I took out my new Canon 30D today in the field with my KM 7D. The Canon had a 400 f/5.6 and the 7D my 300 f/4.0. Weather conditions were actually pretty poor for shooting birds in flight but that's what I went after. Temps are 25-30 degrees, strong overcast, slight snow. I went to a local bird refuge to do the shooting. First shots were of circling gulls. The AF on the Canon worked very well at tracking the birds and the 5 FPS was quite nice. I don't normally shoot gulls and had a bit of a hard time with my panning since they kept coming so close. The 30D focusing noise is much quiter than the 7Ds but I do believe the actual firing of the shutter is louder. In this same situation I got the usual hunting on the 7D with only a few in focus shots. Both camera's operated in continuous AF mode with both center AF sensor tried and wide sensor array used. I also used the focus limiter function on both lenses. Both bodies required exposure compensation of around 1 step to capture the flying birds accurately.
I have been worried about the two different ergonomics but to be honest I can't really call one better than the other. I always liked the way Minolta did the AF sensor selection setup but in all honest the 30Ds is just as easy if not easier to select. Both cameras can be set up to adjust exposure compensation with a back wheel and aperture with the front wheel so it's a draw there. I didn't really notice myself limited by either viewfinder.
In cold weather my breath can fog up the 7D's back LCD making it hard sometimes to see what I'm addressing. On the 30D adjustments are viewed on a top LCD so not a problem. The Minolta 300's tripod ring is a much nicer setup, well damped with no play and the lockdown knob is places well. On the Canon 400 the tripod ring is removable but I don't like how it flops around when unlocked or the placement of the lockdown knob. The built in lens shade of the Canon beats the awkward shade on the Minolta 300.
So, just a couple of short cold hours shooting but for capturing birds in flight the Canon is a much better setup. I got more keepers in those few hours today than I did over the past 8 months or so with the 7D. So, for this type of application the 30D is superior. As I get more time I will do comparision of IQ and such also but right now I want to process the Bald Eagle shots I got today. I also want to reserve judgement until I've done a lot of shooting and get some time on a sunny day. Conditions were bad today for quality shooting.
1st processed shot from the day:
http://www.pbase.com/jhuddle/image/72054501.jpg
