Canon 7D

I recently purchased a new camera as a backup to my 5d Mark II. We all hear time is money and because I hate zoom lenses, I was constantly switching out lenses during gigs. Not only was that time consuming and annoying, but figuring out which lens to use next also added stress to the already hectic event.

So f*ck it. Backup camera was decided.

I knew I needed something formidable to the 5d Mark II or else I would not be happy with the quality of the images. A backup of the same was out of the question due to price. I read reviews and one thing was clear, the 7d has both advantages and disadvantages over the 5d Mark II. I’ll touch base on that later.

I decided on a whim hours before a wedding to pick one up. Why? Because I’m crazy and if I’ve already decided to purchase, I might as well do it for this next gig. It would only help. And it did. I was less stressed out about which lens to use and I felt more confident about the gear I had on me, rather then stressing on which lens to use. I stuck my 85L on the 7d and my trusty 35L on my 5d Mark II. I gotta say, it was a fantastic combo. It was like having a range of 35-135mm f/1.4-1.2 lol.

All said and done, I’m happy with the 7d as a backup and what surprised me the most was how much I love using the camera. The focusing on this guy is much better than the 5d. I read it, but to live it is different. It’s a joy to use knowing that a higher percentage of your shots will be in focus (not counting user error). I’m not even worried about using different focal points either.

So what are some other advantages of the 7d?
+ As discussed, better auto focusing and added focal points
+ I also like the grip much better. Canon really nailed the ergonomics of this camera.
+ Not only is the focusing better, but it’s much faster
+ Not really an advantage as a stand alone camera, but for a backup, the 1.6 crop factor adds a second life to lenses. My 85L’s longer reach on this camera is perfect for weddings

So what about the 5d Mark II? Hands down, this camera’s ability to render portraits is stunning. The color, dynamic range, and exposure, I feel, is much better especially in skin tone. The cleanliness and clarify of the images is just fantastic. I also have to talk about the full frame sensor. The high ISO quality of this blows away the 7d. With high regard, the quality of images the 5d Mark II delivers is alone, reason enough to own this camera before the 7d.

That’s not to say the 7d image quality isn’t top notch. Most can’t even tell the difference, but being a designer and breathing the quality of color, range, dpi, images, etc., I can tell. Below you’ll find a few images from the 7d using various lenses mostly wide open. I used the 85L, 35L, 50mm f/1.4 and even a borrowed Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 VC. They all performed fantastic on the 7d. The most surprising was the 50mm f/1.4. Really sharp at 1.4. The Tamron was also a nice surprise.