7d + sigma 120-400 or d7100 + 120-400 for wildlife

richn

richn

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After selling up my old kit for financial reasons at the time, I want to get a new camera but im unsure which would be best for wildlife and the odd landscape.

im looking at the Canon 7d or the Nikon D7100 I would probably pair them up with the sigma 120-400 or a 150-500.

could any body give me any advice on which really is the best for mainly wildlife use.

is the 7d still the king?

any help is appreciated.
 
Not sure I would take the 7D over the D7100. If I wanted a Canon then I would be looking at the 70D. Newer tech.
 
I like the look and spec of the 7100 but it seems like people are having problems with them?
 
had two d7100 and that much trouble i got a refund and went to canon ,if your looking at 1.6 crop cameras a 70d is superior by far to the 7d imho ,tried them both heres a shot with my lads 70d and my 400mm f5.6
judge for yourself .


seventydgull by blackfox wildlife and nature imaging, on Flickr
 
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Technology marches on Mike. Doesn't make the 7D a poor camera, it has several good features but it also has its downside.

It's a bit like the 1D MkIV. Still a great camera but overshadowed by the 5D MkIII and even more so by the 1DX. It still blows away any other Canon camera though.
 
Gaz J said:
Technology marches on Mike. Doesn't make the 7D a poor camera, it has several good features but it also has its downside.

It's a bit like the 1D MkIV. Still a great camera but overshadowed by the 5D MkIII and even more so by the 1DX. It still blows away any other Canon camera though.
Click to expand...


I realize that but I would hardly say the 70D is "far superior" to the 7D, especially where it matters most ... the pictures they produce. As you know, coupled with the 400mm f5.6 most cameras will produce decent results so it's pretty pointless using pictures to show how much better a camera is.

My point is that by all means point to faster/more accurate af, more focus points, better fps, more substantial build ... or slightly better ISO performance, touch screen whatever ... but not just by being told to judge for yourself on one picture that could have been taken by most any camera :)
 
That's a fair point Mike. In terms of customisation the 7D is ahead. Most complaints I've seen are about its noise. It was enough to it me off buying one last year. I bought a 5D3 instead!!

I've also seen some great high ISO images from the camera but generally as a result of some fairly complex processing.

The 70D has the same AF, which never seems to give cause for criticsm and has better control over the noise which enhances its usability.

From the point of AF accuracy until the 5D3 and 1DX came along the 7d was second only in its focus accuracy to the 1D MkIV
 
I decided to buy the 70d so il see how I get on with it. If they ever bring out a 7d2 I might switch but I can imagine that it would probably be near on 2k for the camera so the 70d will be the best that I can afford.
 
I had two 7D's and had noise problems with both when shooting wildlife, mainly squirrels in dull woods, and I had to keep the shutter speed up enough to capture them. The first one also had some metering problems in the middle of burst shots. in the end I part ex'd my 7D and some other gear and got a 70D on its release date and have loved it from day one. The only issue I've had with my 70D is that 3rd party lenses don't seem to have the 'crispness' in Liveview that my Canon lenses do even with using MFA. I have a Sigma 150-500 OS that is fantastic on my 5D3 but only 'very good' on my 70D. I've recently sold a Sigma 120-400 OS and Sigma 24-70 f2.8 IF EX HSM and got a Canon 300 f4L IS and a Canon 24-70 f2.8 II and they are brilliant on both bodies, but I'll be keeping the Sigma 150-500 specifically for my 5D3 as it's a great length for wildlife and aviation.

Welcome to the 70D club Rich, have a look through the 70D owners thread for some hints and tips, I'm sure you'll find something to interest you there. Here's one of my 70D shots taken with a 70-200 f2.8L IS II and 2x MkIII extender taken a week after buying it and it's SOOC with just a crop.


Yorkshire Bird by modchild, on Flickr
 
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modchild said:
I had two 7D's and had noise problems with both when shooting wildlife, mainly squirrels in dull woods, and I had to keep the shutter speed up enough to capture them. The first one also had some metering problems in the middle of burst shots. in the end I part ex'd my 7D and some other gear and got a 70D on its release date and have loved it from day one. The only issue I've had with my 70D is that 3rd party lenses don't seem to have the 'crispness' in Liveview that my Canon lenses do even with using MFA. I have a Sigma 150-500 OS that is fantastic on my 5D3 but only 'very good' on my 70D. I've recently sold a Sigma 120-400 OS and Sigma 24-70 f2.8 IF EX HSM and got a Canon 300 f4L IS and a Canon 24-70 f2.8 II and they are brilliant on both bodies, but I'll be keeping the Sigma 150-500 specifically for my 5D3 as it's a great length for wildlife and aviation.

Welcome to the 70D club Rich, have a look through the 70D owners thread for some hints and tips, I'm sure you'll find something to interest you there. Here's one of my 70D shots taken with a 70-200 f2.8L IS II and 2x MkIII extender taken a week after buying it and it's SOOC with just a crop.


Yorkshire Bird by modchild, on Flickr
Click to expand...

thank you, the quality of that picture looks amazing very sharp. cant wait to get it and get back out there.
 
I use a 7D it's an excellent camera and noise isn't an issue as far as I'm concerned my default ISO at the moment this time of year is 800
You do need to get the exposure right it will be noisy in the shadows if you underexpose
I have read that the 70D is slightly better for noise and if that's your main concern then get the 70D
I won't be changing though I honestly think that the 7D is a fantastic camera
The controls are so spot on, I can change settings like the focus point in an instant with the joystick control
I would rather get the shot because the camera is so easy to use and change settings quickly before the subject runs or flies off than maybe have a slight decrease in noise that I'm not convinced I would notice :)
 
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