The 7D has too much noise and the focus is poor

That's my conclusion after serious use. The only reason for upgrading over the 50D is the video mode, and it's archaic at best. I'll learn next time I suppose.

Those with 40D's and 50D's, there's nothing to be jealous about. Trust me. Save your cash.

Good post. Im so proud of you.

Define serious use. What have you used it for?

I had a t2i for awhile and was impressed with the high iso performance.

I'm sorry to hear that you did insufficient research so as to determine whether the 7Ds features were needed by you.

When shooting dark-colored animals such as horses and bears with the 300 f4 L IS (bare) and Canon bodies, I have a system called "shoot and pray". Hopefully when you get back and look at the images, you'll have two or three out of five hundred that are sharp.

Noise is everywhere. My Rebel XT had far superior noise handling. And so far, the extra focus points and Ai Servo serves no advantage over my 50D and 40D.

You have close to 3k posts here, so I'm going to assume this isn't just trolling, but an honest opinion. I think there's a great deal of truth in your statement. The 40d-50ds are great cameras and in the right hands can take pictures just as good, if not better, than 7d shots. I think Harold brings up an interesting point regarding ISO range and would be interested in your thoughts / comparisons between the two. I have a feeling that's where the 7D would have a huge advantage.

The 7D is superior in EVERY way!! Nuff said.

it sounds like your camera is defective. When I compare shots from my 7D to shots from my previous 40D and 50D, I'm very happy with my 7D.

Your Rebel XT (350D?) has an 8MP sensor. Downsize your 7D images to 8MP and compare the noise levels.

As for AF, the 7D (assuming there is nothing wrong with yours) has amazing AF, especially compared to a 350D. Are you letting the camera choose the AF points or something?

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish that was true. In terms of image quality, I'll take the 40D over the 50D and 7D. There's less noise from ISO 400-800, which is a key area. When I first went from a consumer, Canon S2 to a Rebel XT, I was blown away by the lack of noise at ISO 100 to 800. Now it feels like I'm slipping back into the Canon S2 noise levels. Aren't we supposed to be going forward here?

I also have not detected any advantage in servo tracking with the 7D. In fact, I'd say it's worse than the 40D and 50D I had.

phreeky wrote in post #12459179
Your Rebel XT (350D?) has an 8MP sensor. Downsize your 7D images to 8MP and compare the noise levels.

As for AF, the 7D (assuming there is nothing wrong with yours) has amazing AF, especially compared to a 350D. Are you letting the camera choose the AF points or something?

The 40D has amazing AF compared to a 350 XT.

The quality of the images has gone down steadily since the 40D IMHO.

There's absolutely no still image-related reason to sell a 40D for $400 (or your 50D for $600) and spend another $1200 to get a 7D. I have not seen any improvement at all in daily use. None.

To each their own. I actually feel the opposite. Sell the 7D and get a 40D. Easy solution for you

canon rookie wrote in post #12459169
The 7D is superior in EVERY way!! Nuff said.

Some of us with 35 years + experience may disagree--but a few examples would be appreciated

Mike55 wrote in post #12459195
I have not seen any improvement at all in daily use. None.

Considering that official reviews and the opinions of many photographers I've spoken to has said otherwise to your claim makes me wonder one of 4 things:

1) You've realised some factor that everyone else has missed, but thus far failed to put into a specific explanation and comparison to convince others

2) You've made some repeated error in controlling the camera itself; either a major or minor error.

3) You've got some fault on your version of the 7D (or some incompatibility* based on manufacture tolerances which has resulted in your previous 40D giving improved performance with your lenses over your now 7D).

4) You overestimated the possible gain and have been met with less than you've expected; resulting in your being more jaded toward the actual performance and more rose tinted toward the past performance of the camera you had before.


As some others have said without more comparison shots and more data to compare your experiences and without more input on your shooting method its impossible for the rest of us to say, with any certainty, what the actual reason for this is.

* note this is not necessarily a "fault" on the camera that can be fixed camera alone; but a result of the specific combo of your lenses and your body - ergo correction would require repairers to see both.