I was very keen to see what Canon's newest DSLR was like for myself. From the specification sheet and comparing it with the two EOS5D MkIIs and the EOS50D that I already own I had very high expectations - so much so that I could easily see myself replacing my 50D. I liked the fact that the 7D shares the same batteries as the 5D MkII, that it has 1080p video with a greater range of options than the 5D MkII and that it has a build quality that at least equals its full frame brother. I am starting to think that I'm unusual in quite liking the cropped form factor of the APS-C chips and I find myself using the EOS50D a lot when I'm shooting stuff for myself. All in all, the 7D sounded like a camera that I would like - a lot!
When we arrived, there were already a lot of people there and the few pre-production bodies were in great demand. Whilst waiting we looked at the S90. It's small and very well designed and, if it lives up to it's low noise billing, will surely become a camera of choice for professionals to have as their pocket cameras. The click ring around the lens is a genius idea (I liked it as a zoom selector) and the speed and quietness of the operation impressed me. The G11 is a lot bigger but represents quite a few improvements over the G9 that I own and the G10 that it directly replaces. The swivel LCD, the low noise/high ISO capabilities and the general feel of the camera are great. It will be interesting to it how it performs in low light when we get to try out a production version. My one regret here is that Canon didn't acknowledge the place of the G11 in the life of so many professionals and use the LPE6 battery from the 5D MkII and the 7D in it to save us having too many battery types. I have suggested that Canon make a "universal" battery charger that would help cut down the number of different ones that we all have. The battery life in all of these cameras is great - which means that when you do need a charger you have probably forgotten the right one!
I finally got my hands on the 7D and I actually prefer it without the battery grip. In my hands the 7D fits very well - just as the 5d MkII and 50D do. The button layout is very similar to the 5D MkII with a couple of extras thrown in. The on/off switch has moved to the base of the mode dial which caused a few seconds of elation when I actually thought that Canon had finally found a way of disabling the mode dial. Not being able to lock or disable it is a big fault with the 5D, 5D MkII and the 50D and, sadly, the 7D repeats this.
The camera is solid - maybe not 1D series solid, but noticeably more so than a 50D and even a 5D MkII. The viewfinder seems to be bigger than the 50D and is very comfortable to use with either the left or right eye. It is when you look through for the first time that you start to see the real differences. There are a lot of options for controlling the way that the information is displayed. There are several options for how and when the various focusing points come into play and I would have to sit down with the manual for a while to get to grips with all of them. The comforting option is to set it up to match the way my current cameras work, but that would miss the point. The focusing here seems to be widely customisable and very quick. These were pre-production cameras and we couldn't shoot onto our own CF cards but on the LCD the focusing seemed both precise and rapid.
The other big change is with the menu system. It has at least a zillion options and some of them are entirely new. You can choose to have an inclinometer (two way spirit level) display in the viewfinder or as a kind of an aircraft style "head-up display" in live-view mode. You can choose to assign all sorts of tasks to all sorts of buttons - including the new M-fn button near the shutter release. The Canon staff on hand were anxious to explain all of this but we rapidly hit the information overload/get me some canapes stage and settled for a bit of fiddling with the camera ourselves.
My overall impression is that I really want to give one of these a proper run-out with my own lenses and my own settings. I want to try the flash commander options to see if they are right for me and I want to be able to shoot real pictures in real situations. I like the 50D a lot and I love the 5D MkII. The 7D is far more than a hybrid of the two. The new features make it feel more of a "next generation" camera and a possible test bed for features destined for the next 1D series. This camera will sell well and it is an important launch from Canon.
You can see from the pictures above that we tried out the new 100mm f2.8L IS Macro too. Wow! Great lens, as sharp as I have ever seen and far better at focusing quickly that the current 100mm macro. It looks the part too and I hope that the aesthetics of the new lens are carried through to future L series launches.
It was a good evening. The company was great, the new toys interesting and the venue at the Royal Festival Hall was good too. It was great to catch up with a lot of old contacts and friends and make a few new ones too. Nice one Canon!
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