70d or 7d

I would go with the 70D unless there is something specific that you want which only the 7D will do.
 
I bought my 7D mainly for the AF system. From what I can see of the 70D you get that and a whole lot more for very little extra outlay, all you seem to sacrifice is slightly lesser build quality, the joystick and 1fps.

Given the choice now I would take the 70D.
 
thanks all was thinking 7 d originally but read up about 70d and think this will be the one
 
I'm definitely tempted to get the 70d but the only thing holding me back is knowing that the 7d mk2 isn't too far behind :/ hopefully about 6 months or thereabouts.
 
I suspect the 7DII probably won't get anounced until 2014 and maybe 2015 release date.
 
If I were mainly interested in video I'd have to get the 70D. If you want to shoot fast action (sports/wildlife) then I'd go for the 7D for its AF (rather than the untested AF of the 70D).

Or, wait until after Xmas when the 70D will be around £200 cheaper.
 
Was thinking of getting a 70d at some point as I have a 50d, so would seem a logical step forward, but at £900 (digitalrev) I would much rather save up a few hundred more and get a 6d, unless the price eventually comes down il be sitting this one out :(
 
jamez2013 said:
Was thinking of getting a 70d at some point as I have a 50d, so would seem a logical step forward, but at £900 (digitalrev) I would much rather save up a few hundred more and get a 6d, unless the price eventually comes down il be sitting this one out :(
Click to expand...

Yeah the 6d isn't much more but is fairly different. AF on the 6D isn't exactly on the same level and you love the extra range you get from the crop sensor.

It definitely depends what you intend on using your camera for mostly.
 
amaFotho said:
Ouch, a 20% drop within 4 months of its release! Is that the norm?
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Yup, just look what happened with the 6D LINK

The retailers like to extract maximum profit from those with more money than sense, those who simply must have the latest shiny toy before all their friends. Sensible people wait a while. It can take more than 3 months before the price drops off the cliff, but Xmas will force the retailers into a price war.
 
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I would like to know if the noise performance on the 70D is better than the 7D though;) I suspect it is.....
 
hollis_f said:
Yup, just look what happened with the 6D LINK

The retailers like to extract maximum profit from those with more money than sense, those who simply must have the latest shiny toy before all their friends. Sensible people wait a while. It can take more than 3 months before the price drops off the cliff, but Xmas will force the retailers into a price war.
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I clearly have more money than sense! :p
 
pastyman said:
I would like to know if the noise performance on the 70D is better than the 7D though;) I suspect it is.....
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Indistinguishable by trustworthy accounts. Some say it's better than the 60D, some say it's worse. Some say it's better than the 7D, some say it's worse.
 
I got a 70D yesterday and I'm very happy with it. The AF is very good and in most ways is definitely on a par with the 7D I had. It's much easier to switch between focus types (single point, multi point and all point) and you can set the tracking speed to your own choice. The only point that lets it down so far, and it might be me missing it, is the lack of 'Spot Focus Point'. I use that all the time on my 5D3 and did the same on my 7D.

The wireless feature is reasonably easy to set to use your smart phone to control the camera. That will be a great feature for me when shooting macro, which I do quite a lot, and be able to set the shot up and move away to not scare the insects away.

The touchscreen is also a joy to use. It's very responsive, even on the standard setting, and being able to select the focus area without moving any dials is very handy and with mirror lockup it's easy to get the shot without using the shutter button. It's also very handy for shooting above crowds with the swivel screen.

Messing about with it indoors last night I got some shots at ISO6400 of the bottles of creams on a bedroom cabinet and while there is some noise you can read the writing on the bottles when zoomed into 100% so it's definitely better than I ever got with MY 7D (or my 1D3 come to that).

The most disappointing thing, for me anyway, is that both of my Sigma lenses need some MFA to get them spot on. This is the second shot I took with the camera and 150-500 OS, before doing any MFA, and is a jpeg SOOC with no settings changed and no PP done at all. The 4 Canon lenses I've tried on it so far have been spot on however and I would have tried more if it hadn't of rained. I don't usually do any video on dslr's but I'm going to try the wifes 40mm f2.8 STM asap for both stills and video to see how it handles.

9568081511_c6b1bda56c_b.jpg
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As to the question whether I would recommend the 70D to anyone else, You Betcha! As for whether I've got more money than sense to buy new on the day of release I traded in a 7D that I don't get on with, a camera I hardly ever use (2nd backup) and £60 cash to put to it. Not bad for a birthday/anniversary present and they even threw in a new genuine Canon battery that was worth £60 according to the invoice lol.

