Why upgrade?

[Saralonde]

I finally decided to upgrade my XTi to a 7D this week. Well actually, I decided awhile ago but only got it yesterday.

I started getting a bit antsy about my camera a year ago. Wasn't happy with the limited ISO, wished the weather-sealing was a bit better, lack of responsiveness at times, wanted a better autofocus system, but still it was a decent camera. I came to terms with the crop factor early on and the Canon off-camera lighting system? I didn't understand it when I started with Canon, but fully envied Nikonians their lighting choices when I started reading Strobist. I'm not a pixel counter, so that didn't bother me. So what made me move up?

The thing that made me sit up and take notice when the 7D came out, was the integrated speedlight transmitter. I was feeling trapped by my lighting options and thought this was a big step forward.
The thing that I didn't really care about? Video.
The thing I think I might like better than I thought? Video. I just may have to explore this a bit
Hardest thing to get used to? How everything is in a slightly different place. I don't even think about what buttons to push or wheels to turn with my XTi I've been using it so long. Of course, I've only had the 7D for a day .
Thing that made me crankiest? Stupid Adobe Bridge wouldn't pick up my RAW shots. Had to download a patch which means an extra step.

So if you've moved up recently or are just contemplating it, why are you doing it?

[Raoul Isidro]

I guess it's part of growing up and embracing the newer generations...
Meet the grandparents...
[IMG][/IMG]

[inkista]

Congrats on the 7D!!!

Originally Posted by Saralonde

...So if you've moved up recently or are just contemplating it, why are you doing it?

Because my XT died, and they offered me a refurbed 50D body for less than the price of a 500D. Besides, I already had an ST-E2 for the e-TTL on-camera master thing, and I still got eBay radio triggers, anyway. For me, mostly, it was the lure of interchangeable focus screens to use with my manual focus adapted lenses, and the better AF system and higher frame rate for bird-in-flight photos. I've since discovered quite a few additional reasons to love the upgrade, not the least of which are the higher resolution LCD, brighter/bigger viewfinder, and having the C1 and C2 modes, since I've finally learned to do back-button autofocus, and turning it on and off is a non-trivial amount of button pressing. Being able to save to custom settings is a huge time saver.

It takes a while to get used to all the extra buttons, but you start loving it pretty quickly, compared to the dRebel controls. Biggest annoyance to me is the fact that my RC-1 and cable release became useless--which is only half as much of a problem with the 7D. (Stupid N3 connectors...)

I also just "upgraded" my G9 to an S90. Because I discovered that the lure of having an easily pocketable P&S that can do "available dark" shooting was just too much for me. I mean, I'll never need iso 12800 on a P&S, but it's always nice to know it's there.

[sk66]

I upgraded to a D3 from a D300 for high ISO capability and frame rate....but for 75% of what I shoot it was a HUGE waste of money.

Changing to FF meant upgrading all of my non FF lenses = $$$.
With the D300 crop factor on my 500mm f/4.5 I had 750mm effective...lens cost me $1500 used. To get the same from the D300 I bough a 300-800mm f/5.6....lost most of my high ISO advantage with smaller max f/stop, gained zoom for easy acquisition/composition...lens cost me almost 5k used....

Overall, easily doubled my investment for maybe 25% increase in capability...I have/had the money, not complaining, but I would not recommend it for most.... You REALLY have to have a NEED for FF to make it a "cost efective" investment.

[SusanH1970]

Linda, all I can say is I am GREEN with envy! On another forum (yikes, am I allowed to say that? LOL) a photographer posted SOOC shots taken with her 5D MKII and her brand-spankin' new 7D. They were of her son, taken outdoors in natural light within minutes of each other, same settings, same lens. The results were undeniable, the 7D performed so much better! I was lusting over the 5D MKII for a while, and then I heard much better reviews of the original 5D than the MKII, for full frame. Then I saw what the 7D can do. Now I'm utterly confused, LOL!

Either way, any of them will be better than my XSi, mainly for higher ISO capabilities (though I do love that little camera!).

Congrats on the new toy, I'm so excited for you and cannot wait to see new photos from you! You're gonna rock it!

[candleman]

i havnt yet.. but theres only 2 reasons i want to

1. better high iso capabilities
2. better AF system

[lputman]

I made my decision to upgrade as a result of the poor high ISO shooting that I was facing with my sports shooting. I love my 5DII. I have enjoyed the video the few times that I have used it. I do plan on adding the 7D to my arsenal for the auto focus aspect only for my sports shooting and that's only because there's no way I could justify getting a Mark IV .

You'll get used to those buttons and wheels in no time and then if when you pick up the XTi, you won't know what to do.

[Samanax]

Originally Posted by lputman

You'll get used to those buttons and wheels in no time and then if when you pick up the XTi, you won't know what to do.

LOL...exactly. When I upgraded to the 40D it felt so weird in my hands. But I quickly got used to it and didn't touch the XTi for months. I recently decided to try something different to get reinspired and picked up the XTi again...oh my goodness...what the heck is this thing?!? It's so darn small and light compared to the 40D and especially the 5D...and the controls are in the wrong places...LOL... But I'm having a blast shooting with it again. Trying to get out of the gear head mentality and concentrate on the creative side of things for awhile.

[fletch]

Originally Posted by Saralonde

Thing that made me crankiest? Stupid Adobe Bridge wouldn't pick up my RAW shots.

Adobe added support for the 7D to the latest version of camera raw (and Lightroom). You need ACR version 5.6. Which version of PS do you have?

[Sime]

I use my 5DMkII most of the time, but when I'm shooting music or press it's handy to have two camera, one long, one wide - Currently the second camera is a well love Canon 30D... I think I'd quite like to upgrade it to a 7D due to the ISO factor, the increased MP (8.2 is fine, but a few more won't hurt for higher resolution requirements of modern agencies)