# I'm loving my 7D



## griz (Jan 9, 2006)

I've shot the 7D a few times now and it never ceases to amaze me. Changed a setting on the autofocus set up and now my rapid fire sequences are nice and in focus. Amazing camera perfect for the kind of shooting I like.














































The hybrid rig I built for video is working great as well. Its a shoulder rig with a Blackmagic Hyperdeck 4:2:2 prores recorder Tascam audio recorder and mounting for either the 7D or a panasonic TM700 that I have. Doesn't use the camera other than for a sensor. I don't even hit the record button on the camera. 10 channels of sound available. Minimum compression about 4:1 or no compression at 18 minutes per 128Gig SSD. All other modes get about 70 minutes for 128G. Pop them out of the recorder and into a hot swap box and begin editing. Its so nice after enduring the age of capturing your video 

Griz


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## Shaky (May 21, 2004)

Incredible detail on your shots! What lens setup are you using?


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## griz (Jan 9, 2006)

*The Tamrom*

I used the Tamron A005 70-300 that I won last year for a photo I shot in Utah. I shot most everything at f10 and they averaged about 1/2000 for exposure. Av mode. The 7D is awesome on focus and speed of shots. Can't beat it in my view.

Griz


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## griz (Jan 9, 2006)

*A few more*

Just a few more that I found last night.





































Still barely scratched the surface so if yours isn't in this batch don't fret.

Griz


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## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Great pics, Congrats!


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## Seeker (Jul 6, 2009)

Great Pics!


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## Seeker (Jul 6, 2009)

What auto focus adjustment did you make?


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## griz (Jan 9, 2006)

*Its for hi speed continuous*

I changed it from focus on the first shot to focus between all of them on a continuous shoot. I was getting some out of focus in the sequence but after I changed that they were all in focus in a sequence. I have some that cover a long jump that are all right on the money. I used AI servo and AF point expansion. I also have it set up to use the back button instead of the half shutter to do the metering. Yea they move quick. Much faster than 1:1 cars. In fact if you want to shoot big cars go shoot these for a few weeks and the real cars will move in slow motion to you. I was pushing the iso to get the fastest shots. Went a little overboard on a few of them but the LR noise filter took care of that. Its still a new camera to me haven't even finished the manual yet so I might change a lot of settings before its over.

Griz


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## griz (Jan 9, 2006)

*Here is the URL for all the pics*

Ok I changed my photo blog script. The new url for photos is www.promofo-racing.org/Photography. I think you'll like the new look.

Griz


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## Seeker (Jul 6, 2009)

I like it. Thanks for the update. I will start playing with these features on mine to see if I can get the same results. Great shooting once again. How do you put your logo on your pics?


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## griz (Jan 9, 2006)

*Just make a transparant background*

I used Photoshop elements to make a transparent background on a pic of my logo. A bit of a pain to do the tools don't automatically get around a logo especially one with letters and flames etc. But with a little patience you can get it done. Then I just brought that in with Lightroom. The export panel has a place for watermarks graphic or text.

Griz


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## griz (Jan 9, 2006)

*This is what I built for the 7D*

I built this rig for my 7D and any other camera that has clean HDMI output. Consists of a Blackmagic Design Hyperdeck SSD recorder and a Tascam DR-07 96Khz 24 bit stereo recorder. The parts for the rig I sourced from Jag35 and Hondo Garage. The EVF (electronic view finder) is from smallHD. They make some incredible small HD monitors and EVF's. Their Oled's are awesome. The monitor and recorder are made with pass through so you can hook it up either way. I don't really notice the tiny bit of lag if I go to the recorder first but I usually have it set up to go through the EVF too the recorder for the least latency.










There are plenty of gotchas to building one of these DSLR rigs. Just little niggling things. I bet I took that thing apart and reassembled it 500 times before I got everything to fit just right. But its a lot of fun kinda like tinkertoys (I'm dating myself right there  ) Getting clean HDMI out of the Canon cameras is pretty straight forward via the Magic Lantern firmware additions. They are almost done with the 7D port. I'll be using the 7D to do my videos at that time. I wanted to go with just a loupe for a viewfinder but Canon shuts down the rear lcd as soon as you plug into the HDMI so an EVF was necessary. And actually I'm glad now that I have used the software that comes in the monitor for focus and the false color for exposure. It also has 1:1 mapping for critical focus work etc. Pretty complete software package even on their least expensive DP4 which is what I have. The Hyperdeck does uncompressed or lightly compressed (about 4:1) ProRes 4:2:2 or Avid DnXHD. I like the ProRes better but not much difference in the two. You download the codec you want to use into the Hyperdeck with a utility they provide. After that its just pop in a SSD capable of the speeds necessary and you are ready for some awesome video recordings. A 128gig SSD will get you 70 minutes or 18 minutes if you are doing uncompressed. Has HDMI and SDI in-outs.

Here is a video I just put together using the rig and ProRes encoder with a Panasonic TM-700 HD video camera.

http://www.promofo-racing.org/video/RCHQ-330-13/RCHQ-3-30.html

Takes a little bit to buffer. The stream is pretty fat right now. Experimenting with how fat I can make it and still not be too offensive with the initial delay. I reduced the Group of Pictures length to 30 from 250 so there are many more complete uncompressed frames in the vid. Makes it a fatter stream but you retain more color and detail.

If anyone out there is thinking about diving into the DSLR rig world shoot me a message and I'll fill you in on the pits to avoid.

Griz


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