In 2019, I wrote about how I would never give up on a full-frame DSLR. Back then, I complained about mirrorless cameras having weak bodies and mediocre autofocus. Today I ate crow meat.
It came to me through some flirting with mirrorless cameras from Olympus, Panasonic and Fuji. Then Canon’s M system worked well and finally the R system came along with its release R5 And R6, two cameras that combine the controls and menus of Canon’s DSLRs with the added usability of mirrorless autofocus, which has come a long way in five years via. I switched to those cameras in 2022 and I haven’t regretted it yet, especially when it comes to sports photography.
But the other day I found myself filming back-to-back lacrosse games with my students and one of them needed a camera. I lent them my mirrorless camera and then pulled my old 7D off the shelf and stuck it in a mirrorless camera. LP-E6N has a battery so I have something to shoot with. It’s been a long couple of years for me and DSLR cameras in any serious photography situation. So how has the OG 7D performed 15 years after launch? Will DSLR cameras still be useful for sports photography in 2024 or has mirrorless technology surpassed it?
Differences and similarities
For anyone new to photography, the camera can always focus on the eyeball and track it through the frame. There are always hundreds of autofocus points scattered across the frame, and you can tap the screen at any time to select one. And there’s always a way to simulate your exposure in the viewfinder, something a DSLR’s optical viewfinder could never do because of the live view through the lens.
While DSLRs lack these features, the body design is largely unchanged, with large dials at the back and front for adjusting settings and familiar-looking menus (though there’s no touchscreen). corresponding to 7D).
The 7D has 19 autofocus points spread across a large, focused frame. It was a system that matched the top APS-C cameras of the time. Of course, that’s nowhere near the R6’s 1,053 autofocus areas and almost 100% coverage across the entire frame, with eye- and face-tracking autofocus.
So I’ve been quite spoiled lately. With solids Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens and R6, my hit rate has been close to 100% in most outdoor sports in fairly good lighting conditions. If I miss, it could be pilot error. Focusing on a mirrorless camera is completely off the sensor, so if it looks like it’s in focus in the viewfinder, it really is in focus.
Going back to 7D is a regression. Phase-detection focusing, separate from the image sensor, typically records some focus point in the viewfinder with its focus tracking feature, but things are often more than just a hair’s breadth. In a way, it wasn’t enough for me to make noise in 2009, but in 2024, cameras have gotten so good that expectations are higher. This is one that I would say is “OK” by modern standards.
Not something I worry about on the web or social media, but enough to give me pause on large print formats.
That said, it can also focus very sharp at times:
This brings nightmares when having to micro-adjust the lens on a DSLR to compensate for the front or back focus that the body and lens combination can develop. As a product that has been on display for several years and probably hasn’t had any service before that for some time (I bought it used a few years ago), it’s probably in dire need of some adjustments in the area This. Something I never wanted to do again so I didn’t.
Are there any other differences?
Using a DSLR feels surprisingly good. There’s a heavy and substantial feel to the camera body, even on the lower end like the 7D. While I have no desire to pull one 1DX into the scene again, there’s something about the view through the lens and the gentle slap of the mirror as the camera takes the picture.
In some ways, mirrorless cameras are similar to what Apple often does, in that features are introduced that you didn’t even think you needed. Back in 2009, I didn’t think I would need more than the 19 autofocus points the 7D has, let alone face or eye tracking. I think it’s completely unnecessary to simulate exposure when I’m yelling at my kids to get off my lawn.
But as time has passed and as exciting as returning to 7D has been, the results speak for themselves. We had it good back then, but now we have it better. Much better.
