dSLR Dad

Not one to shy away from a good discussion, Professional wildlife photographer Scott Bourne has published his thoughts on the Canon EOS 7D dSLR. For his first chronicle, Mr. Bourne assesses the EOS 7d’s prowess as an HD video cam:

I’ve been playing with all the current crop of DSLRs that shoot video. They are all very good at some things. None is perfect. But after all my tests, I have settled on two favorites. The Panasonic GH1 surprised me as the early favorite. It’s small, easy to use and has a ton of features that some of the more expensive cameras don’t. I like it a great deal and had pretty much settled on it as my favorite. Then came the Canon 7D. It’s a real game changer. It really caught my attention as well. It’s got very wide third-party support since most of the video accessories made for the Canon 5DMKII will also work with the 7D. It also offers access to more lenses and a larger sensor to capture video. That translates to better shadow detail and less data loss. In short, I have decided to use it as my primary video camera. Now I suspect Nikon is coming out with a new video platform any day. So could I change my mind? Absolutely. I may even end up using both. But for right now, I think the Canon 7D is the best hybrid video camera out there so that’s what I am going to use.

You can continue reading the rest of his video review at Photofocus.com.

In his second review, he focuses on the Canon 7d as a still camera:

I have been using the Canon EOS 7D as a video camera. I like it well enough to have purchased two of them for my own use. But this week, while co-leading my annual Bosque del Apache photo workshop with Arthur Morris I’ve had a chance to test the 7D as a still camera. Here is my impression after shooting with the camera for several days…

…I shot hundreds of frames of geese and cranes in flight at Bosque. I was using the Canon 400 mm F/5.6 “L” lens. This lens is NOT stabilized, but it is VERY sharp. I shot birds coming straight at me with perfect results. This is the test that any camera has to pass if I am going to recommend it. It’s hard for the autofocus to track something coming right at you and in this case, the system worked. And here the 7D worked perfectly. I also shot birds coming at me with additional birds in the background and the 7D properly selected the front bird and tracked it all the way over my head. Amazing! I shot in all sorts of light. The AI Servo mode simply worked every time. I was extremely impressed. With only 19 auto-focus points, the camera does a super job. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not about to give up my Nikon D3s. 51 auto-focus points is better than 19. But the D3s costs $5200 to $1700 for the 7D. For the money, the 7D autofocus rocks.

He continues to discuss the continuous shooting, battery life, customization, and image quality.  Lot’s of good information for any dSLR Dad to consume the entire review at Photofocus.com.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 10:24 PM and is filed under Canon dSLR Cameras, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.