T2i vs 7D

[gregulator]

I want to get a DSLR for both video and photo purposes (my first DSLR but have a SD9 and an HVX200 right now for video), and these two cameras really look great to me! I would look at a Nikon but it seems like they don't have anything comparable right now and the rumor roadmap doesn't entice me to wait. I will mostly use the camera outside with lots of light, shooting action (snowboarding). The 60 fps video is really appealing, even at 720p. The higher framerate of the 7D for stills (8 vs 4 roughly) is appealing as well, but I don't know if it justifies the extra $1000. I played with both today at a Best Buy and the 7D is really pretty nice, and seems to be in a different class in quality in terms of build. The ease of adjustment of controls is a real plus too. But again, not sure if it justifies the price. I will certainly want to get a couple lenses as well, so maybe step down on the body to afford another lens or two? I would want a wide/fisheye, and maybe the 50mm prime that everyone raves about. Maybe a zoom? I hear the EF-S lenses are cheaper but it would be nice to just do EF in case I upgrade in the future when FF is dirt cheap. Any suggestions? Low light is not a huge consideration for me since outside in the snow is about the most light you can get other than looking at the sun directly! Decisions decisions... thanks for any insight!

 

[foghorn67]

Look at the other specs (don't know them, just research them)
-Length of video file?
-fps in all resolutions?
-audio?
-audio inputs?
-AF/Live view during movie modes?
-Auto Exposure modes?
-Manual exposure?

This may answer your question after you know all of these.

 

[randomlinh]

if you don't find the build and 8fps worth it, get the T2i. I personally feel it's much worth it. On top of what you mentioned, a much nicer viewfinder and far better ergonomics IMO. All that is worth it to me.

The only thing I can say about the build is you mention snowboarding... it might fair better than the T2i if you use it a lot in those settings. But if not, save the money, buy lenses instead, and enjoy.

 

[BigSmooth]

If this is your first DSLR the T2i will likely meet or exceed your needs. For something like snowboarding pics, the much faster burst mode of the 7D would be the main selling point, but frankly a faster burst mode won't benefit you much if you don't have lenses that will allow you to focus quickly/expose properly in that situation anyway.

randomlinh has valid points, but personally I'd go T2i and spend the difference on glass.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Too bad I can't talk too much about snowboarding pictures because my friend has been a douche all season and has only gone up ONCE with me. So while I bring my camera out a lot, I can't use it on the slopes without him unless I go take random pics of people doing jumps. Well I've tried a little (for maybe 10 min or so), and I found that my T1i is just fine for it.

I know a 7D would be way better, but trying to catch snowboarding and some other sports that I've done like football and outdoors basketball, you don't NEED a 7D. What you will need a 7D for is bird in flight pictures. If this is your first dSLR, I advise getting a T2i first, and like other say: save on glass. I would love a 7D now that I'm not just a beginner anymore, but I find myself needing more glass still.

 

[jpeyton]

T2i

 

[xchangx]

Too bad I can't talk too much about snowboarding pictures because my friend has been a douche all season and has only gone up ONCE with me. So while I bring my camera out a lot, I can't use it on the slopes without him unless I go take random pics of people doing jumps. Well I've tried a little (for maybe 10 min or so), and I found that my T1i is just fine for it.

I know a 7D would be way better, but trying to catch snowboarding and some other sports that I've done like football and outdoors basketball, you don't NEED a 7D. What you will need a 7D for is bird in flight pictures. If this is your first dSLR, I advise getting a T2i first, and like other say: save on glass. I would love a 7D now that I'm not just a beginner anymore, but I find myself needing more glass still.

Not sure why a 7d would be better specifically for BIF pictures, but for starters the 7d will have a fast max shutter speed. Probably won't play in a factor, but there are also differences in autofocus (7d's being faster) which is what you will need for sports.

Another factor will be weather sealing. Since you'll be out in the snow (water), you will want a camera that has decent weather sealing so you won't screwup your brand new camera by getting water in it.

 

[twistedlogic]

I want to get a DSLR for both video and photo purposes (my first DSLR but have a SD9 and an HVX200 right now for video), and these two cameras really look great to me!

Are you replacing the HVX200 with the T2i/7D or using them together? Or are you more interested in having a DSLR for stills with the ability to also shoot video when needed?

I'd say that your HVX200 would do a much better job at shooting action, as its equipped with CCDs sensors, where the Canons use CMOS, resulting in smearing, skewing, wobble, and partial exposures.

Also remember the T2i will AF in video mode (off by default), but it is still pretty slow (and noisy) for use in video.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Not sure why a 7d would be better specifically for BIF pictures, but for starters the 7d will have a fast max shutter speed. Probably won't play in a factor, but there are also differences in autofocus (7d's being faster) which is what you will need for sports.

Another factor will be weather sealing. Since you'll be out in the snow (water), you will want a camera that has decent weather sealing so you won't screwup your brand new camera by getting water in it.

I've seen pictures of people comparing 5D2 vs 7D in BIF pictures. The typical pan shot is probably fine for a 5D2 which has the same 9pts as the T2i. The T2i may be a little less sensitive as the Rebel series have been on the outer points (at least compared to the XXDs, so I imagine the 5D should still hold the edge over the Rebels).

When you throw in a little more difficult tracking like a bird flying straight at you, I've seen a lot of 5Ds struggle. The 7D does a much better job.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=9976431&postcount=19

This is impressive.

