Hello, Canon 7D Mark II

So I've been looking at getting a semi-pro camera for quite awhile now, I was contemplating between getting one with a full frame sensor or one with an APS-C one. Full frame sensors have long been considered the "holy grail" of all sensors and have always been pretty expensive with a physical weight to match the price. But nowadays, cameras with full frame sensors are now made lighter and more affordable! There are now full frame cameras made by Sony, Canon and Nikon and I must say, I was pretty surprised at how affordable they are. 

I first looked at the Sony A7 full frame camera, and there was an ongoing Sony cash-back sale then. The camera body cost only about AUD$1,100. They also throw in a free lens mount so you can have more choices in lens. I thought the deal was pretty amazing. The camera felt great too, super small, just like my Olympus E-P5 micro four-thirds! But somehow, I've never really taken to Sony as a brand and although the camera felt awesome to shoot with, it somehow just didn't feel like it would be something I would come to love. Zero affinity with it. Love the cute metallic orange ring around the lens mounting area though.

I then had a look at the Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 6D. Both full frame cameras, but the 5D Mark III had better specifications and cost about somewhere in the likes of AUD$3,800 and the 6D was about AUD$1,800. Both cameras look pretty similar, but the 6D was lighter in weight. 

The price for the 5D Mark III was way over my budget and I had my reservations about the 6D because I read quite a few reviews on it being a so-so camera. Canon is also discontinuing the model soon. 

So anyway, I got some advice from a colleague and also from Mr. C who suggested that an APS-C might be better for the kind of photography I do. Anyhow to cut a long story short, I purchased Canon's flagship 7D Mark II that was just released yesterday. I went down to DIGIdirect on Adelaide St last evening and saw someone else purchasing it too, I was so anxious because I thought they'd sold out on it given how popular this model is, ha! 

Anyhow, please meet my new baby:

I got it in the Platinum Kit with the 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM lens, it made me AUD$2,868 poorer. An early graduation gift for myself, I say! #excuses.

I like this particular set of lens, 15mm is indeed pretty wide angle and the zoom range is fantastic too. You can see from my pictures below, the first picture is taken at 15mm and the second picture is taken at 85mm (I zoomed in at the buildings). It's pretty sharp even at the maximum zoom length. 

I am new on the Canon system and have yet to fully understand the ins and outs of this camera so here are some samples shots taken simply on iA mode:

MAD LOVE! The autofocus speed on this camera is ferocious, a speed demon. It can shoot 10 fps, I tried it and was so impressed. Pictures are very true to color, leaning in a little towards the warmer side but it still produces very wonderful pictures. On the Olympus E-P5, I have to tweak the photos quite some but these photos here are pretty much straight from camera, I only very slightly increased saturation.

I also took a picture of a running stream of water in my sink and was just totally blown away by the image quality of the Canon 7D Mark II.

The picture might be a little small here but I shit you not, air bubbles within the stream are visible! And yes, to pro-photographers this ain't nothing worth getting up for but to me, this is just so awesome! I was never able to do this before. 

Yay to Canon! Can't wait to take it out for a spin and see how it performs in low-light.

The disadvantages of this camera? It's fracking heavy! It's like a goddamn brick that can and will give someone a concussion if you smash it down on his/her head. The body itself weighs almost 1 kg and the lens is also about 1 kg. This is why mirrorless cameras are gaining so much popularity now, DSLRs are a total pain to carry about. I'm just waiting for the Canon 24mm f2.8 STM lens to be released in November 2014, it's a pancake prime lens that weighs a mere 125 g. It'll cut down the weight heaps. Best part? It is only AUD$188, can't wait!

This is my first Canon camera, and am loving it so far.