Upgrade from 40D to 7D, can one really justify it ?

arkturas wrote in post #9363727
Just want to fire this one out there to the 7D owners, I think there is justification when upgrading from the lower end DSLR units (450's,500D's) but can one justify the cost when upgrading from a 40D/50D ?

I've been subtly reducing my overall camera spend the last few years, as I have slowly come to realise that its not so much the "Kit" that makes the image but the photographer, although the urge to splash out on some new shiny camera is always there, regardless of whether or not its actually worth it.

I’m interested to hear from those photogs that upgraded from the 40D/50D, is the 7D worth it in terms of IQ/performance/feature​s ?

I too was goijng through the same problem 3 weeks ago. I had the 40D and decided to upgrade to the new and mighty 7D. Well i ended up returning it.
Some will say the upgrade is amazing. I just didnt think it was worth it. I think it all depends on ones needs. If the 40D is just not fast enough for you, or you really need the video feture, go for it. I didnt care for those things. Anyways i ended up getting the 5D-2, which blew my mind in IQ compared to the 40D.

So it all depends on the person getting it. If the new features the 7D offers are really important to you, get it. But to me, i didnt feel like spending 1700 dollars when i have a perfectly working crop camera already that does evverything for me already. Now if i didnt have a camera already i would have gotten the 7D without even thinking about it.

Good luck. Hope u make the rite decision.

I just upgraded from a 40D to the 7D. Hi ISO was pretty cool, out of the box. AF seemed a little faster. But, the real test was shooting my oldest son's HS soccer games. I setup the camera and headed out. My first game, I have to admit to being a little disappointed. Fewer keepers and everything seemed overexposed. LR 2.4 and even the upgrade to 3.0 beta was providing disappointing results. However, there were a couple that blew me away in DPP. Kinda like golf, 1-2 good shots had me coming back.

Now, after 4 games and 2500 clicks later, I can tell you that I am really pleased. My keeper rate is 2X, IQ is markedly better, crops that were formerly not great are now very usable. Not only won't it go back, you'd have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. Joking aside, it's like any higher quality tool. It has a learning curve to get better results over a good, above average tool.

GW2 wrote in post #9365226
I just upgraded from a 40D to the 7D. Hi ISO was pretty cool, out of the box. AF seemed a little faster. But, the real test was shooting my oldest son's HS soccer games. I setup the camera and headed out. My first game, I have to admit to being a little disappointed. Fewer keepers and everything seemed overexposed. LR 2.4 and even the upgrade to 3.0 beta was providing disappointing results. However, there were a couple that blew me away in DPP. Kinda like golf, 1-2 good shots had me coming back.

Now, after 4 games and 2500 clicks later, I can tell you that I am really pleased. My keeper rate is 2X, IQ is markedly better, crops that were formerly not great are now very usable. Not only won't it go back, you'd have to pry it from my cold, dead hands. Joking aside, it's like any higher quality tool. It has a learning curve to get better results over a good, above average tool.

And I think this is the probably the poster child of what others have found. Some people just don't stick it out long enough to really figure out everything on the 7D, and in the few days they might have had it, they probably did exactly what they did on their older bodies, settings and post processing, which may not work very well. If you stick it out and have a good copy of the 7D and are patient running it through its paces, it is more times than not going to match this story.

scpictaker wrote in post #9363765
I went from the 50D and it was totally worth it. The new AF system was my driving factor. The low noise at high ISO is leaps and bounds better than the 40/50D.

new AF system that can actually compete with the Nikons, wireless off-camera flash, high iso performance.

Luckily for me, I don't have to justify anything I buy. I wanted it, I bought it. So what if I don't pay the mortgage for a month! Joking aside, there are enough improvements over my 40D that I really feel it was a worthwhile upgrade for me. It may not make my pictures better, but I am using it a lot more, and THAT will!

I forgot to mention the 1080p movie mode and much better live view. Taking video at f2 is pretty neat...

Upgraded from 40D to 7D. I loved the 40D, but I'm in love all over again, with the 7D!! It has so many great features that have been listed so many times elsewhere, but its the 'quick access panel' on the LCD, the quick select of focus points/zones and the ease of controlling light output on wirelessly controlled speedlites that really impresses me.
I could've bought that 70-200f4 IS thats been on my wishlist for ages, but, its all about enjoying my photography, and the 7D is a REAL joy to use. The improved low light handling is the icing on the cake for me!!!

Some people row their eyes at me when I say it but... I don't make any camera purchases (since 2007) over image quality... none of my customers are complaining... in fact they are raving. Get a 7D or any other camera for something other than this mythical image quality. You'll be richer for it. Sure you won't look cool on the forums for not having the latest body. Keep in mind a lot of people who post use their camera for hobby work and if your one of them then by all means enjoy your hobby and get that 7D!

I'm loving all these posts n threads with people banging on evangelically about their incremental upgrade from the 50D to 7D etc, and about how the 7D "allows them to take pictures that they'd never have been able to take before" blah blah, but I remember exactly the same old story about 14 months ago when the 50D came out, and how the 50 quite simply blew away all over APS-C bodies. Now, more than a year down the line, where are all those commentators? Probably keeping quiet and waiting for the 8D to come out next year, when they'll get the opportunity to lord it over all the has-been 7D owners, haha!

I'm not amongst them, BTW; I got my 50D used in October 2009 for a steal!

For me the two biggest improvements were the 100% viewfinder and the LCD screen.

That said, I found myself enjoying the increase in resolution a lot more than I thought I would, better menu, and loving the new AF.

Video, which was a reason to upgrade, I found was not that big a deal at all.

Upgrading is always a question of stages, making the change from the previous model isn't always required, two models a little more justification and so on. I had and still have a 350D so it was definitely worthwhile upgrading, I doubt I shall upgrade to the 7DII or 8D or whatever is next. The same reason it isn't neccessary to swap cars, just because the latest revision of the Mondeo has new lights

I didn't think it was worth it for me...I ended up getting a 5d MkII, and that was totally worth it! Night and day!!

I almost gave into the 7d because of the price mainly and some features that were better than my 40d. Glad I didn't go that route!

AF AF AF AF AF KICK A** KICK A**...DID I SAY KICK A**

Oh yeah I forgot... I didn't upgrade from 40D but I side stepped from 5D II (it's in my bag most of the time now since I was sick and tired getting OOF shots).

artyman wrote in post #9401009
Upgrading is always a question of stages, making the change from the previous model isn't always required, two models a little more justification and so on. I had and still have a 350D so it was definitely worthwhile upgrading, I doubt I shall upgrade to the 7DII or 8D or whatever is next. The same reason it isn't neccessary to swap cars, just because the latest revision of the Mondeo has new lights

Yeah yeah, you can say that, but, of course, the 7D isn't the next-gen upgrade from the 50D, just like, apparently, the 50D wasn't an upgrade from the 40D (according to all the Canon bumph in both cases)... so I'm well confused...

For the millionth last time, the 7D is a different line of APS-C and is not the Canon successor to the 50D. The 7D does indeed allow you to pull some shots that you otherwise would not have been able to with the 50D, depending on what you shoot. Just from the improved AI Servo II (either taken from or developed in conjunction with the 1DIV) alone...

Then again, depending on what you shoot, the 7D may just not do anything more for you than a 50D or 40D, however, the features are substantive over those two and the featureset may be enough to warrant a switch to the 7D.