Any reason to choose a 7D over a 70D?

[Richard8971]

As a 7d owner and given this camera came out in 2009 as opposed to 2013 I would go with the 70d purely because of the better sensor and Digic 5+ processor in the end its about images the 7d can get very noisey in low light.

Here's a very handy noise comparison chart from The Digital Picture:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Comparisons/Canon-EOS-70D-ISO-Noise.aspx
FWIW I would have recommended a pre-owned 7D. They're amazing value right now in a market flooding with 7D bodies in anticipation of the upcoming 7DII.

-pw

Looks like the high ISO noise levels between the two are pretty close, at least close enough to not use that as a deciding factor in choosing one over the other. (based on this comparison between the two) Unfortunately, until CMOS (or CCD) technology changes, ALL digital sensors will have noise. What makes the biggest difference at this point is the size of the sensor and even more importantly, the size of each sensor pixel.

Honestly? I shoot all the way up to ISO 3200 without fear with my 7D. "Noise" doesn't stop me from getting the images I want. I know if a particular photo calls for some NR, I use either DPP or Lightroom 4. They both do a great job of getting rid of image noise. But again for the most part, I don't use NR much at all.

The photo I uploaded was shot with my 7D, 1/8000s, f8, ISO 2000 without flash using my 70-300L IS USM lens. No noise reduction, simply a RAW file processed using DPP. Nothing at all wrong with this photo, measured against any camera. Even in the dark areas (shadows) the color is smooth without a bunch of "hot pixels".

D

 

[candc]

the 70d has really nice features, i like everything about it except it is to small with big teles, your fingers pinch between the grip and the lens. with normal lenses it is fine. i would wait for the 7dii if you are using big lenses if not get the 70d

 

[candc]

ps. the 70d only has 1 c mode on the dial i think the 7d has 3 like the 40d which i like

 

[Mr Bankes]

I'm not sure about your friend but I like buying used cameras. As long as you know what to look for your friend may get a nicer but older camera. My camera bodies are worth $400 (two 20D's) It's either that or a brand new 1100D for me. I've owned both kits and the two older but better cameras suit me quite well. I'm not to sure about the 7D but I was given the opportunity to shoot a 70D and they are a great bit of kit. Obviously your choice but make sure to have a look at the used option.
cheers

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Richard.
Very nice picture, I only have one question, is it stuffed? ;D
I spent ages sat at the dining area at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix with my 7D trying to get a picture of humming birds, I got tails and beaks and wingtips, but never the whole bird, not even enough to composite one from all the bits!
Darn those little blighters are quick, by the time I brought the camera to bear and focused, there was nothing there!
Anything with lesser AF was not going to catch up with those the speed they flit around.

Looks like the high ISO noise levels between the two are pretty close, at least close enough to not use that as a deciding factor in choosing one over the other. (based on this comparison between the two) Unfortunately, until CMOS (or CCD) technology changes, ALL digital sensors will have noise. What makes the biggest difference at this point is the size of the sensor and even more importantly, the size of each sensor pixel.

Honestly? I shoot all the way up to ISO 3200 without fear with my 7D. "Noise" doesn't stop me from getting the images I want. I know if a particular photo calls for some NR, I use either DPP or Lightroom 4. They both do a great job of getting rid of image noise. But again for the most part, I don't use NR much at all.

The photo I uploaded was shot with my 7D, 1/8000s, f8, ISO 2000 without flash using my 70-300L IS USM lens. No noise reduction, simply a RAW file processed using DPP. Nothing at all wrong with this photo, measured against any camera. Even in the dark areas (shadows) the color is smooth without a bunch of "hot pixels".

D

Hi CandC.
What you show there is among the reasons when I moved from the 300D I went to a 40D, the 400D or whatever x00D it was, were just too small in the hand, held one (x00 range) in store for a few minutes and could already feel my fingers starting to cramp, huge hands require a larger body for comfort. Of course the upgrade in specs was nice to have too. :

Cheers Graham.

the 70d has really nice features, i like everything about it except it is to small with big teles, your fingers pinch between the grip and the lens. with normal lenses it is fine. i would wait for the 7dii if you are using big lenses if not get the 70d

 

[Richard8971]

Hi Richard.
Very nice picture, I only have one question, is it stuffed? ;D

LOL, no, not stuffed. This is one of the reasons why I love the 7D. The AF is extremely fast and I get more good hummingbird shots with the 7 than I have with any other camera body I have used so far.

