to discount a crop camera any more as the 7D levels the playing field.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD (Body Only) (Electronics)
Well after much deliberation between this and a 5d Mark II i decided to opt for the 7D and spend the extra I save on some nice wide angle lenses. First of all for anyone who is expecting a 1.6 crop camera's image quality to be better than the 5d mark ii you can forget it. The 5D mark ii is a full frame sensor camera and the 7D is a crop, different cameras for different purposes. I know three people who own a 5d mark II, wedding photographer, cinematographer and a landscape photographer. As you can tell, they all need wide angle and good low light performance. The 5D Mark II/other full frame cameras are targeted towards users with wide angle needs. So if you find yourself in a crowded room with little light during a wedding the EOS 7D may not be for you, less you put on a 10-22mm EFS lens which is the widest lens for a APS-C camera.
Image Quality from this camera is amazing, I'll put up some pictures once it stops raining where I live. Detail is very good, and the 28-135 lens accommodates this cameras ability very nicely, however, starting off at 28mm will probably be too long for most people in everyday situations such as those for street photographers. Picking up a 17-55 2.8 lens will probably be highly recommended by many.
Build Quality is superb. This "tank" of a camera is no light weight and one of the first things you notice when you pick up the camera is the hefty feel you get. Very ergonomic grip and a robust feel all around. Don't expect to have it hanging around your next too long though. Weather seals are improved and you can notice that the area above the viewfinder is much larger thanks to a 100% coverage pentaprism.
Autofocusing, now I've read some issues about the 7D's new focusing system such as softness from auto zone focusing and I am also getting some mixed results with that as well, some images ranging from very soft to some being as sharp as single AF select. I will update later as I take it out for more situations. However, with that being said, the camera's autofocusing with the 28-135mm lens is very quiet, very fast and accurate for the most part especially with using the cameras single AF select mode.
Battery Life: still on the first charge off the box, taken about 500 test shots and a few seconds of 720p recording, battery life is about halfway.
ISO performance. Now here is where many have a bone to pick. I am not afraid to use high ISO as my prints rarely go beyond 11x14. More than often I found myself using nothing higher than ISO 1600 on my girlfriend's 500D/T1i. With the 7D I feel very comfortable using 3200 with about ISO 4000 being my cut off point, that's where the trade offs between detail and noise will become apparent and start to bother me.
Overall this camera is a very impressive and I'd give it a rating of about 90/100. It has alot to offer being a HD video DSLR. It'll provide many rebel users enough room to learn and grow. However, I cant stress enough that if you find yourself needing wide angle capabilities and low light performance, saving up for a full frame, it will definitely be worth the wait in the long run. In fact a few 5D Mark I cameras are available for cheaper than the 7D. Without a doubt this is one of the top crop cameras of the market right now. You won't regret buying this camera.
*Update* First of all, I've been using the wireless flash with a 430ex II for some portrait photography, it works fine and comes in very handy. Secondly, I've finally had a chance to customize all the settings of my camera, READ THE MANUAL! It's about 250 pages but you'll need to in order to make the most of your camera. Most of it is the usual, but because this camera offers so many different options, reading the latter pages is a must.
Firmware release 1.0.9 is out so dont forget to update if you still have 1.0.7.
For those of you still wondering if the 7D is worth the upgrade or worth buying over a full frame, keep in mind that Canon just release rebates for some EF and EF-S lenses including the 10-22 and 17-55 2.8; as well as some very popular L lenses. So for those of you debating between a 7D and Mark II, getting a kit and using the money saved for a wide angle will pretty much cover all the focal lengths you will really need.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD (Body Only) (Electronics)
I think this question is one that most of us ask ourselves when considering a purchase of this magnitude. The question is not an easy one, and I'm not sure I made the correct decision in purchasing this marvelous piece of technology. Let me put it in perspective; I am a prosumer camera user. I love photography and take a variety of photographs including family pictures, sports photography (see photos at smugmug for gatorowl), and casual street photography. I have owned lots of cameras including film, digital P&S and DSLRs. The 7D is my sixth DSLR (including a DReb XSI that I sold after two weeks). Before the 7D, my main camera was a 40D, which I found to be satisfactory especially the image quality (IQ). The negatives of the 40D are lack of weather sealing, 6.5 frames per second (fps) repeat rate, 1600 ISO max (can be pushed higher) and some focusing issues especially in sports photography. Of course, when comparing with the the DReb series, these "negatives" immediately become positives. The 40D has better construction, much faster repeat rate, and much better focussing (the T1i has, arguably better high ISO capabilities). The 40D compares well with the Nikon D90. Both cameras are very close. The D90 has video, better high ISO performance, and is a little more compact. However, it is a little slower in repeat rate, and I found selecting D90 focus points a bit on the clumsy side. Anyway, because of lens choices, I decided to go Canon. The 50D held no allure mainly because it was an incremental improvement. So, I thought my kit was set for at least a couple of years.
