7D good enough for aspiring pro?

EMA747

EMA747

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Andy
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Is a Canon 7D and L glass good enough for an aspiring pro?

I had and sold a 1DmkIV so I could put some of the cash into the video side of my business plans. I am wondering what to replace it with. I now have two pro camcorders and no camera body. :bonk: I don't know if I should give up a video camera (both are very useful) and get another mkIV or get a 7D.

I have a Canon 17-40 L and 24-70 L both of which were perfect on the 1.3x crop but I'm not sure how they would work on the 1.6x 7D as I like a wide(ish) shot. I was thinking of maybe selling both and getting a 16-35 and 24-105. :thinking:

My areas of interest are travel, landscape and transport (ie aviation/shipping etc). I have a few jobs from a local wildlife charity photographing their nature reserves.
 
7D is about 1 stop nosier than 5DMk2 (ISO 400 on 7d approx equal 800 on 5D2). The DoF advantage FF has is nice, but the 7D autofocus is much better/faster than the 5D2 - I'm happy with pictures of both to be honest.

If you go cropped, I'd ditch the L lenses and go for a very good quality walkabout (either 17-55 or 15-85 depending on need/want of aperture vs extra reach) and possibly a couple of primes (I have fallen in love with my new 100mm IS macro on my 5D2 for example). The 17-40/16-35 are wasted on APS-C IMHO as you are paying for the ability to cover a large sensor and get no extra width over much cheaper and equally as sharp alternatives.

If you find both video cams useful and you are intent on making money through video, I'd keep the two and buy a pretty decent camera in the 7D. It will certainly "do" to shoot the odd professional shoot.
 
I can't see why not. I really like the 7D, for a cropper. If I wasn't so in love with the 1Ds, I'd consider it straight away. Excellent ISo performance for a cropper, lots of focus points, and it isn't too bad to hold either.
 
If it wasn't for the bad AF on the 5D2 (for aviation etc) then that camera would be a good option I think. The new 5D3 might mix both quality and better AF but at I bet £2500+ it's still more than double the price on a 7D.
 
If you look at some of the results you can get with a 7D and decent lenses I don't see why not. I love my 7D, and even though I'm after a 5D2, it's going to be an "also" not "instead of" purchase. It's probably the best crop body on the market at the moment.

Remember, the 7D also has the wireless TTL facility that the 5D2 hasn't, and looking at your lens line up, I'd seriously look at the 17-55 f2.8 IS, as it will give you a similar coverage to your 24-70 of FF. Oh yeah, your 70-200 will be a bit longer too....

Steve
 
EMA747 said:
Is the 17-55 on a par with the 24-70 though?
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Well at the moment I wouldn't swap mine for a 24-70. The optics are better on the L, no doubt, but the focal length is a little limiting and the 17-55 fits better on the crop sensor body.

In your position, I wouldn't sell the 24-70 on, I'd just ad the 17-55 if you went down the 7D route. What may be a good idea is to do a deal with the 24-70 for a a 24-105, which then gives you a bit more reach without you having to take the 70-200 out. Just a thought..

Steve
 
The 7D is pretty good and the focus is really good. In terms of the lens I have 15-85 which is nice and gives good wide shots on this camera. You can get the lens as a kit too which will do more savings for you.
 
Its more than good enough.
 
Yes! the AF is great and although it is not a FF the only full frame from Canon offers still does not have the processor or AF speed of the 7D, but does have more focus points. IQ/ ISO noise management may not be quite what the 1D & 1Ds is but in answer to your question yes. The 7D can provide pro results/images. subject matter is important if your subject is not moving or very slow the FF 5DmkII is a consideration for a slightly larger investment. If your subject moves get the 7D for about 1/3 of the ching a 1DsMkIV will run.
 
To complicate things I have just had the offer of a new job. It's 100% certain and not all that well paid but it's a lot more than the few days a month I get now.

That makes buying a mkIV more feasible. I'm still not sure if it's a waste of money given that it is about three times the price of a 7D. On the other hand I would be unlikely to need to upgrade for at least around 5 years. Still a hard choice. :thinking:
 
Why not go for a 1diii? Unless you really need the video feature?

I had both the 7d and the 1diii and much preferred the images I got from the 1d and the camera interface and focussing.
 
7d and buy more glass :)
 
EMA747 said:
If it wasn't for the bad AF on the 5D2 (for aviation etc) then that camera would be a good option I think. The new 5D3 might mix both quality and better AF but at I bet £2500+ it's still more than double the price on a 7D.
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centre point on 5D2 is better than 7D due to the 6 assist points.
 
draiman said:
Why not go for a 1diii? Unless you really need the video feature?

I had both the 7d and the 1diii and much preferred the images I got from the 1d and the camera interface and focussing.
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I did own a mkiii in the past but after using the high res screen on the 7D I just hated the crappy one on the mkiii. I know that sounds like a stupid reason to not look at that camera. I also didn't see much of a jump in iq going from 7D to mkiii. Going to a mkIV was massive jump after the 7D/1Dmkiii. I found the mkiii wast sufficiently better to justify the extra bulk.

