Bad Time for buying a new body.

I am in the market for a new body and having a tough choice between waiting for the 70d announce, buying a 7d which has a few pluses I will cover later, or a T4i which I want to see direct performance caparisons to the 7d before deciding.
I do not have a lot of money to throw around so will be living with the new body for at least 2 years.

The t4i has a few things that make it exciting for me:
1. New focus system, the rebels have had until now a 9 point focus system,
with 1 cross type centre point.
This is being changed to 9 cross points like the 50 and 60 d had before it, with the addition of a new double cross centre point.
2.In addition the 18 megapixel sensor is a completely new design..this is not the same sensor as the previous 18 megapixels had.It has a newly designed focus system built in for video focusing as well that uses a new type of independent focus system making it a hybrid sensor.Previous dslr's could not auto focus during video the T4i is the first of its kind.
3. Also the processor is being changed from digic 4 to digic 5 making it faster and able to reduce iso noise by 75% of the what the digic 4 was putting out.
4. to go along with the bodies new high iso performance the camera now has higher iso levels enabled
Reduced noise will be more effective in jpeg than in raw.
Summary, better at focusing in general, and better at shooting in low light for me these upgrades seem huge,

The 7d is only about $500 more than the T4i this makes which to buy a hard decision.
main 7d advantages over the T4i from my perspective.
1. Larger viewfinder you can see more of what you are trying to shoot through the viewfinder making the act of taking photo's a bit more immersive.
2. 19 cross-type auto focus points
3.dual digic 4 processors ? is this an advantage over one digic5 ? I don't know.
4. +/-20 step Micro-adjust... this is a big advantage the ability to adjust the focus to compensate for a specific lenses front or back-focusing... suspect your lens is a bit off.. micro-adjust to for it specifically.


Conclusion it is hard for me to make a sound decision on which to buy...

1.I have no way of knowing if the T4i's new double cross point is more accurate than the 7d's old system.
2.Micro-adjust this is the big advantage of the 7d over the T4i for me
3. which has better iso performance.. the 7d's dual digic 4 or the T4i's single digic 5 ... I honestly do not know.
4. How does the new hybrid 18mp sensor stack up to the old one ?

I think that in all honesty I am going to have to wait for a few weeks to get these questions properly answered .

You can find gently used 7D bodies for only $100 to $200 bucks more. The dual digic 4 processors will not improve in camera processing over a single digic 4. It is simply there to enable the 8 frames per second. The 7D AF is more configurable than the T4i - which also means it is easier to screw up and get it wrong for the shooting situation. The T4i will have slightly better ISO performance I believe based on some samples I have seen. The in camera processing of the digic 5 will have better noise characteristics too I believe. However, there is not enough of a difference where that would determine which body I bought.

If you are into sports and wildlife (birds in flight, etc) the the 7d is probably the better choice. For me, micro adjust is a must. I have seen firsthand the improvements one can gain by adjusting a lens to a body.

I started out with a T2i and never got comfortable with it in my hands as it felt too small. Adding a grip felt a little awkward. Ive handled a 7D and it felt much better. Ended up with the 5D3. Alot of people focus so much on the specs of a camera in comparing, but often forget to consider the ergonomics and how it feels in your hand. The more comfortable it is, the more likely you will use it.

hmmm...I can't see why it's so hard to decide.
You only have one realistic option. The other two don't exist yet.

In the canon realm choosing a body isn't easy at the moment. We are all spoiled in how well camera's are now performing.

The 7d is canon's best offering for a crop at the moment. "Best" by definition from Canon but not necessarily the dslr crop realm.

T4i has no micro AF as far as I know so this is a total deal breaker for me. Not suprised that a rebel lacks this option.

I would hope canon's newer crop offerings are cleaner in high ISO. The 5dmk3 is a premium camera with a premium price tag. Its a beast for universal uses but since its a full frame it lacks extra reach many photogs want. 5d3 may not be the choice for birders and such and crops are preference due to no the penalty of slower glass speeds (using tc convertors).

OP if you dont require fast fps or birding/long tele applications the 5dmk2 will surpass even the newest unreleased canon crop in ISO performance. (this is my opinion but I can see canon's trends over the years)

7D for many 40dd/50d users was a disappointment in canon's self proclaimed high ISO performing body.

The Nikon D7000 seems to be the camera of choice in the crop dslr realm for the price. Canon really needs to step up. The 5dmk3 is the glimmer of hope showing loyal canon users that they are somewhat finally listening.

OP I'd wait.......see what canon releases in the very near future. If you cannot hold off I'd go with a ....... ah......ah......yup I'd wait.

To me most important is how camera feels in your hands. I got small hands but I never ever liked look and feel of rebels.

7D is a great camera, and I don't know about you but I've never been able to buy a rumor.

I went through the exact same deal a month or two ago. As said above, you can't buy a rumor. I picked up a 7D about a month and a half ago and couldn't be happier.