Notice that in the above discussion, I never talk about IQ. Of all the 10MP or better DSLRs that I have used, there is no noticeable difference in IQ. However, after the 7D announcement and some of the preliminary reviews, I was convinced that the 7D was a quantum improvement over the 40D in every respect. I panicked, sold my 40D and bought a 7D.
So, what did I find? The 7D is a great camera and is a clear improvement over the 40D. In some respects, it is substantially better than a 40D, but IQ isn't one of those major improvements. If you look at your files at 100%-300%, you will see more detail in a 7D shot. I have a standard photo that I take in my office when I get a new lens. I had to blow the photos up to 300% before I could detect differences. There was more texture detail in the 7D and the contrast and saturation were better. However, to be honest, it's not clear how much of this difference is attributable to the camera or the lenses (I shot the 40D with a Sigma 70-300mm and the 7D with a Canon 70-300mm IS lens). Frankly, I'm not surprised. DSLRs are so good right now, differences in IQ at low ISO are marginal. However, I do feel confident that I can shoot at 1600 ISO or 2000 ISO with the 7D without a substantial reduction in quality. While I can control noise at 3200 ISO, color saturation and contrast decline more than I like. With the 40D 800 ISO was as far as I wanted to go, but I would push it to 1000 when desperate. The 7D provides is a major ISO gain.
I really love the 7D focus system. I don't know if it is as good as the Canon 1D series, but it is so, so much better than the 40D. By focusing on the exact point in a field, I feel like my creative options are substantially expanded. I was frequently frustrated by having the wrong part of my picture in focus. This need never happen with the 7D.
The 8fps repeat rate is a nice bonus. It just raises the probability that the exact frame you want will be captured.
So, the question is should you upgrade? You have to decide whether you can afford it; so my advice assume that you can afford the camera, but are looking for the camera that best matches how you shoot.
If this is your first SLR (film or digital):
I'd recommend starting with a Canon T1i or Nikon 90D. The 7D is an extremely complex camera that will take many hours to learn and dozen of hours shooting to master. Unless you have the time to invest in such a camera it will just be a source of frustration. Unlike almost every other camera I've owned, the user will obtain disappointing or bad results unless s/he truly understands this equipment. By contrast, you can take other DSLRs and just start shooting. Unlike the other cameras, the 7D has no scene modes. With other DSLRs you can take your time and gradually learn the more sophisticated capabilities. Most importantly, the quality of your pictures will be just as good.
If you are moving up from an entry level DSLR:
You need to ask yourself why you are moving up? If you are dissatisfied with the IQ, then the 7D is not your answer. Using the 7D, it will take a lot more work (initially) to become proficient. However, if you need a faster framerate, better high ISO performance (although the T1i and D90 are very good for high ISO), long for a better focussing system, or shoot in the rain or the beach, then the 7D might make sense.
If you are moving up from a mid-level XXD or Nikon D300:
As before, you're getting very little IQ improvement (wildlife photographers claim they can use the extra cropping capability, but I'm not convinced it's substantial). Buy the 7D because the features provide you with value. Also, I would seriously discourage anyone from switching from a Nikon D300 to a 7D. There has to be an absolute must-have 7D feature for you to make that leap.
As for me, I don't regret this purchase. I'll never say never, but I'm hoping that the 7D will be my last crop-sensor camera. I love the flexibility and expansion of creative options that the new features allow me. It's a wonderful camera. I'm looking forward to spending many hours becoming intimately acquainted with its capabilities.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
The Canon EOS 7D is Canon's new semi-pro / enthusiast digital SLR and competes primarily with Nikon's recently updated D300s. It's a terrific SLR that shines in photo quality, control placement, speed, and viewfinder size and coverage.
First, let me tell you a little about myself so you can gauge what my expectations for the camera are. I'm strictly a hobbyist photographer and use my camera a couple of times a month at museums, outdoor parks, and vacations. Besides photos of my dog, my photography consists primarily of static subjects. This is my second SLR.
Enough of me, onto the camera. The 7D is a fairly bulky SLR and dwarfs "entry level" models such as the Olympus E-510 (see my photos), though it's no bigger than Nikon's D300s. With that said, it's not uncomfortably large and is easy enough to carry around all day. Build quality is terrific and the camera has a solid, luxury feel to it. The 7D fits very well into my average sized hands and, with the kit 28-135 lens, is nicely balanced. All the buttons are easy to reach and, if you've used a Canon camera before, easy to figure out. The magnesium body is sealed against moisture and dust. The shutter button is well placed and has a nicely defined halfway point. A control dial is on the back of the camera and behind the shutter button too. There is also a joystick-like toggle on the back of the camera as well.
