 "Best camera for the money." | 2009-11-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: AM269THGB2RQ |
| Overall, a very well designed and manufactured precision photographic instrument that meets the needs of advanced amateurs and semi-pros (maybe even a great backup for pros.) You can't beat the new autofocus settings, speed, low-light capabilities, 3" high quality LCD, 100% viewfinder w/ all your essential info available at this mid-range pricepoint. After several long days of testing, I am quite satisfied with my decision. Canon has shown again that they can introduce a high quality cutting edge product at an "affordable" price that Nikon and the rest can't match currently. Best value for the money. Add a few L lenses and you'll be set for pretty much the next 5 years or more. On the downside, it is not full frame (you'll have to pay a lot for that), the camera strap is so-so, and the camera is hefty - easy to hold for most of the day due to great hand ergonomic design, but probably not something you'll shoot with one hand for more than a few minutes at a time. |
| |
 "The 7D a mixed bag" | 2009-11-14 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2U07IGR69TON0 |
This camera looks great on paper, but....
The good news: the 7D packs lots of pro features you'll love, like a big and bright viewfinder and LCD screen, weather seals, a dampened mirror box so that the noise from the slap doesn't startle wildlife, automatic sensor cleaning on startup and shut down, micro adjustment for optimizing the performance of lenses, minimal shutter lag and fast AF. I bought my 7D with the incomparable Canon 70-200mm F/4L IS and the combined responsiveness is amazing.
The bad news: my sample constantly over exposes and blows highlights when used outdoors in bright light, the auto white balance is the least reliable of any digital camera that I have ever used (sometimes the color rendition is downright odd#, and images above ISO 800 are dotted with little white speckles that standard noise reduction software settings don't eliminate. My 7D delivers such inconsistent image quality that shooting in the RAW file format is essential. To top it off, the 18MP sensor creates large, memory intensive files, but delivers only slightly more visible resolution than the 12MP sensors of my Nikon D90 & D700. If you are camera shopping because you want to boost detail and overall IQ beyond the output of your Canon T1i or Nikon D90, you might get better results by spending $1700 on a high-grade lens instead of this camera.
There are also some design glitches that may or may not matter to you: mirror-lockup is buried in a custom menu folder, the IR remote shutter release can only be used with a delay which makes it useless for wildlife and portraiture, the tiny buttons around the shutter release button are difficult to use when you are in a hurry or are wearing gloves, the toggle control is temperamental and will frequently dump you into the wrong menu folder, and the focus controls are needlessly complicated. A camera that is being marketed for shooting sports should make it easy to change settings and operate quickly, buy I frequently find that I have to stop and fiddle with both hands in order to make a simple adjustment. Furthermore, it is not possible to set a ceiling when using auto ISO, and Highlight Tone Priority helps to reduce blown highlights but changes the base ISO from 100 to 200, so noise also increases.
In order to produce usable results in direct sun, I have settled on -2/3rds EV as a standard setting with Highlight Tone Priority enabled and contrast at the default (zero) point. Whenever possible I stop down and always use a super multi-coated polarizer on the lens. I also turned off the automatic LCD brightness feature, which made it impossible to correctly judge exposures by checking images in playback.
Editing outdoor shots taken with the 7D almost always involves a levels adjustment to reclaim highlight detail: Adobe Elements and Photoshop do a much better job of this than the supplied Canon Digital Photo Professional software. BTW, the default Adobe settings produce brighter, more saturated colors than Canon's software (see page 14 of the 7D write up at [...] for a demonstration of the differences). Whether or not this is preferable is a matter of taste, but it is something to watch out for if you are switching from Adobe Camera RAW to DPP. Also, I had consistently poor quality output from DPP RAW conversion: fine detail was obliterated and images were overlaid with a sprinkling of pixel-size artifacts. Open the same file in Adobe Camera RAW and you will see all of the detail and micro contrast that the 18MP sensor can deliver.
Is the 7D worth the price tag and considerable heft? Only if you need the rich feature set, shooting speed and durable build, and want to be able to use outstanding Canon lenses like the 70-200mm f/4L IS on a small sensor, cropped view dSLR. Canon should be able to improve the 7D's IQ with firmware updates. Until then, the bottom line is this: you can produce great images with this camera, but expect to do a lot of extra exposure bracketing and post processing.
|
| |
| "Best Prosumer DSLR from Canon!!" | 2009-11-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A158Y7DN8W08QU |
| Everything has been said about this camera. I bought the 50d when it first came out and thought it was a winner. But when the 5d hit the street I was sad at the features that could have been in the 50d. So I upgraded to the 7d when it hit. What a upgrade. You can't really compare the 2 cameras directly because they aim at different photographers. But the 7d was what I was hoping for in the 50d and now I have it. It was worth it!!. Read the other reviews then you'll know. I kept the 50d because it serves as a portrait and backup camera with wide lenses. |
| |
| "A Worthy Addition to Canon's Line" | 2009-11-10 |
| - Reviewed By User: A303PYH0GGUQBW |
I don't usually post reviews but given the two one star ratings, I was compelled to do so.
