My 7D vs 40D test

[kennephoto]

I did a rather unscientific test with my Canon 40d and a rental 7d.  I have done a lot of reading about the two because I want to add a second digital body. Based on what I read online the image quality was very debatable so I thought I would test for myself! The 2 shots I uploaded are same settings as far as ISO Shutter and aperture and both shots in jpeg not RAW. The only thing that really different is the 7d was set to medium jpeg. From my short use of the 7d I really like it and these results from my test actually prove something to me. The 7d's extra MP really do make a difference even with the medium jpeg just looking at the little ® symbol on the bottle there's more detail with the 7d over the 40d its not HUGE but its very noticeable and useable. I really feel that they are quite different cameras. 7d is very quicker and the new AF is way better than the 40d. I just wanted to share my opinion from experience with the 7d from a regular guy who loves photography and is debating which way to go with an upgrade/second body. Id be very comfortable and happy purchasing a 7d.

[traveller]

Thanks for the comparison, people who actually do this for themselves rather than blindly accepting another person's opinion are always welcome... Having said that, I'm not sure that you've done the best job of normalising the dimensions (the 7D picture is noticably smaller when view at 100% in Photoshop).  I think it might be better to take a full size jpeg and then downscale to a standard size in Photoshop, or just post the full size images and let people do this for themselves.  Thanks all the same. 

[cycomachead]

I went from a 30D to a 7D a little while ago, and loved it! The 7D is an amazing amazing camera and has followed me around the world and through 60,000 shots in about 20 months. It's held up wonderfully and I love the ergonomics and feature set.

The 30D is a great second camera now, but it does feel a bit antiquated. If you get a 7D, you'll love it!

[Tammy]

the metering system in the 7D is also noticeably improved. the 7D is a great camera.

[captainkanji]

I love my 7d!  It's my first DSLR and has made learning photography fun.  I've been shooting RAW only, so I can't really say anything about in camera JPEGs.  One thing I can say is to get some "L" glass.  My friend got a 7d for his birthday with the kit lens.  It takes great photos, but I believe there's quite a difference when compared to a 70-200 or a 50 1.4 (and some practice in Lightroom).  I have noticed the noise people have been talking about, especially since I turned off noise reduction in the custom functions.  I personally believe that my PC is better at NR than the camera, but I haven't really tested it.  I think you'll come to love 7d as much as I do.

 

70-200 f/4L USM

[Jettatore]

Your shots, for all intents and purposes, look identical enough to me to not matter one bit.  That said, I would be shooting the 7D at full res and in RAW with all noise removal settings switched off.  Fortunately for me, most of my shots are not keepers, so going through the motions and developing RAW and giving the images I like some further love after RAW processing isn't that time consuming.  I'd be correcting and resizing the JPG's anyways, and the versatility while correcting in RAW is simply better, -for the few shots I do take that I like straight out of the camera, it's as simple as pressing import, resizing for web (or not) and saving.  If 90% of the shots I wanted to keep were like that, straight out of the camera ready to go, automating the above process would be super simple.  You almost have to be some super time sensitive journalist, that has to rush every image to production and has great skill as a photographer to warrant shooting in .jpg only.

[wickidwombat]

i'd be interested to see 100% crops from each of the bottle images

[wickidwombat]

i'm looking to maybe get a 40D for use as a timelapse camera so i flog out the shutters on my good cameras
I think the buffer in the 40D will be deep enough where possibly rebels might max out.

just trying to find a nice cheap one

[RLPhoto]

There is no doubt, The 7D is an amazing camera. Love mine, and you may eventually enjoy one yourself.

[briansquibb]

The 40D is a great camera and it is possible to get great results from it. However the 7D IQ is better:

- higher mps
- lower noise  at iso800
- better colour rendition

Plus of course the better AF and fps

I ran my 40D alongside the 7D for about a year and hardly used the 40D - there was no downside to using the 7D.

[kennephoto]

I know its been awhile but Im going to post both Large jpegs from the 7d and 40d both shot same settings with 17-55 2.8 IS and at 2.8 wide open in case you are wondering. I dont know what I am doing when testing but heres to crops of the label. In the 7d you can actually see definition from the printer where as the 40d is smooth and doesnt show it.