Review Canon EOS 7D

hi all
got one about 3 weeks ago up graded from a 40d , fantastic cant put it down but still like my 40d keeping it up as a back up ,
mick
 
cracking review. I brought a 7d yesterday which is an upgrade from a 400d and i am i love. It makes the 400d feel like a toy in comparison. I have taken a few shots but not really put it to the test yet, more just getting used to the layout but i can see that we'll be very happy together.
 
A few months ago I was toying with the 5D II and am still undecided between it and the 7D - one big plus for the 7D is it's much cheaper than the 5D II and I can use all my current lenses.

Just 2 questions:

1. I read somehere that when you push the trigger half way down the AF point you are using suddenly darkens and can partly hide the subject.
Have you noticed any problems like this?

2. The FPS is about 7 which is good, but is it possible to slow this down or is the fps set - or in other words is the fps variable?

I ask this because I sometimes shoot continuous on my 450D and find that the 3 - 4 fps is quite adequate for me.
Shooting at higher fps will result in much more exposures to be checked through.

.
 
Peter

I can probably answer this. I've now taken nearly 29,000 frames on my 7D and I've never had a problem with the point in question 1. For the FPS question, there is a high speed and a low speed. The high is about 8fps and the low is (I think) about 3 fps.

I genuinely prefer the AF system on the 7D to my 1DIV as well. Its a cracking camera. Although for absolute image quality the 5DII will beat it, I have had stuff published off the 7D.

Paul
 
Les, thanks for the review and great picture too. I m still in two minds whether to go for the 7D or 5D Mkii
 
grumpybadger said:
Peter

I can probably answer this. I've now taken nearly 29,000 frames on my 7D and I've never had a problem with the point in question 1. For the FPS question, there is a high speed and a low speed. The high is about 8fps and the low is (I think) about 3 fps.

I genuinely prefer the AF system on the 7D to my 1DIV as well. Its a cracking camera. Although for absolute image quality the 5DII will beat it, I have had stuff published off the 7D.

Paul
Click to expand...

Super - thanks for that - I must admit the lower cost and the ability to use my current lenses is probably going to swing it.

.
 
ZhaoSuKe said:
An excellent review, since i'm nowhere near anything holding a candle to pro level, i was very indecisive as to what to upgrade my body to from a 450D, this release seemed to appeal the most to me, and this review pretty much seals the deal,

cheers Les!
Click to expand...

Same on all counts. Looks like there's a 7D in my future! Just a case of when, and what to plonk on the front of it. :)

Thanks Les, and thanks for the follow-up posts too. :)
 
Just to add, while I know a number of togs are not enamoured with the 7D's high ISO performance, especially in low light, it's not something I have an issue with, and consider it a very good high ISO performer, the only exception is if you don't nail the exposure then shadow detail can end up quite noisy.

Here's some sample shots of the 7D at various ISO, straight from camera, no noise reduction, resized for web only.


ISO 100

iso100.jpg


ISO12800

iso12800.jpg



ISO 12800 in low light (0.6 sec @f5.6)

iso12800lowlight.jpg


In the next post I'll compare some 100% crops at various ISO
 
100% crops from part of the above image

ISO100

iso100crop.jpg


ISO1600

iso1600crop.jpg


ISO3200

iso3200crop.jpg


ISO6400

iso6400crop.jpg


ISO12800

iso12800crop.jpg
 
ISO12800 with Noise Reduction applied in adobe's raw convertor

iso12800cropnr.jpg


ISO12800 low light


iso12800croplowlight.jpg
 
Great review Les (y)

leecurtis said:
cracking review. I brought a 7d yesterday which is an upgrade from a 400d and i am i love. It makes the 400d feel like a toy in comparison.
Click to expand...
I know exactly what you mean, I upgraded to a 7D from a 300D and was blown away by the difference.

