Question for 7D owners

I'm considering selling my 4 year old 40D and getting a 7D, but before I do, I have a couple of questions for 7D owners.

First, the reviews say that the 7D has a much improved auto focus. How does this work in the real world of everyday photography? Can someone please tell me their experiences.

My second question is regarding the built-in flash trigger. Does it work as advertised or is it, as some reviews say, over-hyped? I won't be doing any serious off camera flash work, but it would be nice to play with once in a while.

I'm not stuck on getting rid of my 40D, as I think it takes great pics. It's just getting a little long in the tooth and it may be time to look at something else.

Cant speak for the flash trigger, but I can relay some experience with the autofocus.

Granted, Im coming from a 350D so its not quite 40D vs 7D, but the 8FPS and accurate AI servo did me a whole ton of good when I was snapping pics of my kids swimming. Basically I was able to get dead on focus from when they lined up to jump to when they hit the water. Ive never used a 40D so I cant tell if it works that well or not, but the 7D was excellent in that regard for me.

Its also improved focusing times in certain situations....but that might be more of a metering thing that anything else, and I dont know if the 40D and 7D metering systems are different.

James P wrote in post #12826325
First, the reviews say that the 7D has a much improved auto focus. How does this work in the real world of everyday photography? Can someone please tell me their experiences.

Autofocus is amazing! I was a bit worried taking fireworks pictures in low light, but I was amazed at how shot after shot, focus was bang on. I haven't tried yet for sports but I have seen that day-to-day quick movements are captured quite well!!

The number of in focus hits I get through the 7D over my 50D when photographing sports is significant. It also seems to be sharper for portraits but that may be my imagination.

I don't use the flash trigger as I use other devices to trigger off camera flash, ST-E2 or Yongnuo 603c.

I moved from the 40d to the 7D and the AF is better than the 40D. So is the metering, the viewfinder and pretty much everything else about the camera. I was mostly satisfied with the 40D but I am completely satisfied with the 7D.

The flash trigger works well with a couple of caveats related to the fact that the camera is communicating with the remote flashes using flashes of light from the pop-up flash.

krb wrote in post #12826417
I moved from the 40d to the 7D and the AF is better than the 40D. So is the metering, the viewfinder and pretty much everything else about the camera. I was mostly satisfied with the 40D but I am completely satisfied with the 7D.

The flash trigger works well with a couple of caveats related to the fact that the camera is communicating with the remote flashes using flashes of light from the pop-up flash.

This pretty much covers it. Having the ability to make AI Servo not refocus the INSTANT you lose tracking on your subject was a huge step up from the 40D, for me.

chrisexv6 wrote in post #12826340
Cant speak for the flash trigger, but I can relay some experience with the autofocus.

Granted, Im coming from a 350D so its not quite 40D vs 7D, but the 8FPS and accurate AI servo did me a whole ton of good when I was snapping pics of my kids swimming. Basically I was able to get dead on focus from when they lined up to jump to when they hit the water. Ive never used a 40D so I cant tell if it works that well or not, but the 7D was excellent in that regard for me.

Just a side note. The AF of the 40D did me a whole ton of good compared to the AF of the 350D. Not an attempt at diminishing the AF of the 7D.

I went from a 40d to a 7d, it's a good move. I'll still got the 40d here and it works good.

Note that the AF system of the 7D is as complicated as that in the 1D Mark IV. Plan for some study and experiments, before you've fully grasped how best to use all the settings that in a 40D are implicitly set to "default".

apersson850 wrote in post #12827132
Note that the AF system of the 7D is as complicated as that in the 1D Mark IV. Plan for some study and experiments, before you've fully grasped how best to use all the settings that in a 40D are implicitly set to "default".

This is a good point to make One other thing that I've enjoyed with the 7D, over the 40D is the larger number of AF points make it much easier to frame your shot without having to recompose.

I went from a 40D to a 7D about 7-8 months ago.

I Agree with the others, the 7D focus system is a lot more complicated that the 40D. Definately spend sometime reading the manual and any other information you can regarding the AF system. Each has it's own strengths and is suited for certain situations.

AF is very quick, and locks on well in low light compared to the 40D.

The pop-up flash trigger is a great feature if you don't already have a ST-E2 or wireless flash triggers. It allows you to learn and play with OCF. I've been playing with it a lot recently, as I want to get into some studio work. I haven't tried it outdoors or in large open spaces, but I've read that it may have some issues triggering OCF in these types of situations as it uses a preflash to trigger the OCF. As you said, you're not really into serious OCF, so it will work in most cases for you, and it works as advertised. Overhyped? dunno about that, it really depends on if its a feature you use or not. having it built-in will save you some money if you're just going to play with it a little.

I still love my 40D, it did an awesome job on my honeymoon to Europe and shot great photos. It just gets outshined, and out performed by the 7D.

The off camera flash is useful when the flashes are not that far away from the camera. I have been able to use mine about 6meters away from my camera on occasion. It certainly is a nice feature to have, and I have used it several time for photography interiors, and products.

The 7D is a nice, big step up. It was a bit of a sad step as I realized that I wasn't taking any better pictures once I got the camera, but then I was happy because I was still taking some great images.

The AF is great. It's quick and accurate. The biggest problem I have is that it takes a bit of thinking still to select the AF point I want to use (there are just a few more points to choose from than in the 40.. :lol. I would dare to say that many who rate the 7D's Af as taking a while to get used to are parroting the first guy that said the added complexity was the problem with his new baby; while you can tailor it much more than the 40D's system, it's still rather intuitive (at least to me). I will also admit that I haven't taken the new AF system through it's paces with sports/fast action yet (outside of a couple concerts, but they were mainly jam-bands).

The other big jump that I've noticed is the greatly improved metering. Not only are there +/- 3 stops shown on the top LCD and in the view finder, it's just accurate. There are times I've shot similar scenes with the 40 and 7, and, in the end, the 7 read "properly" exposed while the 40 was +/- 2/3 stop. I know how the 40 handles, and so I'm still getting used to the 7 (even after about 4 months; but 4 years of habit doesn't just go away!).

If you've got the cash, it's a worthwhile upgrade for sure!

For me the first thing I noticed is how well th 7D performs at high ISO. I don't do a lot of sports, so the AF of the 40D was fine, but the focus points on the 7D are great...easier to frame and more accurate.

My favorite feature though is the wireless flash trigger. I've used it for 2 weddings now and it has worked as well as my ST-E2. It's nice being able to adjust the flash settings on-camera, as opposed to having to go to each flash and change them. Some people have said they had problems in bright sun, but I haven't had any problems, shooting within about 20 feet of the flash.

Be sure to check out the Canon Loyalty Program to get a great price, I think the 7D is around $1,150!

I have found bright sun a problem, but I was trying it use it at a distance as well, and should have just used radio triggers. But for inside/studio work it is great. With ShotbyTom mentioning framing, the larger viewfinder on the 7d, with its better AF really does make it great and fun and easy to take photos with. The viewfinder was probably the first thing that really jumped out at me as being a great new feature when I moved up from my old 500d.

The AF on basic all points, or area select are the basic options that I stuck to while 'learning' it, it is going to take a while. But once you get stuck in it is really really good. Used it to track dogs at shows, and some sports and it has been such a dream