EOS 7D Animal

Dear Mr. Canon
Just brought the EOS 7D home today after living and enduring with the Rebel XTi for the past 3 years. I'm not a novice when it comes to pro level cameras (I used to shoot the Nikon F and Canon A2 in my film days) but this EOS 7D is an ANIMAL!!! The manual is HUGE!

While this camera has many fabulous features the thing that bothers me is that, coming from film, I only shoot digital RAW format and these cameras today have all kinds of bells and whistles that I will never use. (Ref. WB, AWB, L, M, S, Picture Style, Auto, Tv, Av, P, 19 focus points, blurring/sharpening background, adjusting picture brightness, etc.)

I wish Canon would provide a camera that was RAW format only with little to zero bells and whistles (similar to what Nikon used to to with the FM series), and dump the extras features that I (and other purists) will never use.

Is that possible?

Thank you.

I bet the final cost would save me at least USD $1,000.

Congrats on the 7D!

Thanks!
Its a helluva great tool!

Wait... why did you buy a 7D if you never plan to use it's 19point af? Might as well have gotten a T2i and saved yourself a few hundred.

And you never use White Balance? or Av mode? Rather surprising, but I guess whatever floats your boat.

Dumb it down to your hearts desire, cost savings you are looking for would take the AF system out of the camera.

So you want to know how to shoot in manual? One wheel controls the aperture, the other controls the shutter speed. There ya go!

Canon makes cameras for all levels, with many functions and with little functions. From what your describing, i think the T2i would have been a better choice. The exact same sensor as the 7D, with much less bells and whistles.

Like the OP I have shot with the XTi for the past 3+ years. I recently had a chance to use a Nikon D200 as a second body for a wedding. After using the "Pro" features on the D200, really didn't want to switch cameras with my wife. The XTi felt "dumbed" down. I would imagine if you got into the 7D, you would in turn feel the same and not want to go backwards from your 7D. But like others have said, you sound like you might have been better served by a T2i. Me personally, I use a few of the modes you wish to omit from your ideal camera, on my XTi.
But I am so jealous tho, but hopefully not for long, hopefully I'll have my 7D in time for the races next month.

I didn't know the amish could have digital cameras....

Naturalist wrote in post #10048579
I wish Canon would provide a camera that was RAW format only with little to zero bells and whistles (similar to what Nikon used to to with the FM series), and dump the extras features that I (and other purists) will never use.

They have, it's called the 5D Mark II, but it will cost you more.

The S90 will shoot raw....

I hear what you are saying but there are times when those features may come in handy.
For example, I had the chance to shoot on a job for a demolition company. They wanted to document the demolition of a building but the catch was they wanted jpegs straight from the camera when the day was done. With the options for fine tuning jpegs will allow you to take a decent picture using jpegs when the job calls for.
For the record I prefer RAW as well but there are times I have been grateful for jpeg options.

The other thing is, a function once developed doesn't cost that much to build into a camera.

White Balance, Av etc. modes are all just software - once they figured it out they only have to tweak it a bit, redevelop every now and then.

And regarding "modes" - I moved to just Manual mode first on a 400D and carried on with that on a 5D MK II - ignoring the other modes - but I supposed it depends on what you want to shoot, where and how as well.

And about using your 7D - if you really want to, put it in manual mode, set the White Balance to a fixed setting (don't be surprised if your images are yellow and blue) and shoot with full manual controls.
It can be done

Anyway - enjoy your 7D

(Oh, and what some people maybe forgot - the old rebels didn't have a thumbwheel for controlling aperture, you kept a button pressed and used the exposure dial - don't think that has changed since)

I understand the T2i would have been a good choice as well, but I'm tired of holding small cameras (like the XTi) and do not want to have that again, or have to buy a grip to make it fit better.

And, yes, I shoot RAW exclusively.

Thanks for the comments.