Canon 7D

[Paul Smith]

So Canon have announced their new xD camera that the internet has been speculating about for a while.

18MP APS-C (1.6 crop)
Dual Digic IV's
8FPS (94 JPEG/15 RAW)
ISO 100-6400 (12800 via custom function)
New eight-directional double cross central AF point, total 19 cross AF points
100% 1x Viewfinder
New iFCL Metering
Wireless Flash Master (at last, similair to Nikon CLS)
Full HD Video inc 24p
Live View/Dust Removal/On board flash

oh and a little on screen spirit level for both pitch and roll.

Priced at around £1600 or $1600 so one to import I think.

I was hoping for a £1500 full frame with the above features. 18MP on APS-C is a lot and I'll be interested to see the results of high ISO performance. Also a bit of a slap in the face for 5DII owners to put so many new toys in it's little brother. Still only does 3 bracketed shots as well from what I can make out so HDR is still a little limited. Still nice to see Canon address some of Nikon's advantages and will be interesting to see how it fares when released into the wild.

I think Lee should buy one for us to assess :D

[Kris Dutson]

a bit of a slap in the face for 5DII owners

Not really; it ain't full frame.;)

[JohnTudor]

I read about this 7D with it's 8fps, it's a shame the 5D mk2 only has 3.9 fps, but then again when the mk2 came out I was able to get a 5D mk1 very cheap (and yes alittle slower but very pleased).

[Dave Mills]

Have a look at DP Review website:
http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/canoneos7d_preview/
You need to scroll through to sample page 24 of 34 to find an image taken at ISO 12,800.
The full size download is 8397 Kb, so it may take a while.
It looks pretty grainy with colour artifacts. Still, it's a lot better than my Canon 20D.
Can't comment on how it compares with Nikon's high ISO performance.
Cheers, Dave Mills

[Lee Iggulden]

That is a helpful link Dave, thanks.

I've nudged Eif so no doubt he will go and look....

I leave the "techie" stuff to him ;)

[Richard Minshull]

Will Chung review of the 7D is now on line

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Canon-EOS-7D-12474


Richie:)

[Paul Smith]

Well spotted Richie and welcome, good first post.

He seems reasonably impressed with it. Having played with it at the open day a couple of weeks ago I would really like to move up to it from my 30D. The integrated flash control would be really useful and the autofocus was a massive step up from where I am now.

Awful lot of pennies still though, will take some saving for I think. At least the ridiculous rrp is being ignored now. Jesspos are doing it for £1300 already so it's clearly not selling at the £1700 Canon UK were trying for.

[chrisj62]

I bought the 7D just before Christmas whilst my 50D was in for repair so that I could do my 1st photo job and so far I'm very impressed with it, so much so that I haven't used my 50D since it returned! Having used the 50D before, the main controls are similar so I could use it with confidence just after having bought it.

The quality of the images are amazing even when cropping in really close. I like the fact it has a 100% viewfinder, so what you see is what you get. It's possible to enable a grid overlay in the viewfinder which is handy for making sure you have things straight and saves trying to change the focusing screen. The new improved and increased focus points in the viewfinder means you're nearer to your focus point without having to re-frame your shot after selecting the focus point and it's very quick and easy to use. I haven't used the movie mode yet, but I believe the quality is very good. The wireless controller for external flash works too and fires a separate flashgun even if hidden behind a box. I like the neat spirit level on the lcd which looks like something from a plane's flight control deck. I'm also glad they have moved the on/off switch to the top left of the camera underneath the dial as it's so much easier to switch on/off with just your thumb as opposed to the fiddly switch on the bottom right of the 50D, which I had to use 2 fingers to switch on before. The tone and colour is excellent and the meter appears to cope well, even with high contrast situations. I stopped at Rhuddlan Castle the other night and used the 7D with hefty 71 sec exposures and the quality still looks good. I haven't pushed the ISO yet but have seen photos where the detail from feathers of a bird were still sharp even though it was at it's highest ISO setting.

There are still many features for me to explore, but so far I'm very impressed and would highly recommend it! I had been contemplating the 5D mark 2 because of the full frame facility, but at the moment, I'm glad I chose the 7D instead! If you shop around, you can now get it for a better price as I paid £1250, which is far better than the original selling price! :yahoo:
Chris.

[Paul Smith]

Thanks for the review Chris. Despite being wary of the 18MP APS-C sensor everything I've seen and read makes it look like a great camera. Still saving my pennies for one but I'm led to believe there's a 60D imminent and if that's got the wireless flash controls and isn't crippled in some way I may end up there instead.

I'm sure they didn't used to churn out the bodies at this rate in the film days.

[chrisj62]

My pleasure, glad the review was useful, though I still haven't tried everything yet, but I love it! I've still got my old film camera that I bought in 1980 and it still works well, so it's true it's shocking how quickly they keep churning out the new bodies expecting us to part with our hard earned cash!

[Geraldine]

:notonecare: The fine weather turns my head towards the possibility of a new camera.
Does anyone have any experience of the Canon EOS 7D. I would be grateful for any information re pros and cons.
Many thanks
Geraldine

[Paul Smith]

Moving to the 7D thread, not got one yet but only heard good things of it so far and was impressed when I had one to play with for a while. What are you moving from?

[Geraldine]

I am currently an olympus user with an E30, but having had several problems with faulty equipment , some of which are still ongoing, I have lost confidence in the camera so I am looking for an alternative.
I did reply to thread several days ago,did you ever receive it?
Being very new to forums I am not a hundred percent sure how they work.
Thaks Geraldine

[Paul Smith]

That must have vanished into cyberspace somewhere I'm afraid as I've not seen it. Massive step up from the Olympus E30 to the 7D. It's difficult to know whether to recommend it without really knowing what you want to do with it. There are so many excellent cameras available now it's really worth thinking about what it is that you want the camera to do? I'd get one in a heartbeat but then I'm already a canon user and have a range of good lenses. It all depends on budget and what lenses you want to get with it really. I'd also repeat the advice I was given when starting out, buy the very best lenses you can afford, bodies come and go (frighteningly quickly these days) but the best lenses will last a lifetime (and even bounce when dropped on rocks :))

Probably worth you having a chat to the guys at cambrian and trying a few different models and seeing what features you are going to use I think. I'm sure some nikon owners will be along shortly to make the case for the d300 or d700.

[Adrian Wilson]

I've just written a review of the 7D and it's usefulness for city shooting - will be sending it off to Ephotozine soon.

Main conclusion is that if you like doing architecture, get a 5D mark 2, if you like doing street candids, the 7D is fine.

All down to the crop factor really - most stuff on the 7D is really nice.