I upgraded to a Canon Eos 7D a couple of days ago so I’ve been out a bit more than normal giving it a good test. It’s a lot more robust and chunky feeling than my EOS 550 and a lot more solidly built, but at more than twice the price it should be. To be honest I actually prefer the more compact size of the 550. Picture quality wise I don’t think there’s much in it either, as you would expect having the same sensor and processor.

Where it does come into its own is on the Autofocus system which is far better than the than the 550. Focussing is even quicker and more accurate than the 550. Then there the frame rate up to 8 frames a second which is rapid, I remember the days when you had to wind the film on and **** the shutter with your thumb. It will be great for wildlife and motorsport. (lol its edited the word Co#k. don't they know it is a commonly used non-swear word)

To be honest what it does show is just how good the 550 is for the price. O.K the build quality may not be the same and although the focusing and frame rate are slower than the 7 they are still adequate for most uses.

So here’s some of the shots I’ve taken with it so far.

Whitehaven Harbour by mrhmclean, on Flickr

IMG_0546 by mrhmclean, on Flickr

IMG_0608 by mrhmclean, on Flickr

And a HDR one

HDR seascape by mrhmclean, on Flickr

Nice! Thinking of upgrading my 1000D to a 550D or 600D

Some good shots there!

First and lost shot are absolute crackers. I still use the 550D and right it is a cracking camera for the price.

Out of curiosity, why did you spend over a grand to buy the same sensor? Their results are almost identical.... http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/(appareil1)/645|0/(brand)/Canon/(appareil2)/619|0/(brand2)/Canon

As you've mentioned, the only thing you've upgraded are some body features such as faster continuous shooting, weather sealing perhaps? The images will be the same..... Nice shots though, very pretty and nice colours!

Out of curiosity, why did you spend over a grand to buy the same sensor? Their results are almost identical.... http://www.dxomark.c...side/(appareil1)/645|0/(brand)/Canon/(appareil2)/619|0/(brand2)/Canon As you've mentioned, the only thing you've upgraded are some body features such as faster continuous shooting, weather sealing perhaps? The images will be the same..... Nice shots though, very pretty and nice colours!

If I was just shooting my landscape then I would not have changed, as that’s normally single shoots or auto bracketing and manual focus and the 550 was perfect for that.

But shooting wildlife or sport the option 8fps over 3.2 gives you that much more chance of not missing that shot. When shooting wildlife the animals often hear the camera and react, this reaction can be turning towards the camera or bolting. I found 3fps was not quick enough to grab this reaction in a lot of cases and although I did get the initial shot I lost that reaction. For example if you look at the second picture of the sandpiper you can see water from the wave running off its tail, I probably would not have caught that at 3fps.

Also the autofocus system is much better; it has 19 sensors instead of 9. There are also 5 different modes in for arranging and select the sensors you wish to use. This results in faster more accurate focusing in difficult conditions.

I do go out in bad weather and although I do my best to keep the camera dry, and up till this point succeeded, other than a few drops of rain. You never know and having that extra protection from the elements gives me that peace of mind.

There are lots of other features like higher ISO sensitivity, a dedicated button to quickly change between RAW and JPEG formats and a dedicated start stop of video but to be honest I can’t see me really using them. I’m still working through the manual at the moment but there are several things I know I will be using though like remote firing on the flash.

If I was going to upgrade the image quality then it would be either an EOS 5 mark II at £500 more again with only 3fps and a poorer AF system or one of the EOS 1’s starting at £3200 and going up. I really pushed the boat out on buy the 7 so the 5 and 1 are out of the question.

At the end of the day the 550 are a fantastic camera and the fact that it uses the same sensor and processor as a camera twice its price shows just how good it is. However I was looking for that it more speed and versatility in the AF system and the 7 gives me that.

Edited 2 May, 201214 yr by harryweld

That's cool, I was thinking it must be some of the peripherals that you were after else there'd be no point! lol! My D300 shoots about 6fps I think which is quick enough for animals etc, but I don't actually use continuous much at all.. I probably should do! I'm seriously thinking of upgrading to the D800. Expensive, but it's basically the best camera on the market at the moment, the reviews are amazing and no one can fault it, so it's a no brainer haha! Either way my next step will be full frame, and the D800 is coming out better than the D4 even (for general use, obviously some people will need what the D4 offers over what the D800 does). Not a cheap hobby is it? Still, if it makes you happy then why not?

Edited 2 May, 201214 yr by Loz