Welcome to the Canon 7D / 550D / 5D Mk II Resources Site

It's been awhile since the Sept 2009 launch of Canon's EOS 7D camera, plus it's little brother the Canon 550D (Rebel T2i). Since then various fans (and haters) have posted reviews, video samples, and even full production clips online. This web site tries to bring all of those together, except the haters. No more crazy pull downs, just move the .MOV files into your favorite NLE video editor and your set to go!

Ethics statement: A lot of our work posted here is done for free and our tutorials are done for free. We love sharing our passion for photography and film. Yet the domain names, marketing work, and some of the equipment we need have to be paid somehow; hence, you may see the product links on here directly going to our partners that's asked us to be partners. This includes but not limited to Amazon, BHPhotovideo.com, and others. Thank you for helping us keep the site up!

If you are trying to go to the Camera 7D forums, please access http://groups.google.com/group/camera-7d-group-camera7dcom. It's hosted on Google Groups. We are also on Facebook, what you read here is posted on our fan page. Or you can follow Don on Twitter.

Affordable steady cam Ultra 4K HD - DJI Phantom 3 Professional review

We've found a new "steady cam" that allows you to fly in the air and use it indoors as well handheld. Notice these test shots inside an actual wedding where traditional videographers have to load up several pounds of equipment just to have stabilized video. With the DJI Phantom 3 Professional, you can get 4K video with minimal hassle.

Pros

Portability

It can fly!

4k resolution / decent Sony sensor

Can act as a steady cam!

Cons

Needs better instructions on initial setup/initial firmware upgrades.

No internal audio to synch with.

Questions or thoughts? Join us on the forums.

Affordable aerial videography - Parrot Bebop test footage

Recently, Don Sausa got his hands on the Parrot Bebop minidrone, and flew it out when the sun started shining. This is raw test footage with no post processing done. Initial thoughts with this new tool are as follows:

Pros

It's affordable; makes aerial videography accessible

1080p resolution, 14MP

Very easy to setup

Two batteries included

Stabilization

Cons

Automatically changes exposure; challenging for low light environments

Video sometimes "twitches"

You can see the real benefit out of this in terms of real estate projects, wedding photography, and a new fun toy for prosumer hobbyists.

Questions or thoughts? Join us on the forums.

Canon USA shopping code for New Year

Canon is offering a discount code for its Canon USA Store.  This is the code below and can be utilized at this link: shop.usa.canon.com

Questions or thoughts? Join us on the forums.

Canon 7D v2.0 firmware - new audio controls and burst speed

Canon recently emailed us the latest firmware details for Canon 7D, now with manual audio controls! Wow! Finally Canon!
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This service notification e-mail contains important information about your Canon EOS 7D digital SLR camera. Please note that product service announcement e-mails contain advisory or informational content that may be critical to the proper operation of your product, including safety, update, and instructional messages. Please carefully review the information in this e-mail as it relates to your Canon product.

Thank you for using Canon products.

Canon has released a firmware update for the EOS 7D digital SLR camera.

Affected Products:
EOS 7D Digital SLR Camera

Details
Firmware Version 2.0.0 incorporates the following improvements, new functions, and fixes.
Improves maximum burst during continuous shooting.

JPEG Large/Fine : About 94 (126) bursts *1) → About 110 (130) bursts *2)
 RAW : About 15 (15) bursts *1) → About 23 (25) bursts *2)
 RAW+JPEG Large/Fine : About 6 (6) bursts *1) → About 17 (17) bursts *2)

*1): The figures are based on Canons testing standards (ISO 100 and Standard Picture Style) using a 4 GB card. The figures in parentheses indicate the number of shots that can be taken with an Ultra DMA (UDMA) 4GB card, based on Canons testing standards.

 *2): The figures are based on Canons testing standards (ISO 100 and Standard Picture Style) using an 8 GB card.

The figures in parentheses indicate the number of shots that can be taken with an Ultra DMA (UDMA) 128GB card, based on Canons testing standards.

Supports a new accessory, of the GPS Receiver GP-E2.

Adds a maximum ISO Auto setting function.

Adds an in-camera RAW processing function.

Adds a Quick Control function during playback.

Adds a rating function.

Adds a JPEG image resizing function.

Adds a sound recording level manual adjustment function.

Adds a file name setting function.

Adds a time zone setting function.

Faster scrolling of magnified images.

Fixes a phenomenon where a slow shutter speed may result when an external flash is used to fire intermittent, consecutive flashes.

Corrects the color space information in the Exif file for movies.

Questions or thoughts? Join us on the forums.

When a CPS photog travels to typhoon disaster zone!

Disaster Zone Equipment List

Don Sausa, a Camera7D.com contributor, traveled to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City, Philippines to help document the humanitarian crisis there. Here's his quick short list of what he brought with him:

You can his stories / web galleries here:

1. Aid groups and military mobilize in relief efforts - Cagayan de Oro
2. Typhoon victims mourn and attempt to Rebuild

Camera and lens:
* Canon EOS 1D Mk II
* Canon EOS 7D camera
* Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS lens - For close-ups or hard to reach subjects
* Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L Lens
* Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L Lens
* Vivitar 7mm fisheye lens for Canon EF

Camera storage, misc gear, tripod:
* LowePro camera bag
* Tamrac TR406 ZipShot Compact Ultra-Light Instant Tripod - For quick stability/P&S opportunities
* Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro Tripod Legs
* Camera vest
* WD 1 TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive - Backup all my images in the hotel. I don't remove them off the CF cards until I get home.
* Various 32GB CF cards + external CF card reader
* Extra batteries for cameras
* Lens cleaning kit

Videography tools:
* Stanley 3-in-1 Tripod LED Flashlight - Helpful for emergency lighting needs.
* Azden WMS-PRO Wireless Microphone
* Rode SVM Stereo Condenser Microphone
* Canon Speedlite 320EX Flash for Canon SLR Cameras - Canon flash unit with video light.
* ePhoto Shoulder Rig + Follow Focus

Special / Medical
* Press badge
* Notebook/pen
* Antibiotics
* Tylenol/fever reducer
* Class II ballistic armor for bag

Communications
* Samsung Galaxy Tab (unlocked) - I convert to a wireless Internet router using 3G networks.
* Blackberry 8900 - Work emails. Always on the go.
* Dell Studio laptop for image editing.

Questions or thoughts? Join us on the forums.

Software review: FolderClone a near virtual RAID solution

I experienced my worst nightmare the other day.

Recently I lost a terabyte worth of images and video on my Seagate 1 TB external USB drive. Thankfully, I have multiple copies of my media but there were still some images that I failed to properly backup. This is mainly because I forgot to copy it to my network attached storage drive (NAS). However, there's hope after this learning experience.

After I searched through the Internet and read some great reviews from CNET, I found FolderClone, which allows me to select a source directory and it will automatically copy any new data in that source directory to my target drive automatically. I can set it to run every few minutes, every hour, once a day, once a week, and everything in between. It is a virtual RAID like solution; however, without having the hassle of duplicating everything and I can selectively choose which directories to copy.

Questions or thoughts? Join us on the forums.