Upgrading to a 7D, your thoughts please.

BGilbert

BGilbert

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Ben Gilbert
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Hi all, Im looking at replacing my 40d soon, and am very interested in the 7D. I shoot mainly motorsports and low level flying, but also like shooting scenic/landscape aswell, so it needs to be able to handle fast moving objects and focus quickly, and have good overall image quality and sharpness, so I would like to know if anyone out there has a 7D and uses it for any of the above, or similar, wildlife ect, and would be willing to share any thoughts or pictures to help me out, as Ive read mixed reviews on the image quality, and focusing performance, the last thing I want to do is upgrade to a camera with serious image taking issues. How does it compare to the 40d, and how much worse is it than the 5d mk2?

If anyone has any thoughts and points they could add, I would be very gratefull, as its a big move for me and want to make the right choice.
Thanks

Ben
 
andrewc said:
I have a 7D but haven't shot any cars with it yet!
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likewise im waiting for the season to restart :) cant fault it on wildlife though, very happy with it so far!!

BTW I upgraded from a 450D, so my jump was bigger. But i still think you would love it! lol
 
I made the upgrade from 40D to 7D at christmas and am really enjoying it. Not really had chance to get out properly with it yet but seems to be an improvement in most areas.
 
I've been one of the doubters and its taken me a while to work out the camera and how to get the best out of it. However, it is the best non 1-series camera I've ever used.
 
Heres the albums from my first outing with the 7D

http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk60/ziploc69/Wirral%20100/

And while in the forest.

http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/kk60/ziploc69/Grizedale%20Rally/


Can not say much about it landscape wise as I have not had much time to try that but heres one I did try to take

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The only thing I would say is read the manual as the system does take some setting up.
 
I've had a 40D for two years and just bought a 7D and I'm delighted with it, the AF speed and tracking is a different class.
 
Borrowed one for the day well impressed with it,fantastic speed,not done any cars with it but tried it out with birds in flight which nI was having megga trouble with my 20d one word to describe it ..............AWSOME go for it,just waiting for some dosh form a sale of a building and I will be walking into a camera shop and getting one and a 70-200 2.8 just cant wait


Dave
 
thanks for the replys so far guys, very interested in any more comments you have.
 
Could anyone drop me a pm with a full res image so I can check sharpness ect, really interested to see how sharp the images are. Thanks
 
The 7d is a good solid upgrade from a 40D, but do not expect it to knock your socks off. Whilst impovements have been made in every single department (AF, FPS, resolution, video etc), the pictures I take do not look hugely different and you do not really gain 80% more resolution.

The 40D is still a great camera, and unless money is burning a hole in your pocket I would hold on to that until something really really good becomes available.
 
Cracking camera love it you need good glass though
Regards
Richard
 
Orville said:
The 7d is a good solid upgrade from a 40D, but do not expect it to knock your socks off. Whilst impovements have been made in every single department (AF, FPS, resolution, video etc), the pictures I take do not look hugely different and you do not really gain 80% more resolution.

The 40D is still a great camera, and unless money is burning a hole in your pocket I would hold on to that until something really really good becomes available.
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Thanks for the advice, probably the most helpful had since ive been thinking about upgrading (which has been a while) I think in the scheme of things, I will keep the 40d and wait a while.
 
Why not go into Jessops with your 40D and memory card, and shoot some picture out of the doorway? If you are primary concerned about image quality, it will tell you all you need to know. That's what I did, shot side by side with my 40D, 7D and 5DII and got them to make some big prints and sectional blow ups.

My conclusions are much like Orville's above, and I'll be getting a 7D soon, but TBH I'm not in a rush and am a little disappointed in my own lack of excitement at the prospect. Pretty much the 7D is better all round, but it isn't 80% better, no way no sir, if that's what you're expecting. In summary on IQ, 7D is usefully better, a bit sharper and a stop or so less noisy.

5DII is in a different class quite frankly. If the 7D is maybe 25% better than the 40D, the 5DII stands at about 60% better I would say, for both sharpness and noise. It has a roughly similar pixel count, but they are more than twice the size. The images just have a kind of effortless depth to them when compared side by side. But you have to look carefully on big prints - none of my family could tell which prints were off the 5DII until I told them where to look!

I look at it like this. 7D (and 40D pretty much) will do everything I want very well, and is especially good at long lens/action. 5DII is better for landscape, portrait etc, but really can't hack it on long lens/action at all due to diminished reach, less good AF and slow frame rate.
 
Played with a 7D the other day in the office (alongside a 5Dmk2) and although IQ is superb, felt the plastics used in the body were a bit cheap feeling. Brilliant machine but like Hoppy says, the 5DII is still a far superior camera when it comes to blowing up. But then again it's FF and more expensive with a bigger pixel count.

