Exciting times! No sooner than the D300s is announced and barely on the shelves than Canon announce the 7D, with it’s 18mp crop sensor and full 1080p HD recording ability, and at a price point that places it lower than Canons first 1080p shooter AND not that much more than the RRP of the Nikon 720p only D300s (not to mention undercutting the D700 too). Pre-orders are appearing all the time, among them B&H PHOTO in the U.S. and Warehouse Express in the UK. Is this camera going to put pressure on Nikon to come out with something special sooner rather than later…?!
The Canon EOS 7D
Ok, lets all just take a breath and relax for a second…of course, judging any camera based on it’s video abilities is somewhat silly, after all these are cameras first and foremost. But you can’t help but think that Nikon might be feeling a little behind with the times now this new offering from Canon is imminent. I like the advertising line ‘Designed by you, built by Canon’ with them offering the notion that they really do listen to their customers and at first glance you could even find yourself believing it. After all on paper the specs are very good, with the usual key ones that first catch the eye sounding very tempting indeed…18mp APS-C, 8 fps even in 14 bit RAW and ISO range from 100-6400…oh and that 1080p thing again. Oh and you can even change the frame rates in video mode now unlike the 5D mkII, 24, 25 or 30 fps anyone?
Canon 7D
It all sounds good
On paper at least, and if I were a Canon shooter right now I’d be really itching to get my hands on one to see what the image quality was like for myself and see how the new 19 point focus system handles. 18mp from a crop sensor does sound like it’s pushing things a little (I give my poor old D300 nasty looks if it dares shoot above ISO 800) but stranger things have happened…like, for example…video in a DSLR!!
I wonder if my usual reaction to a new camera release is normal…within about 2 minutes of reading the specs and getting excited my mind already starts to look ahead at the next release, because with every new body that comes out the competition is spurred on to up the ante – and regardless of what brand you shoot with, new releases can only be a good thing for all of us!
Link time
As usual though, I’m not going to spout off too much about something I really have little knowledge of. Like many other sites I’m just bringing you the news from yet another source, for some real good info from people that have had hands on experience with the new body, head over to these sites:
Director Phillip Bloom has a beta 7D and is updating his blog on a regular basis with how he is finding the video capabilities, so head over to his blog for 7D video samples by CLICKING HERE.
Official Canon EOS 7D manual : download the instruction manual in pdf format
ROB GALBRAITH has a hands on preview, with some comparison shots between the 7D and the 5D mkII.
DPREVIEW also has a preview with more sample images and video.
Thinking of Buying?
Head over to B&H PHOTO in the U.S. or Warehouse Express in the UK.
Sounds like a brilliant little camera. My favourite thing about it is the amount of customisation you can tailor to the AF system, and indeed the entire camera. I’m not a Nikon shooter, so I’ve no knowledge whether this is common already in Nikon bodies, but hey, the 7D has a heck of an impressive feature list.
Like you, I’m also looking at the next release, namely the 1D IV. The specs on the 7D should give a lot of clues as to what Canon will do to it’s sports/journo flagship camera.
Yep, I think the 1D IV is going to be a very impressive camera indeed! It’s surely going to be the first full on pro flagship DSLR with video and with even better ISO ability, improved AF etc. I’m hoping all this will push Nikon in the right direction…I’d like to see a D4 that combines the high MP count of the D3x with the speed of the D3, plus full on 1080p, which has to be a given now that Canon has two bodies with this compared to Nikons…umm…none (even though when first released I was TOTALLY against video in DSLR’s, but I’m ready to hold my hand up and admit I’m starting to see the attraction).