I own the same camera and have been debating whether or not I should save up and upgrade to a 1D mark 4. I really need to try the micro adjustment that seems worthwhile.
Great images, as always!
-Dimitri Sarantis
22 September 2010 at 00:52
I considered getting the Canon 1D Mark IV camera for our trip west this year. But I was a little reluctant to shell out the $5K for it after hearing about the Mark III focus problems. This spring I ran into my friend Robert in Rondeau Provincial Park and had a chance to see his images from the 7D. They were wonderfully sharp. I found them a bit noisy but I miss having a fast frame rate and a large buffer, especially for wildlife. So I decided to give one a try. [Image]7D Camera & 500mm lens - Click for larger My initial field test was a bit frustrating. I had all kinds of focus problems. There are many settings for this camera. To figure them out I needed to spend some time with the manual.
After setting up and trying the different focus point settings, I did a few more tests. But I still wasn’t getting tack sharp images. I had to try the micro adjustment feature. Once I did my results were much more consistent. Check out page 211 in the manual. Note you need to do this carefully! [Image]pg 211 in manual - Click for larger It is so nice to have a fast and responsive autofocus again like I had with the Canon 1D Mark II. The 7D's buffer is great and I can’t remember ever waiting for the camera to catch up.[Image]Bald Eagle photographed on Canon 7D - Click for larger Shooting at 400, the images show a fair bit of luminance noise. At this ISO setting the noise can easily be removed during processing with Noise Ninja or with the new noise reduction in Photoshop CS5. I have started using CS5/ACR for all my noise issues. It's that good. Here is an image I shot with the 7D and my 500mm f4 lens being opened in CS5/ACR:[Image]Screen captured in CS5/ACR - Click for larger Using the Noise Reduction sliders in the Detail tab, I can correct noise very effectively:[Image]Crop showing noise on leg - Click for larger [Image]Leg after noise reduction - Click for larger The camera is solid. The auto focus and frame rate are great. My only complaint? I would like to see a bit better image quality above 400 ISO. For an APS-C sensor, I think it works as well as can be expected.[Image]Yellow-headed Blackbird photographed on Canon 7D - Click for larger
"The Canon 7D Camera"
1 Comment -
I own the same camera and have been debating whether or not I should save up and upgrade to a 1D mark 4. I really need to try the micro adjustment that seems worthwhile.
Great images, as always!
-Dimitri Sarantis
22 September 2010 at 00:52