Last time I talked about the physical features of the new 7D. This time I’m going to talk about some of its more advanced features, edging towards the final review, which will feature full sample images and conclusions.
One of the things that excited me most about the 7D was the built-in flash commander mode. Canon has been way behind Nikon in terms of flash system performance for some time now, and it’s satisfying to see that they’re finally catching up. Now, like it’s Nikon counterparts, the 7D’s built-in flash has the ability to communicate with multiple Speedlite flashes, all wirelessly. This communication covers all manner of uses – it transmits E-TTL II data, controls flash groups & power ratios, and can even control manual flash output. It can also be adjusted so that in addition to being the commander, the built-in flash provides working light as well.
Right now I only have one Canon Speedlite, but even so I’ve been able to use it wirelessly with success. Setting up the system is very easy, and once you start working with it, it’s addictive. For starters, there’s no more running between flash units to change settings. “Flash Control” is the top option on the My Menu screen (for me, at least), and all I have to do is go into the menu to change whatever settings I want. In the near future I’ll be adding two more Canon 430EX IIs to my kit, completely replacing my previous manual flash system.
With the advent of Strobist, there’s been a lot of talk about E-TTL flash vs. manual flash, and folks on both sides are quick to criticize the other. E-TTL fans don’t see the point in wasting the computing power in the equipment they’ve spent so much money on, and manual fans don’t like letting the computers do the thinking for them. Personally, I think that the answer lies in the middle – knowing now to shoot full-manual flash is a good skill to have, and will save the day sometime. But by the same token, we have E-TTL ability and we should use it. Not using it is like saying that we should us IS.
Next on the list is the fix of all bad attitude – the electronic dual-axis level display. Displaying on both the LCD and through the viewfinder, the attitude indicator shows pitch (up/down orientation) and roll (side to side orientation) to help ensure that the camera is truly level. This is probably not a feature you’re going to use very much when hand-holding the camera; even through the viewfinder, it would be somewhat cumbersome, and definitely distracting. But when the camera is tripod mounted, things really come into play. No longer do you need all sorts of bubble levels, now the attitude display does it all right in-camera.
The display really looks like an attitude indicator from the cockpit of an airplane, complete with gradation markings, for when you want one axis level but not the other. Any time that either axis achieves perfect level, the indicator bar turns green to notify you. Mounted to a tripod, this makes it very easy to quickly level out the camera – with practice, you could do it in under 15 seconds. The only down side to the system is that it’s touchy – you have to learn how much motion it takes to effect a smooth change in the readout, otherwise it can be jerky and a little frustrating. Canon warns in the manual that the readout is not absolute – an indication of level may still be slightly off, which is to be expected.
Finally, all you need to do is look through the viewfinder to recognize the vast improvements there. The new viewfinder shows 100% of the lens’ view, as opposed to the 95% of less views on past models. Five percent may not sound like much, but the difference is noticeable – the viewfinder is larger and brighter, both of which help make composition easier. The only trouble is, after years of being used to reduced coverage, you get used to the idea that there’ll be a little space beyond what you see in the viewfinder, leading you to compose your shots accordingly. You’ll have to retrain yourself for the 100% coverage, remembering that there is no buffer – what you see is exactly what you get in the final image.
