First Sports Tests With My New Canon EOS 7D

[Photo-John]

I've had the EOS 7D for just under a week now and I tried to give it a good workout this weekend. I wouldn't say it was definitive testing, but I think I'm starting to get a good feel for it. The most noticeable thing is that it's very good at ISO 800. I think all of the photos below were shot at ISO 800. It's been stormy here and my first shoot was also in the evening. So light has been a challenge. And I think the 7D has been up to the challenge.

But the most important testing with this camera is going to be the auto focus. The low light performance is an improvement over the 50D. But that wasn't enough to get me to buy it. It's the new AF that pushed me over the edge and made me pre-order it after I had the pre-production camera. So far, my 7D is holding up to the tentative conclusions I came to with the pre-production camera. Auto focus is very precise in single shot and I think it's somewhere in between the 40D/50D and the 1D bodies in AI Servo. I haven't had a chance to test any real high speed action yet. But in normal trail shots it I think it's doing very well. This first batch of photos were all shot in single shot AF mode. That being the case, any softness has more to do with my timing and technique than the AF system. Of course, being able to blast off 8 FPS means I can shoot a burst and pick the best. That doesn't hurt the chances of getting a good one

[Photo-John]

These two photos were shot using the 7D's AI Servo continuous auto focus. Neither one is a really demanding auto focus subject. Jenni is no pro downhill racer and the guys are climbing. But I'm pretty pleased with the results, nonetheless. Especially considering the low light and shallow depth-of-field due to using larger apertures.

Canon EOS 7D auto focus - so far, so good

Next up - I'm working on a little video sampler shot with the EOS 7D. And yeah, it includes a little bit of mountain biking!

[NoKnees]

So far so good! Definitely a nice camera and it'll be good to see more of what it does in your good hands... Looking forward to your video tests as well..

[cm_mtb]

Thanks for the samples. I look forward to seeing what the 7D can do in more demanding settings.

[Photo-John]

I look forward to seeing what the 7D can do in more demanding settings.

There's no racing coming up so I'm thinking about going out to the local dirt jumps. Unfortunately it's been raining and snowing at higher elevations. So I'm not sure what kind of condition the jumps will be in. But I'm thinking that's my best bet for really serious testing.

[BLS439]

Great shots! I've been wanting to get on my bike for so long now.

It looks like the 7D may be a pretty good contender in the market today. I'm anxious to see the video you were able to get out of it!

[fidgety]

Holy canoli mostacoli, it looks like high def!

[Photo-John]

Holy canoli mostacoli, it looks like high def!

I love mastacolli - or however you spell it

[fidgety]

I love mastacolli - or however you spell it

So do I. I just had some for lunch. I've got to get myself one of those. Anyone want to buy my 50D??

[Photo-John]

Yesterday I went out to the local dirt jump spot to do some more 7D auto focus testing. This time I pretty much restricted it to AI Servo continuous AF, the most touchy AF with the Canon DSLRs. I've found it isn't nearly as good as I like with the 40D/50D and I've been hoping that the EOS 7D performs more like the 1D cameras in AI Servo. Cutting to the chase - the 7D AI Servo kicks ass. It's not perfect - not every shot is in focus. But if I shoot a blast of photos with the rider filling a reasonable amount of the frame, I can be very confident I'll have some nice sharp ones to choose from. And the success rate at the crux moment of a trick is excellent. Often the first and last of a burst aren't good. But that's ok - they're usually not the part of a trick you want, anyway. I am also pleased to find that AI Servo even works well with off-center focus points. That means I am can do a better job of composing in-camera and through away less pixels cropping in post-processing.

[Photo-John]

I also posted three series of five photos. They're bursts of some guys training for a cyclocross race, shot in AI Servo AF mode. I posted them at full resolution, not leaving out any frames. So you can look at them in detail and see how many were sharp and how many weren't. They aren't all good. Like I said in the dirt jump post, usually the first and last frames are soft. So if you plan for that and start and end a burst before and after the crux action moment, you should get what you want.


Canon EOS 7D AI Servo AF Test Gallery

Let me know if you have any questions about any of these auto focus tests. For me, the auto focus performance is the critical element of the 7D. That's why I bought it and that's where I'm putting the majority of my testing efforts.

[livin4lax09]

some sweet golden light in those shots.

Strangely, on my d300 and sigma 70-200 the first is almost always sharp, the second soft, and the third almost sharp. But I think that's a problem with the lens, not the body.