 Does the 7D beat full frame cameras? |
| Review Date: October 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Abdulrahman Aljabri, Jeddah |
No, but it's so good that one starts to contemplate this question, which was never the case before the 7D was introduced. Both systems, crop and full frame, have their pros and cons and place in photography. But before I get into that let me say I have not been as excited about a camera since the introduction of the 5D MK I four years ago. That's because the 7D raises the crop camera bar to the point where crop users will not feel at a disadvantage to full frame camera users, especially if coupled with awesome ef-s lenses such as the 17-55 f2.8.
How so? The 7D sets a new standard in four major ways.
1. It produces whopping 18MP pictures, which are just 3MP shy of the current top of the line full frame Canon cameras. Just few years ago most pros were producing stellar results using the 1Ds MKII 16MP camera. Now you have more MPs in a crop sensor, that's a major achievement. This achievement translates into bigger prints and, perhaps more importantly, cropping power. Out shooting wildlife with a 300mm instead of 400mm? You can crop the 7D files down to 50% of their original file size and still obtain sharp pictures. It's just not that easy with the 1D MK III 10MP files.
2. Many worried that extra MPs in small crop sensors would translate into nosier pictures, but the amazing thing is that this camera produces images with what seems to be less noise than the 1Ds MKII. The noise level is very good. At ISO 1600 I still prefer pictures coming from my 5D MKII, but below ISO1600 they are very close. Frankly, I can go with either camera because most of my professionally shot portraits and product pictures are shot at ISO100. At ISO100 both produce very clean files and are practically indistinguishable.
3. Focus is the one area that was lacking on the previous 1.6 crop Canon cameras and this camera changes that. It's not a 1D in focus speed and accuracy, but it's the next best thing compared to them. It's faster than the Canon 5D MKII, which is known to be slightly faster or around the focus performance range of the 50D and 40D.
4. The drive chain is fast, so fast it's beyond anything I needed in my professional work in portrait, commercial, and product photography. Going through pictures taken at 8fps produces very little difference from frame to frame. One probably has to shoot a very fast moving subject/object to see the advantage of such fast drive system.
There are obviously many other things that I have not covered in this review. But based on the above, all I can say is that this camera has really raised the bar for all cameras and made it much more affordable to obtain a professional level camera for all types of photography. If you were considering buying the 5D MKII as an upgrade give this camera a test because it might be all you need.
As for the advantages of crop cameras I always find it odd that casual users who shoot many things but focus on landscape think they need a full frame to realize their potential. Crop cameras such as the 7D and 50D are fine for most users and offer many advantages including:
1. greater depth of field at lower aperture for landscape photography
2. greater tilt and shift effect because of sensor size relative to effect (8mm in shift is greater in effect relative to a 22mm sensor compared to a 35mm sensor)
3. greater magnification with micro lenses and extension tubes because of smaller sensor (1:1 in full frame equals 35mm, 1:1 in crop equals 22mm)
4. smaller lighter lenses with wider aperture that achieve greater reach (such as the 17-55 2.8 vs the 24-70 2.8 similar reach but much lighter and smaller)
Traditionally the three areas full frame cameras outshine crop cameras are a bigger brighter viewfinder, shallower depth of field for portrait photography, and better ISO performance, which on the last point the 7D has proven not be an issue anymore.
And for the second point really, most beautiful low depth of field portraits are done around f2.8-2.0 in full frame (going wider will make depth of field too narrow to place two eyes in focus). Hence, if one is using a wide prime, a crop sensor will produce the same depth of field at 2.0-1.4. Considering an affordable 50mm f1.4 lens on crop has the same field of view as 85mm lens on full frame there is really no reason to discount a crop camera any more as the 7D levels the playing field.
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Canon EOS 7D
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| Review Date: October 14, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Richard, Alhambra, CA |
Well after much deliberation between this and a 5d Mark II i decided to opt for the 7D and spend the extra I save on some nice wide angle lenses. First of all for anyone who is expecting a 1.6 crop camera's image quality to be better than the 5d mark ii you can forget it. The 5D mark ii is a full frame sensor camera and the 7D is a crop, different cameras for different purposes. I know three people who own a 5d mark II, wedding photographer, cinematographer and a landscape photographer. As you can tell, they all need wide angle and good low light performance. The 5D Mark II/other full frame cameras are targeted towards users with wide angle needs. So if you find yourself in a crowded room with little light during a wedding the EOS 7D may not be for you, less you put on a 10-22mm EFS lens which is the widest lens for a APS-C camera.
Image Quality from this camera is amazing, I'll put up some pictures once it stops raining where I live. Detail is very good, and the 28-135 lens accommodates this cameras ability very nicely, however, starting off at 28mm will probably be too long for most people in everyday situations such as those for street photographers. Picking up a 17-55 2.8 lens will probably be highly recommended by many.
Build Quality is superb. This "tank" of a camera is no light weight and one of the first things you notice when you pick up the camera is the hefty feel you get. Very ergonomic grip and a robust feel all around. Don't expect to have it hanging around your next too long though. Weather seals are improved and you can notice that the area above the viewfinder is much larger thanks to a 100% coverage pentaprism.
Autofocusing, now I've read some issues about the 7D's new focusing system such as softness from auto zone focusing and I am also getting some mixed results with that as well, some images ranging from very soft to some being as sharp as single AF select. I will update later as I take it out for more situations. However, with that being said, the camera's autofocusing with the 28-135mm lens is very quiet, very fast and accurate for the most part especially with using the cameras single AF select mode.
Battery Life: still on the first charge off the box, taken about 500 test shots and a few seconds of 720p recording, battery life is about halfway.
ISO performance. Now here is where many have a bone to pick. I am not afraid to use high ISO as my prints rarely go beyond 11x14. More than often I found myself using nothing higher than ISO 1600 on my girlfriend's 500D/T1i. With the 7D I feel very comfortable using 3200 with about ISO 4000 being my cut off point, that's where the trade offs between detail and noise will become apparent and start to bother me.
Overall this camera is a very impressive and I'd give it a rating of about 90/100. It has alot to offer being a HD video DSLR. It'll provide many rebel users enough room to learn and grow. However, I cant stress enough that if you find yourself needing wide angle capabilities and low light performance, saving up for a full frame, it will definitely be worth the wait in the long run. In fact a few 5D Mark I cameras are available for cheaper than the 7D. Without a doubt this is one of the top crop cameras of the market right now. You won't regret buying this camera.
*Update* First of all, I've been using the wireless flash with a 430ex II for some portrait photography, it works fine and comes in very handy. Secondly, I've finally had a chance to customize all the settings of my camera, READ THE MANUAL! It's about 250 pages but you'll need to in order to make the most of your camera. Most of it is the usual, but because this camera offers so many different options, reading the latter pages is a must.
Firmware release 1.0.9 is out so dont forget to update if you still have 1.0.7.
For those of you still wondering if the 7D is worth the upgrade or worth buying over a full frame, keep in mind that Canon just release rebates for some EF and EF-S lenses including the 10-22 and 17-55 2.8; as well as some very popular L lenses. So for those of you debating between a 7D and Mark II, getting a kit and using the money saved for a wide angle will pretty much cover all the focal lengths you will really need.
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