How good is the EOS 7D?

[rob berry]

I have an EOS 400D and am considering upgrading to the EOS 7D. The reviews I've read suggest it is a better upgrade option than the EOS 50D, but of course the experiences and views of forum members who've actually lived with it are of perhaps greater importance to me.

So..................... who's had / got one and how good are they please?

[Trevoreast]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

The reviews I've read suggest it is a better upgrade option than the EOS 50D

Hi Rob the 50D has been replaced by the 60D - have you compared these two (60D V 7D) ?

Trev

[briansquibb]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

The 7D is excellent - I have 2 and both give top quality pictures

Brian

[Neilly]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

Hi Rob,

What really matters is what's your prime photography interest? If its just general photography, I'd suggest the 60D. On the other hand if you're doing something like aviation, using big lenses etc., I'd say go for the 7D. I originally went from the 50D to 7D & at first wasn't that impressed with the 7D - that is until I got the settings right, thenit goes from a good camera to a superb camera. That's my 2pence worth.

Some review info below - happy reading

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_EOS_60D/

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_EOS_7D/

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos60d/default.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos7d/

TTFN,
Neil

[Moushu]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

I have an EOS 400D and am considering upgrading to the EOS 7D. The reviews I've read suggest it is a better upgrade option than the EOS 50D, but of course the experiences and views of forum members who've actually lived with it are of perhaps greater importance to me.

So..................... who's had / got one and how good are they please?

I actually went from the 400D to the 7D - the 400D is now a starter camera for my son who lives in Newark - keeping it local ;)
I've no experience of the 50D or 60D, so can't tell you anything about them.
However, for me, I shoot a lot of action, horses & dogs, and the autofocus on the 7D is so SO superior to the 400D - it actually keeps up, and I'm convinced I've got so many pictures with the 7D that I would previously have missed with the 400D.
And I couldn't have done my timelapse projects with the 400D.

Only been on these forums a couple of days, and seen several people talking about having to get the settings right on the 7D - would love to know specifically what people are doing with these - any advice please?

[briansquibb]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

The only change I made was to set the AF point expansion setting (C.Fn III-6). Apart from change to RAW and increasing the style sharpness all the other settings are default.

I have to confess that I hear how complicated and difficult the 7D is to set up - but it hasn't been like that for me, straight from the off it has been easy to use and produced top results.

I find that the 7D is a good all round camera with excellent AF. I wouldn't consider it to be a specialist camera that needs a lot of tweeking.

[briansquibb]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

Here is an example from this morning that demonstrated how good the AF is - the DOF is very small giving no leeway for inaccuracy.

7d, 85mm, f1.8, iso 400, 1/3200

[rob berry]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

Hello Trev - sorry my post was a typo - I did actually mean the 60D.
Rob

[rob berry]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

The 7D is excellent - I have 2 and both give top quality pictures
Brian

Ringing endorsement #1

Hi Rob,
I originally went from the 50D to 7D & at first wasn't that impressed with the 7D - that is until I got the settings right, thenit goes from a good camera to a superb camera. That's my 2pence worth.
Neil

Ringing endorsement #2

the autofocus on the 7D is so SO superior to the 400D - it actually keeps up, and I'm convinced I've got so many pictures with the 7D that I would previously have missed with the 400D.
And I couldn't have done my timelapse projects with the 400D.

Ringing endorsement #3

Here is an example from this morning that demonstrated how good the AF is

Ringing endorsement #4 - a great shot by the way Brian!

Thank you all very much for your advice and comments.

Rob

[jonesgj]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

Another 7D here. Get the settings right and it's superb. The only thing I would like that it doesn't have is a flip-out LCD to save my knees! Maybe on the 7D Mk2

Here are some guides I found very useful.

Must read for 7d setup

http://www.deepgreenphotography.com/2009/12/setting-up-your-new-canon-7d/

Really good article on soft focus

http://www.eos-magazine-forum.com/showthread.php?7796-This-Lens-is-Soft

Other 7D items

http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2011/whats_news_eos7d_article.shtml#showAll

Micro adjustment - be careful...

http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2011/af_microadjustment_article.shtml?

About Canon AF

If you are getting confused by auto focus this may help....

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

[Trevoreast]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

sorry my post was a typo - I did actually mean the 60D.

ha ha no worries I thought it might of been a typo
Rob, either camera with some nice glass would do anyone proud IHMO. Depends on your needs and whether the bit extra ££ for the 7D would be worth it to you, not much help, sorry.

Trev

[Hereford_EOS2]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

I own the 7D and this is my second copy after the first one disappeared.
The 7D is indeed a great camera but will only produce images (like the one in the above post) if you have quality lenses.
IMHO you are better investing your money on a great lens like the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS, the Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS which both retail for a similar price to the Canon 7D camera.
I often read reviews, look at forums, read photographic mags, look at videos etc.. and one message that is often repeated is to "invest in glass" glass=lenses.
I also remember watching a video on youtube or somewhere where an expert used a consumer camera (I think it was the Canon 1000D) with a great lens, he then compared it with using a great camera (one of the Canon 1D series) with a consumer lens. The difference in quality was amazing, the consumer camera with the quality "L" lens produced superior images.

If you do not own a great lenses such as the "L" series or the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS then IMHO you will not notice a big difference in upgrading from the 400D to the 60D or the 7D although there is a big jump from the 10MP sensor to the 18MP sensor so more detailed images is a bonus.

They say that the 7D demands great lenses so if you already own some good lenses then the 7D is a great upgrade. If you don't own good lenses then invest your money in a great lens first and upgrade the camera at a later date. The Canon cameras (and other brands) are constantly being upgraded and therefore devalue very quickly, great lenses will always be great lenses and hold their price.
The 40D, 50D and now the 60D all launched within the past 4 years.

This is just my opinion, I am no expert (far from it) and I am still learning about the 7D.

[rob berry]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

Another 7D here. Get the settings right and it's superb. Here are some guides I found very useful.

Thank you for the guide links jonesjg - these will be very useful and your help is much appreciated.

Rob

[briansquibb]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

Stephen - my example photo is with a consumer lens - the 85mm f/1.8 - new price about £300 and second hand (which is what mine was) about £220.

You dont need an L lens - no EF-S lens is an L - to get top pictures.

[rob berry]

Re: How good is the EOS 7D?

Rob, either camera with some nice glass would do anyone proud IHMO.Trev

Thanks Trev - I recently bought the EF 24-105 L IS USM and am returning to photography after some years away. I'm fortunate to have the funds to be able to get the 7D if I want to and the only reservation really is that it might be too darned complicated for me

Rob