I'd already ordered another battery as well to keep me on an even amount for battery grip use and then they give me an extra one as a freebie and I've now got an odd number again. Question is, do I sell one or buy another to keep it even?
 
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Tbh as long as noise is about the same as my 650d or better then I'll be happy. My main reasons to upgrade were the AF and FPS rates (5 shot bracker over 3 shot to some extent too).

It'll be interesting to see what kinds of things can develop from the dual pixel stuff though in the long term.
 
modchild said:
The only point that lets it down so far, and it might be me missing it, is the lack of 'Spot Focus Point'. I use that all the time on my 5D3 and did the same on my 7D.
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Thanks for the feedback (y)

There is no spot af mode on the 70D, it was omitted by Canon. You got an excellent deal, can I ask where that was from? Also any chance you can post up the high ISO pictures you took please?
 
CSB said:
Thanks for the feedback (y)

There is no spot af mode on the 70D, it was omitted by Canon. You got an excellent deal, can I ask where that was from? Also any chance you can post up the high ISO pictures you took please?
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Perhaps canon are now confident their af system actually works and spot focus is no longer required
 
For birds in a twiggy tree spot focus is very handy to have but they have to leave something for the 7dmkII .
Rob.
 
Rebel t3i said:
Perhaps canon are now confident their af system actually works and spot focus is no longer required
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You obviously have no idea as to what spot focus is and why it may be useful.

The Af systems on the 7D, 5D MkIII and 1Dx are probably the best out of Canon's whole range. Yet each has a Spot Focus mode. Are you suggesting that the 70D's AF is better than these three models?
 
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Rebel t3i said:
Perhaps canon are now confident their af system actually works and spot focus is no longer required
Click to expand...

After having spot focus on my 5D3 and 7D I can definitely say I'll miss it on the 70D and here's hoping Canon can do something in a firmware update in the future. I'm going to a wildlife park on Monday and looking forward to shooting something serious with it.

Sam, I got it from London Camera Exchange in Lincoln, because it's my birthday and wedding anniversary on the same day the wife always spoils me lol. I got her a laptop and a diamond ring for her anniversary present so I'm in her good books but she's always supported me in my camera buys anyway. Enjoy it while we can is our motto.

Will try and get some 'interesting' high ISO shots to put on later instead of the bottles on the bedside table that I got while messing around with the wireless function on my phone.
 
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hollis_f said:
You obviously have no idea as to what spot focus is and why it may be useful.

The Af systems on the 7D, 5D MkIII and 1Dx are probably the best out of Canon's whole range. Yet each has a Spot Focus mode. Are you suggesting that the 70D's AF is better than these three models?
Click to expand...

Bit Touchy aren't we
I merely made a suggestion about the 70d not having spot focus
I like yoursely own a 7d so know exactly what spot focus is
it is the the only one that gets you any chance of your subject matter being in focus :LOL:

Lets not compare the 70d with the 5d mk3 or 1 Dx these are full frame and in a a vastly different price bracket
The 70d is is a replacement for the 60d and is possibly better than the 7d

Canon have either made a huge error or decided the 70d's focus system does not require spot focus
so should only be compared with these 2 imo
 
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Rebel t3i said:
I like yoursely own a 7d so know exactly what spot focus is
it is the the only one that gets you any chance of your subject matter being in focus :LOL:
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I suggest you read the manual for your 7D. Then you'll find that you're 100% wrong. Spot focus is the one that gives you the least chance of attaining accurate focus.
 
hollis_f said:
I suggest you read the manual for your 7D. Then you'll find that you're 100% wrong. Spot focus is the one that gives you the least chance of attaining accurate focus.
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In reality that is not the case IME
 
hollis_f said:
I suggest you read the manual for your 7D. Then you'll find that you're 100% wrong. Spot focus is the one that gives you the least chance of attaining accurate focus.
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Mmmm, bit of a sweeping statement, if I was using AF in macro, then I would deffo use spot focus, but then I nearly always use MF in Macro anyway. But even on my MK3, I tend to use manual spot AF most of the time.
 
pastyman said:
Mmmm, bit of a sweeping statement, if I was using AF in macro, then I would deffo use spot focus, but then I nearly always use MF in Macro anyway. But even on my MK3, I tend to use manual spot AF most of the time.
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It might be a sweeping statement - but like the guy said, it's straight from the camera instruction Manual (p89).
"The AF areas are explained starting with the smallest one.
Spot AF (Manual selection)
Although this is the same as single-point AF, the selected AF point covers a smaller pinpoint area to focus. Effective for pinpoint focusing overlapping subjects such as an animal in a cage.
Since Spot AF covers a very small area, focusing might be difficult during hand-held shooting or for a moving subject."

