I agonized a long time about which camera to upgrade to, the Sony a77, the Nikon d7000, or the Canon EOS 7d. Well first off the Nikon and Canon had many thoughtful and detailed reviews. The Canon had reviews by relative beginners, and many advanced and pro users. The tipping point for me was Canon's high satisfaction rating by DPreview. ( 84% ). One big selling feature is, that it is made in Japan!, wow something made by the country that designed it. Not farmed out to cheap third world countries. That's big to me, it hits home considering all the jobs being lost to cheap labor these days. One thing that's important to remember, is, that the great quality lenses that were made in Japan, were made from the design to the finished product with strict quality control. That said, let's move on to the camera itself. First off, I took the advice of many reviewers that shunned the " kit " lenses. I got the body and the 15-85 mm Canon EF lens. Amazon got it to me in a blazing fast 24 hours. This camera is intuitive in it's layout and operation. I'm a guy, I operate on the premise, that, when all else fails, read the instructions. Well, this camers has so much going on, I finally did pull out the manual. Before I did that, I did some shooting around the house, both inside and out. Great results, I knew I had made a great choice. A few days later I took it out on trip shooting landscapes, which is what I shoot the most. The 15 to 85 mm zoom was exactly what I needed. I tried the auto modes, and although they do a good job, I preferred using the program mode. I used the landscape picture control. I had shot this area last year, but with this camera and lens, the color, the definition and overall look, was outstanding. When I looked at them on the computer, it looked like I was actually there. The way it cut through the atmospheric haze over the mountains in the background, was impressive. After that trip I started setting up the user controls until I had different setups for every possible scenario I might encounter. The combinations of user assigned functions makes this a great choice for advanced users. Of course, that's probably one of the reasons that you will buy a camera of this quality. On Christmas I set it up on a tripod and shot a series of pics from behind the coach with my wife and I close together with A Christmas Story playing. Using the self timer, I got the little guy aiming him air rifle on the big screen and the one with his broken glasses on, ( you'll put out your eye ). I used higher ISOs and shot in ambient light and got perfect results. I have a lot more to learn about this camera as with all of its control features it is has a long learning curve. This camera is built like a tank, it is no lightweight. When you pick it up it is noticeably heavier than the Nikon. I understand now, why so many people were thrilled with this product, it is a joy to use. Review by rayjazz
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