Canon EOS 7D Owners Thread

Depending upon what you shoot, you could get better results with L-glass on the 550D than EF-S on the 7D.......:thinking:

The Mrs My lovely wife uses the 100 F2.8L Macro on her 550D and it's a great combo.
 
Oh sure, I don't doubt that. I do plan on expanding to L glass when I can, using Sigma kit at the moment which is doing a great job.

I'd shoot more if I had the time, but at the moment it's mostly just small, low budget wedding ceremonies in the local area, as well as live band/burlesque and one festival!

Whilst I'm not at a very high level right now, even if you're doing a wedding for free, you gots to have a backup. And going for something a little shinier to start the upgrade process seems more logical than just getting another 550D. or at least that's what I've told myself ;)
 
I 'upgraded' from a 550 (which I've kept) to a 7D last year primarily for the additional AF options which I make extensive use of shooting wildlife - mostly birds and BIFs.

I still take the 550 out with me sometimes to save changing lenses 'in the field'. I would say that there is no difference in the IQ between the two bodies but my keeper rate for BIFs has gone up considerably with the 7D. (y)

I also prefer the handling of the 7D.

I know there is another thread on the 7D and noise but I would just say here that if I'm shooting a Heron or a Gull in poor light against a grey sky then I do get chromatic noise in the bird and the sky on both cameras. However I have no experience of any other DSLR to compare such noise levels with?

Hope this helps

Martin
 
Yeah I've seen that thread, partly why I thought I would ask the owners instead of getting involved in there/starting a new thread where people might dive in and just shout 5D at me until I go buy one :p

I've noticed the AF system is much better on the 7D, which I like the idea of, also the shots per second is a lot higher as well, which could come in handy for catching candid moments.

The other thing as well, I would assume the shutter on the 7D is much quieter, given that it can capture 8 shots ~ per second, and personally I worry that the 550D is just too damn noisy when sat at the front of a wedding ceremony. I realise it's stuck to my face so I'll hear it louder than anyone, but one of the other 2 guys uses one as well and his annoys me too :)
 
Hmmm... I think the shutter on the 7D is quite noisey if I'm honest - at least as noisey as my 550 if not more so. Of course it's subjective and I appreciate what you're saying about it being amplified being stuck to my face but it does sound a bit like a machine gun on full burst. A Fox can hear it at 50/60 feet no problem :LOL:

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I was hoping that as it's capable of such a high burst rate that a single click would perhaps be of a similar noise level but faster, not that the 550D goes on forever, I've just noticed other cameras that are much snappier AND quieter. All to do with the mechanics inside I guess.

The other thing I suppose I should consider is this whole overheating business I keep hearing mentioned. Assuming this is the same as the 550D, having the batteries in the grip away from the body should help keep temps down and avoid any issues.

Gah.... so much to consider! :)
 
:LOL: I feel your pain. I'm seriously considering investing in one of the 'super' telephoto lenses but weighing up all the pros & cons of each variable is brain damage.

As for over-heating? ... I can't say it's something I've experienced. I did used to have the odd problem filling the buffer up on my 550 when doing a lot of full bursts and that has never happened with the 7D if that's any help?
 
I think it's slightly more focused on the video side of things, but have found a good few examples of people saying that shooting for more than an hour will cause the camera to get too hot and power down or a while.

I'm glad this is a unheard of for you guys though. One less thing to consider/look into :)
 
I've never had an overheat issues either, however I have never done any prolonged video just the odd 20 secs worth
I do however find that the noise at high iso is more difficult to control on the 7 d than the 600d not sure about the 650d yet though not really compared that with the 7d for iso noise
 
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ok cool. Good to know.

Can't believe I haven't used this forum before now. Great responses so far! :)
 
Ive got a 7D ordered :) What memory cards do you lot recommend? looking for a couple of 16GB cards just not sure on the brand/speed to get.
 
I use sandisk extreme and generally seem to work well I do a lot of dog agility shots and they seem fast enough to cope with the high fps
 
Also using Sandisk Extreme but only 8GB. I do a lot of Birds in Flight at high fps, usually in short bursts of around 8 - 10 and generally don't notice any issues, although there was one occasion when I thought I detected a slight slowing down but it was a fairly long continuous burst of around 20. I don't know whether it was the camera or the card? However, it has never filled the buffer up and refused to release the shutter, unlike my 550d which would do that now and again in similar circumstances.
 
Sandisk Extreme or Extreme Pro's here. Never had anything to complain about when using them.
 
:)I have 4 Sandisk Extreme 16gb (60MB/s, UDMA) which I have hammered using high burst rate and video, never had any problems or slowdown upto 15 + frames in a burst (I have not updated the firmware yet). Great cards, would buy more if I needed them.
 
With the new firmware I can get 20 shots on my 133x/20Mb cards before it slows down to clear the buffer. If I haven't got the bird in 20 shots I need to practice my technique.
 
Cheers guys, looks like sandisc then :)
 
artyman said:
With the new firmware I can get 20 shots on my 133x/20Mb cards before it slows down to clear the buffer.
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Card speed is irrelevant. With the new hardware I can get 20 shots on my 10x 1GB card before it slows down. However, it does then take 4 minutes to clear the buffer.
 
I got some 133x cards (2 x 32gb) as they were about £25 each, they work perfect so far but then again I dont need them for machine gunning, mostly portraits and studio stuff.
However they take AGES to transfer to the PC, about 2 or 3 times longer than my 8gb sandisc extremes so its kinda annoying, maybe due to transfering a lot more data per card but theres still a noticable difference
 
I've had my 7D for a while now, and our relationship has been a bit up and down at times if I am honest, but occasionally it produces something that stuns me a bit. OK so this is less to do with the camera and more the technique I used but still the camera produced the material I had to work with.

