The highly anticipated Canon EOS 7D is shipping! Forum posts on Amazon buzzed about getting notices that people's orders are finally shipping! And I got an email from a friend this morning saying he's expecting his to arrive Friday (tomorrow)!
I was up late last night reading up on specs and looking for the best price on the Canon EOS 7D. The more I looked at the specs and features, the more it seems like a very cool camera! Right now, it appears to have the most advanced autofocus and exposure system of all Canon's cameras. It's also very fast, with two Digic processors instead of one. And it has video, which fascinates me because using an SLR to do video lets me use my bigger Canon lenses and gives me better control over the f/stop and exposure, features you don't find in popular consumer-grade video cameras.
The new iFLC metering system on the EOS7D uses color and Autofocus (AF) points to help in determining exposure. Sounds similar to Nikon's RGB (3D Color Matrix) metering that's been around for years. Even without that, I've always thought my old N90S metered better than any of my Canon's, starting with my first Canon, an EOS 3e. I think my old Nikon was better at handling backlighting situations than the EOS 3e and subsequent cameras, but I never tested them side-by-side. I'd only noticed it after trading in the Nikon for for the Canon. I've often wondered why though, my Canons are so easily fooled by backlit scenes when it's obvious that the object I'm focusing on is waaay differently exposed than the light in back - I've become an expert at exposure compensation to deal with it now.
My biggest question about the EOS 7D is how good is it with noise (they're packing a lot of pixels onto an APS-C chip)? The 50D keeps getting criticized for that. But the 7D has a new, more advanced sensor so hopefully it's much better. The preliminary reviews sound good, but nobody has really done a close look at noise yet. I'll bet though that Canon has learned their lesson from the problems they've had with "black dots" and autofocus issues on their other models, and this one won't have those problems.
I wouldn't mind having this camera! Seems like a much better deal than a 5D Mark II that costs at least $1K more. And the EOS 7D only costs a couple hundred more than the 50D, and is so much better in so many ways. This one ought to kill the market for the 50D.
So, should I put in an order for one, or should I wait? I expect that whenever the 1D Mark IV or its equivalent comes out, it will have all the features of the EOS 7D except maybe fewer megapixels, but with the pro features that I want (highest speed, bigger sensor, better automatic exposure bracketing, batteries that work in the cold, and the pro menu system and custom functions that I like). However, the price difference might not justify getting the Mark IV.
I'm thinking I should sell my Mark III before the IV comes out and causes mine to drop in price, then use the money to buy the EOS 7D and a couple lenses (I've been wanting the 24-105mm and a wider 16-35mm, to replace my 24-70mm).
Ed
New Canon EOS 7D
The EOS 7D is Here!
