Added a 7D to my arsenal

[bob williams]

Well, after a couple of months and a lot of reading and "him-hawing". I finally decided to upgrade from a 50D to the 7D. Though I would love to have the 1D4, I just couldn't justify the cost. For those who have made this same upgrade, what are your thoughts. Are you happy you made the switch? Though I don't expect the IQ of the 5D2, I am hoping for some improvement from the 50D. Asside from the pro reviews that hint at the 7D being a little soft, what do the 7D owners think?


Since I found out my (new) camera is on backorder, I thought I would get as much info from you guys on what I should initially expect from this upgrade. I pirmarily shoot wildlife and natureand am starting to dabble in sports photography. My lens collection consists of a 100-400L, 24-105L and an EFS 10-22


Your comments are appreciated.

[Brendan7]

Congratulations Bob on your new purchase. The 7D was my first DSLR but I have tried the 50d. The biggest differences for me (besides movie mode, I dont use it much) are the viewfinder and ISO performance. The 7D viewfinder is awesome, I love it. ISO performance is probably the biggest difference for me. Comparing the 50d and 7d at ISO 3200 is like comparing opposite ends of a greyscale; for me at least there's no competition.


Good Luck with your new Camera!


brendan

[ddt0725]

I will be picking up my 7D in an 1/2 an hour hopefully (upgrading from a T1i)!! [:D]
A major electronic store matched Amazon's price for me and was going to UPS it to me on Monday from Illinois, well it's Wed. night and they STILL didn't put it on a truck so after enough complaining on my part ...the manager hopped in his car an hour ago and went to get it for me!!

I will let you know what I think as soon as I get a chance to try it out (with my new 17-55mm) that came today!!!!


Denise

[Daniel Browning]

That sounds great, Bob.



the manager hopped in his car an hour ago and went to get it for me!!


Wow! That's what I call service.

[Sinh Nhut Nguyen]

Congrats on the new camera! I hope you get it soon

[MikeWhy]

I finally decided to upgrade from a 50D to the 7D. Though I would love to have the 1D4, I just couldn't justify the cost. For those who have made this same upgrade, what are your thoughts. Are you happy you made the switch? Though I don't expect the IQ of the 5D2, I am hoping for some improvement from the 50D. Asside from the pro reviews that hint at the 7D being a little soft, what do the 7D owners think?





I don't know about the 50D. Your Wow!! will probably be less than mine. I upgraded from a 300D after... I don't know how long. I bought it the first day it was released. It really is nice to reach for features and find them fully implemented, rather than shortchanged to save a dollar or two on the retail price. I am continually pleased with the 7D. The functions and ergonomics are exactly as I like them.


As for resolution, you probably already know to watch out at smaller apertures, since the 50D was the first to be diffraction limited at lower than f/8. The reports of softness all compared f/16 shots, and then wailed and wept famously. DLA for the 7D is f/6.9. When you first unbox it, shoot a few through the 24-105 at f/7.1. I promise you you'll love it at 1:1 on your screen.


Aside from having to watch those small apertures -- "losing" f/11 really hurts -- the 7D doesn't give up much to the 5D2. Those 18 MP are the center 40% crop from a hypothetical 46 MP sensor. When you start to wonder about small pixels and ISO noise, remind yourself the 5D2 only wishes it had a popup flash to wirelessly trigger off-camera flash. You might consider picking up a 430EXII or two if you don't already have one. With unbroken coverage extending from 16mm to 560mm 35mm equivalent, very few 5D owners have anything on you. I'm a bit envious myself. ;)

[bob williams]

When you first unbox it, shoot a few through the 24-105 at f/7.1. I promise you you'll love it at 1:1 on your screen.


Thanks Mike, You can bet I will

[bob williams]

Congrats on the new camera! I hope you get it soon
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Thanks Nate. By the way, Your bird photography inspires me; when I need to compare, I look at your shots. Unfortunately, there is usually nothing to compare, But I am getting closer.

[bob williams]

I will be picking up my 7D in an 1/2 an hour





Congrats Denise, I am envious. Please let us all know what your initial impression is.

[bob williams]

The 7D viewfinder is awesome,





This is one of the things I am really looking forward too, as well as the speed and ISO performance.


Thanks Brenden

[cxr]

congrats with the new purchase...hoping that i could get mine in a month or two. let us know how do find it especially with the 24-105 because i'm planning to buy that lens to match the 7D.

[bob williams]

WOW, Got the 7D today. I was told it was on back order 2-3 weeks, got it in less than a week--I am a happy camper. By the time the battery charged, I didn't have much daylight to test the beast, but I did a get a shot of my cat that was impressive at 100%, None of my 50 d shots were ever that detailed---I'll spare you the pic. This camera has so many new features, but one that impressed me and wasn't talked about much in the reviews, was the customizabilty (is that a word?) of the control buttons. This is really a blessing since I like the ability to seperate metering, focus control etc. You could do this in the 50d and others, but not to the extent of the 7D, I can't wait to take this camera out for a real test drive. Other than that, I am impressed with this camera. I love the zone AF and I am look forward to seeing it's AF tracking ability. Auto ISO is also a very nice feature. I have one request for CANON-----Please give me more than 3 exposure brackets; 7 would be nice and 9 would be wonderful. Its just a Firmware upgrade and it shouldn't cost 5K or better to get this feature. Ok, Off my soapbox now. Spare battery and battery grip on order, should get those by the end of the week. Bosque Del Apache, here I come.


Thanks to all for your input on this string.


Bob

[ddt0725]

WOW, Got the 7D today.


Congrats on getting the camera! I know I am having a great time learning everything I can about mine and I couldn't be more pleased! Quite the learning curve for me but I am much happier with this than I was with the T1i. Can't wait to see some of your photos ...even of the cat! [:)]

Denise