Quote Originally Posted by Fast Glass


I have tried it at a camera shop. Functionly it is great for a camera for it's class. But the IQ is not in the same leage with the 5D II that I also tried. Bryan's noise cropps show about 1 1/3 stops worst noise compared to the 5D II, ex 25,000 looks better on the 5D II than 12,000 on the 7D. That's apretty big differance.


But if I had to choose a camera from Nikon it would be the D700. It has a full-frame sensor, 8fps, large buffer, better weather sealling than the 5D II or 7D and about 1/3 stop better noise than even the 5D II!


I am seriously thinking about the Nikon,

Hello John,


Sidebar to the main topic of the thread:


Don't give up on Canon just yet to go over to the *dark side*. The 5D Mk II and the D700 are already in late middle age in camera body years. I'm sure that by this time next year, there will be a 5D Mk III . . . with better AF and an improved sensor. If you can wait, you may even see a lower price as occurred when the 5D Mk II came out.


As for the D700, yes it's got a nice AF system, more FPS, and maybe better high ISO performance. But it's only got 12 megapixels and it's pretty nice to have more when post processing or cropping. Also, do you REALLY need that marginally better high ISO?


I can't see how Canon can't or won't put the 7D AF into the next 5D body. As for sensor, the 7D sensor is a generation newer than the 5D Mk II and manages eke out pretty decent performance out of much smaller pixels. I think a lot of this has to do with improved algorithms in the processing of the image data as well as a more efficient sensor. I think these algorithms are optimized for outdoor use where there is good lighting. This combined with the excellent AF system and 1.6x crop factormakes the 7D a specialized outdoor/action body. That's maybe why I'm finding the IQ of 7D pictures are so good in outdoor / good lighting conditions. Perhaps the size of the firmware of the 7D, twice the size of the 5D Mk II, is an indication of the processing algorithms.


That may also be why Bryan's noise crops show the 7D to be so much poorer compared to the 5D Mk II. Those crops were taken in lighting conditions not optimized for the 7D and at higher ISO's which you would not normally use outdoors.


BUT looking forward, what if Canon applied all the technologyof the 7D sensor and then some, into the FF sensor in the next generation of 5D. You won't need any more pixels, but just think what better sensitivity and processing could do . . .


All speculative of course but who knows . . .