60d to 70d or 7d worth it?

I've had my 60d for a few years now. For the most part it's been fine.The last year I've been starting to get more into BIF photography and soon discovered how poor the tracking AF is on the 60d. I plan on getting a 100-400 in the next few months. I'd love to get a 7d2 or 80d but neither is in my budget at the moment. Would there be any benefit to getting a used 7d or 70d? Would the AF on those cameras be noticeably better for BIF and wildlife?

My thought is that since either can be had at a reasonable price now, that I could sell my 60d and not be out of pocket too much. As long as it's worth the difference in price.

shane_c wrote in post #18182827
I've had my 60d for a few years now. For the most part it's been fine.The last year I've been starting to get more into BIF photography and soon discovered how poor the tracking AF is on the 60d. I plan on getting a 100-400 in the next few months. I'd love to get a 7d2 or 80d but neither is in my budget at the moment. Would there be any benefit to getting a used 7d or 70d? Would the AF on those cameras be noticeably better for BIF and wildlife?

My thought is that since either can be had at a reasonable price now, that I could sell my 60d and not be out of pocket too much. As long as it's worth the difference in price.

The 7D is way long in he tooth. The 7D II is the way to go. Right now B&H is selling the Canon EOS 7D Mark II with PIXMA PRO-100 Printer Kit for $1549 complete with a $350 mail in rebate. That means you would ultimately get a new 7D II and a good printer for $1199!!! You could even sell the printer on eBay and recoup some additional part of the cost. This won't last long, until 12/31 I believe. The IQ of the older 7D will be identical to your 60D. Yes, the AF system is better on the 7D than on the 60D, and it has 19 focus points, but if you can stretch it, now is the time to get the 7D II. I wouldn't waste time on the 70D. If BIF is your thing, than its the 7D II followed by the 80D.

https://www.bhphotovid​eo.com …canon_eos_7d_ma​rk_ii.html

Save up for the 7Dii. You won't be sorry.
The 60D isn't that bad for BIF. I did ok with it.

I basically agree with the above, but I wouldn't be so dismissive of the 70D. I've owned all three of these bodies. 60D and AI-Servo is not a good mix. The 7D and 70D are both better than the 60D, by a wide margin. There isn't a hill of beans difference between the AI-Servo abilities of the 7D and 70D. Same # of AF points, same setup will be used on both bodies for BIF, 70D has a faster processor. I'd call it a toss-up between the two.

Between the 80D and 7D2, you've got a tough choice. If money doesn't matter, get the 7D2, but expect a larger learning curve. I am sure either will do BIF just fine. Both are better than the 7D/70D at BIF. Lots of folks used the 7D/70D for BIF with great success.

When I needed better AI-Servo (coming off of 7D & 70D), I went to a 1DIV. I am quite happy with it. It is worth considering, depending on the price. For $1200-1300, I'd buy and 80D first.

While I agree with the above comments, if budget is a consideration at the moment, I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the original 7D for birds in flight.

Thanks but that rebate is only good in the US. The 7d2 body is on sale for around $1800 + 15% tax up here. The 80d is in the $1400 range. A used 7d is about $700.

James P wrote in post #18183114
While I agree with the above comments, if budget is a consideration at the moment, I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss the original 7D for birds in flight.

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forum: Canon Digital Cameras

I agree, I still use my original 7D and 100-400 dust pump.

When shooting BIFs and other action photography, IMO, frames per second is more important than the number of AF points on the camera. Your chances of capturing the perfect shot will be higher. You knew that. Going from 5fps on the 60D to 10fps on the 7Dii was mind blowing. However, I actually dialed mine down to 8fps, it's plenty. I usually shoot in bursts anyway. The original 7D does 8fps. Not sure how big the buffer is compared to the mark ii.

Thanks for the replies. I think I read somewhere that the 70D doesn't have spot AF or AF point expansion but the 7D does. So if I decide to sell my 60D I would likely lean towards the 7D. There's a used 7D for sale locally that apparently only has around 7000 actuations. Hmmmmm.

shane_c wrote in post #18186287
Thanks for the replies. I think I read somewhere that the 70D doesn't have spot AF or AF point expansion but the 7D does. So if I decide to sell my 60D I would likely lean towards the 7D. There's a used 7D for sale locally that apparently only has around 7000 actuations. Hmmmmm.

True, the 70D does not have spot AF. You ain't using that on BIF, my friend. The 70D's smaller zone AF is equivalent to the 7D's 'surrounding points' Af. Tough choice between the two bodies. Older with a few more features, or newer with a faster processor, better MFA, and some video goodies. Ah, never mind. Just get the 7D2.

Spot AF would probably be beneficial for perched birds though.

Believe me, the 7D2 would be my first choice. It's just not in the budget. At least if I sell my 60D I won't have to spend much to get a 7D for the improved focus.

Bassat wrote in post #18186310
True, the 70D does not have spot AF. You ain't using that on BIF, my friend.

Have to disagree with you on that. I use spot AF on 99% of my shots. I'm actually having a tough time trying to recall a time when I switched to a larger AF area. Remember, the AF area is actually a little larger than the spot that you see in your viewfinder. Using a smaller point helps prevent focusing on something else moving in the background, like ripples on the water. It also makes you concentrate more on getting the focus point on your subject. If your subject is sufficiently large in your viewfinder, you shouldn't need a larger AF point.

Larry Johnson wrote in post #18186589
Have to disagree with you on that. I use spot AF on 99% of my shots. I'm actually having a tough time trying to recall a time when I switched to a larger AF area. Remember, the AF area is actually a little larger than the spot that you see in your viewfinder. Using a smaller point helps prevent focusing on something else moving in the background, like ripples on the water. It also makes you concentrate more on getting the focus point on your subject. If your subject is sufficiently large in your viewfinder, you shouldn't need a larger AF point.

Man, you have steady hands. That would never work for me!

Bassat wrote in post #18186594
Man, you have steady hands. That would never work for me!

If memory serves correctly, doesn't Pondrader also use Spot AF on his 7D Mark II with his Canon EF 100-400L II to get all those great fox images?

Spot AF is slower to work, this is by experience and also from Canon themselves. Yes, some are able to make it work, but as a general rule, spot AF is more for subjects not in constant motion.