Eos7D mk2, How EXCITED will you be if . . .?

[Don Haines]

agreed! I'd take a year in Yellowstone with an iPhone over the high end combo for two weeks...

Absolutely. 8)

I'd take a year in Yellowstone with NO camera over the high end combo for two weeks....

 

[garyknrd]

If interested here is a quick informal test I did yesterday. Crop cameras are the best birding cameras IMO beating a FF pretty handily. Especially with the new crop sensors from sony.

Interesting that Art Morris (of who's website your URL is seemingly a parody, and who actually shoots birds instead of posed pooches) uses the 1D X and 5DIII with Canon 500/600 II lenses and delivers impressive images.

I must say, your opinion smells like birds that fart. :-X

Non sense. I personally do not like his pics that much, but many do. Many others that use Canon equipment I like much better.
Just went to your site. Looks like you use the 1dx and 5D III & 600 II. Birding photography, you are not very good IMO. Very poor. Jrista, on the other hand is very talented IMO. But, I don't have to agree with him for sure.

Great hobby though.... all the best.

 

[Loswr]

If interested here is a quick informal test I did yesterday. Crop cameras are the best birding cameras IMO beating a FF pretty handily. Especially with the new crop sensors from sony.

Interesting that Art Morris (of who's website your URL is seemingly a parody, and who actually shoots birds instead of posed pooches) uses the 1D X and 5DIII with Canon 500/600 II lenses and delivers impressive images.

I must say, your opinion smells like birds that fart. :-X

Non sense. I personally do not like his pics that much, but many do. Many others that use Canon equipment I like much better.
Just went to your site. Looks like you use the 1dx and 5D III & 600 II. Birding photography, you are not very good IMO. Very poor. Jrista, on the other hand is very talented IMO. But, I don't have to agree with him for sure.

Great hobby though.... all the best.

Thanks again for sharing your opinion. You already know what I think of it...

Enjoy your hobby!

 

[garyknrd]

If interested here is a quick informal test I did yesterday. Crop cameras are the best birding cameras IMO beating a FF pretty handily. Especially with the new crop sensors from sony.

Interesting that Art Morris (of who's website your URL is seemingly a parody, and who actually shoots birds instead of posed pooches) uses the 1D X and 5DIII with Canon 500/600 II lenses and delivers impressive images.

I must say, your opinion smells like birds that fart. :-X

Non sense. I personally do not like his pics that much, but many do. Many others that use Canon equipment I like much better.
Just went to your site. Looks like you use the 1dx and 5D III & 600 II. Birding photography, you are not very good IMO. Very poor. Jrista, on the other hand is very talented IMO. But, I don't have to agree with him for sure.

Great hobby though.... all the best.

Thanks again for sharing your opinion. You already know what I think of it...

Enjoy your hobby!

Same here.

 

[Menace]

agreed! I'd take a year in Yellowstone with an iPhone over the high end combo for two weeks...

Absolutely. 8)

I'd take a year in Yellowstone with NO camera over the high end combo for two weeks....

I'll happily take a year at Yellowstone with just the gear that I currently own - which one of you is going to pay my expenses?

 

[9VIII]

Right now I'm having flashbacks of a prior thread where people were debating the best technique to get an equivalent shot of exotic water foul using a 50mm lens instead of 600mm.

I think it involved snorkeling while holding a camera just above the water for a couple of years.

 

[bdunbar79]

If interested here is a quick informal test I did yesterday. Crop cameras are the best birding cameras IMO beating a FF pretty handily. Especially with the new crop sensors from sony.

Interesting that Art Morris (of who's website your URL is seemingly a parody, and who actually shoots birds instead of posed pooches) uses the 1D X and 5DIII with Canon 500/600 II lenses and delivers impressive images.

I must say, your opinion smells like birds that fart. :-X

Non sense. I personally do not like his pics that much, but many do. Many others that use Canon equipment I like much better.
Just went to your site. Looks like you use the 1dx and 5D III & 600 II. Birding photography, you are not very good IMO. Very poor. Jrista, on the other hand is very talented IMO. But, I don't have to agree with him for sure.

Great hobby though.... all the best.

Good job man. You should be proud of yourself.

 

[jrista]

The point being, don't fixate on gear. Technique beats gear every time. One of the best techniques to learn in bird photography is to be slow and quiet..... although that said, I would not refuse a 1DX and a 600II if it were offered

Location > gear

Time spent at location > gear

I'd rather shoot with a Canon S2 in Yellowstone for a year than a high end camera and lens combo for two weeks.