A large (3") and high-resolution (920,000 pixel) screen is on the camera back with a secondary status LCD display on the top (with backlight). The screen is a pleasure to use when reviewing images for focus, and when manually focusing in magnified live view mode. Compared to the 3-inch 420,000-pixel screen on my Panasonic LX3 it's a definite upgrade, and makes a noticeable difference.
The viewfinder is huge and bright and has 100% coverage. Coming from the Olympus, which has a very cramped and tunnel-like viewfinder, it was a revelation, and was one of the reasons I decided to step up to the 7D. Also, by using a transmissive LCD on the viewfinder the only markings you see until you confirm focus are for the selected focus method (for instance, a single box when using one focus point, or brackets when using the auto select autofocus method). Moreover, a composition grid can be imposed on the viewfinder. The information display on the bottom of the viewfinder is large and bright and contains lots of shooting and camera information.
The camera is very responsive and turns on almost instantly. The sensor cleaning occurs when you turn the camera on or off but can be interrupted during power up. Focus speeds with the kit lens are very speedy, even in dim light (two 40 watt lamps and a television as the only light sources in a 17' x 11' room). The 19-point all cross type autofocus is uncanny at picking the correct subject. If it doesn't get it right the first time it will the second. I usually set all my cameras to center point autofocus, but the 7D does a great job picking out the subject, so I leave it on fully automatic mode. Live view focusing is not a quick, especially in low light, and I only use live view when I need to shoot at a weird angle and I can't shoot looking through the viewfinder. Live view can be used with a mirror flip or contrast detection. The contrast detection mode is fairly pokey, while the mirror flip mode is quicker, but introduces a brief break in the view. Continuous shooting is available in both a high and a low setting. High is 8 FPS, while the low speed is 3 FPS. The shutter sound is nicely subdued and not nearly as noisy as the Olympus' is.
Photo quality is terrific. There are various Picture Styles you can choose to alter the contrast, sharpness, color tone, and saturation of the photos. At any rate, 99% of the time, colors are natural, exposure is accurate, and dynamic range is great. At this level of camera, that's expected though. What I really love about the 7D is the high ISO noise, or lack thereof. The luxury of feeling confident while shooting at high ISO is priceless. I've taken a good number of shots as high as ISO 3200 and have no complaints. Of course there is a bit of noise, and the mushiness that noise reduction brings, but for an 18 MP image at ISO 3200, I have no complaints. The ISO speeds above 3200 are OK as well, but I'll reserve those for emergency use only, they get fairly processed looking. The relatively large APS-C sensor not only allows for low noise, but also allows me to produce nicely blurred backgrounds and great depth of field. I couldn't achieve the same degree of that effect with the smaller 4/3 sensor in the Olympus, and I certainly couldn't do it with my point and shoot cameras unless I was in macro mode. There is an Auto Lighting Optimizer feature that attempts to correct photos that are not correctly exposed (e.g. subjects are too dark or highlights are lost). It works well for the most part, but, depending on the subject, the differences are very subtle.
The HD movie mode is nicely done as well. You set your focus, either automatically or manually, before you start recording. You can refocus during recording but you'll definitely notice it. You can adjust shutter speed, aperture, and ISO in manual movie mode as well. There is a monaural microphone on the front of the camera, or you can plug in a stereo microphone. By pressing the shutter button, you can interrupt the movie briefly to take a still photo, similar to Canon's S series super zoom cameras.
The kit lens is nicely constructed and fairly sharp from corner to corner. Purple fringing is not much of a problem in my photos. The field of view is kind of narrow though. The lens starts at 44.8mm with the 7D's 1.6x field of view crop factor taken into account. Without a wide angle it's not an ideal all around lens, but I do feel it's worth the extra money for the kit with this lens. You end up getting a nice, ultrasonic motor, image stabilized, 4.8x lens for a minimal cost.
The only things I don't like about the camera so far are that in auto ISO you can't limit how high it goes. I find the 7D wants to jump up to ISO 3200 fairly quickly in low light when it doesn't need to go nearly that high. When it jumps to ISO 3200 I find I can dial it down to ISO 1600 manually and still get an acceptable shutter speed, so the Canon is being very cautious jumping up so high. The other thing I'm not fond of is the fact that when you're in playback mode the most you can zoom out is a 9-image grid. With such a large high-resolution screen I would appreciate an index grid playback mode that showed more photos. Lastly, I find the process for setting the custom white balance a bit long winded. You have to take a photo of a white reference object then go into the menus to choose that photo as the reference photo. On other cameras, even Canon's point and shoots, the process is much faster, and it doesn't save the reference photo to your memory card. It's not the worst system, and I have become very quick at it, but it could be better.
All in all... a phenomenal semi-pro SLR. The Canon 7D covers all the bases.
