I have decided finally to buy a Canon EOS 7D. My 5D Mark II is a great camera, but it is not really a camera for action and sports. A cropped frame camera like the 7D also has advantages over full frame for telephoto shots. I will definitely write a review on this new camera and I will likely do my usual comparison shots as in previous reviews with other camera bodies like the EOS 40D, 50D and/or 5D Mark II.
I only have the camera for one night and have not had much time to play around with it yet, but my preliminary impression is good. A very solid and well made body. I have taken a few quick test shots at high ISO. My initial impression is that ISO 6400 seems quite usable although not really up to the standard of 5D Mark II, perhaps better than 50D. But I will reserve judgment till after I do proper testing and comparison shots in the full review.
The following are a couple of RAW shots taken at ISO 6400. The RAW files were converted to jpg with Canon’s DPP, the jpg were re-sized with Photoshop and some sharpening applied. No other post-processing were done.
Congrats on your 7D and I look forward in seeing you review!
Do you think DPP handles high ISO on the Canon 5DMII better than photoshop RAW converter? Every time I shoot low light I won’t go higher than 2000 ISO, I use photoshop raw converter and with 5dmII the shots seems way too grainy at 3200; maybe DPP would handle that better?
Thanks!
Pompo
Hi Pomp,
Photoshop does not support 7D at present, so I can’t tell if DPP process high ISO better or not. However, with 5D mark II, I do feel that DPP and Capture One Pro process high ISO noise better than Photoshop Adobe RAW converter or Lightroom.
I’m a 5DMK II owner and also thinking about getting the 7D.
Interesting that you say, “7D also has advantages over full frame for telephoto shots”
I’d like to know exactly what the advantages are. Love your blog.
Billy
Hi Billy,
With the 1.6x cropped factor of Canon APS-C size sensor, any lens on a cropped frame camera like the 7D will have field of view (FOV) equivalent to a lens with 1.6x focal length on a full frame camera like the 5D Mark II, that is a well known fact. So for example, if you mount a 200mm lens on the 7D, it will have FOV equivalent of 320mm lens on a 5D Mark II.
Of course it’s true that you can cropped the 5D Mark II image to match the FOV of a 7D, but if you crop it to match the FOV equivalent on a 7D, you will end up with having only roughly 8MP to work with. Whereas if you mount the same lens on a 7D, you will have full 18MP to work with.
Thanks for the quick reply Roland, I will try DPP for higher ISO then
@Billy I guees he is referring to the 1.6 crop mode as far as telephoto shots, more would be for sure the brand new re-designed AF which in the 5DM2 is really very old…
Oh no…another new toy…you are too much….looking forward to your review.
What’s the street price in HK?
Hi Antu,
Please go to my Camera and Lens Street Price List article:- http://rolandlim.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/camera-lens-street-price-list/
Thanks for the info. Are they usually on stock? I’d like to have your opinion about Sigma 17-70 2.8 Macro on the 7D? I’m planning to get it along with the 7D.
Hi Antu,
The first batch of 7D arrived in Hong Kong end of last month and most shops have sold out their stock. My sources told me that the next batch will likely arrive in Hong Kong mid October. As in most new camera, the initial supply is likely to be rather constraint and stocks run out pretty quickly. When the stock are released onto the streets, you will have to be pretty quick to buy one before they are all sold out.
The Sigma 17-70mm is supposed to be quite a good lens with good optical quality and should be a fine walkaround/general purpose zoom lens for APS-C sensor Canon DSLR like the 7D.
I’m planning to go to HK on the 20th or the 21st of this month hope they have stock.
Thanks a lot
I look forward to your full review. Thanks for the information.
Thanks for posting the price on the 7D body on your blog ; I will be in Hong Kong in the coming months and now I can think of what else I will buy there !
Cheers from Vietnam,
Alex
Hi Roland,
Hope you had a well deserved holiday. The price here for the 7D is $2999 less savings of $670 which now costs $2329. I don’t need to tell you how to calculate as you know the exchange rate.
All stock here are sold like in H.K. Someone should set up a shop here, buy there, sell here. Seen you like food,(this is food for thought) Ha! Ha! Is that number 3 Or is it 4 cameras. You are catching me up,I still have my first one the Yashica-635 with leather case.
Regards to Family
louis ,Audrey & Jesse-Jane
D/Under
Hi Roland, the 7D is not in Malaysia yet and I am also interested in getting one to back up the 5DM2. The 7D will be, to me, a cool partner to 5DM2. Looking forward to your review! If I ever pop into HK, I will be tempted to get one there, depending on the exchange rates though. Still waiting for the launch in Malaysia. The recent hike in Yen might not make it cheaper though.
Hi virtualess
The 7D is already out. I was at Selangor Photo (Pertama Complex) over the weekend and the 7D is now retailing at RM6,000 for body only. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the price with the kit lens and they don’t allow for testing.
Amazon have the 7D in stock now in USA ! (Only the body, the body with the lens kit is still not in stock tho)
Here is the tiny url for it:
http://bit.ly/p2HLV
Good luck!
Wow!!!! I can’t wait for your follow up review, but where exactly did you get you’re Canon EOS 7D from?
Hi John,
I got it from Echo Photo & Audio.
Great shots. I played with my 7D on the weekend. No shots processed yet. That’s today’s task.
Another great review! Thanks for sharing. Yeah, the 7D seems very promising. I love the new Focusing system.
Can’t wait to see more of your magical photos!
Take care!
James
Hi James,
Thanks! I am still doing the review. It’s taking more time than I originally planned due to various factors, but it will be coming!
As always, I am amazed at the time and effort that you put in to do a review….all the best from sunny Macao!
Hi Roland,
I am a newbie in photography and just bought my 1st SLR camera, EOS 7D bundle with 18-135mm lens.
Well, I have been using compact camera for years.
I have some fundamental knowledge about shutter speed, aperture, exposure, white balance thingy, but I know nothing about lenses.
I am very interested in photography and keen to take great shots. Need your help/advise on actually how to master photography? Can the bundled lens take good pictures?
Well, thanks for your patience.
Regards,
Newbie
Hi Newbie,
The 7D is a good camera and the 18-135mm kit lens should be a reasonably good general purpose lens. This combo should be able to give you good results. However, as you know already, it takes a lot more than just good equipment to make good photos. A fundamental understanding of photographic techniques and post-processing techniques are essential. It also takes practice and experimentation, something only you can achieve by putting some hard work into it.
Of course there are some limitation with the kit lens, and in some situation, a better, or more specific lens maybe able to produce better result, but as a beginner, you can first put the effort in learning the techniques and practicing the skills before worrying about buying better and more lenses.