Upgrading from a 450D

[Mini1275]

Hi all,

I've had my trusty 450D for several years now, it's been a great camera and I've taken some good photos with it (I hope!). I now feel it's time to upgrade. I feel like I've out-grown the 450D.

Looking around the next logical upgrade seems to be something like a 7D or 70D, I seem to be leaning towards the former somewhat despite being slightly older. My main genre of photography is automotive/motorsport and some wildlife although I'm starting to get into land and seascape photography a bit more (so basically I'll be doing a bit of everything ).

Going by online reviews the 7D seems to have a superior auto-focus, higher fps and just generally a bit more customisable.

There seems to be contrasting opinions on its low light performance although I'm sure it will still be an improvement on the 450D.

Does anybody have any experience of either camera or indeed any other suggestions?.

Many thanks for your time.

[Mr Will]

The 7D is a great camera, but has been due for replacement for a while now. I'd hang fire until the end of the summer to see if the long awaited 7D2 appears and either pick up one of those or a 7D following the inevitable price drop.

If the money is really burning a hole in your pocket then perhaps invest in glass in the mean time.

[Mini1275]

Mr Will said:

The 7D is a great camera, but has been due for replacement for a while now. I'd hang fire until the end of the summer to see if the long awaited 7D2 appears and either pick up one of those or a 7D following the inevitable price drop.

If the money is really burning a hole in your pocket then perhaps invest in glass in the mean time.

Thanks for the reply, I've heard rumours of the 7D2 so it may well be worthwhile hanging on.

The only thing is I would expect it to be quite a bit more expensive than the 7D currently is so I probably wouldn't be able to stretch to it.

I'm guessing the other side of that is the 7D will drop in price when the 7D2 arrives.

I've gone about upgrading my lenses in the last year or so so it's only the body left to upgrade.

[DibblyDobbler]

If it was me I'd rather have a 70D than a 7D - either that or go the whole hog and get a 6D or 5D3

[Mini1275]

DibblyDobbler said:

If it was me I'd rather have a 70D than a 7D - either that or go the whole hog and get a 6D or 5D3

Is there any particular reason in why you'd pick the 70D over the 7D?

I think a 6D and definitely the 5D3 would be stretching the budget somewhat!.

[outnumbered]

I've just bought a 70D instead of a 7D as an upgrade from a 550D. My main aim was to get improved autofocus and burst performance for motorsport and other sports photography. The 7D has an older autofocus system than the 70D, and overall the 70D seems to offer better value too if you read the comparative reviews, which is why I picked it.

First impressions are good, but I haven't tried it out in anger yet. Only downsides I've found are that it is noticeably heavier and bulkier than the 550D, and now that I'm middle-aged enough to have problems with close focussing, the LCD screen on the top is pretty hard to read !

Up until early August, Canon are doing a £100 cashback on the 70D.

[markmullen]

Don't discount a used body, for less than the money you'd spend on a 7D you could get a good used 1D3 whose AF and weathersealing would help your motorsport work.

[LongQ]

markmullen said:

Don't discount a used body, for less than the money you'd spend on a 7D you could get a good used 1D3 whose AF and weathersealing would help your motorsport work.

This.

Plus you get the benefit of a free upper body workout when you take it out for a spin ....

However, after a very short while and even with weighty lenses attached you don't really notice the heft other than that it feels wonderfully solid and well balanced.

Worth considering at current used prices. The right lenses to go with it will give you significant weatherproofing.

[mrdemon]

Mini1275 said:

Hi all,

I've had my trusty 450D for several years now, it's been a great camera and I've taken some good photos with it (I hope!). I now feel it's time to upgrade. I feel like I've out-grown the 450D.

Looking around the next logical upgrade seems to be something like a 7D or 70D, I seem to be leaning towards the former somewhat despite being slightly older. My main genre of photography is automotive/motorsport and some wildlife although I'm starting to get into land and seascape photography a bit more (so basically I'll be doing a bit of everything ).

Going by online reviews the 7D seems to have a superior auto-focus, higher fps and just generally a bit more customisable.

There seems to be contrasting opinions on its low light performance although I'm sure it will still be an improvement on the 450D.

