Ok, Christmas has come early (very early) in our household. I have been treated to my first ever new DSLR – i.e one that’s not hand-me-down as the hubby upgrades to one with a grip ‘more suited to the male hand’ (…yup, I have heard all the excuses 😉 )
I can hardly complain, the hand-me-downs have caused me to fall head over heels in love with photography and have driven a passion in me for better and more technically excellent shots which has resulted in us travelling the world over the past ten years. However, after years of using the (quite excellent) 30D and 40D, I was flabbergasted when I got my hands on the hubby’s Canon 7D for the macro challenge (see above). For a start, the quality of the LCD screen is spectacular vs the 40D. The image clarity and colours are much more accurate – as is the sharpness. I dread to think how many good images I have deleted over the years from viewing them on the 40D LCD screen.
What’s more, our trip to the Arctic was a startling revelation. My hours and hours spent with a reasonably high spec HD video camera were reduced to C-grade shots vs the HD video quality of the Canon 7D. It’s more than apparent in the video once rendered – the 7D video is superior and very desirable. What’s more the ability to switch from video to stills whilst shooting is more than a little handy when out in the field.
I am also led to believe that entire episodes of House are being filmed on 5D and 7Ds now in America?!
The quality of the end shot is also improved – 18 megapixels on the 7D compared to 10 megapixels on the 40D.
The downsides to this upgrade (financial commitment aside)…
a) the physically sharp 7D eyepiece hurts like heck! It causes sores above my eyebrows (I will be ‘manning up’ or replacing that if I can! That is, unless my hubby’s camera is the only one ‘blessed’ with this unique feature).
b) I have discovered that the LCD screen for the 7D overheats after 2 hours of continual video and still usage in 31 degree heat…..but my solution is to visit the polar regions more……after all, I never did like warm climates 😉 And how often will I really spent 5 hours stalking spiders in the Loire Valley? (Answers on a postcard!)
Regardless, I cannot wait to get my hands on my very own 7D (and the 100-400L lens that is being declared ‘mine’ with it 😉 ) Watch this space – I’m going out and about this weekend and I’m aiming to prove the investment was worth it!