Blizzard Makes Life Difficult For Wildlife

Gobbler Struts On Frosty Morning: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 500mm F 4

 In Southcentral Pennsylvania we usually have measurable snow fall before the rifle deer season is over and sometimes it is substantial, but this year there has been nothing but light snow squalls until late last week. Living was relatively easy for wildlife as the meadows were bare, deer could graze easily, and turkeys could move about freely. It was even common to see some of the birds strutting and gobbling, but this all changed when weather reports indicated a substantial blizzard was approaching on Friday, January 22nd and light snow began falling late that afternoon.

Snow Arrives: Canon 7D-24-105mm @95

By the time the snow ended on Saturday there was nearly 24 inches on the ground with much deeper drifts in spots.  It was not until Sunday that I was able to reach the area where I normally photograph and I only had the Panasonic FZ 1000 along as I was plowing snow with a tractor and had no way to transport most of my equipment.

Finally on Monday morning I was able to capture some shots of the deer contending with the deep snow.  It was very hard for them to move through it and they moved by a combination walking slowly or dashing for short distances and then pausing to rest.

Whitetails Struggle To Travel: Canon 7D 500mm F4

Only two days before, food was easy to find, but now the grass is covered and the deer mostly rely on browsing to survive.

Doe Pauses To Browse: Canon 7D 500mm F 4

Even though the snow is still very deep it has settled a bit and it seems the deer can move much easier through it now.  This morning I was able to capture a few more photos of deer dealing with the winter conditions.

Doe Browsing: Canon 5D MK III-100-400mm IS II@400mm

Young Doe Pauses From Feeding: Canon 5D MK III-100-400 IS II @263 mm

Most deer will likely survive the brutal weather if we do not get continually hammered with storms like the last one. As of now there are not any in the forecast and the weather has moderated considerably, but with that being said it is still likely that conditions are severe enough that deer with infirmities will perish before the winter is over.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Getting Acquainted With The 7D MK II

Well, I tried to withstand the temptation, but face it my main interest is wildlife photography and filming and I am almost as interested in the tools of the trade as in the actual filming and photographing, so at the end of the day I just had to try the new Canon 7D MK II that so many are raving about. It arrived late Tuesday evening--too late for any shooting.

Wednesday morning was the first opportunity to use the camera. There was no chance to micro-adjust it  with any of the lenses before pressing it into action.but this is no worse than using a camera that does not have the micro-adjustment feature so I went ahead and used it to photograph whitetail deer with the 70-200mm f2.8 L IS II.

Whitetail Doe: Canon 7D MK II-Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II @200mm - ISO 1600-1/400 sec.-f 4.0

On my way out to photograph that afternoon I used the camera with the 24-105mm lens to take some scenic shots and it worked well for this purpose.

 Canon 7D MK II-Canon 24-105mm f4 L IS  @24mm - ISO 100-1/25 sec.-f 8.0

It was brutally cold that afternoon, but nonetheless I set up the equipment and micro-adjusted the camera with the 500mm F 4.0 lens. As it turned out it needed to be adjusted -5, which is the same amount the 5D MK III requires with this lens

Canon: 7D MK II-Canon 500mm F 4.0

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Now it was time to try it on some wildlife and I turned my attention to the nearby bird feeder, where the usual assortment of winter birds was busily feeding.  As it was getting late and I was primarily interested in the low-light performance of the camera, I used ISO speeds ranging from 640--6400 and the ones posted today are taken at 1600 and 6400.  Also I shot with the lens completely wide open to verify if the micro-adjustment was successful.

Female Cardinal: Canon 7D MK II-Canon 500mm f 4.0L IS - ISO 1600-1/320 sec.-f 4.0

Female Cardinal: Canon 7D MK II-Canon 500mm f 4.0L IS - ISO 6400-1/1000 sec.-f 4.0

Experienced photographers will note that I could have  successfully used slower shutter speeds and therefore have used a lower ISO which should have given somewhat better images, but the reason I shot at the speeds I did was to get an idea of the cameras' potential at high speeds.  This is still not the best test of high ISO performance though as even very high ISO settings will likely look much better in better quality light than they do in murky, dim light. I also want to point out that all of the images with the exception of the scenic shot are cropped a moderate amount, which also influences image quality. 

The last photograph for today is one taken with the old 7D on the day before the MK II came.  This is in ideal light conditions and the photo is  cropped a moderate amount.