12/17/2009 Update: I found a nice case for the 7D which fits the camera with kit lens quite well. It doesn't fit much more than that, but it's a good case if you don't carry too many accessories with you. It's the Lowepro Topload Zoom case.Lowepro Topload Zoom 1 Camera Bag (Black)
12/19/2009 Update: You can change the depth of field preview button to switch to another autofocus mode when you hold it down, instead of doing a depth of field preview. I find this very useful since I hardly ever use depth of field preview. Now if I find that the autofocus is consistently not picking the right subject for a shot, I simply hold down the depth of field preview button to have it temporarily switch from auto select mode to spot focus mode. Very convenient.
01/04/2010 Update: Just got back from a trip to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The 7D was a joy to use. I took about 160 photographs. Of those only 4 or 5 are out of focus due to camera error. The low light performance continues to impress me. I took many photos at ISO 1600 through 3200 and all of the photos are completely usable. In the large "Sea Life" and "African Mammals" rooms I was able to take sharp pictures of these very dim rooms while shooting handheld at ISO 3200 and no flash (see pictures). Anyone who has visited these exhibits knows how challenging they can be to shoot.
P.S.: Sorry for the long review. There is a lot to cover, and even so I may not have gotten everything. If you'd like to know something I didn't cover, feel free to leave a comment and I'll answer it as quickly as I can. Also, I will update this review as needed based on any new experiences I have with the 7D.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD (Body Only) (Electronics)
By any measure, the new Canon EOS 7D is a worthy successor to the EOS line of APS-C sensor DSLRs. I believe it finally levels the playing field for many Canon shooters envious of Nikon DXXX shooters.
I am an advanced amateur photographer who has owned the 20D for the last 5 years and will use it as a backup body now. With each Canon announcement of a successor to the XXD line of DSLRs, I was tempted to upgrade but resisted each time up until now. This was partly due to budgetary constraints, but I felt mostly that each new model was only an evolutionary modification rather than a revolutionary one. If there's one thing to keep in mind in this fast-moving world of DSLR photography, then it is that DSLR bodies come and go (and depreciate quickly in value, like most electronic goods) but excellent glass will nearly always be sound investments (high-quality lenses maintained in good condition may appreciate in value).
The 7D appears to be a game-changer for many Canon photo enthusiasts like myself who prefer or can only afford to shoot with an APS-C sensor body. Nikon shooters have had an excellent choice of a crop sensor body in the D100/D200/D300 (now D300s), but for Canon shooters, the top-of-the-line equivalent was trailing in the feature set department. Now most of the features that were absent in the Canon XXD body as compared with their main rival are present in the 7D.
Notable features:
- 18 MP APS-C CMOS sensor
- Dual DIGIC 4 processors (a first for a prosumer Canon DSLR)
- Maximum 8 fps frame rate
- Maximum ISO 12,800
- VF with 100% coverage and 1.0x magnification (a first for a Canon DSLR)
- 19-pt AF (all cross-type with f/5.6 or faster lenses)
- 63-zone metering system (measures focus, color, and luminance)
- On-demand grid lines in VF (a first for any Canon DSLR)
- Built-in electronic leveler in 2 planes (a first for any Canon DSLR)
- Built-in wireless flash trigger (a first for any Canon DSLR)
- HD video in 1080p (30/25/24 fps) and 720p (60/50 fps)
I have had the camera for over a week now. My initial impressions are mostly positive thus far. Additional thoughts in the form of updates will be forthcoming once I get an opportunity to capture more images under various conditions (indoors/low light, outdoors, action, etc.) and get my act together to type it up. So far, I believe that the IQ, VF, LCD monitor, and handling are all vast improvements over the 20D. Taking photos at high ISOs and achieving low noise captures is all the rage these days. I feel that random photos I've taken at ISO settings up to 1600 are completely usuable. In the past, I felt comfortable shooting with my 20D mostly south of ISO 400/800. I shall pixel peep some more and shoot at even higher ISOs to see where the happy medium for me shooting with the 7D lies. Tolerance for noise, I feel, is very subjective.
Limitations:
There is a steep learning curve with this camera. The 7D is packed with new features that I have yet to maximize to my advantage. Coming from a 20D rather than a more recent line of XXD body makes things even more challenging. A careful read of the user's manual is critical.
If ultimately low noise captures at high ISOs is most important to you, then a FF sensor body is the way to go rather than an APS-C sensor body. A larger pixel pitch that captures more light (at the expense of lower resolution) will help maintain low noise levels at very high ISOs. This is a key reason why the small-body FFs, such as the Nikon D700, Canon 5D/5DMkII, and Sony A900/A850, are so revered. Any of those cameras will likely outperform the 7D at high ISOs in terms of low noise captures. Moreover, they provide less DoF than APS-Cs at equivalent fields of view. However, the obvious downsides are their cost and need for big, heavy, and expensive glass.