 

[gregulator]

I am not replacing the HVX by any means. We use the HVX when we have time to do a real setup for a video shoot, and the HDC-SD9 for run-n-gun style follow cams for weekly edits. The DSLR will be used for print and web promotional material (photos), and figure it can also go out with the HVX for more artsy work that requires more setup time. I am not too worried about being out in the weather with the T2i since I can buy a Best Buy warranty (if it is not a total sham), and we use the SD9 all the time in that kind of weather. It has been dropped numerous times in the snow, seen rain and snow frequently, and it still seems fine. I would bet that the SD9 body is even worse than the T2i.

I lean towards the T2i obviously, but I really like the 7D still features. Our current photographer shoots on a D90 and I LOVE the results. Obviously he is an amazing photographer to begin with, but the images look great. I think that camera also has a slow-ish sequence rate, ~4 I think. So that should not be a HUGE deal.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[patrick409]

I was looking to replace my Rebel XTi, and my choice also came down to the T2i versus the 7D.

I ended up going with the 7D based on the following reasons.

1) Viewfinder size. This was by far the #1 reason for me to pick the 7D. I usually wear glasses, and the xti's relatively tiny viewfinder kinda killed a lot of the enjoyment in taking pictures because it would be hard to see details. Even when I wore contact lenses I still didn't like the xti's viewfinder that much. Manual focus was pretty much impossible for certain lenses. The 7D's viewfinder is nearly twice the size of the xti's viewfinder. I know the t2i has a slightly bigger viewfinder than the xti, but it's still tiny compared to the 7D. If you wear glasses, I think it's a no brainer. The 7D probably has the best viewfinder I've seen on an aps-c camera.

2) I have long-ish fingers, and my old XTi game me hand cramps if I held it for a long time. The 7D's grip is VASTLY superior for my hand. I brought it to Spain with me and after walking around all day with it, my hand felt fine.

3) Autofocus on the 7D is fantastic, even in low light. The XTi was fairly miserable in this respect, so I end up grinning to myself like an idiot every time I use the 7D because it's so accurate. If you're doing lots of sports/tracking types of pictures, this is a huge benefit. It's got all sorts of bells and whistles when it comes to AF, so nothing I can say would really do it justice. I would advise you do lots of research on the differences in AF between 7D and T2i.

4) Burst mode. I actually leave it on 3fps mode instead of 8fps because I have lead fingers and end up taking more than one shot half the time. I imagine it'll be really useful for something like snowboarding where the person's flying by really quickly. That way you have 8 pictures to choose from instead of 4. You never know if he's gonna blink in one pictures. One neat trick if you like to do HDR types of pictures though, is that 8fps is fast enough for you to exposure bracket 3 pictures without using a tripod as long as the shutter isn't too slow.

I think the only negative for me so far is that it's a lot heavier than the rebels, so carrying it around all day sucks slightly more.

 

[xchangx]

I've seen pictures of people comparing 5D2 vs 7D in BIF pictures. The typical pan shot is probably fine for a 5D2 which has the same 9pts as the T2i. The T2i may be a little less sensitive as the Rebel series have been on the outer points (at least compared to the XXDs, so I imagine the 5D should still hold the edge over the Rebels).

When you throw in a little more difficult tracking like a bird flying straight at you, I've seen a lot of 5Ds struggle. The 7D does a much better job.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=9976431&postcount=19

This is impressive.

Ok, gotcha now. I thought you were referring to the resolution.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Ok, gotcha now. I thought you were referring to the resolution.

Yeah the 5D AF system is a shame. It's like the Rebel series really. Even the 40D/50D has a 9pt crosstype AF at least. Far more sensitivity. I resort to focus and recomposing a lot on my T1i for that reason.

But the 7D is a totally different beast. My friends who use the XXD series say that the 19pt crosstype is just amazing. I'd love to get my hands on one soon.

 

[ElFenix]

focus and recompose can lead to focus problems

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

focus and recompose can lead to focus problems

True, I understand this but when your outer focus points can't even focus in low light with any accuracy, I'm left with no other choice... It's certainly a problem with portrait shots but when I'm shooting further away where the DOF is not as shallow, I think it's better than dealing with a focal point that fails to focus well. With birds this is typically not an issue as you're using a telephoto anyway and you're probably like 50 yards away where the DOF is a few feet at least.

 

[foghorn67]

True, I understand this but when your outer focus points can't even focus in low light with any accuracy, I'm left with no other choice... It's certainly a problem with portrait shots but when I'm shooting further away where the DOF is not as shallow, I think it's better than dealing with a focal point that fails to focus well. With birds this is typically not an issue as you're using a telephoto anyway and you're probably like 50 yards away where the DOF is a few feet at least.

I know you probably know this already. But if the outer AF point doesn't have a cross type sensor, try a high contrast part of the image. I always go for the eyebrows if I can't hit the eyelashes (during people or portraits). It works handy because if the AF can't resolve it using the eyelashes, then eyebrows are okay depth of field wise around 2.8.

I even caught myself using this with the 7D I just picked up, old habits die hard.

 

[gregulator]

Well I pulled the trigger on the T2i. For me, I couldn't justify the extra $1000, just way too much to get into a DSLR at this point in time. I can save some money and buy better lenses and upgrade the body down the road. So far I am really happy with the purchase and won't look back. I will do the best I can with this tool and then really appreciate something better in the future.