5D vs. 7D

Bill Vincent · September 5th, 2009, 06:36 PM

As many of you may have seen, Canon has officially released the 7D - with full native 24p and 60p, which *should* mean overclocking capability, although I haven't seen any footage to that effect yet. 5D users are justifiably upset over all these new features in a cam that costs $1000 less than the 5D. People are calling Canon customer service and asking politely for a firmware update that will bring the 5D back up ahead of the 7D when it comes to these features.

I'm in a unique position because I *just* received my 5D. I can actually return it and order a 7D if it seems like that is the way to go. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. The full frame sensor on the 5D seems like it makes the 5D a better cam overall, but I did like the sample footage Canon posted for the 7D. I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do.

Jim Snow · September 5th, 2009, 09:02 PM

I see it also has the 12 minute max clip size. For most appropriate applications, that isn't much of a problem. But when you need to set it up and let it roll, that's a problem. I am still looking forward to the application of the sensor and related technology in a real video camera. Do you want to walk around the event looking for good candid and b-roll shots and find everybody asking you to take their picture because you look like a photographer?

Oleg Kalyan · September 6th, 2009, 12:08 AM

I will get it as a second camera, for slow mo, 60p. curious if rolling shutter works same way, no impovements?

Paul Cascio · September 6th, 2009, 07:10 AM

I think I'll wait for the next generation of camcorders, which are sure to include the larger sensors.

Lukas Siewior · September 6th, 2009, 03:05 PM

I just read specs on 7D... It should make the 5D owners mad. I know I would be. It has not only better video specs but also faster CPU (dual vs single). That also might look like a promise to new 5D Mark III model in the works - with dual Digit4 and better video options (variable fps)???

I'm sure all photogs still working with 40D's will be happy to upgrade their cameras.

One thing for sure - if Canon have all those technology to build dedicated 35mm video camera, we shouldn't be waiting much longer for it.

Ken Diewert · September 6th, 2009, 10:29 PM

I'm a 5d2 owner and not the slightest bit upset. I have a full frame camera that shoots killer video, and it is an amazing stills camera. The low light capabilities on this camera are absolutely astounding. I shot some wedding footage yesterday and last night that very few cameras could come close to. I use the 5d2 only to supplement footage from my XLH1 and HV30 (I have to run the H1 and HV30 for ceremonies and speeches), but more and more the 5d2 is my go to camera.

I've shot only 4 weddings since I've had the 5d2, that helped pay for it, and I'll have a killer reel for wedding shows. Now if you haven't got a 5d2 and are planning to shoot weddings, well the season is winding down so you might as well wait and see how the 7d works.

The 3 strongest aspects of the 5d2 (IMHO) are:
Low light performance
Shallow DOF
the ability to use wide angle lenses

So far I don't think the 7d will match the 5d2 in any of these areas. If variable frame rate is more important to you, then wait for the 7d.

Serge Satkar · September 7th, 2009, 06:44 AM

I'm not sure.. but AFAIK from high ISO video mode samples 7D looks just like 5D.. It depends on lighting conditions and even on coloring of scene for sure.. But who knows how canon manage interpolation for video mode and what sensor square is effective for this needs in both models...

Jason Magbanua · September 7th, 2009, 12:03 PM

initial thoughts ...

reframecollective.com Testing the Canon 7D

Carl Wilky · September 7th, 2009, 06:40 PM

Jason, is that your profile we see on the last pic? How did you find the 7D. Aside from the sensor size, in your opinion what would be the advantage of coughing out the exta 1K?

Richard Wakefield · September 8th, 2009, 02:58 AM

Ken, i don't understand your post?!?!!

the 7D will have all 3 aspects you listed!! why do you think it wouldn't????

take a look at P.Bloom's latest clips:
Dublin's People: Canon 7d 24p on Vimeo

Bill Vincent · September 8th, 2009, 04:43 AM

As time keeps revealing more and more footage from the 7D, along with comments from people using it, I think unless you're a photographer you're not going to get $1000 more worth of value out of the 5D than the 7D. Plus, the 7D has the features that the film community has been screaming for - true 24P, 60p, S35-sized sensor, and more video features and flexibility than the 5D.

Whether it's fair to 5D users or not, this camera is going to change the industry - a further progression of the change brought on by the 5D. You are going to see a huge wave of new filmmakers using this tool.