White-throated Sparrow: Canon Original 7D -Canon 500mm f 4.0L IS - ISO 1600-1/400 sec.-f 4.0

This post is not presented as proof of any particular point of view, but simply to show what I have gotten from the 7D MK II to date with a limited amount of shooting.  I  like the solid professional feel of the camera, the performance of the auto-focus system and the  image quality looks to be very promising.  I think the last photo does demonstrate; however, that good lighting and focus, etc. are more important than the features of the camera being used to take a photograph and that the old 7D as well as older cameras such as the 30D and 40D are capable of taking excellent professional quality photographs that are still competitive today.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Images From The 2014 Whitetail Rut and Camera Thoughts

It has been over three weeks since this blog was last updated and that has not happened since I began blogging in 2007.  This blog has always been issues oriented, but I find it increasingly difficult to write about this type of subject matter.  It is amazing how time consuming it can be just to write a short article about a controversial subject when one is striving for accuracy and objectivity.  With that in mind, I will limit today's post to sharing some photos from the recent whitetail rut and some thoughts on cameras for stills and video.

With all the talk of the introduction of the 7D MK II I decided to get the old 7D out of mothballs and use it for some long range work this autumn. It turned out that it  and the 600mm was an excellent choice to photograph this buck which was about 125 yards away.

Eight-Point: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm F4.0 IS L-ISO 400-1/2000 Sec. F 5.0

The buck had followed a doe into the meadow and I captured them both in another frame.

Eight-Point Buck and Doe: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm F4.0 IS L-ISO 400-1/2000 Sec. F 5.0

Of course it is always good to capture wildlife other than whitetails and an encounter with Eastern Wild Turkey gobblers is a rewarding experience and no before you ask I wasn't THAT close to the bird. The old 7D can stand up to severe cropping as long as the light is good and it is focused accurately.

Wild Turkey Gobbler: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm F4.0 IS L-ISO 400-1/2000 Sec. F 5.0

Why, you might ask have I even mentioned the 7D MK II when I have not even seen one yet, let alone used it?

I am mostly a video oriented person, but I love still photography also. Beginning in 1997 I used high-end prosumer Canon camcorders such as the L2, XL-1s, and XL-H1, but with the introduction of video in dslrs such as the Canon 7D, T3i, and 70D I found myself shooting more and more of my video with these cameras, although their video quality left something to be desired in many cases.  I saw footage from a Panasonic GH2 in 2012 and it was much sharper than that of the 7D.  This began a period of shooting video with both Canon and Panasonic cameras.  With the advent of the 4K Panasonic GH-4 I have shifted entirely to the Panasonics for video and recently acquired a fixed lens Panasonic FZ-1000 as a secondary camera to use when the GH-4 has a big telephoto mounted on it.  The downside is that the GH-4 is not as good as the old Canon 7D for still photography and the the FZ-1000 is a good step behind the GH-4.

Frosty Morning Buck: Panasonic FZ-1000-ISO 1000-1/100 sec. F 4.0

The thing about the small sensor cameras for still photography is that their image may look very sharp at a glance, but if one zooms in to 100% or higher in Photoshop it is  noticeable that they do not have the fine detail of the larger sensor cameras. With that being said, they are perfectly usable for many purposes including taking images for publication and they have the advantage of being very small  and portable in comparison to the Canons with the big prime lenses.

Now back to the 7D Mark II-- At this point I would not buy one for the video features as there is no flip-finder and no 4K video for starters, but this does not detract from its' appeal as a still camera.  I can understand why Canon does not put a flip LCD on the pro-level still cameras, but it is severely crippling to shoot video without one unless you use an external monitor and as of yet external monitors do not work nearly as well on the Canons as they do with the Panasonics. The main attraction of the 7D MK II to me would be low light performance comparable to that of the 5D MK III. Another point to consider is that technically an un-cropped image of distant wildlife from a 7D MK II sensor should have better detail than a 5D MK III cropped to the same perspective. I do not know, as I have not tried a 7D MK II, but after extensive use of the 70D and original 7D  I still cannot make up my mind if it is really worth using a crop sensor for stills over cropping the 5D MK III image more in Photoshop.

