I need help before I push the button.

Delija wrote in post #12444476
I think that the people who are "disappointed with the IQ from this camera" (the 7D) are likely just the pixel peepers who expect perfection on a computer monitor that can only resolve at 96 or 72 DPI..far from the minimum acceptable resolution of any decent print - the human eye can see the pixels(dots) at up to 250 DPI...so using a computer is not the way to judge "IQ" (and as I have said before...people who pay for photographs not only never "pixel peep" or even get a chance to in general since they buy prints...but they don't pay for IQ..they pay for Quality Images...(QI?).


I am surprised when I read that people seem to think the 7D is a complicated camera to learn how to use since it is more feature laden.

Any dSLR will seem complicated to someone coming from a film camera they are really computers as compared to mechanical boxes.... but it really doesn't take long to make the adjustment.

As for the 7D being more complicated than any of the other Canon dSLR cameras, I didn't find that at all when I went from a 40D to the 7D. Yes, it has another couple of buttons (and thankfully loses the useless print button and replaces it with at least a somewhat if not completely necessary button), but these extra controls make the camera easier to use IMO....they are essentially just (programmable) shortcut buttons that let the owner quickly make adjustments that would otherwise require going into the menus.

I think ANY digital camera may seem confusing to someone (like me) that came from a background of mechanical SLR and range-finder cameras. I think I had the most trouble learning to use the SX10 IS I bought before I bought my first digital SLR (40D). The instruction manual was close to 300 pages...same as the 7D.


Peace,
D.

Some people submit photos to stock agencies. Those photos get reviewed by someone before they are accepted. One of the first things those reviewers do is to zoom in to 100% to see if the image is in focus. This is way more scrutiny than is needed for most applications (I've printed out 24x36 photos from my 6.3MP 300D and been extremely happy with them) but it is the reality for some people. With that reality, getting maximum sharpness can be difficult (especially with the 7D apparently) and can be very important as well (you can downsize to make a photo appear sharper at 100% but you get paid less for smaller images so every pixel counts).

For the vast majority of users though, this may not be important. Try to convince someone to not zoom right in though. Very hard to do.

the 7D is not that hard to learn to use... it was my FIRST camera. it is by far hand over fist eaiser to use than say.... the old(and i mean OLD) FTb....with its twin needle match exposure meter.

Also, the lexar professional 600X are a bit faster than anything out there right now.

7D do It!

Hey All,
I've made my decision, I need one call to Adorama on Sunday to clarify some shipping issues and the button gets pushed. This was mentally exhausting, but with everyone's great input I believe I'm making a better decision.
I have chosen to go with the 7d and the 24-70 f2.8 glass, smaller CF cards, waiting till later for the flash etc..
I just want to thank everyone for taking the time to give me your thoughts, advice and opinions. I plan to continue lurking until I get my gear, and I then plan to be more active on these forums.
Thanks again,
Kyan

Good for you! I'm sure you'll get much pleasure out of your gear!

Congrats Kyan ~ Super kit, Great way to start off!

My guess is you'll want/need that 580EXII next & soon for complete mastery and augmentation of the sometimes challenging, limited-natural-light-universe. And when that High Noon comes, stick to your guns with the 580 EXII as your first speedlite ~ it plays very nice with the 7D E-TTL exposure/flash comp., acts as a master to its little brothers, . . and if you only have one speedlite to bounce or fill, the higher number will expand your capabilities in those "little-help-here" situations.

Welcome to the 7D, L Glass club ~ you get to buy the first round! (We’re all broke here :lol

After reading through all of the discussion here, I'd say the choice of gear
is all solid to my amateur way of thinking. My only input after this would be to
echo those who suggest the 28-135 USM lens, as it is indeed a great performer
as an all-round multipurpose lens, and is a relative bargain against the wider
and L-series lenses.

Having said that, I only wish I could jump right into the 7D with an L lens or two.
I am slightly envious.