How much do you care about video?

rick_reno wrote in post #14583033
7D is a great camera, and I don't know about you but I've never been able to buy a rumor.

Until they become true

I remember buying a rumoured 30D after they hit the streets .. I had to wait a bit tho.

Well first I have to question the statement that you will be stuck with whatever you buy for two years. You never know what the future holds. Whatever you buy you can certainly sell and get most of what you put into it, add a little more cash and upgrade. So I wouldn't go into this feeling like you are locked into something.

The real question here is how much you plan to shoot video and how good you expect that video to be. AF on my 7D works even while recording video. So does the AF on the T2i for that matter. The real difference here is how well it works and the motor noise that it adds to the audio. The camera picks up the AF sound while recording which can be annoying. If you have a separate microphone plugged in that is off the camera this isn't a problem.

The AF on the 7D is pretty slow on video. Same on the T2i. The software used to AF in live view just isn't near as good as using the dedicated AF sensors. There is a quick mode that flips the mirror down to AF faster and more accurately though. But again, you can hear it unless you have an external microphone hooked up.

The T4i supposedly has advanced the AF software and the digic 5 combined with those improvements should give an improvement to the video AF. On top of that, the details released state that the new tech allows you to AF without getting the noise.

So really, the only thing you get on the T4i over the 7D is faster and quieter AF while shooting video and possibly a new sensor that has maybe 1 stop less noise at higher ISO.

The7D on the other hand has some other tricks such as 8fps, weather sealing, custom functions, custom buttons, and my all-time favorite that I could not live without....the QCD (Quick Control Dial). It is a shooters camera designed for people who want to make changes to manual settings quickly and efficiently. If you can see yourself shooting still photography at least part of the time manually and wanting to drop your shutter 2/3 of a stop,firing, changing your fstop by 1 1/3 stop, firing again, bracketing exposures, popping back and forth from portrait and landscape orientation, shooting sporting events and birds, adjusting FEC, and other such things on a regular basis, and video is just something you'll use on occasion for family videos, then you'll want a 7D. If on the other hand you'll shoot mostly in auto, Av, Tv, or video mode with the occasional foray into manual to get a specific shot that the other modes won't do or just to learn about photography, then the T4i would be good.

Sure, the 7D has MFA but out of all of my lenses I only have one adjusted at +3 and it really isn't that big of a deal. Interestingly, my T2i doesn't need any type of MFA on any of my lenses.

Finally, don't discount the T3i, T2i models. They are even more affordable and only lack the extra stop of noise, (roughly the same as 7D), noiseless video AF, and touchscreen AF. That difference can be put to better glass, an external microphone, accessory flash, and other such things that will make a much bigger difference in your results than any body will unless you are really using those additional features that you are paying for.

I also think it is a bad time to buy a body unless you are definitely sure you want a 650D or a 5DIII. If you are in the "advanced amateur" category, I would wait and see what is released by Canon over the next 6 months.

Actually, this is exactly what I am doing - I'm waiting after deciding not to buy a 7D, to see what the future holds. In the mean time, I'm wearing out the shutter on my 60D!

Martzart wrote in post #14582358
I
1.I have no way of knowing if the T4i's new double cross point is more accurate than the 7d's old system.
2.Micro-adjust this is the big advantage of the 7d over the T4i for me
3. which has better iso performance.. the 7d's dual digic 4 or the T4i's single digic 5 ... I honestly do not know.
4. How does the new hybrid 18mp sensor stack up to the old one ?

I think that in all honesty I am going to have to wait for a few weeks to get these questions properly answered .

The 7D also has dual cross type center AF point PLUS the additional 18 more cross type points, so the T4i PDAF system is NOT better than the 7D's. Also keep in mind that the T4i's new hybrid AF system for video and live view REQUIRES the new STM lenses. With standard EF or EF-S lenses, the T4i AF system loses the hybrid advantages and reverts to standard PD/CD AF, so you have to buy one of the new STM lenses to take advantage of the hybrid AF system.

Keebert wrote in post #14584087
I also think it is a bad time to buy a body unless you are definitely sure you want a 650D or a 5DIII. If you are in the "advanced amateur" category, I would wait and see what is released by Canon over the next 6 months.

Actually, this is exactly what I am doing - I'm waiting after deciding not to buy a 7D, to see what the future holds. In the mean time, I'm wearing out the shutter on my 60D!

Agree, would be a bummer to buy a 60D now only to have a replacement come out a few months later. I'm waiting for the rumored APS-C "flagship" 70D to arrive. Of course the high price can be the kicker on any new body design.

One more thing...there is never a good time to buy a body. Each time you buy one, a new one is right around the corner. This is done by design to keep those gearheads who always have to have the latest and greatest buying new bodies over and over again. Just figure out what you need and then get it. No doubt if a new 7D comes out it will be more expensive. Same with a 70D. If you are really worried that you might upgrade and fear depreciation, buy something already depreciated - as in used or refurbished.