In closing I wish to emphasize that I discuss only Canon and Panasonic cameras here as those are the only cameras I own and  have experience with.  As to the 7D MK II, I look forward to seeing results from this camera and reading users experiences.  At this point it looks like I will not be an early adopter, and perhaps may never acquire one, but who knows?  It may become my favorite wildlife still camera.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Middle Creek 2014 Part I

Tundra Swans In Flight: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm F4 IS+1.4x extender-ISO 200-1/2000 sec. f 5.6

Originally I planned to spend several days at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area during late February-early March as this is usually the peak of the spring migration for tundra swans and snow geese.  As everyone knows the migration was delayed this year because of the severe winter and when the peak occurred the lake and potholes were still mostly ice covered.  I like to go when I can film the various species of ducks, so I waited until most of the ice was gone and  didn't go to Middle Creek until last Saturday morning, March 22nd, which meant that I missed the peak of the snow geese migration.  According to the PGC website there were about 60,000 snow geese and 5,000 tundra swans on March 17th with the number reportedly still about the same  on March 20th, but numbers plummeted over the weekend and were down to an estimated 6,000 snow geese and 2,500 tundra swans by Sunday morning, March 23rd.


There were quite a few tundra swans, snow geese, and Canada geese visible where Hopeland Road passes by the edge of the lake on Saturday Morning and many remained throughout the day.

Snow Geese and Tundra Swans: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm F4 IS-ISO 200-1/800 sec. f 11.0

 In mid to late afternoon snow geese congregated in a field just up the road from where the lake is near the road.

Distant Flock: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm F4 IS-ISO 400-1/1000 sec. f 11.0

Soon a large group of photographers and bird watchers gathered in that area and I joined the throng to get some close photographs and video of the flock.  This time I  concentrated on video and carried the Panasonic GH3 and GH2 the video tripod and carried the 7D with 70-200mm f 2.8 around my neck to use for flying shots.  I came to regret that I left the 600mm and 500mm in the car as there were some exceptional opportunities to capture the geese landing in the late evening light. I took several stills with the GH3 and the 100-300mm and it performed reasonably well. I love the perspective in the photo below as the geese were on top of a small rise in the field and I sat down so get a low angle which I think makes the birds more impressive looking.

Snow Geese Up Close: Panasonic GH3- Lumix 100-300mm f 4.0-5.6 @ 300mm-ISO 200-1/125 sec. f 11.0

I hoped the entire flock would take-off at once as often happens, but this was not to be or at least it had not happened by the time I left at sundown.  In several cases smaller groups took flight  and  I captured a few frames of this with the 7D and 70-200mm.

Lift-off: Canon 7D-Canon 70-200mm F2.8 IS II@ 70mm-ISO 400-1/2500 sec. f 5.0

With this the first day of the trip came to an end. I returned to photograph on Sunday morning,spent the entire day there on Monday and Tuesday, and photographed on Wednesday morning before leaving for home.

I plan to post more Middle Creek photos within the next few days.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

No Escape

We have had little snow or ice in my portion of southcentral Pennsylvania until very recently , while other parts of the state and nation have not been as lucky.  This changed in the last two weeks and today we are in the middle of the largest snowstorm of the season so far.

Wildlife Struggles To Survive: Canon 7D-Canon 17-40mm@40mm ISO 400-1/400 sec. f 8.0

It  is not an especially severe snowstorm, but it is still somewhat problematic for wildlife as the ground is covered with a few inches of snow from a previous storm that was saturated by rainfall and then froze. This formed a hard crust, which makes it difficult for wildlife to dig through the snow to find  food in the meadows or on the forest floor.

Mature Gobbler in Falling Snow: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 5000mm f 4.0  ISO 400-1/1000 sec. f 4.5

Mature Gobbler Close-up: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 5000mm f 4.0  ISO 400-1/500 sec. f 4.5

Winter is difficult for all wildlife, but it is especially hard on the whitetail fawns.  While we can go in warm houses to escape the bitter cold and snow, they cannot do so.  The fawn in the photo below tried to find what shelter it could by the side of a round hay bale.

Fawn Seeks Shelter:Canon 7D-Canon 17-40mm@31mm ISO 400-1/400 sec. f 8.0

 I fully expect this animal to survive the winter.  Although it is small it is extremely healthy.  In spite of this, I can"t help but feel pity for the animal that it has to face this type of weather with no where to escape.

