James,
well, I already knew I liked it. You can't spend 2 weeks, 6,000 frames of dog show photos and another 1,000 frames of scenics as we did in Colorado last year and not get a good feeling about the camera and the quality of its files. But I never really had to use all the features nor to test out all the different ways the new focusing system allowed you to use the one-shot and AI Servo modes. Canon really did a good job of upgrading the focusing system to make the 7D a better sports camera. It's not a 1D series but it's perfectly adequate for what I do.

Plus, the difference between the Digic 4 processors and the Digic 3 in the 40D is huge. While I basically shoot RAW most of the time, the jpegs coming out of this camera are very, very nice. And finally, it appears that Canon got much better high-ISO performance out of this crop sensor than they have with any other Camera. I realize the 5D and the 1D series probably have lower noise due to sensor size but the 7D gives me at least 2 full stops of high-ISO shooting with easily-controllable noise. Which is great for indoor environments like the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship and Westminster.

In short, it's a better camera than the 40D. And I haven't even tried the video yet. Maybe this weekend.

Jim