I bet if I had a 1D X and a 600/4 II I'd create 100x more great photography in two weeks than you would with your Canon S2 in a year. I have absolutely zero doubt, as a matter of fact.

The odds of getting truly great photographs in nature increase exponentially based on time in the field, not what gear you have.

First, you have to get out there. Second, you have to stay out there in all conditions. Then you need to apply technique, and hopefully a bit of luck will come your way, but don't count on it.

Time can be a factor, but gear is not immaterial. If I wanted to get a shot of bears, I'd much rather have a 1DX/5D III and a 600/4 + 2x TC, or a 7D and 600/4, than anything else.

 

[jrista]

If interested here is a quick informal test I did yesterday. Crop cameras are the best birding cameras IMO beating a FF pretty handily. Especially with the new crop sensors from sony.

Interesting that Art Morris (of who's website your URL is seemingly a parody, and who actually shoots birds instead of posed pooches) uses the 1D X and 5DIII with Canon 500/600 II lenses and delivers impressive images.

I must say, your opinion smells like birds that fart. :-X

Non sense. I personally do not like his pics that much, but many do. Many others that use Canon equipment I like much better.

It doesn't really matter if you like his personal style or not. That isn't what's up for discussion. The simple fact of the matter is, Morris' technique is largely unsurpassed, especially for shorebirds and waders. The point is, he makes effective use of a 1D X, 5D III, and the 300/2.8, 500/4, 600/4 (all with TCs) and 200-400. The gear, the gear you said hurt your friends photography and therefor must not be very good, is not the problem. In the hands of a talented photographer, that gear can be put to use creating photography of exquisite quality. Quality...not necessarily art, you don't have to like it...but you can't deny the quality of Morris' work.

Talent doesn't trump gear. Gear compliments talent.

 

[jrista]

Right now I'm having flashbacks of a prior thread where people were debating the best technique to get an equivalent shot of exotic water foul using a 50mm lens instead of 600mm.

I think it involved snorkeling while holding a camera just above the water for a couple of years.

LOL...yeah, sadly, that actually WAS a debate.

 

[fragilesi]

Time can be a factor, but gear is not immaterial. If I wanted to get a shot of bears, I'd much rather have a 1DX/5D III and a 600/4 + 2x TC, or a 7D and 600/4, than anything else.

Think I'd go for a helicopter first myself ;D

 

[Skulker]

Time can be a factor, but gear is not immaterial. If I wanted to get a shot of bears, I'd much rather have a 1DX/5D III and a 600/4 + 2x TC, or a 7D and 600/4, than anything else.

Think I'd go for a helicopter first myself ;D

You wimps! ;D

taken at 140mm these are full frame, there was nothing between us and him, just talking quietly so as not to scare him, as he hadn't spotted us until he looked up.

I've put in one cropped cos I like the look in his eye. I think he was a bit pi$$ed that some one got in his way. 8)

 

[Skulker]

To get back on topic ;D

You can't beat good skills and good gear. Unless you have talent as well. :-[

 

[Don Haines]

The point being, don't fixate on gear. Technique beats gear every time. One of the best techniques to learn in bird photography is to be slow and quiet..... although that said, I would not refuse a 1DX and a 600II if it were offered

Location > gear

Time spent at location > gear

I'd rather shoot with a Canon S2 in Yellowstone for a year than a high end camera and lens combo for two weeks.

I bet if I had a 1D X and a 600/4 II I'd create 100x more great photography in two weeks than you would with your Canon S2 in a year. I have absolutely zero doubt, as a matter of fact.

The odds of getting truly great photographs in nature increase exponentially based on time in the field, not what gear you have.

First, you have to get out there. Second, you have to stay out there in all conditions. Then you need to apply technique, and hopefully a bit of luck will come your way, but don't count on it.

Time can be a factor, but gear is not immaterial. If I wanted to get a shot of bears, I'd much rather have a 1DX/5D III and a 600/4 + 2x TC, or a 7D and 600/4, than anything else.

