Canon 7D Mark II announced

[allegretto]

yes, in the famous, "... all things being equal..." World more and better distributed points is good

But with that many points there had better be a way to figure out which ones you want pretty quickly

I had one of those Canons too... actually worked pretty well

Hi,

Most AF systems have a means to select focusing point and they can also track that point.

I don't know about how the NX-1 handles in this respect. A large number of AF-points is an advantage. On traditional AF systems the AF sensors only cover the central part of the image, having the sensors distributed over a larger area is helpful.

Some new systems have eye-detection, so they can detect eyes, and with a good selection of AF points they can actually focus on that detail.

Best regards
Erik

[NancyP]

Can we please now get back to the Mac vs. PC wars?

[Alan Smallbone]

BTW, I have not had a camera using CF card before - anyone have recommendations for CF card brand, reader brand? Reader must be back-compatible with USB 2.0 or Firewire 800. OK, maybe I should upgrade the computer instead...

Transcend has a really good reader that is usb3 and downwards compatible, will also read SD cards, one of the fastest I have seen and under $20. Transcend is a memory card manufacturer so they know how to read the cards. Using usb3 it is blazing fast.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/815153-REG/Transcend_TS_RDF8K_USB_3_0_Multi_Card.html

Alan

[NancyP]

Thanks!
I will be getting the 7D2 at some point, so this will be handy info to have - thanks for the kind advice to the CF card newbie.

[BernardLanguillier]

Then what do you think, Bernard?

You are riding me constantly about what camera I might choose this December

If it was simply a matter of sensor choice, I would get the D810, without a second thought.
If my preferred lens choices were a wide-angle zoom, and/or fast prime, I would also choose the D810.

But I am a macro and wildlife shooter. And Canon has by far the more versatile lens portfolio for my kind of shooting.

I am resisting my impulse to "keep up with the Jonses," as far as sensor technology goes, when I consider the fact that I would be giving up too much in the versatility of what I can do with Canon.

Their sensors might not be at the top of the heap, but they're still good enough to produce award-winning images in anything I want to do ... and with the combination of their lens portfolio, the whole system empowers me to be fully-capable of producing everything in an image I need, more conveniently than if I switch to Nikon. So, the more I think about it, the more the tradeoff and "gain in resolution" by going to the D810 isn't worth the loss of convenience and overall versatility of what I have available in Canon's lens portfolio.

I know you're excited for me to experience the exhilaration of owning the D810, lol, and maybe I will come December ... but in the end I am realizing I would feel a loss, not a a gain ... a loss of flexibility and capability that wasn't worth a few extra notches of resolution.

Jack

Jack,

I am not sure where you got the impression that I am suggesting you should get a D810.

I wrote very clearly several times that I think the 7DII is the best option for you and that I was certain you would end up buying one.

Again, you seem to be making assumptions about what I think that are simply mistaken. It is not because I own Nikon equipment that I think everyone should be using a Nikon.

I clearly think that Nikon manufactures some pieces of equipment, such as the D810, some of their recent lenses (58mm f1.4, 85mm f1.8, 400mm f2.8,...) that have some unique qualities but each photographer has the means to map this with his/her needs/likes/wants. We all strive to improve our photography, it is only natural to select the best equipment we think will help in this quest in the context if our constraints (past decisions in terms of lenses, financial situation,...).

I think that this is a 7DII for you.

Clear enough Jack?

cheers,
Bernard

[John Koerner]

Jack,
I am not sure where you got the impression that I am suggesting you should get a D810.

Not sure where I get this impression?

Wake up and smell the coffee, Bernard.

Every time I speak about the 7D II ... "you" can be predicted to appear and speak about the virtues of Nikon ... or in some way try to "sell" Nikon.

I wrote very clearly several times that I think the 7DII is the best option for you and that I was certain you would end up buying one.

And equally as clear is your irony.

But thank you so much for validating my choices

Again, you seem to be making assumptions about what I think that are simply mistaken. It is not because I own Nikon equipment that I think everyone should be using a Nikon.

I think you are in denial.

A quick review of the sum total of all your posts says otherwise--that you live and breathe Nikon--and see the world through Nikon-tinted glasses (lenses)

I clearly think that Nikon manufactures some pieces of equipment, such as the D810, some of their recent lenses (58mm f1.4, 85mm f1.8, 400mm f2.8,...) that have some unique qualities but each photographer has the means to map this with his/her needs/likes/wants.

Right. And I have outlined mine.