Last Thursday, mid morning, by the Greenwich Observatory in London.

Shot a sequence of 13 vertical images, using manual exposure, and being quite quick to avoid moving clouds etc I shot a panorama.

Stiched together in PS and straightened with a crop to square it up produced a file 28191*4603 pixels, a 40.8mb jpg!!

Greenwich_Pan_800_wide.jpg


So if I print this out using A4 paper (ie about 20cm high) it would be about 1.3m wide.

Some 100 crops

100_percent_crop_1.jpg


Tower Bridge 3.7miles away

100_percent_crop_2.jpg


100_percent_crop_3.jpg


I am going to try to find someone to print this out for me and get it framed, a nice reminder of my 50th birthday :D

David
 
Can anyone offer advice as to what Canon lenses to use for weddings please? I have a 7d and 24-105 plus a 70-200 at the moment, but am considering what else I may need which will be useful- either a prime or a wide angle zoom?
 
Which 70-200? Also you are very long starting with 24 and with only one body you are going to loose a lot of time changing lenses. If you are looking to do this professionally then I would go for a second body, full frame with fast, wide L glass to compliment the 7d & long lens
 
Chris O said:
Which 70-200? Also you are very long starting with 24 and with only one body you are going to loose a lot of time changing lenses. If you are looking to do this professionally then I would go for a second body, full frame with fast, wide L glass to compliment the 7d & long lens
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Thanks Chris. It's the f2.8 is L (first one). I'm doing it as a favour for a friend at the moment so was thinking if hiring a second body. Did a wedding this year and I agree its hard work swapping lenses all the time. Thought the 24mm would give me a standard 50mm equivalent for indoor work?
 
The 24 will give you the equivalent of a 36 ( I think !) which is fine for candid shots of the ceremony etc & you will get some flexibility with its reach as well, I just think that you may be struggling for group shots & other wide stuff if you are working in tight spaces. Do you know which shots the couple want, where they want them & can you take your gear for a trial run for angles, obstructions & best locations? That will give you a better idea of what you need for the day. Also you would get an idea of lighting in the venues, eg, will the f4 be fast enough in an old church on an overcast day?
 
Chris O said:
The 24 will give you the equivalent of a 36 ( I think !) which is fine for candid shots of the ceremony etc & you will get some flexibility with its reach as well, I just think that you may be struggling for group shots & other wide stuff if you are working in tight spaces. Do you know which shots the couple want, where they want them & can you take your gear for a trial run for angles, obstructions & best locations? That will give you a better idea of what you need for the day. Also you would get an idea of lighting in the venues, eg, will the f4 be fast enough in an old church on an overcast day?
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I may go for the 16-35 option then to give me some range at the wide end? You've given me food for thought there too as I hadn't thought tat far ahead! I usually do motorcycling stuff ( hence the 7d) so weddings are a new venture for me. I was thinking using something with f2.8 or better would be good for low light stuff?
 
Not a wedding tog, but I just my first indoor shoot of a kids Xmas party, bought a 17-55 F2.8. Over the moon with the quality of the images in challenging light, and so versatile.

Steve
 
riu said:
Not a wedding tog, but I just my first indoor shoot of a kids Xmas party, bought a 17-55 F2.8. Over the moon with the quality of the images in challenging light, and so versatile.

Steve
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Thanks Steve that may be worth considering as we'll then.
 
Totally agree with Steve on the 17-55, I have one as well & I love it. This would be great on the 7d. If you hire a full frame then 16-35 2.8 would be brilliant. I suppose it depends if you want to faff about with lenses (7d, 70-200 & 17-55, possibly with 24-105 as well) or 2 bodies (7d, 70-200 and second body (full frame?) with 16-35 or 17-55.
 
Chris O said:
Totally agree with Steve on the 17-55, I have one as well & I love it. This would be great on the 7d. If you hire a full frame then 16-35 2.8 would be brilliant. I suppose it depends if you want to faff about with lenses (7d, 70-200 & 17-55, possibly with 24-105 as well) or 2 bodies (7d, 70-200 and second body (full frame?) with 16-35 or 17-55.
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There's such a multitude of options Chris isn't there when it comes down to it :)
I agree though on hiring in a 2nd body - may try my hand with a full frame one- good opportunity to try out the 6d eh!
 
Chris O said:
Decisions, decisions! Let us know which way you go & good luck!
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Mmm tough choice!! With the amount of interest generated it may be worth starting a new thread on this subject- unless there is one already?
 
Hi guys :wave:

Just purchased a 7d (y) So thought i'd say hi and jump this thread back to the top :D

Already got a canon 70-200mm f4, canon 50mm f1.8, looking to get a 24-70mm f2.8 next as heard a few stories about the 24-105 and a problem with it :( then be looking for wide angle lens
 
The goblin said:
Hi Steve :wave:

I've got the 24-105 and never had an issue with it. I read a lot of reviews about the error issue but bit the bullet anyway!
Hope you enjoy your 7D, it's a great camera.
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Heard a lot of peeps who are happy with it mate and seems to be the only lens with the issue so rather than take the chance wasting wot is a fair amout of cash i would rather pay the extra for the 24-70 and eliminate it altogether (y) And knowing my luck i would get one of the dodgy ones :bang:
 
I got a 7D from argos with 15-85 lens - I already have one of them (now for sale in the classifieds).
Whats the best way to compare the sharpness of these lenses? I havent used the old one since I got my new one, just a bit interested to see if they are different.
 
madmackem said:
I got a 7D from argos with 15-85 lens - I already have one of them (now for sale in the classifieds).
Whats the best way to compare the sharpness of these lenses? I havent used the old one since I got my new one, just a bit interested to see if they are different.
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Er, take photos with both lenses and see if there's any difference?
 
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