from Michigan

I am a Canon fan and was looking for a backup body for wedding season. It was between another 5D II or the 7D. Being a little cost conscious I went with the 7D.

The first thing that I will say is though the menu and keys on the 7D are not exactly the same as the 5D II they are pretty close. My first camera was a Rebel and people looking to upgrade from the pro-sumer line will fine the menu system easy to use.

IQ: The image quality is very good, I can't say I've really noticed any difference from my 5D Mark II, but I haven't done any hard and fast testing where it would really show one way or another.

Handling: The camera has a nice feel to it, my hands are very wide but not overly long and the camera feels very good in my hands. I would however HIGHLY recommend the battery grip if you do a lot of vertical shooting.

Options: The amount of options can be a little over whelming but nothing you can't learn if you're trying. The electronic level is really nice for landscapes on a tripod, I wish the 5D had it. The video function is easy to use. The ability to remotely trigger speed lights and set ratios is wonderful though may not have a long range outdoors.

Auto Focus: This is where I was expecting a little more from the camera. I really expected the camera to lock on like a great white in low light conditions. It does a decent job here with its 19 AF points but I was a little disappointed. I guess they need to leave something for the 1D. I will say however that I really liked the box spread of the AF points when compared to the 5D II. The oval shape of the 5D II is horrible for composing a shot, where as the 7D's 19 point AF points seem to be more in line with where you would want to AF on a face in the frame.

Over all a great buy if you are looking for a professional camera.

What's great about it: Nice ergonomics, good image quality.

What's not so great: AF is good but not as great as I was hoping.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Great Camera!

on April 28, 2010

Posted by: MaRx777

from Minnesota

Love the camera. It was a nice step up from my 40D in every way. Still getting used to all the new features. If you take even a moddest amount of pics, be ready to buy at least a 1TB extra hard drive to store these 30+mb picture files! Movie files are even bigger! my 30gb worth of mem cards fills up very quickly compared to my 40D!

This camera NEEDS "L" series lenses to fully capture its potential. Its more obvious using a non-"L" lens than my 40D. Its hard to use any other lens than my 70-200mm for image quality, but its such a long lens (focal length), thats its not that easy!

Bottom line: If you buy this camera, you're not an amatuer photographer, you're getting semi-serious. You're going to have to back this purchase up with a significant amount of items. More file storage(both for computer and larger/FAST) mem cards, "L" lenses, probably another bag to carry this assuming you kept your old camera.

Overall, its worth it, but take the time to learn it before judging it, and be ready for the extras you'll find yourself needing/wanting!

What's great about it: Everything I expected

What's not so great: Hard to hit the focus doing HD video

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

After Research, upon research...

on April 8, 2011

Posted by: PhotographyMomEV

from Evansville, IN

I bought the Canon 7d after days of research as to the right camera and lens that would work for all types of photography. I do weddings (needing high ISO levels), birthing sessions (needing fast shutterspeeds), but primarily use it for taking pictures of varying ages of children (needing great focus AND fast shutterspeed), to capture the moments for my clients and of our family. Unfortunately, my camera was stolen, so it was back to the drawing board to find a replacement. After watching fantastic videos online by reviewers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET0idevzGRE) to decide whether I should "downgrade" I discovered that this reviewer felt strongly that the 7D was a better contender than the 60D OR the coveted 5D Mark ii. He did offer advice in another video that the Nikon D7000 was equal to if not better than the Canon 7D in almost all respects, but did acknowledge that the 7D had a slightly faster response time. So if you aren't loyal to a specific brand... most reviewers are saying the Nikon D7000 is a better bang for your buck. Unfortunately, lenses aren't compatible between the two brands, so I need to stick with something by Canon, since I have a $1.600 lens that was not stolen and clearly would be costly to replace with something comparable through Nikon. Other than that alternative, I have to say I LOVE everything about my 7D and am excited to get it back.

What's great about it: Everything!

What's not so great: Does not have dual battery compartments like the Nikon D7000, which also has 39 focus points compared to the 7D's 19.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

In awe

on October 31, 2010

Posted by: pointandmiss

from los angeles, ca

I replaced my rebel xti with the 7D. Lenses interchangeable and similar in many functions. However, picture quality on every level is far superior. I did not think that the average full light shot would show much difference from the xti (which took great pictures). It does. I was warned it would show all the imperfections in anything other than an "L" series lens. So far I have seen nothing in the midrange canon lenses I use. I have played with the video. As for what I am seeing on the camera screen at playback I'm very impressesed but I have yet to convert it to a viewable format for the flat screen.
It is heavier. A little larger. Better formed to the hand. Fast. Very fast.
I hesitated on buying for quite a while. Glad I gave in.