Hopefully conditions will improve soon and life will be easier for the creatures of the great outdoors.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

More Whitetail Rut Images

Whitetail Buck Chasing Doe: Canon 7D-70-200mm f2.8 L IS II @70mm- ISO 400-1/640 Sec. f 5.0

I  spent most of November photographing the whitetail deer rut in Pennsylvania and Maryland. While I like to photograph deer at any time of year, the rut is an especially favorite time as the bucks are more easily visible and excitement can run high when they are chasing  the does--especially if a dominance fight occurs.  I did not get to either photograph or see a fight this year, but I did photograph several bucks with broken antlers, which were likely a result of fighting,  including the eight-point shown  below.

Eight-point With Broken Antler:  Canon 7D-70-200mm f2.8 L IS II @142mm- ISO 640-1/200 Sec. f 4.0

Buck Charges From Woods After Doe: Canon 7D-600mm f4.0 L IS - ISO 400-1/640 Sec. f  4.5

I couldn't be more pleased with the 600mm f4.0 that I started using this fall.  About the only downside to it is the weight and mass.  It comes in especially handy when photographing deer that are not as acclimated as park deer.  The lens especially paid off on the lip-curl photo below.  The buck was fairly close for a Pennsylvania whitetail, but the image is still heavily cropped to get the dramatic close-up composition.

Lip-curl: Canon 7D-600mm f 4.0 L IS- ISO 200-1/600 Sec. f 5.0

While I do prefer the 70D to the 7D in most cases, I have been using the 7D quite a bit for long range shots with the 600mm as the 70D is usually reserved for video use.  If possible I like to set up with the 600mm on a Gitzo tripod with Wimberley head and the 70D on a Manfrotto video tripod with fluid head. If the light level is low or the subjects are close enough I use the 5D MK III  with the 600mm to take advantage of its' superior image quality, but if the range is long and there is enough light I use the 7D body.

Mature Buck At Long Range: Canon 7D-600mm f 4.0 L IS- ISO 200-1/600 Sec. f 5.0

Pennsylvania rifle deer season came in on December 2nd this year and will go out at the close of shooting hours on the 14th.  Most of the bucks I photographed this fall are likely dead now as the rifles really hammered on the first day.  I began hunting as a teenager and was an avid hunter for most of my adult life with a special emphasis on deer. I quit hunting for any species at the end of the 1998 season and in fact all but quit at the end of the 1997 season, but that is a story for another day.  As it is I spend far more time afield than most hunters and have been out most of the daylight hours during deer season keeping close tabs on the local deer herd with my cameras close at hand.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Whitetail Rut Explodes

Mature 8 Point Lip-Curls: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm f4-ISO 400-1/400 Sec. f 5.0

The rut of the Whitetail Deer is now going full steam and I am seeing quite a few bucks while photographing in Pennsylvania and Maryland.  Unfortunately one of my favorite whitetail photography spots, Shenandoah National Park in Virginia,  has been ruined temporarily by the CWD study, which resulted in most of the mature bucks being fitted with collars.  The loss may be permanent with the specter of herd reduction looming on the horizon.  As a result most of the bucks I am photographing are smaller than the better ones that could be found at SNP in the past.

Photographing and filming the bucks as they check the scrape lines, and chase the does has been one of my favorite outdoor activities for many years.

Mature 8 Point At Scrape: Canon 7D-Canon 600mm f4-ISO 400-1/1250 Sec. f  4.5

I have been using the 7D a lot lately after a long period of letting it gather dust..  I now use the noise reduction tools in Photoshop CS6 Camera Raw  and Adobe CC rather than noise ninja and I have found that the 7D's low light performance is not as bad as I had thought, although it is not as good as the 5D MK III in that respect.  I now feel comfortable using it at ISO 800 and 1000 and will use 1600 in a pinch.  Some will want to know why I am using the 7D instead of my 70D.  The long and short is that I am using the 70D primarily for video as its' auto focus system works very good for video, while the 7Ds' does not.  I usually shoot with both cameras set up on their respective tripods and the 7D is used on the 600mm to take advantage of long range shots.  I do often use the 5D MK III in poor light or when the animals get closer and it is not hard to shift between the 7D and 5D MK III on the 600mm F4, but it is a hassle to tear the video rig down to use the 70D on the 600mm.  When the 7D is on the 600mm F4, I usually keep the 5D MK III handy with a smaller lens such as the 70-200mm IS II  mounted to handle the closer shots and at times I even use the 300mm f2.8.  This rig is used hand held unless conditions are such that I decide to dismount the 600mm and go with a smaller lens for my shooting and want the added stability of the tripod.