We all strive to improve our photography, it is only natural to select the best equipment we think will help in this quest in the context if our constraints (past decisions in terms of lenses, financial situation,...).

Right. Again, which I have said all along.

The absolute max in resolution is not the only deciding factor for me.

Ultimately, there is nothing better about the D810 over the 7D II, except single-image resolution ... which could only be noticed by pixel-peepers (and only if they had my raw files) ... and then, really, not by much ... which won't really matter in the real world. Basically, no one will be able to tell the difference on the subjects I shoot.

In every other category, the 7D II trumps the D810, every one.

If I switched, I would suffer the difference is in my lack of lens choices in the subjects I shoot, most particularly shooting over 1:1 magnification in macro (which comprises a large portion of what I do). Again, I could work around this with Nikon, using a maze of connecting gadgetry ... stiff bellows, etc. ... or I could just use the one, ultra-convenient specialized lens Canon has FAR more useful application in nature. (You can only use bellows in a studio.) What's more, in the end, no one will know the difference in resolution anyway.

Clear enough Jack?
cheers,
Bernard

I was never unclear as to your biased favoritism with Nikon (with good reason, for what you like to shoot).

But I was unclear as to which way I wanted to go, ultimate resolution with Nikon, or far more convenience & flexible choices for what I like to shoot with Canon.

I am crystal clear now, and convenience and flexibility win in my book.

Cheers back,

Jack

[BernardLanguillier]

Every time I speak about the 7D II ... "you" can be predicted to appear and speak about the virtues of Nikon ... or in some way try to "sell" Nikon.

Ok, then please quote a single post where I did that.

Thanks.

Cheers,
Bernard

[NancyP]

Let's hear it for the fact that we have buckets of pretty damn amazing gear available (if we can afford it) and that even the budget gear is pretty fantastic.

Loving glances backward at my very first, and all-manual, SLR: Mamiya-Sekor DTL 1000 with - gasp - on-board selenium meter that can switch between spot and average. A few of the lenses have had new life via adapter on my Canon 6D. Faster old primes are aberration city wide open, but the "look", the color is very nice. Of course, back in the day, I shot black and white exclusively, because that was the only way I could affordably control the whole process (developed and printed myself - the joys of having access to a "public" (school) darkroom). Were there better cameras and lenses even then in 1968? Sure. Did I learn a lot with my beloved M-S? Yes!

[John Koerner]

Ok, then please quote a single post where I did that.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Bernard

Still in denial --> LOL

[John Koerner]

Let's hear it for the fact that we have buckets of pretty damn amazing gear available (if we can afford it) and that even the budget gear is pretty fantastic.

Ya know, Nancy, that is pretty much all of it.

If you can't take a good photo with today's offerings, then you need to work on your craft, not your gear.

Choose the gear that best suits your interests, and I've done that.

Regarding sensor quality, the feedback is already coming in, and while not record-breaking, the news is all good.
The 70D is reputed to be 1 stop better than the old 7D, and the image results from the 7DII are coming out 1 stop better than the 70D.
Its high ISO figures as showing to be good as the highly-regarded 6D (and the 6D files are supported, where the 7D II's are not yet).

Regarding everything else (build quality, FPS, AF points, brand new external control of AF points, etc., etc.), the 7D II trumps most anything out there.

Bottom Line: As an all-around tool, the 7D IIhas no equal at its price point ... it has no equal at double its price point ... and it equals (and in many cases even trumps) existing offerings at 4x its price point.

If the primary purpose of a "version II" camera is to be better than the version I camera, then Canon hit it out of the park.

This will be my last comment on "gear"

Jack

[BernardLanguillier]

Still in denial --> LOL

Bring up the quote Jack. Where did I suggest you to go for a D810 over a 7DII? Finding the quote should be easy to do if it exists, right? Or is there a conspiracy between me and Kevin/Michael to hide these posts from your view?

Lastly, why would I deny willing to convert you to Nikon if that were my objective?

The reality is that your line of thought is fully relying on a self-supporting belief about what I think that is not substanciated by facts.

As far as your idiotic LOL quote, ask yourself the question. Who mentioned the existence of that (great) feature Jack? Is it me or Nancy?

I'll stop here.

Cheers,
Bernard

[LesPalenik]

Regarding sensor quality, the feedback is already coming in, and while not record-breaking, the news is all good.
The 70D is reputed to be 1 stop better than the old 7D, and the image results from the 7DII are coming out 1 stop better than the 70D.
Its high ISO figures as showing to be good as the highly-regarded 6D (and the 6D files are supported, where the 7D II's are not yet).