I've had my 7D for about a week; only found time for a few, non-rigorous test shots. Preliminary results:
I prefer the new button arrangement and system of menus to those of my 40D.
Auto-focus seems faster and more accurate than that of my 40D.
Auto white-balance under incandescent light seems better (less "warm") than that of my 40D.
With a stopped down lens, the detail available from the 18 megapixel images ... makes me SMILE/LAUGH.
On a per-pixel basis, noise appears similar to that of my 40D - BUT, it's spread across 18 megapixels, not 10. And, to quote Neil Diamond, "It's a beautiful noise" - very random in character. In my humble opinion, for any given picture size, I've gained about half a stop in low ISO performance and about a stop at high ISOs (1600 plus).
I'm still gasping at the cost and there's much I don't yet know about my new tool/toy, but, for now, I'm quite pleased (knock on engineered plastic).
|
| |
 "Great Camera, I am returning it though." | 2009-11-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2K6I9R5BTMAA3 |
I love the 7D and the features that it has. I use a 1D MKIII that I have just received back from Canon after the third repair for Autofocus - fixed this time. I purchased the 7D not as a backup but to replace my 1D MKIII due to the Autofocus issues I was having - I would go to the MK IV later if everything was kosher with it, but now that my 1D MKIII was fixed to my satisfaction I will keep it. But back to the 7D. Love the Camera, great LCD, great speed, AI servo autofocus is spot on, flash control from the pop up flash, cheap wireless remote can be used, great pictures. The 1D does not have a great LCD, no flash control from the camera itself, and a dedicated expensive wireless remote is needed, Better speed and better pictures from the 1D MK III though.
I am sending my 7D back, for just couple of reasons that are biggies for me.
1. File size is tremendous - my computer struggles under the weight of these files. Just too slow for me and having to store these files is a burden. If the picture quality were better it might be a consideration. But the 1D MKIII takes sharper, cleaner pictures at 10mp compared to 18mp. With the 7D you have to purchase large memory cards and only have space for 1 on the camera. The 1D MKIII has 2 slots and can store thousands of 10mp pics, big advantage for me.
2. I find myself tilting the 7D during sports shots, not all shots but too many for me. I guess it is the size, I never do this with the 1D MKIII.
Again I love the 7D - if I didnt take 1200 shots every game I shoot - file size probably wouldnt matter - but for what I do - it is a biggie.
The prices for 1D MKIII's are falling due to the MKIV being released and if you can get a good one, this is your best bet if you do sports or wildlife - just great pictures, great controls, great speed. No movies, Bad LCD and proprietary flash and wireless controls. The 1D MKIII is a workhorse and just plain works - very well. ( Very large - but comfortable )
I give the 7D a 4 star due to the file size, In my opinion canon should have used a 10-12 megapixel sensor. Also, I saw some softness and noise in my pics that I was not accustomed to. Great overall though. |
| |
| "Amateur Video Use of the Canon 7D DSLR" | 2009-11-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2A2DQA76NX2YC |
My company bought the Canon EOS 7D for stills for a task requiring wireless remote control and remote imaging of the live view and capture to a laptop hard drive (worked just fine for this task) but after I played with the video and read all I could about using DSLR for video, we bought a second just for video clips of company work. Now I want my own (so that's three). I see why its selling so well. Its extraordinary quality video in low light situations, its quality file format, and its low cost for a camera with the advantage of being able to use various lenses, especially fast lenses for depth of field limiting control makes it a better choice for our work than a prosumer HD "video camera."
Video has never been so much fun. Now there is a whole lot of artistic control possible that I am interested in exploring. I suspect there will be many other amateurs who will find fun with manual video using a DSLR like the 7D. Its total manual control makes it challenging, fun, and capable of video that you can be pleased with (no matter how amateur) because you had control, you had choice and you used all your skills, no matter how slight at the time. Its very addictive and many amateurs will be carried away with artistic enthusiasm, providing you have the patience to practice.
If you are new to DSLR video as I was (still am, certainly), expect many days of practice (well, its been two weeks and there is still a lot of skill to master - especially in follow focus) to get good clips. Plan your shots and use a tripod as much as possible. Also, I think its essential to have a viewer and focusing knob such as the IDC Run & Gun. Google it. I can't imagine how anyone can get good video clips without this simple but well engineered add-on. Again, I think this device is essential to getting good clips. Again, I think this device is essential to getting good clips (get it).
My favorite switching lenses: Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 and Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8.
I added the BeachTek thingy under the camera so I could use my two XLR shotgun mikes on a bar attached to the top shoe and I also use two Earthworks omni's there too. For less critical sound I attach the Rode stereo video mike. |
| |