I joke about my tamron 150-600 being my polar bear lens because that's as close as I want to get to one. Yes, I could use a 50f1.8 to take the shot, but when you show the picture and say "see that pixel, it's a polar bear" they are not impressed There are definitely times when you can not get close, or do not want to get close. For those times, there is no substitute for gear. As someone who has shot with the Tamron and the 600F4, there are times when neither is long enough. At least the 600F4 plays well with teleconverters.... Don't bother with the Tamron.

That said, I still believe that most of the time technique beats gear. It's when we are at the limits that the gear becomes truly important and most people never get that far. People like Jrista are not typical. His bird portraits are at a level where great technique and great gear are needed to get that level of shot. Myself, I am still learning and only occasionally reach the limits of my gear, and to keep things in perspective, remember that most cameras are left in program or "green box" mode. For all those people, technique is far more important than gear.

 

[scyrene]

A bit odd, this. Of course both technique and gear matter. Who could argue otherwise? The level of gear you want, and the amount of time you devote to using it, is a matter of personal preference and circumstance. And whether one decides to upgrade a camera body or a lens, or try and push their current gear further by taking it out more or to new places - that too is personal.

The Yellowstone thing is a bit of a red herring. Most people can't go to the top places for wildlife on a regular basis - and that expense might be just as worthwhile put into better gear used locally. I've got (especially bird) photos I'm proud of in my local area - many of which would not have been possible without the equipment I used. Of course I could take an iPhone to a beauty spot and get a nice photo in good conditions - but if I took a 1Dx and 600L I'd get even better photos of certain things.

I like walking round knowing the only impediment in 99% of situations is me. In the past I used less able equipment, and it was frustrating. Now I can think, if I go out more, go to more places, polish my fieldcraft, then nothing can stop me except bad luck. Some people might want to do it the other way round - but it's not either/or.

 

[MichaelHodges]

The point being, don't fixate on gear. Technique beats gear every time. One of the best techniques to learn in bird photography is to be slow and quiet..... although that said, I would not refuse a 1DX and a 600II if it were offered

Location > gear

Time spent at location > gear

I'd rather shoot with a Canon S2 in Yellowstone for a year than a high end camera and lens combo for two weeks.

I bet if I had a 1D X and a 600/4 II I'd create 100x more great photography in two weeks than you would with your Canon S2 in a year. I have absolutely zero doubt, as a matter of fact.

The odds of getting truly great photographs in nature increase exponentially based on time in the field, not what gear you have.

First, you have to get out there. Second, you have to stay out there in all conditions. Then you need to apply technique, and hopefully a bit of luck will come your way, but don't count on it.

Time can be a factor, but gear is not immaterial. If I wanted to get a shot of bears, I'd much rather have a 1DX/5D III and a 600/4 + 2x TC, or a 7D and 600/4, than anything else.

I wouldn't recommend a 7D at all for bears. In fact, I'd choose a 50D and a 40D over it for our ursine friends.

 

[Loswr]

I wouldn't recommend a 7D at all for bears. In fact, I'd choose a 50D and a 40D over it for our ursine friends.

Would you recommend a 7D for anything? Perhaps a paperweight or doorstop? It's truly unfortunate that you seem to have gotten a lemon, but properly functioning 7Ds (which are the vast majority of them) are very good cameras.

 

[sagittariansrock]

Right now I'm having flashbacks of a prior thread where people were debating the best technique to get an equivalent shot of exotic water foul using a 50mm lens instead of 600mm.

I think it involved snorkeling while holding a camera just above the water for a couple of years.

Damn it, now I have coffee on my keyboard! ;D

 

[sagittariansrock]

The question of gear VS technique only comes up if you cannot afford the gear. If you CAN afford the gear and buy it, what is stopping you from improving your technique?
As Jrista said, the two complement each other. Use the best gear you can afford and spend time on your technique.

 

[MichaelHodges]

I wouldn't recommend a 7D at all for bears. In fact, I'd choose a 50D and a 40D over it for our ursine friends.

Would you recommend a 7D for anything? Perhaps a paperweight or doorstop? It's truly unfortunate that you seem to have gotten a lemon, but properly functioning 7Ds (which are the vast majority of them) are very good cameras.

Sure, I'd recommend the 7D for situations where you control the lighting (fashion shoots, etc). Or for shooting brightly-colored sports jerseys or race cars.

I used several 7D's over the years, and found them all to have focus consistency issues on grizzly bears and ungulates with L telephoto lenses. On top of this, these animals come closer during crepuscular hours, and the 7D just falls flat here with noisy, rough RAW files.