The 7D should not be viewed as an HD camcorder replacement. Although useful to have and with slightly more shooting options as compared with the version currently offered in the 5DMkII, video capture in the 7D still suffers from lack of continuous AF. Unfortunately, the jello phenomenon (from rolling shutter) and monoaural sound (external stereo mic input is available, though) make for a less than harmonious package.
*** Please be aware that some information about potential problems with the initial batch of 7D bodies has surfaced on photography forums and elsewhere (including here on Amazon). They include difficulties with the new AF system (particularly in AI servo mode, though some users have had trouble in any AF mode) resulting in OOF photos, as well as ghosting (residual preceding images captured in subsequent images) under certain shooting conditions. Canon is aware of the latter and will issue a firmware update in the near future. Meanwhile, a firmware update (1.0.9) has already been issued that fixes problems with suboptimal AF in Live View, among other bugs. Of note, my copy has no troubles with AF that I have encountered at this point. ***
Overall Impression:
The Canon EOS 7D is probably the best overall Canon APS-C sensor DSLR currently available. As far as feature set, it fares extremely well with its slightly more expensive main rival, the Nikon D300s. In its favor, the D300s has a larger, 51-pt AF system and dual CF/SD card slots. A scientific shoot-out from a reputable photography website or magazine is sorely needed to help resolve the issue of which has better IQ at high ISOs. I believe the current lack of Adobe software support for 7D RAW images is the rate-limiting step.
With my limited use of the 7D thus far, I have found the camera to be a sheer pleasure to shoot with. It is a worthy upgrade for 10D/20D users, and probably for 30D users as well. Shooters of the 40D/50D will need to determine whether the new features are worth dishing out $1700 USD for, particularly during these challenging economic times. Mostly anecdotal evidence exists so far that suggests there may be a slight improvement in IQ from the 7D as compared with the 40D/50D. Nikon and other brand photo enthusiasts should weigh the benefits and risks of switching systems.
Once Canon publicly addresses any potential problems with the AF system encountered by some users, then I can offer the 7D my highest recommendation.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
It depends! If you are looking for a comparison between the 5D and the 7D, or if I would have a recommendation of one over the other, this is not for you. This is written from the perspective of someone who upgraded from the xxD series to the 7D. Before I go into a detailed review about the 7D and whether you should upgrade or not, a little background about me to help you guys compare it to your situation. I'm an amateur photographer who does the occasional paid gig, more because I enjoy it rather than for the money. I have been taking pictures for 4 years now, went through 35mm learning curve and then switched to 20D in Mar 06. I have shot with the 40D, but never owned the 30/40/50D. Current lenses include 17-40mm f/4L, 24-70mm f/2.8L, Tamron 28-75 f/2.8, 70-200mm f/4L IS, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, 135mm f/2L & 100mm f/2.8macro. I still have my 35mm EOS 3 which I love and use rarely.
Am I happy I upgraded from the 20D?
You bet! I believe that one should invest in lenses first and keep the camera for the last (unless of course, if you are a pro). It has been a real upgrade from the 20D. The 7D feels like a slightly bigger and definitely heavier camera than the 20D and I am still getting used to carrying it (this is a review after 24 hrs of the purchase). When I put the 24-70 2.8L on to it, it balanced just beautifully, yes, both are heavy, but they just beautifully balance each other. I could carry the 20D with battery grip in one hand. However, the 7D+24-70L is definitely a two handed camera, even without the battery grip. If you are a petite lady or a guy with small hands reading this, you could get some practice lifting 5lbs dumb bells. No, I am not joking...add the 580EX on top of this, and you will know that I am serious. I love the way it feels in my hand and the way the camera rests firmly on my left palm while I hold it. So much for ergonomics and body feel. The neck strap has 7D written on it, which clearly is meant for bragging rights.
The IQ is the biggest jump from the 20D (duh!) Every clickgasm results in a beautiful image, especially when you combine it with a good repertoire of lenses. Yes, I said clickgasm, because every click is just so much sweeter like a 1000 bag pipers playing in the distant, but just for 1/60th of a second. Love it.
I also love the sensor cleaning functionality, something that was missing in the 20D, which was more prevalent in the 40D & 50D. It provides confidence and reassurance that this is a good thing for the camera.
Oh and talk about the LCD. A real leap for me, may be less so from the 50D, but I love how the menu functionality is organized. The resolution of the LCD is outstanding and almost zero glare. I constantly had that problem with the 20D, but this is a huge improvement and am very happy. In the 20D, you could'nt tell if an image was OOF, but in this, it is very obvious if there is a shake or OOF. And the color and contrast visible in the LCD itself is outstanding. Think of the jump between monochrome computer monitors to the color flat screens...that is what it is for me. In addition, I also like how the Quick Setting is organized, which displays about all the image settings from exposure scale, white balance, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, metering and all the happy stuff. The menu is different from the Quick Setting, and that goes into the additional details such as FEB, AEB, ISO expansion, custom functions, Highlight Tone Priority etc. Very well done Canon, I love it so far.