The next two shots were taken hand hand held with the MK III and the 70-200mm.  I still like to use a tripod when possible, but lenses such as the 70-200mm f2.8 L do work well hand held when one uses good shooting technique. I find that I get a high percentage of sharp shots while doing so, especially when using the 5D MK III.

 8 Point Chasing Doe: Canon 5D MK III-Canon  70-200mm f2.8  IS II@200mm-ISO 400-1/1600 Sec. f  5.0

 8 Point Chasing Doe: Canon 5D MK III-Canon  70-200mm f2.8  IS II@200mm-ISO 200-1/640 Sec. f  5.0

The rut should continue for at least two more weeks with some periods being more active than others, but the activity will crash with the opening of rifle deer season on the Monday after Thanksgiving if it does not wind down on its' own accord before.

Originally published at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

The Fawns Arrive

First Fawn of 2011-May 18th Canon 7D-500mm

 Last year I saw the first fawn of the season on May 18th, but I had not seen one this year as of Monday evening. Most of the does in the herd that I see almost daily give birth in early to mid-June with the majority being born within a few days of June 10th.  I noticed  sometime last week that one of the does that did have a distended abdomen, now had sunken flanks so I was expecting to see a fawn soon.  As it was growing late on Monday evening, I saw a tiny fawn walking with shaky steps from an area of tall grasses across a mowed area to the edge of the woods where it vanished.

In a few minutes a young doe approached and circled around looking at the edge of the woods with interest.  When she moved on, I cautiously approached with the T3i and video tripod.  There was the fawn--hidden in the weeds and grass at the edge of the woods.  After filming it, I took several still photos with that camera and the 100-400mm lens, before going back to my stand and getting the 7D and 500mm lens. 

First Fawn 2012: May 28th: Canon 7D 500mm

I saw a fawn in the meadow again last evening, but it was dark and spitting rain, so I only took video.  I will post a clip or so of this in the future as it was amazing to watch the interaction between the fawn and some of the yearling bucks.

This morning found me at the meadow again at dawn, I soon  saw a fawn nursing from a doe at the edge of the woods, but the grass was tall and I didn't get any photographs.  In about an hour I saw a fawn crossing the food plot, but it was too far for good photographs.

At 8:00 I saw a fawn emerge from the tall grass in another sector of the meadow.  This was close enough for good video and I filmed it for awhile and then began to work a bit closer with the 500mm and the 7D.  Just as I got to an acceptable range, the fawn dropped down at the border between a strip of grass and a food plot of oats, Essex dwarf rape, and clover. It was now to close for the 500mm so I carefully worked into position with the T3i and 100-400mm lens and filmed it from several angles, before getting into a head on position.  After I had enough footage, I switched to shooting stills and alternated between the 7D and T3i bodies. 

Young Fawn: Canon T3i 100-400mm at 135mm ISO 160

Many claim the 60D, 7D, and T3i have the same sensor, but this is not the case.  They all have the same mega-pixel rating, but there are differences and this has been confirmed by Chris Hurd who runs the premiere video discussion community on the internet today-- DV Info Net.  I have found the T3i to actually be a better video camera than the 7D, but the 7D beats  the T3i hands down for still photography.  This is mostly because it handles digital noise better, but even it is not that great at ISOs above 640. I recently installed a firmware hack called  Magic Lantern on the T3i in an attempt to improve its' video capabilities, and in my opinion it has improved the video functions of the camera immensley, but it also seems to have the added benefit of giving a smoother, more pleasing still picture as well.

What is "Magic Lantern", many will ask.  That is definitely a subject for another time, but suffice it to say it is not for the casual user nor the faint of heart.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill

Conowingo Dam-Bald Eagle Photography:Canon 7D

Mature Bald Eagle: Canon 7D 500mmF4

On Friday, February 19th, Coy Hill of Country Captures and I traveled to Conowingo Dam northeast of Baltimore, Md. to check out the reports of good Bald Eagle photographic opportunities there.

Conowingo Dam: Canon 30D-17-40mm

Coy Checks Out The 500mmF4-Canon 30D-17-40mm

While this is not the peak season for eagle sightings, we did see at least four different birds. One perched in a tree near a parking area for several hours, and gave several photographers the opportunity to take close-up portrait shots.