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tomqh said:
7d and buy more glass :)
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Agree - 7d and more glass. I upgraded to my 7d and a 24 - 105 last year and haven't looked back. Took it to Thailand and Rome and bought back some fantastic shots.

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EMA747 said:
I did own a mkiii in the past but after using the high res screen on the 7D I just hated the crappy one on the mkiii. I know that sounds like a stupid reason to not look at that camera. I also didn't see much of a jump in iq going from 7D to mkiii. Going to a mkIV was massive jump after the 7D/1Dmkiii. I found the mkiii wast sufficiently better to justify the extra bulk.

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No, there's not much of a difference. My main reason for hanging on to the 1d was the weather sealing and customisation and speed. 7D was a great camera though. Can't go wrong with either.
 
draiman said:
No, there's not much of a difference. My main reason for hanging on to the 1d was the weather sealing and customisation and speed. 7D was a great camera though. Can't go wrong with either.
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7D has weather sealing too, I'm sure about this and I've tested it in rain :-)
 
POAH said:
centre point on 5D2 is better than 7D due to the 6 assist points.
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7D has assist points also, and can be taken to any of the single focus points. 7D can also reduce the size of the single point for even greater accuracy if required.

There are just far more focus options with a 7 than there are with a 5. Although you will never improve on the wonderful colour filled pixels with the full size sensor.

Steve

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If you like wide angle, I would keep what you've got and add a Canon Efs 10-22 (16-35 AOV on FF) or if you are strapped for cash sell the 17-40L to cover it.

This would give you 10-22, 24-70 and 70-200.
 
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Ed, are you sure? The 10-22 is EF-S and 24-70 and 70-200 are EF so you would have a bit of a gap between the 22 and 38mm (24-70).
 
Matt_B said:
Ed, are you sure? The 10-22 is EF-S and 24-70 and 70-200 are EF so you would have a bit of a gap between the 22 and 38mm (24-70).
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If used on 7D they will have the crop factor applied, so it doesn't matter if it's EF or EF-S
 
Matt_B said:
Ed, are you sure? The 10-22 is EF-S and 24-70 and 70-200 are EF so you would have a bit of a gap between the 22 and 38mm (24-70).
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Yes, there will be a gap of all of 2mm :bonk:
 
Matt_B said:
Ed, are you sure? The 10-22 is EF-S and 24-70 and 70-200 are EF so you would have a bit of a gap between the 22 and 38mm (24-70).
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Well all lenses are based on original 35mm format, whether they're EF-S or EF, so you will won't be missing much.... As Ed says, just 2mm, which is easy to "foot zoom".

Steve

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Another thought has just occurred to me after reading another forum. Assume for a minute I could afford a 1DmkIV (I can, but not sure if I want to spend that much or not). Anyway.....
Would a mkIV or a 7D AND 5DmkII be better? The 7D and 5DmkII seem to have good and bad points for what I want but the mkIV seems to combine them both. Downside is it's bigger and I would only have one body. Plus side it's better weather sealed. I am quite strongly thinking of applying for a position as expedition photographer for a charity and if I got it then ruggedness and weather sealing would probably be an issue.
 
Well the 7D body is magnesium alloy so it's pretty tough and also weather sealed, not sure about 5D as I don't have one but I'm sure it'll be the same. I'd say go for two bodies, that way you will have a back up if needed be and you can also have two lenses at the same time. Just my thought on this!
 
get 2 7D's, they're fine, professional, tough cameras, and that gives you backup, and then concentrate on your pictures and business. You seem to be changing cameras every 6 months, when actually, the camera that you use really doesn't matter at all...

If you want to do serious video work, you need to save all the money you can, as video kit, especially audio (hello £500 a radio mic set?), sure don't come cheap...

Sorry to be blunt...
 
I'm in agreement with the two post above. If you go for the position you will need two bodies so I would go for 2 7Ds.
 
Depends what you shoot. I use a 5D for just about everything except wildlife, where I use my 60D for the crop factor (7D will be the same)...this way EF lenses will be fine for both cameras. If you need amazing AF for shorter focal lengths, then you're better off with another 7D or a 1D series camera.

Remember EF-S lenses won't work on a 5D or 1D.
 
I'm not up with the canon bodies but if you are doing work with your cameras you definately need a second body as a backup. It is nice if both those bodies are the same, or at least very similar so its easier to switch between them without having things layed out differently.
 
Thanks for the comments above. Looks like the overwhelming consensus seems to be not to go for another mkIV.

Why not get a 5D2 and 7D rather than two 7Ds? I can see the commonality thing being good but they seem to cover the good and bad points of each camera when used as a pair. ie for aviation/sports use 7D, for travel/landscape use 5D2.
 
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