mfurman wrote:
I actually think that the viewfinder of 7D is at least as good as the one of 5D mkII, if not better. I checked the camera that was preordered for me. I did not buy it after all (mostly because I am leaving for a three week trip to Europe this week but also because I am still contemplating getting another camera).
According to MR from Luminous Landscape
"The viewfinder is relatively large and bright for an APS-C sensor equipped camera. Not as big and bright as a full frame camera – how could it be – but pretty good, and with 100% coverage and a 1:1 magnification not too many people are going to be complaining"
I believe MR is right on this count - while the VF is a step up from 50D, I would not expect it run circles around the 5DII
Clovermead wrote:
Digitalbug, I don't have quite what you are looking for but I did take a just-for-kicks photo of Totoro staring into the glowing lcd of my laptop. What can I say, I'm a geek girl lol. This was a 20 second exposure, RAW converted in DPP to jpg, ISO 400, SOOC with no sharpening or NR added. 7D and 35 f2. @f9. The only light in the room was from the comptuer's lcd and the candle.
Oh ho! Totoro, a gaming mouse, and a 7D early adopter? Triple threat!
mfurman wrote:
I actually think that the viewfinder of 7D is at least as good as the one of 5D mkII, if not better...
Yeah, I was actually going to say that, but then thought nobody would believe me.
Okay, a few more observations, and a picture.
5) The shutter/mirror noise is *very* quiet and smooth sounding, not "clackety" or "thunky" as in some other Canon models... nice. The feel is also very responsive.
6) AF is miscalibrated on my sample--it needs a +7 MA global correction to focus with the lenses I've tried so far. I have not yet decided whether to return the camera or send it to CPS.
7) Image color and tone seems really lovely, closer to (if not a match for) the 5D Mark II, and--in less than ideal lighting at least--much better than the 50D which struggles with color and hue accuracy under very warm tungsten light. I definitely need to see more images, but I am thinking this camera may bridge at least part of the IQ gap between Canon's APS-C and full frame sensors.
8) Noise is definitely lower than the 50D, but in looking closely at the pixels, they seem to be a bit softened, as if Canon is cooking the bits a little, perhaps like Nikon does. However, it is nowhere near the destructive processing seen in the D5000.
9) At 100% RAW images look a bit overprocessed in DPP with High ISO Noise Reduction set to 'Standard'. However, 'Low' looks pretty good: the noise, particularly chroma noise, is visibly reduced yet the image still retains some structure. At 100% you can see some very modest processing artifacts at the default sharpening settings, but none that would be visible in a print, at least up to ISO 1600. Running it through Neat Image (using conservative settings) seems to gain very little.
For your perusal, here's a quick "real world" shot with shadows in very warm household incandescent lighting (always a tough test for noise), handleld wide open with the EF 35mm f/2.0, ISO 1600, auto white balance, default sharpening (3):
My 7D on a plane heading west to LV and due for delivery before 10:30AM. Shipped today from Berger Brothers on Long Island. Hopefully post some tomorrow PM.
garyvot wrote:
Yeah, I was actually going to say that, but then thought nobody would believe me.
Okay, a few more observations, and a picture.
5) The shutter/mirror noise is *very* quiet and smooth sounding, not "clackety" or "thunky" as in some other Canon models... nice. The feel is also very responsive.
6) AF is miscalibrated on my sample--it needs a +7 MA global correction to focus with the lenses I've tried so far. I have not yet decided whether to return the camera or send it to CPS.
7) Image color and tone seems really lovely, closer to (if not a match for) the 5D Mark II, and--in less than ideal lighting at least--much better than the 50D which struggles with color and hue accuracy under very warm tungsten light. I definitely need to see more images, but I am thinking this camera may bridge at least part of the IQ gap between Canon's APS-C and full frame sensors.
8) Noise is definitely lower than the 50D, but in looking closely at the pixels, they seem to be a bit softened, as if Canon is cooking the bits a little, perhaps like Nikon does. However, it is nowhere near the destructive processing seen in the D5000.
9) At 100% RAW images look a bit overprocessed in DPP with High ISO Noise Reduction set to 'Standard'. However, 'Low' looks pretty good: the noise, particularly chroma noise, is visibly reduced yet the image still retains some structure. At 100% you can see some very modest processing artifacts at the default sharpening settings, but none that would be visible in a print, at least up to ISO 1600. Running it through Neat Image (using conservative settings) seems to gain very little.
Thanks for your observations, GaryVot. In relation to issue 9, I set the high ISO noise reduction ot "low" on the 5D2 as well. It does very well most of the time at that setting, and is a good compromise between noise reduction and loss of detail. Rarely, I crank up the sliders in DPP (usually when I'm pulling up underexposed shadows in post processing), but usually, "low" is just fine.
garyvot, that shot is impressive for more than just noise - if that is truly AWB under tungsten it is a significant improvement over any canon dslr I've ever owned.
timbop wrote:
...if that is truly AWB under tungsten it is a significant improvement over any canon dslr I've ever owned.
Good point - it's routine for me to select and change multiple photos that were taken under tungsten to "tungsten". Of course, now that we're about to be blessed with a variety of color temperatures from the various compact flourescent lights out there, it will again be a challenge. We'll see how the 7 does with that. I may need my gray card more often.
For European (and Dutch of course ) buyers: the 7D is in stock on the Dutch retail market as of today... So, go buy one and tell me if I should do the same
) buyers: the 7D is in stock on the Dutch retail market as of today... So, go buy one and tell me if I should do the same