Good for you, Conrad, the first one to report on 7D. However, I've noticed that you might have picked up some bad habits from your "buddies" on the N&W Board:
(1) Shooting RAW
(2) Using a lens way too long (i.e., 400mm).....100-200mm FL would do much better on those pelicans.
(3) Aperture set to f/9 and f/10 ?
Congratulations on your new cam. Looks like it will supplement your 5D2 really well. I would love a 7D to go with my Tokina 12-24, but am too broke at present. Perhaps next year when the 7D price comes down a bit.
Enjoy your new camera, judging by your first shots with this you will have a long and happy relationship together!
Mr Zoom wrote:
I'll need to see some flying pigeon shots before I'll be convinced it's worth owning!
Zoomer has a valid point, I think.
Those large slow birds even 300D can get in semi-skilled hands.
Try pijuns, doves, sanddarlings, deerkillers, pipers in flight for a bit of an AF challenge. Get us two or more frames in a sequence so as to demonstrate the servo AF tenecity. Ask Whitmo to help if needed
No offense to your photographs, but the real test of the autofocus will be photographing birds other than white against a busy background. The photographs that you present could have been taken with a Canon 40D, 50D or 1DM3 with similar results. (BIF against the sky for example. The last photograph has a busy background with a white egret, which is more difficult, but it's a big white bird against a dark background and something that the other Canon models are capable of capturing.)
Please don't get me wrong...I'm glad you are enjoying the camera and the photos are great. What I am looking for is confirmation that the new autofocus system is superior to the current line of Canon cameras.
Hey dude, if you're too busy with all of the requested ISO samples, send the 7D to me, I have a note from principal allowed me to have a week off to shoot anything that the jealous people here requested...
This is a black tern fishing over a pond with reeds. It's difficult to capture, but not impossible. If the 7D's new autofocus can capture images like this on a fairly consistent basis, then I will buy one!
That's a goodie, Alan.
However, all kidding aside, I believe that the captures like that say more about photographer's skill, persistence and opportunity, rather than the camera AF performance.
PetKal wrote:
Zoomer has a valid point, I think.
Those large slow birds even 300D can get in semi-skilled hands.
Problem is, things that really challenge the AF system can also challenge the photographer. Sometimes. I've found it quite difficult, expecially with a larger lens, to follow the antics of smaller birds (if I can even find them).
Congratulations Conrad! I am waiting until the kits are available (because they come with an extra battery) before I buy mine.
You've got me pretty excited about this camera body though. I'm seeing a lot of detail in these images. The AF and tracking abilitly are what have me most interested in this camera.
I'll be looking forward to your next post!
Dave
Sep 29, 2009 at 09:41 AM
Roger Whitehead Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
Those shots look pretty darn good. Lets hope that AF issues like the 1dIII dhad do not appear with this new camera. Congrats on being one of the early adopters.
Most any cameras AF can capture challenging shots, its the frequency and reliability with which it does so that is revealing. This is very difficult to demonstrate and only a series of shots of a fast moving bird says much about the cameras ability. Even then the shooters ability to get the target acquired and keep the active points over the target is as improtant as what the camera can do. These shots look promising though they were taken at fairly small apertures. I think you'd need the opinion of an experienced BIF shooter whose used the camera extensively to really judge. Check the wildlife and nature forum in a few months and then you'll know how good the 7D AF is.
However, I've noticed that you might have picked up some bad habits from your "buddies" on the N&W Board:
