Need to be pushed from the 60d to the 7d or over the cliff...

I've been considering all options, including other camera manufacturers, to improve my equipment. I've taken some good shots with my 60d and 15-85mm, but the camera is a tad sluggish if there is movement, and consequently, in the absence of prep time, I am missing shots, or my keeper rate is very poor. Case in point, quail hunting with camera in tow, I'm taking some nice shots of the woods, some hand-held bracketed shots for HDR processing, and some still people shots, but horrible luck shooting the dogs at work and all the other action. I need the best of both worlds. I don't think IQ will improve that much as long as I use the same lens, but I am thinking I will be able to lock in better. One of the reasons other camera makes are on the table is that I feel a prisoner of the focal ranges available to me on a cropped camera if I want to go "L" and "IS". I don't have the funds to spring for a full frame (6d) and a 24-105. If I could go back in time, Mark II and the 24-105. Now my options are sell the 60d and off-set the cost of a 7d and continue to use my 15-85, or sell it all and go another direction, Pentax or Sony, in light of the in-camera IS. The 7d is long in the tooth but has had a sgnificant update. Any thoughts? I've drawn a bead on a 7d for $1,199 and my out-of-pocket won't be too bad.

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http://www.gloriography.com

People used to get those types of shots with manual focus and thumb wind, so I don’t think it’s necessarily the 60D that’s holding you back.  Having said that, it’s absolutely true that the 7D would be a bit more responsive, just not night-and-day better.

Full frame imo isn't your answer, I think you need a higher burst or faster lens.

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Cheers Mike

Yeah, the 60D burst isn't bad though, I suspect it's more lens than anything else??  The 85 f1.8 and 70-200's would be good, or the 400 f5.6, all of these are really quick AF lenses.  Technique is a big deal here too though, but without more information we can't help much.  Have any same shots to share OP?

IS does't help you with action shots.  You already have the best still life camera and lens - well it will not get better with FF and 24-105.

7d is for sports and wildlife- but is that what you do?

the photographer makes the difference.

three good lenses besides the 15-85

60 macro

100 L

70-200L

This shot is not sharp. Keep in mind I'm hunting and trying to grab a shot here and there...

I need to be able to shoot on the spur of the moment. I did have my camera set for burst. In the near future, I'll have grandchildren to track down. By the way, my primary interest is landscape photography, but again, I'm usually not able to take any kind of time to get prepared on vacation, etc.

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http://www.gloriography.com

shutter speed?

you need to be Ss 1/800 or higher for dog jogging

also need to be in aiservo.

can we see the exif?

I think you just need to reconsider shutterspeed and drop on the aperture and you'll be fine. Selecting your focus point might be an aid as well.

The dog is having fun!

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Cheers Mike

Nor should it be, as has been mentioned you need a MUCH faster shutter speed to freeze the dog's motion, or you could do it with flash (which has about 1/1000th fire speed, acting like a shutter, if you will).  f10 is soft on the 60D due to diffraction, try it between f5.6-f8 with a much faster shutter and you should get much better shots.

AI servo is the way to go as well do keep the focus tracked, if you take it one shot the time between acquisition and shutter release is sufficient that the dog will have moved off the focus plane.  Doing AI servo with single point or expanded (does the 60D do expanded??) and firing in bursts should help you out.

exif 0230

I admit I'm not as rehearsed in sports photography, which is what this was and what it required. We had no sun at the time and I was attempting to work with all the variables to get both the light and action captured, while at the same time march though knee high thickets. This was no NFL sideline! I appreciate the advice and want more.

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http://www.gloriography.com

Apart from all the comments and suggestions given, I'd like to point out the difference between the 60D and the 7D in terms of handling.  Have you compared how both cameras feel in your hands?  I realize that a lot of my hits and misses depend on how I am able to hold, handle, point, shift, tilt, grip my DSLR.  My fingers are a bit long but my hands are mid-sized.  The 7D feels much better on my hands than the 60D.  It feels much more secure in my hands even when I compare it to my 6D.

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JCC
"Photography is therapeutic."
http://www.pbase.com/joshcruzphotos

Pretty much convinsed you sort it without spending money.

f10 is kinda crazy imo.

Don't spend, read first.

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Cheers Mike

I was in Shutter Priority and did not select the aperature. Again, I was fiddling around. I am sure that I would have been better off in manual with careful selection of the parameters. Al servo needed to be on too. Really, maybe I needed to be on full auto in these conditions!

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http://www.gloriography.com

Shutter priority would have worked too if you set your speed a lot higher, I think.  You still run the risk of the camera selecting some crazy aperture/ISO combo if you are in auto-ISO.  If the lighting changes as you are shooting here I would use M+auto ISO personally.  Set aperture to f5.6-f8 and shutter somewhere pretty high, 1/500-1/800.

The 15-85 gets soft above f8.

but what you could do with this lens since it is sharp wide open is to put the camera in TV mode and shoot auto iso and dial in Ss of 1/800 in aiservo - then you'd get the shot if you put your center point on the dog and held down the back button - in custom function back button focus

I like the feel of the 7D yes. I like the 60d with the battery grip but took it off lower the weight I was carrying around. I agree, spending money might not be the answer. Frankly, I typically learn by failing and making adjustments the next time (experience is the best teacher). On the landscape side, I am pretty comfortable now.

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http://www.gloriography.com

No, M is the way to go imo. regarding the dog pic your gear can handle it.

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Cheers Mike

Thanks for all the advice. Hope I get the opportunity to do this again (quail hunt! I think my kill rate was about the same as my keeper rate!

Hey, grandkids move like these dogs do! Now I've got the settings.

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http://www.gloriography.com

This!