What's great about it: overall picture quality

What's not so great: a little intimidating

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Excellent Camera

on March 16, 2013

Posted by: ShatteredImages

from Lebanon, MO

A powerful workhorse bringing function and control to your fingertips. The Canon 7D was designed to offer the professional shooters a wide range of shooting options in one complete package. Utilizing Canon's 1.6 APS-C sensor the 7D stands well above Canon's X0D series cameras. Offering photographers wireless flash control, video, incredible burst frame rates, numerous auto focus points, and custom settings it makes adapting quickly to changing shooting conditions a breeze.

The Canon 7D brought the introduction of Canon Speedlite control to the back of the camera. While the ability existed to use Canon Speedlites with earlier models their use was somewhat hampered by the need to set each group manually at the lights or to control them from a 580 EX series or other wireless control for Manuel and ETTL. With the 7D all of the Speedlite groups can be controlled directly from the camera body and fired with the built in flash in both manual and ETTL modes.

The 7D also brought 1080p video to the DSLR market (it was also introduced to the Canon Rebel line at this time). This was a big 1st step in introducing video to professional DSLRs, but really it still suffers from two big drawbacks. The first is the loss of the auto focusing function while filming marketing tracking moving subjects somewhat challenging. The second is the FAT32 limitations restricting higher resolution video to 4 minute clips.

The 7D is capable of 7-9 frames per second in burst mode and is able to sustain that rate of fire for 126 frames. I am not aware of any other camera firing as fast, giving the 7D and unrivaled ability to capture action in a way never experienced before and allowing the creation of still-motion video by stitching the frames together in video editing software. The biggest draw back to this feature is the ability to effectively light the subject, these fast frame rates require near daylight conditions, limiting you to shooting outdoors or requiring bright continuous studio lighting such as that used for video.

19 auto focus points make it a breeze to get your focal plane spot on to your subject. This is a very helpful option to have when working with a very shallow depth of field. This feature is enhanced with focal point memory, that is the camera remembers the most recent focal point used for each orientation, landscape and portrait, of the camera body. Combine this with the quick selection hat switch and it makes this camera very quick to focus.

The 7D also has a wide range of programmable modes. Custom shooting modes allow you to save your 3 most common shooting settings to the camera dial, the custom menu allows you to locate your most commonly used menu functions on one screen and if that is not enough the cameras external buttons can be programmed to preform different functions, allowing you to set the buttons to the layout you prefer.

A couple of things I was not so fond of - the use of Compact Flash, it is not a bad format, but is much less convenient then SD. Color modes, not an adjustment to color temperature, but shooting modes that are black and white, sepia, black and white but with a green tint. These are the sorts of features that are added to point and shoot cameras to give beginners a wider set of options without the use of separate software on the computer. I have yet to run into someone who shoots with DSLRs and does not have at least moderately good post editing software, all of which gives much greater control over adjustments to black and white or sepia - or whatever other color scheme the photographer may wish for.

All in all I find the 7D to be a very powerful camera offering a lot of flexibility at your fingertips. Despite a couple of minor inconveniences I find the 7D to be the most adaptable of my cameras and for this reason it is still my favorite camera body to shoot with.

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What's great about it: Lots of settings at your fingertips

What's not so great: CF format - short recording time for Hi-Res video

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Great Semi pro Camera

on March 19, 2012

Posted by: Loveon

from Dallas, TX

After 1 year of intense research, the Canon EOS 7D is a must have. Excellent exposure in Aperture-Priority Mode and other user controlled exposure modes. Less noisy at high ISO. Battery fully charges in less than 2 hours and last about 6 hours with continous shooting. Great at high ISO. Produces razer cut images at fast shutter speed. Less editing required captures detail in color. Not as heavy as I expected. Easy to learn and operate.8 frames per second. AF works perfect on continous shooting. It's costly but worth the bucks. Added images that show detailed settings and results..

What's great about it: Great exposure both in Aperture -Priority Mode and Shutter-Priority Mode. Manual Exposure works perfect with MF.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Very pleased

on May 17, 2010

Posted by: photoandski

from Elkhorn, WI

Just got this last week. Used it for two engagement shoots I had this weekend. I am very glad I made the purchase. I have a 40d and was contemplating the 7d or 5MKII. With Best Buy's sale and financing both were reachable but considering the still large price difference, I went for the 7d. I'm glad I did. I just couldn't justify the extra $$$ for full frame at this point. You won't be disappointed with this camera.

What's great about it: 19 AF points, quieter, faster focusing, image quality, greater ISO options, faster FPS for sports shots

What's not so great: Nothing as of yet....I do wish Canon used the same battery from the 40/50d series. It's pracitically the same size.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Fantastic machine - a semi-pro "must have"

on June 15, 2010

Posted by: jrsachs

from Petaluma, CA

My 4th Canon DSLR and this blows away anything I've seen. 8 frames per second. I am a sports shooter and this makes a real difference. I do a lot of work indoors with poor light and this camera performed flawlessly.

What's great about it: Speed and image quality

What's not so great: nothing

I would recommend this to a friend!

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