-= 70D owners unite! Post up pics and discuss!

DJHaze596 wrote in post #16570740
Anyone got the 70-200mm IS II USM on their 70D? Hows the 70D handle it? Looking to get a better Telephoto Lens in a Month.

gabebalazs wrote in post #16564061
I did and and still do own the 7D. It has not seen any use for a couple months and will be sold soon.

But I've done a ton of very controlled comparison tests. Here are my findings.

Sharpness and resolution is very close. The 70D is ahead by a tiny bit. Makes sense since a jump from 18 to 20 mp is not very big.

AF is similar except for the 2 missing modes in the 70D. This may or may not be a big deal for different people.

Handling is fine for me, I do prefer the joystick by a little bit but have absolutely no problem with the multi control pad either. My 6D is the same too so at least my 2 most used bodies are very similar in terms of controls and ergonomics.
The size of the 70D fits well in my hands (average size) and I do welcome the lighter weight. The 7D is of course more robust or at least feels like it probably due to the weight though. I never really took my 7D into a war zone and I'm sure I won't take my 70D either so minor differences in robustness and weather sealing are N/A to me.

Now noise...
Well, I clearly prefer the 70D. First of all, jpegs are much better from the 70D. 4 years of development in processing power and internal NR algorithms make the 70D the clear winner here.
However, the 70D is also a little better in RAW. The difference is much smaller than in jpeg of course. But, the noise is tiny bit less, even though the difference is very small. What's more remarkable though is that the noise characteristics are much nicer in the 70D and can be processed more effectively. The same workflow in my post processing results in a cleaner image in the 70D photos due to the nature of the 70D's noise. The 7D has some ugly black and white specks besides the "normal" grain, that are hard to get rid of. The 70D's noise is a bit more uniform and lacks these black and white specks.
So overall I like the 70D more in terms of noise handling. And the higher the ISO goes, the bigger the difference is.

I do have to say though that the difference is not drastic. Noise performance differences between these 2 cameras should not be the primary deciding factor when making a purchasing decision. It's just one item in the long list of pros and cons.

I also have to say how much I got to love the articulated screen. I've had bodies with that before (T3i, T4i), but this time it is coupled with the dual pixel focus, which makes shooting at odd angles a breeze. I really made good use of it when I shot those birds I posted earlier. I love shooting at very low angles basically my lens being only 1-2 inches off the ground. I always had to do that by lying on the ground with neck cramps... This time I just sat down or crouched and held the lens close to the ground and angled the screen upwards. Used live view AF which worked great. I "discovered" this technique on my Florida trip but will use it in the future when I go out and shoot locally.

I took my 70D and 6D on two trips recently; NYC and Florida. While I really like my 6D and would always use it for low-light indoor events, portraits and some landscapes (FF clearly wins here), it was my 70D that I used at least 80% of the time on my trip, stills and videos alike. So versatile.

MedicineMan4040 wrote in post #16570679
Davev thanks....I've been working on a lightweight astro rig for the backpack/kayak/bike.
It uses the SkyTracker--used it this weekend on Orion with a Nifty-fifty and it did well despite a huge tree actually blocking our view of Polaris (used the Droid compass and got mighty close).....SkyTracker can only carry so much weight and for actually getting in a little closer on nebula 135mm to 200mm would be great. So not for people and the weight of these lenses is ok for the tracker with an EOS body.

Rosey to answer your question-any of them! SOOC looked great, of course what the experts in post did was great too. I'm with so little understanding in pp I just have to hope I get it right in the camera.
Also I have so few animal/birds shots I cannot judge good versus great. To me good and acceptable is of course an eye or two in focus; the pose of course and the pose you captured abs. rules. Now the subtle changes (well sometimes drastic changes) that pp can render can make the difference between good and great--but not with me behind the computer!

roseyposey wrote in post #16570926
Nice Lukas Gulls make good subjects I reckon!

Have been getting a few good ones, or better ones on the 55 - 250 kit using single spot and single shot. Do you reckon the flexi zone works well with this Tammy? Did you use that or single shot?

Thanks

palad1n wrote in post #16570972
MedicineMan4040: Gulls are overpopulated here in Czech, i wish i had some better not that ordinary subjects like beautiful eagles all over the place, but for practice training gulls are sufficient)

Rosey, you need to use AI servo for tracking ability, otherwise your shots will be always out of focus!

whothafunk: nice shots, my dream lens

roseyposey wrote in post #16570976
Lukas - A1 servo not quick enough with that lens. Why I have gone to single shot and trying to anticipate

MM - would love some exotic birds to shoot, but gulls is all that is presenting. No herons or spoonbills on my ride yesterday.

whothafunk - wow!!!

DJHaze596 wrote in post #16570740
Anyone got the 70-200mm IS II USM on their 70D? Hows the 70D handle it? Looking to get a better Telephoto Lens in a Month.

rick_reno wrote in post #16570816
Round Lake, Sagle, Idaho just before a snow storm started.
IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …57545987@N06/11​693949505/
round-lakenew1b&w by rich cower, on Flickr