D

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Richard.
Glad you thought that was funny and not rude, seriously though, how do you capture the little blighters? Do you have a sixth sense that lets you predict their flight pattern, shoot wide and crop in post, use a tele lens so that angle changes are reduced for following them. I was sitting maybe 5 to 6 feet away with a 15-85 lens and couldn't keep up with them and could not seem to predict where they would go to next.
Unfortunately we don't get humming birds here, except in cages, so I will have to wait to go back to AZ (because that is where we have friends) to try to photograph one again.

Cheers Graham.

Hi Richard.
Very nice picture, I only have one question, is it stuffed? ;D

LOL, no, not stuffed. This is one of the reasons why I love the 7D. The AF is extremely fast and I get more good hummingbird shots with the 7 than I have with any other camera body I have used so far.

D

 

[Richard8971]

Hi Richard.
Glad you thought that was funny and not rude, seriously though, how do you capture the little blighters? Do you have a sixth sense that lets you predict their flight pattern, shoot wide and crop in post, use a tele lens so that angle changes are reduced for following them. I was sitting maybe 5 to 6 feet away with a 15-85 lens and couldn't keep up with them and could not seem to predict where they would go to next.
Unfortunately we don't get humming birds here, except in cages, so I will have to wait to go back to AZ (because that is where we have friends) to try to photograph one again.

Cheers Graham.

Hi Richard.
Very nice picture, I only have one question, is it stuffed? ;D

LOL, no, not stuffed. This is one of the reasons why I love the 7D. The AF is extremely fast and I get more good hummingbird shots with the 7 than I have with any other camera body I have used so far.

D

Um, it's not really a trick but I will admit that I crank off about 25 shots for every 1 or 2 hummingbird ones that come out good. Most of the time hummingbirds will pick a plant or two that they really like and will frequent, and a feeder will help greatly. Here in Arizona we have lots and lots of hummingbirds so I can practice quite often. I would recommend an ISO of 1000-2000 and as fast of a shutter speed you can get for the lighting you have. 1/2500s to 1/8000s. F8 or higher will help you get more of the bird in focus if they move while you are shooting. You can use a Speedlite but even with an external battery pack, they are only good for 2 or 3 repeated shots, so I would recommend full sun if you can get it. Here are a couple more I got down in Patagonia, AZ just a few weeks ago.

I use my 70-300L IS USM lens mainly because I can zoom in pretty good and the AF on that lens with the 7D is lightening fast. (usually... lol) I do have to crop most of the time because they move around so much, its hard to frame them perfectly. The 18mp of the 7D help in that regard. I can crop in pretty good and still have enough there for a good sized print.

Shot them at about ISO 1000-1600 give or take with 1/2500s or higher shutter speed. Neither one of these were processed using NR, RAW pretty much right out of the camera.

Thank you for your complements!

D

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Richard.
2 more great shots to make me jealous.
Many thanks for the tips, I hope to come back to AZ sooner rather than later, but not cheap from THE UK!

Cheers Graham.

 

[Snaps]

I'd been for awhile been debating between the 7D and the 70D as an upgrade from my XSi, but that all changed the other day. My older brother was selling his 7D, and I offered to buy it from him. Paid him 675 for the body, including seven memory cards (2GBx2, 4GB, 8GBx2, and 16GBx2), two extra batteries, and a wireless shutter release. The camera itself has gone through only 3700 shutter cycles, so it's still practically brand new.

No complaints. 8)

 

[ashmadux]

Here's a very handy noise comparison chart from The Digital Picture:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Comparisons/Canon-EOS-70D-ISO-Noise.aspx

Thanks for that link PWP. It's interesting to see how little progress has been made in crop sensor performance since the T2i came out. It confirms my own comparison between my T2i and my 7D. Judging from my photos, they seem to have the same sensor. And judging from the information at the link you posted, the 70D is extremely similar. I'm very glad I have a 5D3.

the 7d DOES NOT have the same sensor as the t2i. The 70d's image quality is at least as good as the t2i, and outclasses both in iso performance.

As the reigning pixel peeper supreme, the t2i's sensor is superior. the 7d has severe iso issues. I guess my eyes are better

For the record, soooooo many people post their cleaned up, shrunken images to show how good thier shots are. For my uses, which is design down to the pixel, those kinds of examples are useless.

post 100% screen shots of those unprocessed raw files. Then u will see which is better.

 

[Richard8971]

Here's a very handy noise comparison chart from The Digital Picture:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Comparisons/Canon-EOS-70D-ISO-Noise.aspx

Thanks for that link PWP. It's interesting to see how little progress has been made in crop sensor performance since the T2i came out. It confirms my own comparison between my T2i and my 7D. Judging from my photos, they seem to have the same sensor. And judging from the information at the link you posted, the 70D is extremely similar. I'm very glad I have a 5D3.

the 7d DOES NOT have the same sensor as the t2i. The 70d's image quality is at least as good as the t2i, and outclasses both in iso performance.