One of the best things for me is the level of complexity in the settings, whilst seemingly even easier to use than the 300D. Fantastic camera. :clap:
 
Thanks for the heads up on the 7D Les.
I want one. It will have to be delivered to my brother’s house as the wife would divorce me if she found out I had spent any more money on equipment. LoL
She already thinks I’m having an affair with the amount of time I spend out of the house.
Hope I'm not the only one in this dilemma.
Paul.
 
i moved over to the 7d from my 30d and its been so difficult to get to grips with.. it has so many functions on it that getting my head round it has been fun!
 
I love the sound of this camera especially it's level spirit feature.

How does this camera compared to a 400d?
 
would swithing from a sony a350 to the canon 7d be a good step? i read lots of reviews bout and so i love it. it might open chances for me to work in this field cse the sony a350 hsnt gotten me anything yet
 
jonneymendoza said:
How does this camera compared to a 400d?
Click to expand...

Never used a 400d, but did have a 40d at one time, and apart from the evolutionary differences , the big change (for me) was in the speed of autofocus especially for fast moving subjects, while the 40d was (and is) a competent camera, the autofocus tracking and lock of the 7D is lightyears ahead.

Quack18 said:
would swithing from a sony a350 to the canon 7d be a good step? i read lots of reviews bout and so i love it. it might open chances for me to work in this field cse the sony a350 hsnt gotten me anything yet
Click to expand...


I think the biggest difference would be in the frame rate, the sony manages around 3 frames per second, compared to the 7D's 8 frames per second.

Any gains in IQ would be difficult to quantify, and would be largely dependent on the lens used?
 
gatecrasher3 said:
Sorry, slightly off topic of the review but not many photos make me say wow when I see them, but this is one of them. Simply stunning.

What lens did you use with the 7D to capture this?
Click to expand...

200mm f2.8 L
 
Nice review thanks, this is one camera that I'm considering as I return to DSLR use after a few years out with a compact. One thing I have noticed, and it is mentioned in your review, is chromatic abberation, am I right in thinking that this is often down to the lens?
 
Torque said:
Nice review thanks, this is one camera that I'm considering as I return to DSLR use after a few years out with a compact. One thing I have noticed, and it is mentioned in your review, is chromatic abberation, am I right in thinking that this is often down to the lens?
Click to expand...

Yes, it generally is.
 
Two years on, and the camera rolls on, doing what it does very well, occasionally punching above it's weight, occasionally punching below it's weight.

Re-reading my original review, I see no reason to change any of my thoughts I had then, some of the good points have been reinforced over and over again.

Particularly, in good light the autofocus tracking is superb, battery life is impressive, I bought a cheapo third part battery as a back up, but have never needed to use it. If using a reasonably fast card, the buffer clears remarkably quickly.

One 'fault' that has come to light over the last year, infrequently (perhaps 1 shot in a 100), the exposure brain of the camera scrambles, and the image is severely under or over exposed, regardless of the setting (auto/manual-average/spot etc), luckily it's never occurred on a vital shot, and it's something I can generally live with.

As newer models come on stream, some of the better functions of the 7D have been taken up with the newer models (notably 5D MKIII), but even though two years can be considered a relatively long time in DSLR evolution, the camera in no way feels dated.

So as long as you can live within it's limitations, particularly avoiding very low light for autofocus tracking, and not shoot in the ridiculously high ISO's more recent cameras are capable of, the 7D is a solid performer rather than spectacular but it's a camera that brings home the bacon time & time again.

Here's a shot from this morning, nothing spectacular, but reflects it's capabilities.

With 200mm F2.8L + 1.4TC. 1/1600 sec @ f4, ISO 250

IMG_0512m.jpg


Larger image:
http://lesmclean.co.uk/Swans_park/IMG_0512.jpg
 
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thanks for the update, thinking of getting a 7D pretty soon as for my limited kit and budget this seems the best option for me.
a bit concerned about low light focusing, but running with a 40D I'm sure it will be an improvement
 
DizMatt said:
a bit concerned about low light focusing, but running with a 40D I'm sure it will be an improvement
Click to expand...