Photographing Eagle In Tree: Canon 30D-17-40mm

While I still use the Canon XL-H1 for most of my serious wildlife filming, I find that I am turning more and more to the Canon 7D DSLR for that purpose and I used it extensively on this trip. It does not have the long range ability of the XL-H1, but it does deliver beautiful footage. It is difficult to focus in video mode as one must use the LCD and it is difficult to see plainly in bright sunlight. I recently purchased the "Zacuto Finder" an add-on viewfinder which clips onto the LCD and makes it somewhat like a traditional camcorder viewfinder. This makes the camera much more effective in video mode.

Filming Eagle With Canon 7D: 100-400mm L lens, With Zacuto Finder

I hope to post either some sample clips taken with the 7D or a short film on winter wildlife in the very near future, which will use footage taken entirely with this camera.

For more Camera Critters photographs, Click Here!

Winter Cardinals With The Canon 7D

At times it seems there is a dearth of photographic subjects at this time of year, but then one has an evening when the light is beautiful and bird activity is excellent at the natural bird feeder. The biggest downside to this feeding area is that one does not see a wide variety of species.

Cardinals are very common, so for today's Camera Critters I am featuring three photos of these beautiful birds.

Female Cardinal

Male Cardinal

Female Cardinal Perched On Pokeweed

All photos were taken with the Canon 7-D and the Canon 500mmF4L lens. The female cardinals were taken at ISO 100, while the male was ISO 200.

For more Camera Critters photographs, Click Here!

A New Tool Arrives-The Canon 7d

It was basically a given with me that I was going to upgrade my DSLR battery when Canon introduced a camera in the class of the 40D that had the option to record HD video. This happened recently and I pre-ordered one so that hopefully it would ship soon after B&H re-opened from the Holidays. They were out of stock for a short time, but they got a new shipment over the weekend of Oct. 17th, and the camera shipped on Tuesday.

I am somewhat conflicted about getting a new piece of equipment as in many cases, it forces one to address a lot of issues until everything is working properly and one can actually settle down to using the equipment as a new tool for wildlife photography without having to dwell on the nuts and bolts aspect of the situation.

That being said, it was still a great thrill to receive the package from B&H last Thursday, but I restrained myself long enough to take it to my favorite photographic area for the ritual of pressing a new camera into service.

The New Arrival

I Can't Wait To Get My Hands On It!

Pristine Canon 7D-It Won't Look That Way Long With Heavy Field Use

While I do not expect this to replace the XL-H1 as my primary video acquisition camera, I do have hopes that it will enable me to shoot video clips at times I am primarily concentrating on still photography and am not carrying the camcorder. As a result some of my first tests of the camera were mounting it on a video tripod and shooting a few video clips.

Mounted On Bogen Video Tripod With Homemade Adapter

7D In Video Mode

It actually works reasonably well as a camcorder and I hope to post some clips, or a short film soon, but for today we will settle for a still image taken with it and the 300mm F4 Canon L.

Mature Easter Wild Turkey Gobblers

On the plus side, while this camera does feel slightly larger than the 40D, it has a "better" feel in the hand (I know that is entirely subjective-some may prefer the 40D). The viewfinder is brighter and overall more pleasing to look through, while the LCD is much sharper enabling one to evaluate the quality of a photograph much more readily. The camera is 18 mp, vs the 10.5 mp of the 40D.

I previously hinted at a downside and there always is one-at least from a financial standpoint. In this case there where three problems, some of which have easy work arounds. I shoot in Raw and there is no upgrade to CS3 to handle the 7D files. There is a method to convert them to DNG by the free DNG converter, but this creates an extra step and raises some concerns, so suffice it to say I did upgrade to CS4, which was another $200.oo.

The video editing program cannot handle the video files without converting them to an intermediate codec, so I had to upgrade this aspect of my editing software, which was actually quite reasonable at $70.00.

This is not the major problem, however. My Photoshop computer is an old Dell 2400 with Windows XP, which can only handle 1 GD of RAM. This worked very well with CS2 and The Canon 10D files, which were only 6.3 mp. Things really slowed down when I went to the 40D, but the system was still usable. I installed a trial version of CS4 soon after it came out and found that it slowed things down even further, so I did not purchase it.

The bottom line is that I need a much more powerful desktop. As a short term solution, I installed the CS4 on my Toshiba laptop, which has the Vista 64 Bit operating system, 4GB of memory and a 2.3 GHz AMD Turion Dual Core Processor. This system handles the 7D files and CS4 quite well, but I really don't like using a laptop for my serious photo editing.

Look for more photos and some video clips, hopefully in the near future as I explore the features of the 7D under field conditions. At this point in time, I am very impressed.