7d or 550d?

[Nathaniel]

Just to pick your brains. I have sold my 350d and looking to upgrade to either a 7d or 550d. Any ideas for my kind of photography. I just want sharp, well exposed photos that I am happy with. There was nothing wrong with the 350d but I found that my 450d had far more advanced features like sensor cleaning,a bigger LCD screen,spot metering and the controls were better placed than the 350d esp the ISO setting button.So when I had a good offer I let the 350d "go".

I am only wondering whether the 7d would be too advanced for me and my kind of photography- the lazy sort, and will not do much justice to all it's features. On the other hand I don't wish to buy the 550d and then feel that I should have gone in for the 7d. I know that both models have the video facility which I don't think I will use- unless absolutely necessary.

[Millie]

Re: 7d or 550d?

7D V 550D
If your after a net improvement in your photography get the 550D and spend the difference between the 550D and 7D on photography lessons.

[cdmcl]

Re: 7d or 550d?

I loved the advice I was given by CF when I was considering the same issues from the 400D. But I bravely made the move to the 7D and I just love it. Yes I have a very long way to go with all those options; but one step at a time is fine. The real consideration for me was the build quality, given that I am living in a very dirty and dusty desert environment! If I was still in clean, green New Zealand I would possibly not have gone to the 7D. But as it is, I am very happy to be learning slowly as I go out into the desert every weekend.
Carol

[EOS_Jim]

Re: 7d or 550d?

I'm with Millie. 550D would be a fine upgrade however if you don't want to spend on lessons, spend the spare cash on good lenses. They are the real investment. You could also look at the 40D or 50D as a good upgrade to your 350D.

[Les McLean]

Re: 7d or 550d?

Where the 7D excels (IMO) is in fast action shots in decent light, birds in flight, footbal, rugby etc.

For the type of photography you are interested in, portraits, landscapes etc, I think the 550D would be a better option, and save yourself around £500 into the bargain, which you could put towards an L lens like the 24-105 F4L lens, or another highly rated lens- EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM

I have a 7D, and it's a great camera, but I don't generally use it for portraits, landscapes etc

[briansquibb]

Re: 7d or 550d?

I use my 5D for portraits - excellent in low light up to iso3200. Far better than my 50d for portraits

5D are selling for about £7/800 at the moment. However they cant take ef-s lens

Here is a snap for the family album taken yesterday showing the quality from the 5d@iso1600.

[MX5]

Re: 7d or 550d?

See the Canon compare site (here used to compare the 7D & 550D) Click to Compare/. Decide which features are essential (score 5), nice to have (score 3) and everything score 0. Add the scores and see which gives the largest number. It could be the weight, the weatherproofing, the CPS factor, or whatever decides which wins. But (I am sure it's been said before) ... a 300D in the hands of a pro will yield 'better' (whatever that means) results than a Series-1 in a less experienced users hands. (Okay over simplification ... but without upsetting people I'm sure you can see what I mean). As Millie said training ... i.e. a couple of days in our fine Lake District doing the knowledge will be money well spent ...

[Nathaniel]

Re: 7d or 550d?

Thank you folks for all the good advice, and particularly about the 50d (Jim), which I hadn't thought of. Since I have 3 ef-s lenses at the moment along with Ef ones,I might not go in for the 5d (full frame). I would like both the camera bodies I have to be able to use the two sets of lenses. Les, I am more interested in Wild life and outdoor photography and thats what I started with. Portraits and architecture are of recent origins due to "conversion" by all you good forum members. Photography classes are a good option too but I must weigh the costs against better lenses and what my good lady says- promised I would be more out and about once I fully (yes, fully) retired!!!!! Anyway,once again very good advice. The bottom line for me is to be comfortable with what I have upgraded to and this along with my
450d will be my baggage mates, hopefully, for quite some time.

[Nathaniel]

Re: 7d or 550d?

Nice photos Brian. Did you take in RAW or Jpeg?

[briansquibb]

Re: 7d or 550d?

I always take my photos in RAW and mostly ONLY use DPP to process them

When I go to a walk I take just 1 camera and lens to keep the weight down. This is usually 24-105 f4L with either the 50d or 5d (depends where I am going and the weather/lighting) plus the flash. This fits nicely into my little bag which is easy to carry - see below. I have found that the 24-105 is the lens I use the most, followed by the 70-200. Having both the 50D and 5D means that this is the equivalent of 4 lens due to the full frame 5d and the 1.6 50d.

[Les McLean]

Re: 7d or 550d?

. Les, I am more interested in Wild life and outdoor photography and thats what I started with. Portraits and architecture are of recent origins due to "conversion" by all you good forum members.

If that's the case, I would veer towards a 7D, it's the best ap-c sensor body to date (IMO)

Plus you can wirelessly control your speedlite from the camera.

I did a review of the 7D here:

http://www.eos-magazine-forum.com/showthread.php?2431-Canon-EOS-7D

[Woolley]

Re: 7d or 550d?

Putting it simply, the 7d does more, wieghs more and costs more. If the 'does more' bit is important, then you judge if the cost and weight is justified. Bearing in mind that anything that does more is generally harder to get the best out of.

Having said that, I want one!

[Nathaniel]

Re: 7d or 550d?

I have seen your 7d review Les and I am now thinking between the 7d,550d and the 50d. Whatever I buy now,along with my 450d will be with me for some time, as I want to spend the rest of my dosh on lenses. So I want a bit of breathing space now to think things over. The weight of the 50d is a little less than my former EOS 3 (I carted two of these around) which came in at 780g as against 730g for the 50d. The 7d weighs around 860g or there abouts & the 550 around 500g. As for costs, all three models come in under £1000. with the
7d around £980 if you look around.

[vinlyn09]

Re: 7d or 550d?

I have been debating for some time about upgrading from my 50D to the 7D. I am following all the talk and hundreds of photos on another forum quite closely, and while there are always doubters, overall the 7D seems to get rave reviews. My two concerns are price and what is often described as a steep learning curve.

So I am waiting for the 60D (or it may be called something different) to come out (which reportedly -- if you like rumors) is about to go into production. I have to admit that one thing I like about the xxD series -- because I am lazy and like things to be automatic...sometimes -- is the A-DEP feature, which the 7D does not have.

Once the 60D comes out, then I'll make a decision about it or the 7D...and meanwhile I'm doing pretty well with my 50D...although I am not always satisfied with the crispness of the shots...and then other times I am. Grrrr!

[Nathaniel]

Re: 7d or 550d?

I have been debating for some time about upgrading from my 50D to the 7D. I am following all the talk and hundreds of photos on another forum quite closely, and while there are always doubters, overall the 7D seems to get rave reviews. My two concerns are price and what is often described as a steep learning curve.

So I am waiting for the 60D (or it may be called something different) to come out (which reportedly -- if you like rumors) is about to go into production. I have to admit that one thing I like about the xxD series -- because I am lazy and like things to be automatic...sometimes -- is the A-DEP feature, which the 7D does not have.

Once the 60D comes out, then I'll make a decision about it or the 7D...and meanwhile I'm doing pretty well with my 50D...although I am not always satisfied with the crispness of the shots...and then other times I am. Grrrr!

My problem is that I feel somewhat lost without a second camera- call that as daft, since I sold my 350d! I have always carted two cameras since my film days. So if I upgrade from the 350d I would like one that is perhaps "better" than my present 450d, but also not too complicated to use. Anyway,I am also reading everything possible between the 3 cameras I have in mind.