Should I upgrade to 7D?

[keith_plechaty]

<p>Hi. I recently got an email for a rebate on the 7D. As always, that really got me thinking! I own a 30D with 24-105L and a 10-22 EF-S lens. I'd like to list out what I'm looking for and if it's worthwhile to upgrade. Any comments are most appreciated.</p>

<ol>

<li>I primarily use my camera on vacation. I generally shoot on cruise ships, inside churches and mansions, and the landscapes I encounter on my trips. Most of the time there is no possibility of using flash when in museums or churches, so I am hoping the 7D has much better ISO capabilities. Most of the time my 30D is just not enough. It's usually just enough at 1600, but the noise is then very high. I'm hoping to find a camera that is good all around for vacation. (The 7D did sounded like the best all around.) I really enjoy low light photography, so I'm hoping the 7D does better than the 30D. (I realize the 5d Mk II is the king when it comes to low light though, so I'm thinking about that camera as well.)</li>

<li>When I print photos, I almost always print them in photo books (by shared ink). The image sizes range from 4 x 5 all the way up to 16 x 12. Would the 7D be ideal for this, or would it be better to consider a full frame like the 5D Mk II?</li>

<li>I'm really up in the air on whether it's better to go with the 7D or the 5D Mk II. I like wide angle, so I use the 10-22 mm quite a bit. However, I hear the 5D is just better in that arena. I don't know if I even would notice the difference though.</li>

<li>If I print mostly in photo books, wouldn't the 5D Mk II be total overkill? I'm not a professional and don't make money from photography, so I am just wondering if it would be senseless to go with a 5D Mk II. The extra expense of the camera bothers me a little.</li>

</ol>

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

[steven_crist]

<p>No need to get a 7D, though it is a great camera. I'd recommend a Canon 40D. That body will meet all your stated needs.l It was an across the board upgrade from the 30D. Very good high ISO results. 16x20 prints with no problem. A lot of convenience features too such as self cleaning sensor and a larger screen than the 30D. If you keep your 30D your can share batteries and chargers as they are the same. You can get refurbished 40D's for $800 directly from Canon with a warranty and they look and perform like new. Use the spare money for another lens. See link below.<br>

<a href="http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/subCategory_10051_10051_-1_29252">http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/subCategory_10051_10051_-1_29252</a></p>

[hjoseph7]

It depends on how old your 30D is. I purchased mine in 2005, so I think it still has some life to it. Even If I tried to sell it, I would not get much for it now since the 40D, the 50D and the 7D are out. The 7D has allot of great features, but my favorite is the self cleaning and the weather sealing. i just hate bagging my camera every time it starts to drizzle. Not sure about the 5D MKII, I know that camera takes great pictures, but you got to think about saving those huge files on your computer and the download time might be a little slower. I hope the MkII, is not a dust magnet like the original 5D. I have to clean the sensor on that camera al least once a month this is without hardly changing lenses.

[jeff_higdon]

<p>I agree with Steven that, based on your stated needs, there is no need to upgrade to the 7D. However, I suggest getting a mint, used 5Dmk1 instead of the 5D2 or 7D. From what I have read, the high ISO usage (at least at 800, 1600 & 3200) will be as good or better on the 5D1 than on the 7D and, from personal experience (I own the 5D and the 30D) the 5D1 will be a significant upgrade in low light from the 30D. Plus, you can (and should) sell the 10-22 (of course it won't work on the 5D1 or 5D2 anyway). Landscapes are more suited to the full frames and the 24-105 is really plenty wide on the 5D1. You save about $600 by getting a used 5Dmk1 rather than the 7D plus you'll get about $600 in your pocket from the sale of the 10-22 and another $400 from the sale of the 30D. So you can upgrade to the 5Dmk1 for almost nothing out of pocket. The 7D is an excellent camera and it does have lots of bells and whistles that neither the 5Dmk1 nor the 30D have but performance in low light on the 7D is about the same as a 5Dmk1 or a little less. Bear in mind that the 5Dmk1 and the 30D are essentially the same camera except (and it's a big "except") that the 5D is full frame. An added bonus is that they (the 30D and the 5Dmk1) use the same batteries and no-name batteries go for as little as $10 at Adorama.</p>

