7D - buy now or hold off?

[pbc]

I know this is a bit indulgent, but I have both the 17-55 EF-S and the 24-105L for my 7D.

I use the 24-105 as my outdoor walk around lens, where the light tends to be better, so the F4 is not a problem and it has a slightly longer reach than the 17-55 when working in crowds where you can't get close to the action. The 24-105 being weather sealed, also is better in dust, sand and rain, so I don't have to worry about the camera filling up with muck.

I use the 17-55 for night and indoor shots where the F2.8 starts to help and I am less worried about the environmental factors. Optically, the lens are fairly similar in real-world situations, so no real clear advantage either way. It's expensive to have both, but I find the combination works well. If I had to make a choice of one over the other, given that I tend to shoot more outdoors stuff, I went with the 24-105 first, but if you tend to shoot more indoor or are less worried about the environmental stuff, I would go with the 17-55.

 

[sunny]

I am also thinking of purchasing the 7D. Someone wrote this as a con, and I was wondering if anyone found this to be troublesome or annoying ? Thank You " New AF system draws big, black rectangles as each AF sensor goes active — and they never turn off as you're trying to compose! These big, ugly, distracting rectangles don't go away until after you've taken your picture! This makes it difficult to see your subject's expression, or even your subject! "

 

[EYEONE]

I am also thinking of purchasing the 7D. Someone wrote this as a con, and I was wondering if anyone found this to be troublesome or annoying ? Thank You " New AF system draws big, black rectangles as each AF sensor goes active — and they never turn off as you're trying to compose! These big, ugly, distracting rectangles don't go away until after you've taken your picture! This makes it difficult to see your subject's expression, or even your subject! "

I know where you read that quote. That guy...is no good. Don't listen to him.
As a 7D owner I can tell you that it is not a problem for me. They are not ugly or distracting. It's really no different than the 9 dots and squares on the xxxD and xxD line focus screens.

 

[FatDaddyJones]

The 7D's autofocus system is a thing of beauty, and nothing to be frightened of. You'll be hard pressed to fine a finer AF system, and it is fully customizable to your specific use... I tend to favor the center spot focus, and only see the one AF point when I use that function. If you're worried about AF points showing up when you're composing, maybe you should be looking at a different camera... point and shoot maybe?

 

[foobar]

Plus: the 60D is newer than the older 7D so you get a MUCH better display

Sorry, but that's just wrong. Have you actually ever compared the two (in real life)?!
The 7D's display has noticably better color rendition and much better glare reduction compared to the 60D's.

the more pixels the better cause it makes it easier to evaluate the sharpness of a picture. it's not only the pixels though: let's not forget the 7D's display is not 3:2 so it doesn't match its sensor size...

Yes, the 60D wastes less pixels by having a 3:2 screen, but as long as Canon hasn't adopted 3:2 for their high-end screens, the 7D/1D4 screen is still the best you can get on any Canon DSLR.

And if you really want to check for sharpness, you'll have to zoom in anyway. For a quick look at the picture, the difference in pixel density isn't really noticable.

7D - 640x480 (4:3) - 266dpi
60D - 720x480 (3:2) - 288dpi

For comparison: The older 3" screens had just 133dpi.

 

[vrinner]

I've just ordered me a 7D. I've had my 10D for a very long time and couldn't be happier with it. I actually had to convince myself that the 7d is better than my 10D and only after trying one out in the store was I convinced I needed to upgrade. I chose the 7D over the 60D because it feels and acts and feels like my 10D. The body, weight, feel, controls were all very familiar to me but the greatly increased FPS and video mode were really the only two things that made me take the plunge. I could care less about waiting for the MKII to come out as I'm sure this 7D will be in good service for the next 10+ years just like my 10D.

p.s. My kids will be happy that I got the 7D because now I'll let them use the 10D more

 

[jcns]

couple of options.
1. Buy used 7d for about $1K now. If current trend is any indication, 7D mKII will be much more expensive which would mean your used 7D won't lose much value. Sell the used 7D in a year and get the mkII.

2 .Another option is to buy a used 50d. They go for about $500 now. 50d shoots 6.3 fps 7d=8fps, 60d 5.3 fps.
Used 50d's are likely to lose another $200-300 in value at most in the next year(I am guessing).

 

[ruuneos]

I bought 7D in Sep 2011, but now what you may want to do is:
1. Get used 7D for about ~$1000
2. Wait for sales to come around and get new one for ~1100-1200$
3. Hold for 7D2 to announcement and price tag about $2500??

What I thought when I bought 7D was:
- I know that 7D's upgrade is near about 12-6months (at the moment it's around 5-6months)
- Going to use 7D still next couple of years and investing to L-lenses and after that 2-3years going to FF and probably change 7D to 7D2 or wait Mk3 to show up.

By the way folks, what you think is 7D2 having both mounts, EF as well EF-S.

 

[dlleno]

Have been following this forum for some time and appreciate all the insightful remarks. Budget doesn't allow a FF body now so am looking to a 7d. Old film guy coming back to photography, so am a bit perplexed with the whole crop frame vs. FF arguments. Still I enjoy the dialog. Love my Xsi, can't wait to replace my t1i. Drooling over a 7d. Hearty cheer for the 10-22, 17-55, and the 70-200 2.8. Many will scoff, but have had great results using the kit 55-250 in my studio.

