Torn Between 70D and 7D

[SpiderRyno]

So all summer I had been waiting to upgrade from my t3i to a 7D, I had been saving pulling money etc. anyway, now they released the 70D, and i've only been into serious photography for a year and a half now. I know the benefits of a 7D(shot with it for a while, borrowed.) Yet, just when I was aobut to purchase it, the 70D comes out of nowhere and I start reseraching, and save the AFpoints, it seems that the 70D is jsut as good, if not eventually better than the 7D(one the mark 2 comes out). I'm unsure, and torn as to which one I should get. I eventually am going to upgrade to 5D mark 3, or that's the hope. At the moment though I'm a college student, so saving that much is hard.

her's a few things I'm considering(the 1 FPS difference doens't matter so much to me.) 

1.Racing

2. Basketball

3. Football

4. portraits

(Top 4 things I shoot)

I also shoot low-light soemtimes, i know the ISO on the 70D(from what I heard) seems to shoot better. though I mean basketball is basically daylight inside. 

Any advice would be great. 

[cicopo]

It's a tough call because many of us know how the 7D did at various venues but from the things I've read the 70D may do better but that remains to be seen. If & when the 7D mark 2 (or whatever it will be called) is announced there will be a wait for it to hit the shelves & based on past pricing it will be considerably more expensive than the current 7D. I'd hold back & watch the real world reviews for a bit. 

[SpiderRyno]

That's what I've been hearing about the 7D mark 2. I am holding out for it, hopefully it will be a bit cheaper. 

I've read reviews, what I really wish is that Canon would give more info on how it does with stills, since they've been pushing more video when it comes to the 70D

[ebiggs1]

If I woke up this morning, in your shoes, with the same conditions, I would keep saving and buy the 5D Mk III.

Keep using your T3i until then.

Neither the 7D or the 70D compare to a 5D Mk III.

But if you can't wait, I understand, the 70D is more "Rebelish" and the 7D is more "pro". You decision may come down to whether you need the extra build quality of the 7D or the more advance features of the 70D. In this vein, I would opt for the 7D. And if the 5D Mk III is still in your future, the two cameras are very similar and will feel nearly the same in your hands and operation is nearly the same.

[cicopo]

Looks like POTN has a users thread so I'd do some research there but as always bear in mind many praise what they own (to justify why they bought it) while others bash what they haven't taken the time to learn how to use properly. You need to get a feel for who to believe at any forum that's new to you but it's all part of the research process.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1324226

[diverhank]

You have a tough choice to make...no matter what :).  

Realistically...I see little reason to get the 7D at this point.  The only big advantages the 7D has was the build (magnesium alloy), larger viewfinder, 1 fps faster, lens microadjustment and that's about it.  The 70D advantages are many...

1. 70D is cheaper and lighter

2. 70D has wireless - wireless tethering to tablets is so cool...great for portraiture.

3. SD cards are cheaper 

4. Articulating screen is cool for many people

5. Touchscreen is very convenient

6. 1 stop higher ISO, slightly higher mega-pixel sensor

7.  Video auto-focus is full time 

8. Built-in HDR (I'm not excited about this if it's like the 5DMk3)

My only worry is if some of your lenses front or back focus, you'd be wishing you had the 7D micro-adjustment feature.  Other than that...the 70D is a clear winner, imho.

[SpiderRyno]

I have read various places that the 70D actually does have Micro Adjustment. I'm assuming that' a huge thing at least according to what you said. I'm starting to think I have a more clear cut answer. 

[diverhank]

I stand corrected, the 70D, unlike its predecessor the 60D,  does have microadjustment so all the more reason.  The 70D also has 19 point AF which is the same as the 7D... The microadjustment is huge only if you need it.  I use micro-adjustment for 2 of my 6 lenses (my 24-70mm f/2.8L II and 100mm f/2.8L needed adjustment).  In the case of the 100mm, it changed the lens result from so and so to awesome sharpness since the DOF is so shallow in a macro...just a tad off in focus ruins everything.

The 70D is a clear winner.

[cicopo]

Another thread on the 70D here which may be helpful too once it gets going.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1237991

[SpiderRyno]

I decided to just go with the 70D, the manual focusing is weird... or it could just be my lens... as for the only downside, Photoshop doesn't read the 70D's raw files yet I hope they fix this soon.. if not I'm not sure what I'm going to do, I hate editing in JPEG