The 8fps is really cool, but I used to have 5 fps in the 20D with the battery grip and used it only while shooting sports, the 8 will come in handy on the rare occasion that I use it for pro sports. And you get that without any additional battery pack, which is good.
ISO expansion and noise reduction looks very good at the first glance. The pictures from the 20D were sub par at 800 and unusable at 1600 and above. I took a couple of pictures at 3200 with the 7D and am very impressed with the improvement in IQ. There is a substantial improvement despite the higher MP in the sensor, so very happy with it. For the thrill of it, I shot a pic at 12800 (posted it in the gallery, the canon 77mm lens cap) and compared it with the same pic at 3200. I would give a 5 star to canon on this one too.
OMG, the 19pt focus, I absolutely love it. Think of it this way, I learnt advanced photography in the Canon EOS 3 (35mm), which has 45 point focus. when I bought the 20D, I felt like it was a huge downgrade in focusing ability. It was not cool to loose the ECF feature of the 3 either. But I love going back to the 19point focus feature...I dont know, something about it is just cooler. It is most helpful in taking macro shots, which I do a lot of, and I dont have to move the focus and then move the camera ( I know, I know, pathetic way of taking macro shots). Again, glad that finally Canon is bringing this feature in.
Two features I am yet to use and will add it to a later review after use are the wireless flash and the HD video.
Should you upgrade from the 30/40/50D?
I have shot with a 40D and I have to say that the improvement in IQ from 20D to 40D was substantial and a bigger leap than the 40D to the 7D (I have not used the 50D). If you have $1900 extra and would love to splurge on this, by all means. The only time I would strongly advise against buying the 7D is if you spent much of your time with your previous DSLR in the basic mode and never in the P, Av, Tv, M modes. This camera doesnt have any of those modes and is not meant for someone interesting in learning photography, it is meant for someone who knows what they are doing.
If you are really interested in shooting HD video in one camera and want to make use of a good collection of lenses for the video, absolutely go for it. This provides a slightly cheaper option compared to the 5D. I never even considered the 5D as I knew it was not for me. I dont know that I will gain value for the additional $800. So cant help you if you are trying to choose between the 5d and the 7d.
The four biggest reasons I can see you going for an upgrade are
1. HD video
2. Wireless flash
3. 19 pt focus
4. Weather and Dust sealing that is a part of the xD series.
If you are considering an upgrade for the sake of IQ, you may be in for a disappointment. Dont get me wrong, there is an improvement (my POV is from 40D), but just that the 40D itself is so good that there is little room for Canon to improve. There are a lot more reasons to upgrade if you are using the 20D or the 30D as I have mentioned earlier in my review.
Any complaints with the camera so far?
None so far, Im very happy. Of course, the price could be cheaper, but oh well. I also wish real estate in California was cheaper, but lets be realistic, Canon is in this business to make money. I noticed that one reviewer had focusing problems, I have had none and am very happy with the camera so far.
I will continue posting pictures and additional review points...happy clickgasm!
UPDATE AFTER 7 DAYS OF USING THE CAMERA.
So far, I have been extremely happy. If there is something that has consistently wowed me, it is the LCD, amazing resolution, color and clarity in that. Portraits coming out of this camera are pleasing, more so on the 85/1.8 makes it a great combo. ISO1600 is usable, I took one or two in ISO12800, which was better in quality compared to my 20Ds 3200. Not great, but useful to preserve memories. May not suit professional expectations of quality. I uploaded some of my first pictures, not sure why Amazon is not displaying them (nothing obscene in the pictures). Definitely happy with my purchase and would highly recommend!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD (Body Only) (Electronics)
I upgraded from the Rebel XSi and boy what an upgrade it was! I'm mainly a hobbyist photographer even though my friends all say I should quit my day job (they just suck up because I will shoot their events for free!). I upgraded from the XSi because I kept finding myself arguing with the XSi over it's light metering, focus points and choice of shutter speeds in Aperture Priority mode. I can say without a doubt that the 7D out performs the XSi in every way (and it should since it's a semi pro camera while the XSi is a consumer camera!).
When I bought the 7D I slapped the 28-135 lens on it (already had it for the XSi) and started shooting, quickly noticing it's much improved light meter. It blew me away at how perfectly it would calibrate the white balance for every picture and what it was metering the light from. I was blown away just by that! After about a week of usage I decided to upgrade to an L lens for both the moisture/dust protection all around and also it give this camera a "proper" lens. It was worth every penny!
Matched with an L lens, this camera far exceeds what I was expecting out of it. I took it to a friends 1st birthday party and shoot the 1 year old using the L lens (17-40 UWA) on full manual at 100ISO, 50 shutter, aperture 4.0 with the 430EX flash and my god, the pictures are gorgeous! The camera's ability to track faces is spot on, the kid's eyes are sharp, crisp, colorful and full of life. They just make your heart melt! I'm sure it helps that this camera has special settings this lens in it's memory and it shows.
