Could you elaborate on this? I can't really agree with it, especially with regards to comparing between the 5D and the 7D (which is what the thread is about), as I find shooting on the two of them almost exactly the same. Furthermore, and with all due respect, saying that your 1D is great because it "does what you tell it to do" is rather silly, as all decent cameras do what you tell them to do.
Ok, I confess to not having spent all that much time shooting the 7d as I quickly dismissed it for reasons described below, and no one knew how to operate the camera anyway so I couldn't get any specialist advice on what I could turn off and what I could alter and adjust.
The 1d is also my first canon, I shot pentax and nikon before that- the pentax was an entry level camera which I sold, the d300 I later gave back to my father
i'm probably not the best person to be asking for 'what new camera' advice as i'm contemplating swapping my canon setup for a leica rangefinder and a hassleblad for when I shoot studio. Most of my shooting is in scenarios where I have full control, and I can re-shoot until me, and my client are satisfied. I don't shoot sports, or birds in flight, and I rarely cover events- so my camera needs are different, my take around/holiday camera is an olympus rangefinder
I read a lot of ken rockwell and I think to myself 'this guy makes sense, he's not a gear snob- he uses the minimum needed to get the job done', and i'm the same
What i'm trying to say is that now when I compose, I usually use the rule of thirds. My subject always sits on one of those 4 points, therefore I only need 5 AF points- a center point, and 4 points sitting on the intersecting lines of the grid. The Pentax camera I had only had 1 decent AF point, this wasn't enough as I had to focus and re-compose. I was bowled over by the new nikon I got, the d300 had 51 good points and it seemed every section of the frame could be focused on. As my eye for composition got stronger I started using the rule of thirds, the golden mean, and the fibonnacci sequence, I realised that I didn't need 51 points, I actually only needed about 1/4 of that as I usually wanted my focus point to be on the intersection of the rule of thirds grid. I switched the focus points down to 9 and found out I could flick from one 'useful' af point to another really quick, so I could quickly shoot a subject composed to the left- flick the dial 2 steps to the right and shoot something composed to the right, with 51 points it would take 8 clicks to go from one side to another
I then started looking for a camera for myself as the d300 had to go back to it's rightful owner after a summer in my grasp: I looked at the 7d, and the 5dmk2. I wanted the 7d but I just couldn't get on with it every time I shot it (maybe I just wasn't used to canon...), the 5d was a lot simpler to get to grips with as it was more primitive, it just had all the features I wanted with nothing superfluous - unfortunately the AF points just weren't covering the areas I was needing them to cover as the system was lifted straight out the xxD cameras. I then bought a
second hand 1dmk3 for much less than a 7d (on paper it had a larger sensor, better build, better IQ). In practice the af was rock solid and most importantly it was simple to use and customize to my shooting needs (maybe the 7d can do all this, but I figured it all out on the 1d in 1 day, I never got the 7d after multiple times shooting with it), the AF had 49 points but most of them were 'invisible', and I could tweak the AF set up to respond to however I wanted it to. 2 clicks on the joystick and i'm at the point I need to be. I could never figure out the AF on the 7d, and neither could anyone in the store. If there is a way to have the camera not display the AF points in the viewfinder at all times then that would really aid my ability to see what i'm doing.
The OP said he's looking for a camera to shoot 'friends/family/holiday/nothing professional'- I don't think he needs the AF of a 7d, I don't think 99% of people that walk into jessops and buy the 'best' camera they can afford need the AF on the 7d. My dad bought the d300 (and lent it to me for summer just so I could figure out how to use it for him)he could never figure out how to use the 51 point system and automatic point selection was giving miss-focus, after playing with the camera I changed it to 11 point AF and now he has a much tighter understanding on the rules of composition, and it has improved his work dramatically. Camera's makers these days are just trying to one up each other on features, go into jessops and just observe people and how they choose cameras based on arbitrary numbers and features they don't even understand. The 7D is too complex for 'most people's' needs, the 60d is clearer, simpler, won't get in your way and will allow you to learn to shoot better.
Of course the OP could just learn to shoot better with his 40d, if he was truly looking to improve as a 'photographer' and not a 'camera owner' then a short course in photography, or an undergrad degree at an art school would improve his photography more than any new camera would but don't let me stop you, this is a gear-orientated sub section after all.
Although I will say that a camera is merely a tool, it can help you get the shot or hinder you- IMO the 7d is a hinderence with all it's features on; but if you turn them off then all of a sudden it becomes a weather proof 60d- for a lot more £££. The 7d is a specialist camera for professionals and people who need the features, but Jessops are trying to sell them to first time SLR owners when they would be much better off with a 50d or a 60d
Also the 7d is one of the ugliest cameras ever made- as a trained industrial designer and aspiring aesthete I lament interacting with poor design- does the physical design effect the images? No. But the too complex for sense camera system definitely does. If i'm handing over £1000 of my money I want the purchase to make me feel like it's the right decision, with the 7d I just never felt that, my design education clearly hindering my ability to not have extremely exacting standards.
Always go with your gut
here is Ken Rockwell on the subject
"New 19-sensor AF system is so complex that it doesn't work as well as Canon's classic 9-point system. This is because when you need to change among settings, there are now so many settings that you need to stop what you're doing and click a few buttons to do what you used to be able to do with one finger. "
The 40D has served me well but the temptation of going either FF or new features such as HD video is too much for me to resist.