I can see why Canon is playing the megapixel game – the high-end prosumer/semi-pro sector is obviously worth a lot of dosh – but it's almost a camera too many in what is an already crowded brand portfolio....
 
There are rumours of a 60D being announced in February, if you aren't in a hurry I would wait and see what comes out. It wont be better than the 7D but it might be a cheaper alternative.
 
I had a 40D for nearly 18months - and as an upgrade from several bridge cameras it blew me away...

Have had the 7D for nearly 2 months and am not as impressed as I was with the 40D

Maybe thats because the image quality wasn't exactly rubbish on the 40D

There are loads of little improvements with the 7D that, all together, make it a stonking camera, but the IQ is not a major leap forward.

In all honesty I thought the HD video would be something that made the upgrade worthwhile - but in reality I have only used it once or twice.

If I could turn back the clock, I would have stuck with the 40D and bought some better glass. I suspect the 7D IQ will really really shine with decent glass
 
For the money, it is really good value. It all depends on the lens you are using. I upgraded from a 40d and now I use the 7d as my main body ahead of my 1d Mark II. My only qualm is it doesn't really feel like 8fps.
 
It's probably the law of diminishing returns, as cameras develop the improvements become less dramatic. The 7D isn't just about IQ but it's many other features, but as step up from my 350D it is a stonking improvement.
 
Ben, if you want to borrow my 1DIIn for a try let me know and we can sort something out - I can remember you asked what I thought after going for a 50D.
David
 
I took these yesterday with mine, first and last iso 3200 and the middle ones iso 1600. Definitely impressed with the auto focus. I have seen comparison shots between the 40d and 7d, at low iso there is not much difference but at the higher iso's is where it comes into its own. They have all been cropped a bit. if you want to see any of the originals let me know

They were all at iso 1600 or higher

767502118_ZfX4t-L.jpg


Not the best photo in the world but shows it kept the bird in focus despite a busy background
767501933_ogZpE-L.jpg


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767502300_UzhA5-L.jpg


767511469_VRq9X-L.jpg
 
7D AF blows the 50d out of the water, do it - i don't regret it :) been gagging to try it on a rally but red kite's delayed now, booooo

gotta be gripped as well btw, feels nicer + portrait buttons
 
Have a look at these threads of mine all taken with the 7d

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=192552

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=192115

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=185762

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=182492

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=196618

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=188435

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=188625

I should point out one or two images have been removed but i always think a picture speaks more than a thousand words so hopefully these images should give you an idea of what you will get i earn a living from my photography and if it does'nt work it goes
Regards
Richard
 
Rich, it was your pictures that finally convinced me to buy the 7D. I was very happy with everything the 40D would do except for the limited AF ability.
 
OneTen said:
Rich, it was your pictures that finally convinced me to buy the 7D. I was very happy with everything the 40D would do except for the limited AF ability.
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Well i hope the Cameras living up to your expectations it does take a bit of getting use to but when you have mastered it i think it's a great bit of kit In my mind the 40d & 50d still hold their own against most of the APS sized sensors with only the Canon 7D and Nikon D300s being better i have'nt regreted it my keeper rate is up and that means money in my pocket from sales
Regards
Richard
 
I'll just chime in here as a video professional and say that the video side of things, if you have any interest, is an absolute pleasure in terms of IQ and lowlight ability.
 
lost said:
Have a look at these threads of mine all taken with the 7d

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=192552

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=192115

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=185762

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=182492

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=196618

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=188435

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=188625

I should point out one or two images have been removed but i always think a picture speaks more than a thousand words so hopefully these images should give you an idea of what you will get i earn a living from my photography and if it does'nt work it goes
Regards
Richard
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Richard, those images are fantastic.

I suspect they have rather more to do with the photographer than the camera, but... well, that bearded tit is truly outstanding :thumbs:
 
I'm looking towards the 7D now if I can earn some more money from my camera.
I don't expect it to be amazing compared to the 40D but the AF tracking upgrade and a couple more stops of ISO for indoor sports will make it worthwhile I think
 
DizMatt said:
I'm looking towards the 7D now if I can earn some more money from my camera.
I don't expect it to be amazing compared to the 40D but the AF tracking upgrade and a couple more stops of ISO for indoor sports will make it worthwhile I think
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AF tracking is much better than the 40D, but do not expect a couple of stops. One stop is the realistic gain. My 40D was acceptable up to ISO 1600 and the 7D allows 3200 at a push. 6400 is emergency use only.
 
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