I have not played around with the video much, not my cup of tea. However my brother-in-law, who is a video editor, says the ability to capture video at such a short focal length requires thousands upon thousands of dollars in the video world and says that the 7D (and the 5Dmii for that matter) can do what a 10k camera can for a fraction of the price.
Another feature which was a welcome upgrade was the weather sealing. Not that I plan to go into the trenches with my camera but going out to a dusty, muddy farm and taking fall pictures is less worrisome now since I don't have to bother trying to keep my camera away from all the floating dust.
This is a phenomenal camera and I highly recommend it to anyone who is into photography as a hobby or a casual professional. I'm sure a "real" pro who lives their life on photography would welcome a full frame body more than the 1.6 crop but for me, I don't care, this camera does everything I want and more! It's a perfect addition to my ever growing camera bag and has become my one and only camera for which to shoot with. My poor XSi has been booted from my day bag and sits idle on my shelf collecting dust with it's non-dust protected body. I wonder if I should sell it before it's too late!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
I take photos of birds. 90% of the time of flying birds, mostly raptors -- distant, fast-moving subjects in poor quality lighting conditions. I fitted the 7D with a Canon 300 mm F2.8 L IS USM telephoto lens. Also used both Canon Extenders EF II (1.4X and 2X), and sometimes used a light Manfrotto tripod. Shot nearly 1,000 RAW and JPEG during the first 10 days after getting the camera. Image quality is outstanding (without the extenders incredibly so). Focusing speed might be even faster than with my previous camera (40D) but it is still too soon to be definitive. 8 fps burst speed is notoriously faster than the 6.4 fps I was used to. "Zone AF" and "AF point expansion" focusing modes (new to me) are very effective for following distant flying birds (better than Spot AF mode, that I used with the 40D). For closer birds "Spot AF" is preferable so one can improve chances of focusing the head/eye. RAW files are huge (20-24 Mb each) so buy the fastest memory card and card reader you can. Unfortunately, neither iPhoto nor Snow Leopard read 7D's CR2 format as of 15 Dec 2009. Photoshop CS4 (properly updated) does though, and so does Canon's included software, of course. The 7D uses a battery slightly different from the XXD series, so now I need to carry two battery chargers, and my batteries are not interchangeable between cameras. I also bought the Canon 28-135 mm F3.5-5.6 IS included in the kit, and however a little less sharp than my Canon 50 mm F1.8 EF II, it performs well throughout the zoom range. If you can afford only one lens this is probably a good choice for general photography, and good value for the relatively little extra money. Full HD Video is very sharp and colors well balanced. Nice to have the external mic input. Best to turn the IS off when shooting video without an external mic or a buzzing noise (the IS drives) will contaminate your sound track. I still need to run a series of more controlled tests to form a sounder opinion but so far I'm happy with the upgrade. The 1.6X cropping factor rules out this camera for landscape photography, but the same feature combined with the 8 fps and new AF modes probably makes this camera -dollar for dollar- the best current choice for telephoto wildlife photography. This is the camera I was waiting for! As simple as that.
17 Dec 2009 update. I updated my software today and both Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5.8) and Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6.2) open and process RAW images (in "Preview") taken with the 7D. iPhoto '08 (version 7.1.5) imported RAW images from this camera just fine this time. NOW I'm happy!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD (Body Only) (Electronics)
This camera looks great on paper, but....
The good news: the 7D packs lots of pro features you'll love, like a big and bright viewfinder and LCD screen, weather seals, a dampened mirror box so that the noise from the slap doesn't startle wildlife, automatic sensor cleaning on startup and shut down, micro adjustment for optimizing the performance of lenses, minimal shutter lag and fast AF. I bought my 7D with the incomparable Canon 70-200mm F/4L IS and the combined responsiveness is amazing.
The bad news: my sample constantly over exposes and blows highlights when used outdoors in bright light, the auto white balance is the least reliable of any digital camera that I have ever used (sometimes the color rendition is downright odd#, and images above ISO 800 are dotted with little white speckles that standard noise reduction software settings don't eliminate. My 7D delivers such inconsistent image quality that shooting in the RAW file format is essential. To top it off, the 18MP sensor creates large, memory intensive files, but delivers only slightly more visible resolution than the 12MP sensors of my Nikon D90 & D700. If you are camera shopping because you want to boost detail and overall IQ beyond the output of your Canon T1i or Nikon D90, you might get better results by spending $1700 on a high-grade lens instead of this camera.