Ken Diewert · September 8th, 2009, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Wakefield

Ken, i don't understand your post?!?!!

the 7D will have all 3 aspects you listed!! why do you think it wouldn't????

take a look at P.Bloom's latest clips:
Dublin's People: Canon 7d 24p on Vimeo

Richard,

I was respnding to the previous post that said 5d ownwers should be mad. I'm a 5d owner who's not at all upset. Is the 7d superior in low light? (not according to Jason), wide angle capability? (not with a 1.6x crop factor), or shallow DOF? (similar but not superior). So why would I be mad? If there were serious changes in form factor (rotating/flip out view finder), or XLR inputs, or such then maybe so.

If you're a 5d owner who's upset, then sell it and buy a 7d, and pocket some money. If you don't own a 5d, then wait for the 7d. Or wait for the next big thing. Because you know that not far down the road, there's always something better. If you've shot with a DSLR style camera, you realize that they are a challenge to shoot with - being that everything is manual and handheld is virtually imossible, you know that the technology will be converted to a dedicated video camera style body soon enough.

Richard Wakefield · September 8th, 2009, 11:07 AM

cheers ken, i see what you mean now, thanks for clearing that up :)

Buba Kastorski · September 9th, 2009, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukas Siewior

I just read specs on 7D... It should make the 5D owners mad.

I just did too, and I'm not mad, I'm actually glad I didn't wait for 7D, and I'm not saying this because I already have 5Dmkii, with the price difference between two, selling one and getting another, I would even "make" some money; it's just not easy to let go full sensor after you've seen what it does;
I know 7D will not be as good in low light, which is important to me, but I still will do side by side as soon as I'll get my hands on it :)

Ethan Cooper · September 9th, 2009, 09:36 AM

For the price of the bodies and seeing as how they utilize the same glass I don't see why there should be any contention between the two.

If you've already got a 5D then you've got some lenses, so for $1700 or however much the 7D is selling for you've got yourself a second body that will be easier to focus on the fly and has the added benefit of 24p if that matters to you, AND you've got yourself a backup camera if you do stills as well.

Heck, use the 5D for a top of the line still camera and the 7D for your go to video camera. Slap the 5D into video mode when you need crazy shallow DOF or a superior low light camera. Also, from what I've seen online thus far the 7D is no slouch in low light.

They are a great compliment to each other, not competition. If you want to complain about dropping another $1700 on the 7D when you've already got a 5D, just look at the images coming out of it compared to a traditional video camera anywhere near that price range. For a backup body or second camera under $2000 you're not going to do better, not even close, especially considering you've already invested in glass for your 5D.

September 5th, 2009, 06:36 PM	#1
Bill Vincent Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 253	5D vs. 7D - The battle begins. As many of you may have seen, Canon has officially released the 7D - with full native 24p and 60p, which should mean overclocking capability, although I haven't seen any footage to that effect yet. 5D users are justifiably upset over all these new features in a cam that costs $1000 less than the 5D. People are calling Canon customer service and asking politely for a firmware update that will bring the 5D back up ahead of the 7D when it comes to these features. I'm in a unique position because I just received my 5D. I can actually return it and order a 7D if it seems like that is the way to go. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. The full frame sensor on the 5D seems like it makes the 5D a better cam overall, but I did like the sample footage Canon posted for the 7D. I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do.

September 6th, 2009, 07:10 AM	#4
Paul Cascio Trustee Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bristol, CT (Home of EPSN) Posts: 1,192	I think I'll wait for the next generation of camcorders, which are sure to include the larger sensors. __________________ Paul Cascio www.pictureframingschool.com

September 6th, 2009, 10:29 PM	#6
Ken Diewert Trustee Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Posts: 1,200	I'm a 5d2 owner and not the slightest bit upset. I have a full frame camera that shoots killer video, and it is an amazing stills camera. The low light capabilities on this camera are absolutely astounding. I shot some wedding footage yesterday and last night that very few cameras could come close to. I use the 5d2 only to supplement footage from my XLH1 and HV30 (I have to run the H1 and HV30 for ceremonies and speeches), but more and more the 5d2 is my go to camera. I've shot only 4 weddings since I've had the 5d2, that helped pay for it, and I'll have a killer reel for wedding shows. Now if you haven't got a 5d2 and are planning to shoot weddings, well the season is winding down so you might as well wait and see how the 7d works. The 3 strongest aspects of the 5d2 (IMHO) are: Low light performance Shallow DOF the ability to use wide angle lenses So far I don't think the 7d will match the 5d2 in any of these areas. If variable frame rate is more important to you, then wait for the 7d. __________________ C100, 5DMk2, FCPX Last edited by Ken Diewert; September 7th, 2009 at 09:14 AM.

