Interested to know how many of you who own a 7D are making money from it? Are you freelancing with it? Is it now the main camera for your company?

I've seen a few more people asking for camera operators who own or use the 7D recently.

How do you promote your services with it? The fact so many people can afford these cameras is it going to put freelance operators out of work or will it be the cinematographer they hire instead?

I only do stock video and I use a 7D and have a HV30, I do very well at this and have decided this is my niche, I'm also looking to get a pro camcorder as well.

The learning curve for the 7D and other DSLR's for video is very steep and that in itself will keep a lot of people from entering the field. The h.264 codec throws a lot of still photographers off, because it doesn't play smoothly on the average computer.

Composition and creative though are not things that come to all people, for the very creative filmmakers here the 7D is purely a tool and the client pays for competence and creativity.

Then there are weddings, which with a HD-DSLR is a whole different set of skills, that the average DSLR owner does not have, i.e. managing shallow depth of field and movement.

I'll be shooting weddings with mine. I've been shooting a lot of live events with my Sony V1u's (concerts, pageants, recitals, storytelling performances, etc.) but because of the lengthiness of those kinds of performances, I don't see the 7D as the right tool for that line of shoot. I've also done a lot of video for the web for different companies, and I see me using the 7D for similar work.

I am very interested in the stock footage market, especially with the caliber of footage I can get with an HDSLR setup. I am real excited to see how I can marry my photography skills with my years of video work experience to make the 7D do what I need it to do.

I do a lot of corporate, promotional, regional/national commercials and documentary video.

Since I bought my 7D in January this year I'm using it as my principal camera.
Sometimes I use my XHA1 as a second camera but not as often anymore.

I'm selling my service with this camera as a Digital Cinema Camera. I use the cinevate DSLR rig, Durus Follow Focus and Titan Matte Box.

Clients are very excited and happy with the results.

I'm selling my service with this camera as a Digital Cinema Camera.
I like that alot.

yep, commercials...no self promotion. Looking for pro bono music vids though!

I sold my video camera a couple of weeks ago (ok it was a pretty ancient Canon XM2/GL2!) and for now the 7D is all i have and need, if i get a job that requires something else i will rent it for the time being.

if/when theres a new (DSLR) camera that addresses issues of moire/rolling shutter/recording lengths i will look at buying that and having the 7D as a 2nd backup camera..

I don't have any plans to leave the DSLR path or any desire to own a video camera for now but i guess you never know whats around the corner.

My day job is corporate sales, training, motivational video for mostly large companies, and I've been using the 7D since late September when I got it. I also do some personal documentary work and trailers and promos for a film festival, and the 7D is being used for that as well. The XH A1 hasn't been out of its bag since September, except to pull the mic off...kinda sad...I liked that camera and it replaced a $25K 2/3" chip package in 2007. I thought I'd use it for 5 years and probably would have had the revolution not happened.

Bill are you using a portable set of lights for your corporate work, or can you get away with available light?

I have three 500LED lights from flolight.com and an 8-lamp (85 watts each) fluorescent softlight box. Those are adequate for most interview situations. I also have some Lowel DP and Omni lights, and rent HMIs when necessary for bigger jobs.

since i got the camera i work with it non stop
i rent it to music video's and on my last two commercials we go with my 7d instead of red one
so in 3 month i got this cam i cover 80% of all expenses include lens and extra gear:)

Me and my friend just started a small rental place which is why I bought a 7D just to rent out, which is great to rent out to students on a small budget. When I come into projects that don't have the budget to shoot RED, then I usually shoot with the 7D.

Cheers guys, very good information, want this kind of stuff to tell the students incase they want to buy one.

The camera is often the least important factor in winning a job. Usually, it is a combination of treatment/script, track record, show reel etc...

No one asked Will Shakespeare what brand of quiver he preferred...

I'm sure he said goose quills!

Oops, I meant quill! It's a while since I've used one:)

Bill are you using a portable set of lights for your corporate work, or can you get away with available light?

Norman, sorry to single this reply out, but I would like to comment on this topic.

Lighting is an asthetic choice which improves the look, helps focus the viewers attention, and can help tell your story.

Just because a camera can operate in a low lit area does not mean your results will be favorable.

Mere illumination does not make a good scene, especially if there are people on camera.

Tim, I'm fully aware of lighting a scene, I'm a stock photographer and have an extensive collection of strobes and modifiers, on the video side I have fluorescent softboxes and I always try to have a limited dynamic range, with even lighting as my images are used for advertising etc.

I was curious as to what people use when being paid to produce corporate videos on location.

Lots of location shooting, sans lights - blocking becomes of utmost importance!!

If we do use lights, LED fixtures are becoming a weapon of choice; lightweight (stand too), cool to the touch, battery powered, soft or hard light!

Norman, I hope the post did not offend. Sorry if it did.

The phrase "get away with available light" sounded like a view of these VDSLRs that because they can gather a lot of light especially with prime lenses one can get away from the need to use lighting anymore.

I notice this approach a lot in still photography as well with improved high ISO performance.

Since the thread was about using the camera in a professional video situation I spoke up because I would never want to do any job professionaly without lighting where possible, outside of which camera was being used.

In my view, these cameras do not change anything but the DOF that is possible.

Once again, sorry for the interjection.

I've had the 7D since October. It has not replaced my EX-1 as the primary camera in my work, but I am using it more and more. I doubt I will ever use it more than my EX, due to the convenience of a huge lens range, better audio and monitoring. I do love the look of the 7D under many circumstances but find it's not always the right choice.

I've started collaborating with a lot of photographers doing cross-media stock collections and I've use the 7D (or 5D) for those, and it's also great for more planned, scripted projects, but for a lot of the corporate jobs I do, the EX makes a lot more sense.

In terms of lighting, I don't find that I am lighting any differently with the 7D. Occasionally I can get away with less, or sometimes in the case of an interview where the bg is more out of focus, it's slightly less work to set and light the bg.

These are great cams though, and it's a welcome addition to my kit.