There are also some design glitches that may or may not matter to you: mirror-lockup is buried in a custom menu folder, the IR remote shutter release can only be used with a delay which makes it useless for wildlife and portraiture, the tiny buttons around the shutter release button are difficult to use when you are in a hurry or are wearing gloves, the toggle control is temperamental and will frequently dump you into the wrong menu folder, and the focus controls are needlessly complicated. A camera that is being marketed for shooting sports should make it easy to change settings and operate quickly, buy I frequently find that I have to stop and fiddle with both hands in order to make a simple adjustment. Furthermore, it is not possible to set a ceiling when using auto ISO, and Highlight Tone Priority helps to reduce blown highlights but changes the base ISO from 100 to 200, so noise also increases.
In order to produce usable results in direct sun, I have settled on -2/3rds EV as a standard setting with Highlight Tone Priority enabled and contrast at the default (zero) point. Whenever possible I stop down and always use a super multi-coated polarizer on the lens. I also turned off the automatic LCD brightness feature, which made it impossible to correctly judge exposures by checking images in playback.
Editing outdoor shots taken with the 7D almost always involves a levels adjustment to reclaim highlight detail: Adobe Elements and Photoshop do a much better job of this than the supplied Canon Digital Photo Professional software. BTW, the default Adobe settings produce brighter, more saturated colors than Canon's software (see page 14 of the 7D write up at [...] for a demonstration of the differences). Whether or not this is preferable is a matter of taste, but it is something to watch out for if you are switching from Adobe Camera RAW to DPP. Also, I had consistently poor quality output from DPP RAW conversion: fine detail was obliterated and images were overlaid with a sprinkling of pixel-size artifacts. Open the same file in Adobe Camera RAW and you will see all of the detail and micro contrast that the 18MP sensor can deliver.
Is the 7D worth the price tag and considerable heft? Only if you need the rich feature set, shooting speed and durable build, and want to be able to use outstanding Canon lenses like the 70-200mm f/4L IS on a small sensor, cropped view dSLR. Canon should be able to improve the 7D's IQ with firmware updates. Until then, the bottom line is this: you can produce great images with this camera, but expect to do a lot of extra exposure bracketing and post processing.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Canon EOS 7D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-inch LCD (Body Only) (Electronics)
I bought this camera as a complete newbie to photography. My sum total of knowledge about photography was: keep extraneous junk out of the shot, fill the frame with your subject, and... that's it. I took pictures with my Olympus C740 UZ in full auto mode, and could not tell you the difference between an f-stop and a flame thrower. However, my plan was to become an accomplished amateur photographer ASAP. Once the camera was on order I got Bryan Peterson's book, "Understanding Exposure" and read it cover to cover. Wow! If you consider yourself a beginner, get this book today. Read its' reviews here on Amazon, this is what you need to understand a tremendous amount about photography in, literally, the first half an hour of reading. So, because of that book, I was not the least bit intimidated by the EOS 7D, and was up and running taking pictures immediately. And, by the way, the mode dial has been in aperture priority, shutter priority, or manual since day one. As far as I'm concerned, "auto" and "creative auto" don't exist. I went from knowing absolutely nothing about photography to having a firm grasp of the essentials in a week, with this camera and Bryan Peterson's book. As a complement to the camera I also got at the same time Doug Sahlin's book, "Canon EOS 7D for Dummies". It is an excellent accompaniment to the camera manual, and, like Peterson's book, full of good general photography basics. If you have anything on the ball at all, you can become a photographer with this camera and those two books. From this base, you can then continue to hone your skills and learn forever. So my point is not to talk about the camera, but to tell any beginner they can use THIS camera starting from a base of no knowledge and with diligent study learn very quickly. If it is in your budget, you don't need to go from a point and shoot to a "bridge" camera to a DSLR. If you are serious, want to learn, and have the scratch, you can start right here.
I have had this camera for eight days and learned and practiced the following things I never knew in that time: What f-stop is and how it affects depth of field; how to use shutter speed to stop or imply motion; what ISO is and how it can affect picture quality; how white balance works and when and how to modify it; using exposure compensation and exposure bracketing, and how to combine those with filters in unusual lighting situations; when and why to use a tripod with slow shutter speeds; how to take great macros without a macro lens using a 50 mm prime lens and an extension tube; how to use direct flash, bounce flash, fill flash, ring flash, and off camera flash for macros, portraits etc. to eliminate shadows and balance exposures. Why you don't use a wide angle lens for portraits! The list goes on but the point is you can do it too. So don't be afraid to buy a "scary" camera, just roll up your sleeves and learn. Also, get a Cotton Carrier to carry the camera around, you don't want this thing hanging on your neck! Cotton Carrier is a vest that securely clips the camera to your chest, it is a necessity in my opinion, put Cotton Carrier in a search engine and peruse his website. I took a "Macro Walk" yesterday with it and it is the best! No sore neck.
Anyway if you want to know more about the camera itself there is plenty of info here, but I just want beginners to know you can succeed with this awesome machine.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
(
Saving...