I have used it very rarely, I don't shoot a lot of macro or use a tripod often at all.
 
Then people should quote in context then, using spot AF does not mean the camera stands the least chance of attaining focus in every situation, does it?

Maybe because you don't use it, you can't really comment on it's effectiveness...:shrug:

An example of spot AF not attaining focus when handheld..


DUNGFLY by cornishwelding, on Flickr
 
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pastyman said:
Then people should quote in context then, using spot AF does not mean the camera stands the least chance of attaining focus in every situation, does it?

Maybe because you don't use it, you can't really comment on it's effectiveness...:shrug:

An example of spot AF not attaining focus when handheld..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cornishwelding/9541231344/
DUNGFLY by cornishwelding, on Flickr
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I thought all the context was there in the thread :thinking:
The point about spot AF being the 'last choice' for general photography was in response to someone saying it was the only mode that works.

Context is all obvious if you'd read the thread rather than looking to score a point.
 
The 7D is getting a bit 'long in the tooth' now, but it is still a very capable camera, and of course has a pro level magnesium alloy body, compared to the polycarbonate bodied 70D.

That said, if weight is an issue, at 755g the 70D is lighter at than the 7D at 860g.

Last year, I upgraded from a 30D to the 7D, and one of the reasons I jumped over the 60D, was that Canon had chosen to downgrade the build quality from the 30D, with its magnesium alloy body, to a polycarbonate body for the 60D.

Ok, so there's nothing wrong with a polycarbonate body, but I just liked the solid feel of the 30D, and now the 7D. A matter of personal preference I guess.

Which camera you choose, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Dave
 
Phil V said:
I thought all the context was there in the thread :thinking:
The point about spot AF being the 'last choice' for general photography was in response to someone saying it was the only mode that works.

Context is all obvious if you'd read the thread rather than looking to score a point.
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Who's looking to score points? No need to try and make it a tetchy thread....

The whole point is that it was stated that
"Originally Posted by hollis_f
I suggest you read the manual for your 7D. Then you'll find that you're 100% wrong. Spot focus is the one that gives you the least chance of attaining accurate focus.

This is simply not true in all situations, and then you use the term "general situations".

I stated that in macro it works very well, and backed it up with an image, using spot af, hand held, which you so kindly pointed out in bold, was difficult to do.

And I have read the thread thank you very much, and it is basically being said that spot af is pants, and if you read the manual (not condescending at all), it will tell you it's pants, that's why I posted, I don't need to score points:D
 
pastyman said:
...

And I have read the thread thank you very much, and it is basically being said that spot af is pants, and if you read the manual (not condescending at all), it will tell you it's pants, that's why I posted, I don't need to score points:D
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That's what you read? honestly :thinking:

Because all the put down's of spot AF I read (and wrote) were in response to post 24:thinking:

Rebel t3i said:
Perhaps canon are now confident their af system actually works and spot focus is no longer required
Click to expand...
and then...

Rebel t3i said:
Bit Touchy aren't we
I merely made a suggestion about the 70d not having spot focus
I like yoursely own a 7d so know exactly what spot focus is
it is the the only one that gets you any chance of your subject matter being in focus :LOL:

...
Click to expand...
Then you see in context, no-one's saying spot AF is useless, just that it's not useful all the time?
This,
hollis_f said:
You obviously have no idea as to what spot focus is and why it may be useful.

The Af systems on the 7D, 5D MkIII and 1Dx are probably the best out of Canon's whole range. Yet each has a Spot Focus mode. Are you suggesting that the 70D's AF is better than these three models?
Click to expand...
and this

hollis_f said:
I suggest you read the manual for your 7D. Then you'll find that you're 100% wrong. Spot focus is the one that gives you the least chance of attaining accurate focus.
Click to expand...
and this

Phil V said:
It might be a sweeping statement - but like the guy said, it's straight from the camera instruction Manual (p89).
...

I have used it very rarely, I don't shoot a lot of macro or use a tripod often at all.
Click to expand...

Aren't saying 'spot focus is pants', they're saying it's afar from the only useful mode on the camera, as stated in post 24.
 
Oh dear, I was hoping this thread might prove useful but I think all the pedantic members have been out in the sun too long. :shrug: :nuts:
 
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