Image by Jostailua
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/xapaburu/)
It’s been much too long; my suffering at high ISO I mean. Thanks to Canon USA and B&H Photo Video however my high ISO problems are solved! I received from Canon my new EOS-7D, and from B&H my battery grip and extra battery. Most big name photographers you read about and hear from will repeat a mantra similar to “It’s not the camera, it’s the photographer.” I’d like to say that I subscribe to that theory entirely; except for when I don’t. The purchase of the 7D (Thanks Canon Loyalty Program!) is one of those times where I don’t subscribe to those “It’s not the gear” theories. For serious sports photography, it’s the gear. I’m sure plenty of people might disagree, but there is a reason that professional sports photogs spend $10,000+ on Canon 400mm f2.8 lenses for field sports, or $2500 for the new 70-200 f2.8 for just a smidge more sharpness and focus speed.
My EOS-1D is horrid at ISO 1600, and I would never even think about using it to shoot indoor NCAA DIII basketball, the images would simply be unusable – either blurry due to low shutter speed to keep the ISO reasonable, or too grainy and dark due to high ISO to get a usable shutter speed -it’s a no win proposition. My venerable and trusted 40D and I have been through some good times these past few years; as I’ve grown as a photographer my 40D was always by my side, keeping up with me. However, I’ve outgrown her and we both know it. She’s still a great camera, even indoors, but we both know that her ISO 3200+ performance and relatively slow FPS just wasn’t made for indoor sports.
That’s where the 7D fits in:
Dual Digic 4 Processors
Quality ISO at 3200 and 6400
8FPS continuous shooting
100% Viewfinder
19 point all cross type Auto focus
63 zone metering
I feel like Tim the “Toolman” Taylor with a big “Arr Arr Arr” manly grunt just reading that. I’m also a geek and my inner-geekiness has made me read the brochure about 20 times since I placed the order. More power, faster FPS, better ISO performance, faster AF, smarter metering; everything a boy could want in a camera. Tonight will be the first test for the new girl (haven’t named her yet), so I’ll have some comparison shots in a post later this week. Until then, happy shooting.
