A New Camera

I have finally upgraded to a new camera body. I have been shooting with a Canon EOS 7D for a long time now, well… a long time for me. I only hold onto a camera body until the new version of it comes out, then I sell the old one and buy the new one.

I started with inexpensive point-and-shoots, I never owned a film based SLR, and worked my way very slowly up to where I am today. I had the Canon 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, and 7D. Out of those only the 20D and 40D were really great cameras for me, those two cameras did everything I wanted at the time and produced images that made me very happy. The other cameras were lacking in some significant way, that is not to say they were bad or that I did not create some great pictures with them, but they did not make me want to get out there and take pictures every day that I owned them.

I have been stuck with the 7D for a long time now waiting for Canon to come out with a new camera in the “less than $2,000” range. After going to the “Image” conference recently, I don’t think they will be coming out with a replacement for the 7D for some time. Maybe not this year. That makes me very sad. For me, the 7D kind of sucks.

Intellectually I know the 7D is a great camera. It has a ton of awesome features that make it the perfect camera for a lot of photographers. But I don’t like the quality of the images that come out of it, they feel extra “grainy” and “gritty” to me. Its not really noise, I am not sure what it is. But I prefer images to have a “smooth” and “creamy” feel to them while being tack sharp. When I take a picture using the Canon 70-200 2.8 L IS lens at f2.8 and ISO 200, the out of focus background should have a creamy smooth bokeh, and I do not feel like the 7D gives me that type of result.

I am lucky enough to have married someone who not only appreciates me, but also appreciates the photographs I take and enjoys taking photographs herself. For Valentine’s day this year she helped me work out a way to finally upgrade from the 7D to the 5D Mk III.

Financially moving from the 7D to the 5D Mk III is a big step, for us it was not an easy one. I actually thought of selling my motorcycle, which my wife and I both really enjoy, just to get out from under the 7D. But this year we have been really blessed and the upgrade was possible without having to sell anything. I am very grateful for my wife’s understanding and feel more blessed than I can express.

I am really looking forward to using the 5D Mk III this year.

Soon-ish I will have another post about the features that I think make the 5D Mk III a great camera followed later by a post about how it has performed for me.