September 9th, 2009, 09:36 AM	#15
Ethan Cooper Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 1,400 Images: 5	For the price of the bodies and seeing as how they utilize the same glass I don't see why there should be any contention between the two. If you've already got a 5D then you've got some lenses, so for $1700 or however much the 7D is selling for you've got yourself a second body that will be easier to focus on the fly and has the added benefit of 24p if that matters to you, AND you've got yourself a backup camera if you do stills as well. Heck, use the 5D for a top of the line still camera and the 7D for your go to video camera. Slap the 5D into video mode when you need crazy shallow DOF or a superior low light camera. Also, from what I've seen online thus far the 7D is no slouch in low light. They are a great compliment to each other, not competition. If you want to complain about dropping another $1700 on the 7D when you've already got a 5D, just look at the images coming out of it compared to a traditional video camera anywhere near that price range. For a backup body or second camera under $2000 you're not going to do better, not even close, especially considering you've already invested in glass for your 5D. __________________ ∅ -Ethan Cooper

September 5th, 2009, 09:02 PM	#2
Jim Snow Trustee Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Santa Clara, CA Posts: 1,104	I see it also has the 12 minute max clip size. For most appropriate applications, that isn't much of a problem. But when you need to set it up and let it roll, that's a problem. I am still looking forward to the application of the sensor and related technology in a real video camera. Do you want to walk around the event looking for good candid and b-roll shots and find everybody asking you to take their picture because you look like a photographer?

September 6th, 2009, 12:08 AM	#3
Oleg Kalyan Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MOSCOW Posts: 860	I will get it as a second camera, for slow mo, 60p. curious if rolling shutter works same way, no impovements?

September 6th, 2009, 03:05 PM	#5
Lukas Siewior Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lyndhurst, NJ, USA Posts: 408	I just read specs on 7D... It should make the 5D owners mad. I know I would be. It has not only better video specs but also faster CPU (dual vs single). That also might look like a promise to new 5D Mark III model in the works - with dual Digit4 and better video options (variable fps)??? I'm sure all photogs still working with 40D's will be happy to upgrade their cameras. One thing for sure - if Canon have all those technology to build dedicated 35mm video camera, we shouldn't be waiting much longer for it.

September 7th, 2009, 06:44 AM	#7
Serge Satkar Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Moscow Posts: 107	I'm not sure.. but AFAIK from high ISO video mode samples 7D looks just like 5D.. It depends on lighting conditions and even on coloring of scene for sure.. But who knows how canon manage interpolation for video mode and what sensor square is effective for this needs in both models...

September 7th, 2009, 12:03 PM	#8
Jason Magbanua Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Manila Posts: 317	initial thoughts ... reframecollective.com Testing the Canon 7D

September 7th, 2009, 06:40 PM	#9
Carl Wilky Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Montéal, Canada Posts: 115	Jason, is that your profile we see on the last pic? How did you find the 7D. Aside from the sensor size, in your opinion what would be the advantage of coughing out the exta 1K?

September 8th, 2009, 02:58 AM	#10
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	Ken, i don't understand your post?!?!! the 7D will have all 3 aspects you listed!! why do you think it wouldn't???? take a look at P.Bloom's latest clips: Dublin's People: Canon 7d 24p on Vimeo

September 8th, 2009, 04:43 AM	#11
Bill Vincent Major Player Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 253	As time keeps revealing more and more footage from the 7D, along with comments from people using it, I think unless you're a photographer you're not going to get $1000 more worth of value out of the 5D than the 7D. Plus, the 7D has the features that the film community has been screaming for - true 24P, 60p, S35-sized sensor, and more video features and flexibility than the 5D. Whether it's fair to 5D users or not, this camera is going to change the industry - a further progression of the change brought on by the 5D. You are going to see a huge wave of new filmmakers using this tool.

September 8th, 2009, 11:07 AM	#13
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	cheers ken, i see what you mean now, thanks for clearing that up :)