And: good choice on splitting up the memory cards.
It's just a safer way to go, if you want a bit of extra assurance that you won't lose everything
if a card goes bad. The majority of cards will NOT fail, but if it happens to be THE ONE which
has 32GB of past pics on it, then you'll certainly cry. I've not experienced card failure yet,
and I hope not to, but unlike a lot I read about, I typically offload pics to my PC after
each and every shoot. Understand that this is the luxury of an amateur, rather than
the schedule of a professional.

Well, I pushed the button. I through the Speedlite 580ex ii back in the mix. Now, I'm excited. Can't wait.
Thanks to everyone one more time.
Kyan

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #12430570
Drop your 32 Gb CF card to multiple 8Gb or a couple 16Gb.

Beware putting all your digital eggs in one basket in case your mega-card goes mega-stupid.

This is 2011, not 2001. It's nice to get 1050 shots on a card - with a 7D, even more. If you like to lose cards due to having them loose in your pocket, enjoy missing shots while you dick around with changing them, and like to schlep a sensitive and heavy laptop with card reader around the country just to constantly offload, then by all means piss away money on a bunch of tiny cards. If not, live in the now.

32GB Sandisk Extreme cards are all of $160 now, and Transcend's are less than half that. There is no reason in 2011 to dick with tiny cards.

Kyan, You should really like the choice you have made. It was tough for me going to a dslr at first as well. The gear you will have will be stuff you WILL use alot. The 580 imo is a great choice as it will act as master for other units you aquire over time. CF cards are also items you pick up along the way, as others have suggested, multiple smaller capacity cards is a safer bet than one big one. Try to get some sleep until you get it, you will need it for all the sleep you will loose once you have it! HaHa!! Have fun, welcome to the forum!

Delija wrote in post #12431538
First the 32GB card - they are expensive

Given what bodies and glass cost, $74.99 is hardly expensive.

There's two kinds of CF cards:
- Those that have gone t*ts up
- Those that will go t*ts up

Just cause you can shoot 1200 frames on one card doesn't mean you have to. Digital or not, a little restraint and desire to make solid images without resorting to "Hammer & Hope" will make your life easier in post.

doc.paradox wrote in post #12439174
I do still wonder how happy you will be at the wide end for street photography

What would one shoot at wider than ~35mm field of view? I almost never find myself wanting to do so.

That could be said with much more accuracy about bodies too. Quality CF cards are extremely reliable.

Okay, Mr. Holier-than-though, please enlighten me with your recipe for mixing "restraint" and "desire" to get my autistic 2.5 year old to hold still and look at me over the course of week-long travel. Go ahead, I'm waiting. I really want to know.

anthony11 wrote in post #12455457
Okay, Mr. Holier-than-though, please enlighten me with your recipe for mixing "restraint" and "desire" to get my autistic 2.5 year old to hold still and look at me over the course of week-long travel. Go ahead, I'm waiting. I really want to know.

And how exactly am I supposed to answer this?

I feel for you but there's no need to be snarky and call someone out because you face a unique life situation.

Were you just waiting for someone to toss out just this one piece of advice so you could take a giant sh*t on them? Congrats, you succeeded in being the perfect Richard Cranium.

Done Here...

Rage in the Machine . . .

"What would one shoot at wider than ~35mm field of view? "

Ummmmm, . . are you kidding? I'm no wide junkie ~ but good God I could fill a book listing examples!

"I almost never find myself wanting to do so."

Oh, . . well with that in mind, I guess I'm going to need to sell all of my wide glass, as I obviously have "almost never" needed it

To each his own ~ And in your case the way you unfairly and ridiculously jumped on FlyingPhoto for simply making a salient and important point adding to the CF discussion ~ I'll take yours with a large grain of salt.

Before Flyingphoto added his wise and very relevant words to the discussion, I was going post a different analogy to make the same point: There are two types of motorcyclists: Ones who have gone down, and those who will go down. But Flyingphoto made the point better so I passed, . . now I'm glad I did, as you would have brought your persecution complex into my mellow and happy realm.

That was a modo-uncalled-for (and somewhat bizzare) personal attack (is your last name Palin?) ~ I’m going to the other side of the room now (by the bar for a needed drink!), . . . maybe find someone to have a fair and open minded, adult conversation with