Sorry Matt, I didn't intent to sound to pessimistic about the low light focusing, and it's relative, I suppose I was comparing it against a 1 series body.

If you compare it against a 40D (which I had at one time), while the 40D is a competent camera it's light years behind the 7D in many respects, in particular autofocus speed. I think you will be pleasantly surprised just how quickly (on fast moving objects) it locks onto focus, and stays there.
 
Les McLean said:
Sorry Matt, I didn't intent to sound to pessimistic about the low light focusing, and it's relative, I suppose I was comparing it against a 1 series body.

If you compare it against a 40D (which I had at one time), while the 40D is a competent camera it's light years behind the 7D in many respects, in particular autofocus speed. I think you will be pleasantly surprised just how quickly (on fast moving objects) it locks onto focus, and stays there.
Click to expand...

no worries, I've found focussing to be dependent upon the lens too, esp in low light.
I've had my hands on a 7D and it seemed very nice. I' not looking for a 1D* body because of the size as well as cost.
I'm not a pro and it needs to be quite portable.
 
Great thread here. I have ordered a 7D with the Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 L lens which should be arriving Thursday Friday next week. Bought from Panamoz. Camera was £808 and lens was £838 bit got 5% off total using bank transfer. Cannot wait for it to arrive, I had a 600D and I like sports photography a lot more now so need the 8fps. Has anyone used both the 7D and 600D and can compare performance?
 
I find my 600d easier to use
the 7d takes some mastering of the auto focus system
 
Most of my barn owl shots have been in low light or should i say not ideal light and i would say i get about a 75% hit rate that i don't think is too bad :thinking:.
Yes it has missed a few that has been annoying but for what it is cost wise i still think it's a good performer, even 1D mk4's have had some complaints with low light focusing so nothing is perfect ;)
I never push the iso above 800, noise in the shadow areas can be just to much and this is the biggest bug bare for me and if Canon make a new model that improves on the 7D i will be willing to upgrade.

Camera Canon EOS 7D
Exposure 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 700 mm
ISO Speed 800
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV


Barn Owl in motion. by Neil Brimacombe, on Flickr
 
michael23 said:
Just seen this Les, I have been wanting a 7d for a while now, hopefully can get one soon. How many shots would you say you get on a full battery?
Click to expand...

The honest answer is I don't know ? I've never had the battery run down totally during a shoot, I've used a full 16GB card in a session (around 450-500 shots) and the battery was still showing around 50%, which I think is excellent.

Put another way, I've had the camera over 2 years, the shutter count is 44645 (so around 370 shots per week), the original battery, and the only one used on the camera, is still holding it's charge very well.

Capture.JPG
 
Quickish update since Firmware V2 Update.

Installed the update seamlessly a couple of weeks ago, and the result is that a very good camera is even better. The particularly useful features for me are the increased maximum raw burst to 25 and Maximum Auto ISO setting.

I use Auto-ISO frequently (in Manual mode)-and have 2 of the custom buttons C1 and C2 set to different auto- ISO settings, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it works for me, and now with the ability to limit the upper ISO in auto-iso, a nice bonus. It would have been even nicer if Canon had introduced a safety shift (like in a/v & t/v) for the times the exposure goes beyond the boundaries, but you can't have everything.

Reading through this and other forums, there have been one or two niggles installing the firmware update , but I think that's been the exception rather than the rule, and I haven't heard of anyone's 7D being oven baked as a result of the upgrade.

Here's an example (posted previously) of the benefits of the increased raw burst, I'd been shooting this heron as it was tracking across the sky, it suddenly swooped down , and the burst had enough left to capture the down-swoop, which I would have missed prior to the firmware update.

With 300mm F2.8L+1.4TC, 1/1000 sec @f4, ISO2000

IMG_3219s.jpg
 
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