[jonsjons]

<p>Hmm...the 7d would give you plenty of resolution for those 12x16" prints. I don't think at that size that you'd see much difference between that camera and the 5d mark ii with both at a low iso. All of that resolution on the 5d2 would largely be wasted at that print size...I got my 5d2 in part to make<em> really </em>big prints: like 20x30" and up. On the other hand, you will definitely get better high iso performance with the 5d2. I can't say for sure, but I think you will see a difference in 12x16" prints if both cameras are at a high iso setting. Hopefully others with more direct experience will chime in here.</p>

<p>By the way, similar questions have been asked here a lot lately. If you do a search you might come up with some helpful information.</p>

[sattler123]

<p>The 7D and even the 5DMKII sounds like overkill for your needs. I would look for a 5D classic - it will give you everything you want and then some. Great high ISO capabilities, FF sensor with the increased DR - granted, the LCD sucks for anything but viewing the histogram, you won't have a self cleaning sensor and the AF is not up to par with the 7D, but for your stated needs, you really don;t need the fancy new AF features.</p>

[keith_plechaty]

<p>I was hoping everyone would say go for the 7D! Now I'm a little confused! Some of my reasons for wanting the 7D was to have HD video, better high ISO performance, the self cleaning system, better focus, etc. According to most people though, it would be better for my purposes to go for a 5D Mark 1? I realize this is a terrific camera, but I know that the camera is a little dated and was hoping to go with something more current. Would the 7D in fact provide me with noticeably better ISO performance than my 30D? I'm willing to pay the money for the 7D. For prints at the size I am doing, I'd like to have some cropping opportunities that the 30D doesn't provide all of the time. For my printing purposes, would I notice a large difference between the higher ISOs for the 7D and 5D or 5D Mk II?</p>

[tim_klimowicz]

<p>Having upgraded from a 30D to a 7D, I can say yes, the low-light performance is very much improved. It's still not in the arena of newer full-frame cameras, but I've heard people compare it to the 5DMk1 thanks to the newer DIGIC processing. Pixel for pixel it may not be quite as clean (noise-wise) as an image from the 5DMk1, but downsizing from 18MP to the 5D's 12MP will effectively throw out a lot of that noise, so for prints (as you do) that should be great.</p>

<p>I don't know about your 30D, but mine had that awful banding noise issue, which made me very reluctant to shoot at or beyond 800 ISO, or even push an 400 image too much. My 7D has something similar, but it's vertical banding instead, and is much finer (harder to spot), and generally never an issue unless I really push an image to an extreme in post. I now very confidently shoot at 1600 or even 3200, which looks much better on-screen than the 30D did at 800 IMHO. Personally, I wouldn't bother going from the 30D to the 40D, as was suggested above. I've used both cameras, and while the 40D is definitely a step up, it's not a large enough step to warrant upgrading IMHO.</p>

<p>If shooting wide and fast was your main (and very very critical) concern, I'd suggest the 5DMk1 simply because there's no option on the cropped bodies like the 7D for the wide/fast EF lenses like the 24mm 1.4 that you can use (and maintain the wide FOV) on full-frame bodies. But if you're intrigued by the video options of the 7D (which I didn't think I'd care much for until I actually got my hands on one) and can live without the fast/wide combination you'd get with fullframes, I'd definitely suggest the 7D. It's a really incredible camera for it's price. I've been impressed by every aspect of it.</p>

[mneace]

<p>We have a 40D and a recently added 7D. 2 weeks ago we shot an anniversary with both bodies, using flash, and both set at 800 ASA. When reviewing the pics in Lightroom the 7D was quite noticeably less noisy than the 40D. And the 7D goes up to over 12,000, 3200 on the 40D.</p>

<p>Buy a 5DII and you have to throw out your 10-22 EF-S, and get an inferior AF system.</p>