Does anybody have any experience of either camera or indeed any other suggestions?.

Many thanks for your time.

70D no contest the 7D is hard to use and ISO performance is worse than my old 40D

the 70D is a joy to use, or wait for the 7Dmk2 due out very soon.

[Janesy B]

70D has the same AF system as the 7D but lacks a few extra customisation options and the spot focus mode. I use my 70D for motorsport and it has performed well, the only thing that pisses me off is that after a year of use it looks scruffier than it should considering it's well looked after; the plastics used for the flip out screen aren't good and scratch easily.

In regards to noise handling, I know Canon have not made massive leaps and strides but it is definitely better than the 7D and people don't seem to be complaining about the variation in noise handling between cameras like they did on the 7D. I would only go for the 7D if you needed weather sealing.

This was taken at ISO 2000, some slight NR in Lightroom but this was taken at 9pm on a lens that's f5.6 at 300mm, so probably as far as you'll take it if it's for motorsport.

Mercedes C11 by Bryan Janes, on Flickr

Which lenses do you currently own? Because you'll get a better uplift in picture quality with better lenses.

Edited by Janesy B on Wednesday 30th July 16:40

[LC2]

I've been pondering 7d vs 70d too. If you can be sure of getting a good 70d I think its a no brainer over the older 7d, but I'm worried over the internet reports of inconsistent focus when not using the live view.
I guess that's the problem with the interweb though, it may be a minor, localised issue but ends up being blown out of all proportion.

How have you found focusing on your 70d?

[Janesy B]

With my EF-S 17-55 f2.8 it's spot on. I think I get the odd dud but it's usually down to me. My Sigma 35mm front focusses a little so I've had to fix that in MA and when I'm doing panning shots, the camera will give a very good hit rate. Live view will be more accurate than phase detect in some situations.

THis video compares the AF between 7D and 70D: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHhvvN4_RTk

In all honesty most people think they know it all, take the camera out without adjusting the AF to their needs and then moan about it on the internet because their technique is poor or they don't take the time to understand how it actually works.

[outnumbered]

LC2 said:

I've been pondering 7d vs 70d too. If you can be sure of getting a good 70d I think its a no brainer over the older 7d, but I'm worried over the internet reports of inconsistent focus when not using the live view.
I guess that's the problem with the interweb though, it may be a minor, localised issue but ends up being blown out of all proportion.

How have you found focusing on your 70d?

Mine seems OK so far. AF is never going to be 100% perfect, and once a few people start obsessing about some perceived problem, and a few others latch on, it all gets well out of proportion. Add to that, a lot of the people complaining have no clue about photography in the first place. If you believed all the negative stuff, you'd never be able to buy anything, so I personally take it all with a massive pinch of salt.

[Mini1275]

Thanks everybody for the help.

Some great advice and a few more alternatives to think about. I'm tempted to hold on and see if the 7D mark 2 arrives anytime soon.

My lenses are a 100-400L, a 24-105L and a 60mm F2.8. I don't think I can upgrade those without spending silly money. I think an upgraded body would compliment them well.

Thanks again.

[Janesy B]

I was waiting for the 7DII when I got fed up and bought a 70D, that was nearly a year ago

[RobDickinson]

7dmk2 should be announced soon if ever.

70d as said has the same af as the 7d but lacks a few modes and the joystick.

7d also has about 10 or more frames in the buffer, 25vs14 or something.

[LongQ]

Mini1275 said:

Thanks everybody for the help.

Some great advice and a few more alternatives to think about. I'm tempted to hold on and see if the 7D mark 2 arrives anytime soon.

My lenses are a 100-400L, a 24-105L and a 60mm F2.8. I don't think I can upgrade those without spending silly money. I think an upgraded body would compliment them well.

Thanks again.

Find somewhere with a 1D3 that you can try with your lenses. Run some shots and see what you think when you have processed them.

I assume your 60mm is EF-S in which case it won't work with the 1D3 but the other 2 will be fine. The 24-105 produces excellent results. I don't have a 100-400 but a 70-200 f2.8 with or without a 2x extender is fine. I see no reason why a 100-400 would not be excellent and the enhanced sensitivity centre focus point in a 1D should be useful with the slightly slower 100-400 lens.