Starting the Search for the 7D

The original post can be found in my tech blog here.

Yes. I have decided that this will be the camera I will be working towards. I estimate that I will be able to afford it by June. In the meantime, I have to start saving and do the appropriate research for it. There have been numerous reviews both in print and on the internet that I have gone through and the more I learn about it, the more I think that this is the camera for me.

I am sure readers would be asking a few questions up front. 1) Why Canon? 2) Why cropped-frame rather than full a la 5D mark II? 3) Why upgrade at all? I will try my best to answer.

Why Canon? The long and short of it are the lenses. I have 7 lenses already in the range, a couple of them of the L variety, with another couple being EF-S, which can only be exclusively used with the APS-C (Canon cropped-frame body). I love those lenses. I have also developed presents and assembled camera profiles on Adobe for the Canon body. And this makes a lot of difference in my post-processing workflow. Although there are similar profiles for Nikon, I am not that familiar with them. Certainly I can't afford new set of lenses. And as far as how my system was built, 80% of the investments have gone towards the lenses. Another thing is familiarity. I have been a Canon user since 89, from the days of T-70.

Why cropped-frame? I have realized all along that landscape was not my forte. Yes, I have got some of my landscape pictures published, but landscape for me takes too much commitment. Gone were the days when I was climbing the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District. I still have the gears for them if I have to, but I prefer portrait, candids and macro nowadays. For this, the 1.6x crop factor in the APS-C body present an advantage. My 70-200 L now extends to 112-320 instead. Should I get the 300mm prime in the future, that will extend my reach to 480. Yes, although that means cutting short on the wide-angle side, I think I will accept that.

Why upgrade? Or specifically what's so special with the 7D? It was not the megapixel count. It was not the HD movie. It was not the 8 frame-per-second capability. For me, it is the integrated wireless flash trigger system and the newly improved autofocus tracking system. It's a personal thing. The high ISO performance and the higher megapixel were certainly the bonus. I have never been a fan of live-view but the bright 100% viewfinder certainly got me hooked. In et meantime, I shall keep on dreaming!