If I'm not mistaken, at one time Canon utilized the same sensor in 7D and T2i.
Do you think, the next Rebel model will inherit the new sensor as well? Many shooters do no need all the bells and whistles of 7D MkII, but a higher image quality would be a welcome enhancement.
 

[John Koerner]

Since this forum leans more toward landscape users, as the title reflects (portrait photographers, etc.), there is a bias toward resolution only.

However, in the more rounded nature photography world, it looks like Nikon APS-C users are already looking to dump their Nikons and get the 7D II ... for the same "checklist" reasons I have repeatedly stated from the start.

Earlier this year, longtime Nikon user, Scott Kelby likewise dumped his Nikon D4 for the Canon 1Dx, after an actual real-world comparison, once again for reasons of speed, total functionality, skin tones, etc.

Again, it isn't all about resolution. (I also think that straight DxO scores are somewhat bogus and they don't tell the whole story.)

The D810 is very nice, but ultimately somewhat of a rigid, niche camera--and I think more versatile all-around shooters will lean toward Canon.

As time progresses over the next year, I think there's going to be a boatload of Nikon wildlife/sports shooters switching to Canon.

Jack

[Paul2660]

John, I think we all know what your next camera purchase will be. 😃

Enjoy.

Paul

[LesPalenik]

As time progresses over the next year, I think there's going to be a boatload of Nikon wildlife/sports shooters switching to Canon.

From what I'm reading, it could well be that more of them will be switching to Samsung, Sony, Fuji and Panasonic.

[allegretto]

Samsung again..?

The Devil will be passing out hot chocolate before Samsung becomes a mainstream brand. Asia may be different. Samsung may find a place there, but never a Big Share.

Too many other brands to pass over to get to Samsung. Panasonic, Olympus, heck even Sony has more glass. And no one matches Canon. So I sincerely doubt many pros or amateurs will be dumping their 7D, or anything else for a Samsung.

But this does tie into a previous statement about this being a "Landscape" forum. Though there are quite many different types here, many are "Landscapers", but in general I'd call this a Megapixel Forum. And a "useless review" Forum, but NOT the way it may sound.

The actual reviews by folks here are usually quite reliable and provide useful info. Coming back to photography after decades away this Forum is great for info. But many here tend to perseverate over a DxO or dpreview  rating/review than actually know about specifics of a given camera. Handling, ease of use, simplicity when you want the shot.

Likewise the MPlx thing. There is a theme that absolute count of MPlx determines how good a picture a camera takes. Yes, you all know that's not true. Yes, you all know that MPxl superiority wanes when any of a number of issues are less than ideal. But it's a "if 20 is good... 40 is better" attitude that prevails nonetheless. ..."one day, I might have to enlarge this shot to a Billboard..."   sure...

Anyway, Canon may be ready soon to lay all other sensors to waste.. or just a little better than they currently are... who knows. One thing you can rely upon is that Samsung is not going to eat the Market.

[Glenn NK]

A spec sheet doesn't make a camera system, nor does a favourable review on DPR.

Give me the names of two makers that dominate the market and tell me why.

Samsun, Panasonic, etc are well known for their TVs, cell phones, and refrigerators - it will be difficult to overcome that and displace the big two in cameras.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

Samsung again..?

 I am tempted.

..."one day, I might have to enlarge this shot to a Billboard..."   sure..

Happend to me.

[barryfitzgerald]

Samsung won market share by being extremely aggressive in the consumer electronics marketplace (ie offering products that were some way cheaper than the "established brands") that is basically why they did so well (and maintaining a decent quality level too)

The camera industry for some reason seems to think it can buck the price trend on electronics (look at the computer area esp prices have massively fallen) well that's one reason growth is slow and in many cases in decline (cameras are honestly overpriced in this field)

The recent offering by Samsung might appeal to some, but Samsung are going nowhere at all in their imaging division, and they won't be either unless they employ the same aggressive cut throat pricing they have in other areas. So unless that happens, forget about Samsung entirely it's "all about the money" no company is going to make a big inroad into this market unless they start doing something insane price wise. I'd wager Samsung will have next to no impact in the marketplace, they could..but they are not employing their winning formula.

Let's not waste keyboard lifespan talking about something that isn't going to happen.
As for Canon well they are ticking along and might hope to pick up a few disgruntled Nikon sports/wildlife shooters along the way nothing wrong there

[John Koerner]

As far as your idiotic LOL quote,

Good morning.

Actually, it was your idiotic quote

I'll stop there too.