Jeff

i don’t need speed (dual digic processors) or the ability for the thing to survive in a rainstorm, just a good camera.

the 7d was made for bird and sports photographers.

Is this what the consumer wants?”

Yes – I want a 50d with video. Actually 12mp is fine

Any recent SLR will be capable of giving you crisp real looking photos. For your use, the biggest advantages a more expensive camera might give you over a cheaper one are the ability to have clearer images in lower light and/or better autofocus ability.

The high ISO (low light) difference between the T1i and the 7D is very small. Many including myself hope Canon will announce a new Rebel or 60D in the near future that is better in this department but who knows. If you are always shooting outside under good daylight, or your kids are very good at holding still this doesnt matter anyway. Faster lenses (lower F stop) and/or using an external flash (you should consider one) help here but will behave the same regardless of camera.

Better autofocus is a place where the 7D should help some as it has a newly designed autofocus system and may be the biggest single advantage of the 7D for you. I still dont think it is enough of a difference to justify the extra size/cost of the 7D but I havent actually used a 7D either.

In addition to the updated autofocus the 7D has many “pro” type features that it sounds like you dont need (8 frames/sec, flash master, weather sealing, shutter durability, 18MP). None of these are bad things but they make the camera rather large and heavy in addition to being fairly expensive.

The best page I know of for detailed canon equipment reviews is the-digital-picture you should look there before you buy.

I have only read ~8 photography books but my favorite so far is The Photographers Eye.

My question for you is how did you manage to take 600 pictures on your trip with kids to keep track of? Perhaps your children are older/slower than mine.

A Rebel obviously has some limitations compared to both the 7D and the 5Dmk2 but the reality is that you can do at least 90% of the same things as you could with the other cameras. With out knowing more than you have written here I would say that the Rebel is probably the way to go.

If you have an iching to spend more money spend it on lenses. They will have a bigger impact on your pictures and last longer.

…perhaps I give too much credit to peoples memory and all have forgotten.

a 60d would/should/could =

- similar size and build to previous xxd
- new/improved sensor + higher/better ISO capabilities than 50d; mp TBD
- dual slots for CF and SD (to accommodate Rebel users upgrading)
- +video
- no built-in flash commander (they have to leave something out, and while that’s a great feature, there are other ways of triggering a flash. Especially if you already own an ste2 :D)
- improved AF, but without the zillions of focus points of the 7d
- slower fps/processor than the 7d

I’d buy one ~$1100-1200 in a heartbeat – I need to upgrade from my current Rebel body, but don’t need the extra speed the 7d offers. I’ve been holding off buying a 50d just in case something else emerges in February.