Canon 7D or 550D?

Paul_Canning

Paul_Canning

Paul_Canning

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I am looking to upgrade from a 20D and would like to get a Canon with video capabilities.

The new 550D does look very tempting even if the launch price is a tad high. Few niggles put me off - SD cards for example.

I was looking at the 7D originally as it gets good reviews and seems to be exactly what I want.

Question is - is the 7D worth the £400 extra? Cf cards, dual sensors etc etc
 
Paul_Canning said:
I am looking to upgrade from a 20D and would like to get a Canon with video capabilities.

The new 550D does look very tempting even if the launch price is a tad high. Few niggles put me off - SD cards for example.

I was looking at the 7D originally as it gets good reviews and seems to be exactly what I want.

Question is - is the 7D worth the £400 extra? Cf cards, dual sensors etc etc
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I have a 20D too, but I'm trying to decide whether to upgrade to a 7D or a 5Dmk2. A 7D with 17-55IS lens is ~£2000, a 5Dmk2 with 24-105L is ~£2400. I could make up most of the £400 difference by selling my 20D and a couple of EFS lenses.

Anyway, from the DPReview forums.

Karl Gnter Wnsch said:
That list is awfully short: It has the same sensor resolution and the same video modes. That's it. The sensor isn't the same (can't be because the 7D has 8 channel sensor readout and the 550D can't have more than 4 channels as it only has one single Digic IV. Not even the center focus is the same (contrary to your belief), the whole focusing array is that from the 20D.

The list of shortcomings is long, very long, the 550D only has (all listed specs are better on the 7D):

■a pentamirror viewfinder (7D: pentaprism)

■95% coverage viewfinder (7D: 100%)

■a 87% magnification (7D: 100%)

■19mm eye point relief (7D: 22mm)

■no electronic level (7D: Yes)

■no grid on demand (7D: Yes)

■3.7 fps for 6 frames (7D: 8 fps for 16 frames)

■only a single cross type AF sensor at the center (7D 19 cross type AF sensors, 3 with extra precision)

■only 9 AF points (7D: 19)

■the singe Digic IV has to process the images and calculate AF positions (7D: 2 Digic IV to process the images and an extra dedicated AF CPU).

■no macro focus mode (7D: doubling of focus position calculation speed to 60 calc.sec)

■flash sync of 1/200th (7D: 1/250)

■no flash master built in (7D: Yes)

■built in flash FOV coverage 18mm (7D: 15mm)

■no PC-sync connector (7D: Yes)

■no weather sealing (7D: Yes)

■no free selection of image formats to go with RAW (7D: Yes)

■predictive AF up to 10m (7D: up to 8m)

■no coupling of metering and subject detection via AF sensor array (7D: Yes)

There may be further differences but the ones listed should suffice to show that the 550D is an entry level camera which just shares some superficial resemblances with the 7D (both are DSLR produced by Canon)...
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I wouldn't go from my 20D to a 550D.
 
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Thank you Tomsk, that list is very helpful.

If the launch price of the 550D was say £500-600 then I would definitaly have gone for it. I think the 7D is looking to be the upgrade for me.
 
Ok, now I've finally decided to do a bit of research on the 7D...I'm thinking this would be a very viable upgrade from a 400D..fantastic.
 
Gregeff - Not so much, as I am after the video feature mainly. No matter which I chose, I would keep my 20D anyway, as my GF is interested in learning how to use it.

But yea, I'm pretty much settled upon getting the 7D :)
 
i wouldnt want to go to a xxxD series from a xxD series.

xxxD dont have magnesium bodies do they? so would feel really cheap in the hand.

I want a 50D next, will have to wait for some monies!
 
Beansprout said:
Now the question is....50/60D or 7D? 7D seems to be £400ish more....looking to replace my old (don't laugh) 300D :eek:
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Laugh? By all means go for new gear if you can but dont confuse it with better photography. I do weddings with my 5D, but my backup body is still my 10D and it does perfectly fine (and a 10D is just a 300D in a non-plastic body)
 
I'm gutted went out and bought a 500D then a week later they announce the 550D .. heyho

I toyed between the 500D and the 50D and the main sticking point for me was the body. The 50D body with top display is much chunkier, heavier ... looks more professional but in the end for me it wasn't worth the extra $$$ so I went with the 500D

I guess the same can be said for your descion 550D (which I believe is based on the 500D/450D/1000D hobbiest body) or the 7D based on the 50D pro body

before making a call you should defo get yourself to a store and handle both cameras
 
Alex53 said:
Laugh? By all means go for new gear if you can but dont confuse it with better photography. I do weddings with my 5D, but my backup body is still my 10D and it does perfectly fine (and a 10D is just a 300D in a non-plastic body)
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Feat not no confusion about taking better pictures, I just want a camera that can do more than 4 burst pictures, 4mp, has a screen I can see in daylight and is generally quicker/better all round :)
 
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