EOS 7D goes Rallycrossing @ Croft (31 October)

[GSH]

After 5 weeks of shooting nothing faster than a Swan & some Seals and still suffering from a severely weakened arm after tearing a bicep, i ventured along to Croft on Saturday to put the 7D through its paces.

For the first time ever i actually sat down and read the manual properly when i bought this camera, with particular attention to the AF settings so i thought i had a fairly good base to start from...

#1 Early action with Kevin Procter in his Focus...he was flying all day. My "base" settings turned out to be a pretty good guess...
http://www.bhppix.net/Image_storage/Forum%201024x/RX%20311009/RX%20%2031Oct0171.jpg

#2 "Mad" Mark Watson in his ever-reliable (heh!) Citroen Xsara...to be fair this wasn't his fault as someone hit him causing a tyre to rub...
http://www.bhppix.net/Image_storage/Forum%201024x/RX%20311009/RX%20%2031Oct0316.jpg

#3 Variety is the spice of life...Lotus Elise v Beemer.
http://www.bhppix.net/Image_storage/Forum%201024x/RX%20311009/RX%20%2031Oct0368.jpg

#4 Late afternoon sunshine at the top of the Rallycross track...
http://www.bhppix.net/Image_storage/Forum%201024x/RX%20311009/RX%20%2031Oct0625.jpg

#5 I'm not entirely sure the Rally Car class was supposed to get this close!
http://www.bhppix.net/Image_storage/Forum%201024x/RX%20311009/RX%20%2031Oct0484.jpg

#6 The RX150's are a bugger to shoot.
http://www.bhppix.net/Image_storage/Forum%201024x/RX%20311009/RX%20%2031Oct0522.jpg

#7 Charlie Payne in a bonkers Peugeot 207...
http://www.bhppix.net/Image_storage/Forum%201024x/RX%20311009/RX%20%2031Oct0591.jpg

#8 Prawn GP indeed...
http://www.bhppix.net/Image_storage/Forum%201024x/RX%20311009/RX%20%2031Oct0609.jpg


So, my verdict on the 7D?....an excellent Camera. Canon have got it spot on with this one as far as i'm concerned. I've wanted a 1.6x body with customisable AF for a long time and that's what they've delivered. My 1DMKIIN will make way for a 2nd 7D in the new year.

Some general info.

Battery life - 700+ shots taken left me with 65%+ on both batteries.
RAW file size is in excess of 22Mb+ (it's a hungry bugger)
I found bog-standard single point AF to be the best (for me). "Zone" AF seemed to work well for the buggies though as they don't have much bodywork to aim at.


These are the AF settings i used for the majority of the day...some fine tuning/experimenting is still to be done.

CFn III.

1 Between 0 and Slow. I found slower is better...
2 0 : AF Priority.Tracking Priority
3 1 :Continuous AF Track priority
4 1 :Focus Search Off
5: 0 : Disable
6: Single point, Spot AF and Zone AF enabled.
7 0: Stops at AF area edges (i found Continuous to be rubbish from a quick try)
8 0:Auto
9 1: Enable
10 : 0 Enable
11 1: Disable
12 0 : Same for horiz/vertical (haven't figured out how to set this one yet)
13 : MLU Disabled (never used it)

Thanks for looking in...wake up at the back!

[petrolhead]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz :)

Nice shots Geoff.

So another one with the 7D. Has this replaced the 50D?

[Simon Harrison]

#2 and #3 are a great angle Geoff. You've nailed the DoF and given them a real 3D look. I shall remember that angle for next year ;)

I think that this lot rank up with the best I've seen from you Geoff. Each and every one of them is superb, and show what you and the 7D can produce.

Now hurry up and get the full album online!

Cheers,

Simon.

[GSH]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz :)

Nice shots Geoff.

So another one with the 7D. Has this replaced the 50D?

Well i would have made a long-winded post to answer that...but as you phoned instead i won't bother :p

#2 and #3 are a great angle Geoff. You've nailed the DoF and given them a real 3D look. I shall remember that angle for next year ;)

I think that this lot rank up with the best I've seen from you Geoff. Each and every one of them is superb, and show what you and the 7D can produce.

Now hurry up and get the full album online!



Crikey, high praise indeed, cheers!

Strangely enough, the "3D" effect was something i noticed as i was going through them last night. I converted a few to TiFF files and they look amazing...but they're also 50Mb+!!

The angle in 2+3 is something i've never tried before. It would only work for Rallycross i think as the cars would be too close on the Tarmac...could be worth a try though.


The album was just uploaded by the way :)

Cheers for the comments chaps. Can't wait for the RAC now!

[NEILLIDDLEUK]

Brilliant photos love the first one that Focus never missed a beat when I was there Saturday.

[GAELICSTORM7]

VERY nice shots there Geoff, nice to hear good things about a new Canon for a change after the 1D mkIII fiasco.

Alan

[kipper]

Looks like the 7D is up to the job, great set. Good info on the 7D Geoff, just one question what's the weather sealing like? The write ups seem to suggest the seals are improved? Had a pretty soggy day down at Malton Forest Rally, even with the waterproofs got a good soaking!

[GSH]

Brilliant photos love the first one that Focus never missed a beat when I was there Saturday.

Procter was the fastest by a fair amount on Saturday. It came as no surprise when i heard he won the Superprix on Sunday.

It's interesting to see his car appears to have a passenger seat too...

VERY nice shots there Geoff, nice to hear good things about a new Canon for a change after the 1D mkIII fiasco.


I took the time to RTFM...and that's all i'm saying ;)

Looks like the 7D is up to the job, great set. Good info on the 7D Geoff, just one question what's the weather sealing like? The write ups seem to suggest the seals are improved? Had a pretty soggy day down at Malton Forest Rally, even with the waterproofs got a good soaking!

It's supposedly sealed to the same standard as the old 35mm EOS 1N...whatever that means...

Having shot with anything from a 300D upwards in the past, i'd always use some sort of cover anyway so the seals are largely irrelevant to me. :)

Cheers everyone :D

[KevB]

Very nice indeed Geoff. Looks like you picked the right day. :D

[haquocdung]

Nice collection of cars.

[chrispons]

Geoff,
Dont there is any question these are the best you have posted,the sharpness and colours are superb.

They do have a lot of depth to them and a very positive 3d effect ,really making the cars pop.

Very impressive indeed,and a damm good investment in the 7D.

Pons

[andreasthess]

Very good set mate!!!

[GSH]

Very nice indeed Geoff. Looks like you picked the right day. :D

I most certainly did. Here's hoping i bring the same weather to the RAC ;)


Very impressive indeed,and a damm good investment in the 7D.


Aye, it's not a bad lump of camera ;)

Very good set mate!!!

Thankyou all :)

[Swiss Toni]

Thanks for the mini review, you've restored my interest in buying a 7D.

[cbouchez]

great pics! thanks for sharing, I'm tempted on getting a 7D now...

[c2thew]

nice set!

[86er]

wow love 2 and 3 great shots all round though