As the reigning pixel peeper supreme, the t2i's sensor is superior. the 7d has severe iso issues. I guess my eyes are better

For the record, soooooo many people post their cleaned up, shrunken images to show how good thier shots are. For my uses, which is design down to the pixel, those kinds of examples are useless.

post 100% screen shots of those unprocessed raw files. Then u will see which is better.

For the record? Really? :

 

[Zv]

Here's a very handy noise comparison chart from The Digital Picture:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Comparisons/Canon-EOS-70D-ISO-Noise.aspx

Thanks for that link PWP. It's interesting to see how little progress has been made in crop sensor performance since the T2i came out. It confirms my own comparison between my T2i and my 7D. Judging from my photos, they seem to have the same sensor. And judging from the information at the link you posted, the 70D is extremely similar. I'm very glad I have a 5D3.

the 7d DOES NOT have the same sensor as the t2i. The 70d's image quality is at least as good as the t2i, and outclasses both in iso performance.

As the reigning pixel peeper supreme, the t2i's sensor is superior. the 7d has severe iso issues. I guess my eyes are better

For the record, soooooo many people post their cleaned up, shrunken images to show how good thier shots are. For my uses, which is design down to the pixel, those kinds of examples are useless.

post 100% screen shots of those unprocessed raw files. Then u will see which is better.

For the record? Really? :

How do you know for certain that the 7D and T2i don't have the same sensor? It is likely to have a sensor with very similar technology but the way the images are processed is different. The 7D has two Digic 4 processors vs one in the T2i. The AA filter is also different in the 7D. When comparing image quality between the two cameras it is very hard to tell them apart. What I found from my experience using both cameras is that the 7D has a stronger AA filter than the T2i which results in slightly softer images at similar settings (never bothered me as I shoot RAW and sharpen in post, it could be that Canon felt rebel owners were less likely to post process so gave the images a more sharpened look?) However I feel like the 7D had better colors, lower noise at high ISOs and maybe (though it could just be me) slightly more dynamic range.
It could also just be that when I moved up to the 7D I was using better glass and had improved my own technique thus resulting in better quality images?


I still have my T2i, might dig it out for comparison.

 

[dickgrafixstop]

anymore the 7D is cheaper, sturdier and faster. 70D is new technology. Both take good pictures.

 

[zim]

Ok I'm being lazy I should download both manuals, but is there any difference in auto iso functionality between the 7D (with update) and 70D?

Regards

 

[jdramirez]

Ok I'm being lazy I should download both manuals, but is there any difference in auto iso functionality between the 7D (with update) and 70D?

Regards

When shooting in raw... not really. I seem to recall the 70D has an extra stop, but you wouldn't ever use that. With the aps-c sensor, you generally don't want to go over 3200 because the grain becomes intolerable.

 

[zim]

Ok I'm being lazy I should download both manuals, but is there any difference in auto iso functionality between the 7D (with update) and 70D?

Regards

When shooting in raw... not really. I seem to recall the 70D has an extra stop, but you wouldn't ever use that. With the aps-c sensor, you generally don't want to go over 3200 because the grain becomes intolerable.

Thanks for the info

 

[RGF]

Very interesting discussion. My wife has a Rebel 4Ti and she is frustrated with it. I was thinking of getting her a 70D, but may wait and see if the 7D M2 is a better choice. She will need a new camera in Sept when we take our next photo trip.

 

[jhpeterson]

The 7D has the more rugged magnesium alloy body along with dust and weather sealing. The 7D also has 100% view finder while the 70D is 98%. The 7D has a larger body and grip that I prefer over the smaller 70D. Video is better on the 70D so if video is a factor it would be a good choice.

That pretty much sums up my reasoning. As ruggedness and sealing are top priorities for me, I may weigh factors differently, but unless she plans on doing lots of video work, the 7D seems the better call.
One more thing, the 7D uses the CF card, while the 70D takes the SD. If she take hundreds of photos at one time, the much quicker download speeds of the former might be another important consideration.

 

[Zv]

Very interesting discussion. My wife has a Rebel 4Ti and she is frustrated with it. I was thinking of getting her a 70D, but may wait and see if the 7D M2 is a better choice. She will need a new camera in Sept when we take our next photo trip.

What's the matter with your wife's T4i that it needs to be replaced? And with a 7D2? Did she suddenly become a sports and wildlife shooter? The 70D should be plenty of camera for most people. Get it. Use it. Be happy.

Wait for the mythical beast and you'll end up staying in wonderland forever!