I spent all weekend enjoying my brand, new Canon 7D, but unfortunately sent it back to Canon this morning. After shooting with it during that time, I noticed I was coming back with a number of images out of focus. There were some photos that I really liked that sadly didn’t come out as I had hoped, but luckily this one was one of the passable ones.
I had heard from people both in person and reading around the Internet that the 7D sometimes came with an auto-focus issue where it simply wouldn’t focus. This was happening with me, so I went ahead and shipped it back to get fixed so that I can hopefully have it before I leave for Christmas vacation.
The good news however is that I was completely blown away with the camera itself! If I was excited for it to come in before using it, I am overflowingly (is that a word?) ecstatic for it to return! There were several features I still had yet to play with, such as the higher ISO ranges and of course, HD video. One thing I did make great use of while I did have it however, was the hi-speed shutter which shoots up to eight frames-per-second, as well as a smaller sensor size which allowed me to get a little closer to my subjects through the lens.
Having seen the bighorn sheep out the day before it arrived, I headed back into the National Elk Refuge outside of Jackson, Wyoming twice over the weekend to capture some more of the fighting that they had been doing, which I thought would be a great test for the burst shooting. While my 5D caught a few decent shots of near-collisions, the 7D got some pretty intense shots both leading into the collision and the collision itself.
While this isn’t a complete review yet, it’s just a sneak preview into a fuller review that I plan to post probably some time into the New Year (especially since the camera’s out of my hands for a couple of weeks!). Have you shot with a 7D yet? Did you have any issues with it or did you notice any fun tricks you can do to take advantage of its technology?
Excellent image Mike! I can’t comment on the 7D because I’m Nikon guy. I just got a D7000 partially for the video, so I’ll be excited to see what you come up with!
Thank you, Chad! Video’s another reason I liked the 7D. Looking forward to seeing what you do as well. It’s definitely an exciting time to be upgrading.
Excellent image Mike! I can’t comment on the 7D because I’m Nikon guy. I just got a D7000 partially for the video, so I’ll be excited to see what you come up with!
Thank you, Chad! Video’s another reason I liked the 7D. Looking forward to seeing what you do as well. It’s definitely an exciting time to be upgrading.
Welcome to a great new camera, Mike. I too have the 5D MkII and the 7D, and both are fantastic for their respective purposes. The 5D is my landscape/backpacking body, and I use the 7D for wildlife (with my big lens), with my older 40D slung over my shoulder for closer stuff. I recently posted on my blog about the merits of shooting with high-megapixel sensors (including a recent shot with the 7D): http://blog.hankchristensen.com/2010/12/big-sensors-big-fun/
Thank you, Hank! I’m definitely excited about the 18mp sensor and while I don’t like to rely on cropping after the fact, I’m certainly guilty of trying many different crops on the computer, and it’s good to know that the 7D keeps that quality in there.
I’d love to get the 5D Mark II paired with my 7D for similar reasons, but for now the original 5D will work out well.
Yes, “crop in camera” is always the best approach! One big improvement with the 7D that I noticed is the AI Server tracking capability. Its been much better keeping focus lock on a moving subject (birds in flight, charging bighorn sheep?, etc) as compared to the 40D. Once you get a working model, I’m sure you’ll put this ability to good use.
Exactly! That was one of the first things I noticed. While I was tracking moving objects, I didn’t see or feel the lens change focus at all, however I didn’t really put it together until I began looking at the images. But yes, once it comes back I’m sure I’ll be using it quite a bit! There were a few times where it did work but then it not working outweighed the times it did work, unfortunately. I definitely plan on having some fun with it once it’s back.
Welcome to a great new camera, Mike. I too have the 5D MkII and the 7D, and both are fantastic for their respective purposes. The 5D is my landscape/backpacking body, and I use the 7D for wildlife (with my big lens), with my older 40D slung over my shoulder for closer stuff. I recently posted on my blog about the merits of shooting with high-megapixel sensors (including a recent shot with the 7D): http://blog.hankchristensen.com/2010/12/big-sensors-big-fun/
Thank you, Hank! I’m definitely excited about the 18mp sensor and while I don’t like to rely on cropping after the fact, I’m certainly guilty of trying many different crops on the computer, and it’s good to know that the 7D keeps that quality in there.
I’d love to get the 5D Mark II paired with my 7D for similar reasons, but for now the original 5D will work out well.
Yes, “crop in camera” is always the best approach! One big improvement with the 7D that I noticed is the AI Server tracking capability. Its been much better keeping focus lock on a moving subject (birds in flight, charging bighorn sheep?, etc) as compared to the 40D. Once you get a working model, I’m sure you’ll put this ability to good use.
Exactly! That was one of the first things I noticed. While I was tracking moving objects, I didn’t see or feel the lens change focus at all, however I didn’t really put it together until I began looking at the images. But yes, once it comes back I’m sure I’ll be using it quite a bit! There were a few times where it did work but then it not working outweighed the times it did work, unfortunately. I definitely plan on having some fun with it once it’s back.