+1 on that lens trilogy of 10-22, 17-55, and 70-200. just add a 1.4x TC to the list! I just sent my nearly five year old 17-55 back for its first repair. $100 and she is back to new, so I'm happy. I can't tell you how many times this lens has saved a picture, due to the IS. remember that the equivalent FF FOV here is 27-88 mm, which is a very happy (useful) focal length range. combine with f/2.8 and IS and we have a real winner. optical quality is, well, L-quality, you can read the reviews. If this lens had a little better build quality and weather sealing it would have a red ring around it and cost $700 more

 

[Menace]

I had mine for two year and absolutely loved it! I mainly used 24-105 and 70-200 F4 and found the combination more than adequate for my needs. I recently went FF so these lenses will be with me for some time.

Get the 7d now and enjoy taking pictures rather than wait for a replacement. 7d will still be a great camera even when mark II comes out (whenever that may be)

 

[Deleted member 42026]

And if the 7d mark ii is more than a year off still? Its very possible!

I have the 10-22, a 16-35 ii and a 70-300L. I use the 10-22 by far the most. For me, its great.

I wouldn't hold off. Buy what you would love to use now. Waiting could drive you nuts.

 

[K3nt]

Wow!

I started this topic over a year ago. I am a happy owner of a 7D and a bunch of other gear. I'm glad I spent the money way back. Now I just have a serious case of L-fever. ;D
Having gone from 0 to 250k views on flickr in a year has been amazing. I've learnt so much from everyone here and by looking at other shots trying to figure out how they were done. Thank you all!
Pros for the 7D:
Ergonomics, it just fits my paws so well and I can easily access any of the settings
Speed, for high-speed shooting, this thing rocks! (haven't tried the 1D-X or 5dmkIII) But 8fps is good enough)
Versatility - Outdoor, Indoor, remote controlled flash guns (built-in master) there's very little this thing can't do.

Cons (there has to be some):
Noise - Well documented, high-ISO 1600 and over produces quite a bit of noise. Noise Ninja is NICE!
UI - 50/50 on this. The user interface is ok, but could be 'nicer'. There are some things I think could be improved, but I won't go in to details now.

But that's it. I love it, and even if I was to get a 5D MK 3 through some crazy stroke of luck (i.e lottery winning) I would still hang on to the 7D, I like it that much.

Again, thank you all and I look forward to reading much more cool info from all of you in the future!

 

[bycostello]

i held off buying my 5d2 for a year waiting for a new one.... it was a year after that the mk3 finally came...

 

[ruuneos]

And if the 7d mark ii is more than a year off still? Its very possible!

Naahh.. End of this year looks more like it, in Sep 11 is 7D's 3rd birthday. And around that time Canon may announce information about 7D Mark II.

 

[Ew]

Here's what I got an offer for earlier this week:
Canon 7D Body
Tamron 17-50/2.8 OS
Canon EF 70-200/4L IS
Canon Speedlight 430EXII

Plus a bag and some accessories, mem cards etc...

To everyone, thanks a million!

I've been on the 7D since Nov'09 and love it. I was planning on selling it when I picked up a 5d2, but together they are a powerful combo.

Ill hold on to it for the reach even after upping the 5d2 to 5d3.

 

[liberace]

Here's what I got an offer for earlier this week:
Canon 7D Body
Tamron 17-50/2.8 OS
Canon EF 70-200/4L IS
Canon Speedlight 430EXII

Plus a bag and some accessories, mem cards etc...

To everyone, thanks a million!

I've been on the 7D since Nov'09 and love it. I was planning on selling it when I picked up a 5d2, but together they are a powerful combo.

Ill hold on to it for the reach even after upping the 5d2 to 5d3.

Same. Will be getting a 5DIII when the new 24-70mm kit finally becomes available, will be keeping the 7D in regular use until a better Canon 1.6 crop exists.

 

[Chewy734]

I say buy now.

The 7D II, even if it's announced by the end of this year, may not be available for at least 1 year from now. As we've seen with Canon's track record lately, they have a tendency of announcing products and then finally getting them into our hands 6-12 months after announcement. And, I haven't seen any concrete rumors stating that the 7D II will even be announced this year.

 

[AmbientLight]

Just buy the 7D. It makes a splendid combination with a full-frame camera, so in case you are so happy with the 7D you would want a second Canon body, you can readily purchase a 5D Mark III or 1D-X. This has the added benefit of reducing the frequency of lens changes, when you are out shooting. ;D

 

[briansquibb]

The 7D is a splendid camera. I bought a 1D4 as a backup and keep the 7D for best 8) 8) 8)

 

[bdunbar79]

I'd go for the 7D. I also own a 5D Mark III and the 7D still has it's benefits. On all of my lenses, I can multiply a factor of 1.6! So since Canon doesn't really sell a very reliable, all-around 50mm lens, if you have the 35L f/1.4 that is 56mm on your 7D. I know it's not an exact conversion and there are other factors, but it's almost like a 56mm f/1.4L lens on your 7D. That's just one example of what I do. It's great. Zoom lenses? Again, great addition. The AF on the 7D has been very good for me. I use my 5D Mark III when I want FF and my 7D when I'm out and need the flexibility of shooting action shots. I find the 7D's AF menu system easier to use and figure out than the 5D Mark III. It is a very good camera at a great value. The images are near 5D Mark II if you do it right and at a much cheaper price.