Giving away a Canon 7D and 28-135 kit lens (+ a few extras)

[fjrabon]

So, I'm not shooting much professionally any longer, so I don't need a third backup body (I currently have a D600 and a D7100). I used to primarily use this 7D for sports with my trusty 70-200 f/2.8 L IS II. While I love that combo, I decided it was too great of a lens for me to justify keeping for a camera that I almost never use any more.

I sold the lens, so that is not part of the give away, lol.

What I am giving away is a well-maintained, but well-used Canon 7D and the kit lens. Also included: a Canon battery and an aftermarket charger and a couple of aftermarket batteries and several CF cards. I long ago lost the strap, box, etc. so none of that type of stuff comes with it.

I thought about selling it, as I think I could probably get around $400-$500 for the package, but, eh, I'd much rather help somebody trying to get started with photography.

This thing is built like a tank. It is absolutely as high of a build quality as *ANY* DSLR, at any price level, I've ever used. Its build quality is better than my Nikon D600, for example. It served me very well. It focuses fast and shoots like a demon speed wise. It is absolutely a pro-grade camera. And the kit lens is probably my favorite kit lens I've had, be it Canon or Nikon.

I'm giving it away, here are the conditions:

1) You cannot currently own a DSLR above "entry level" eg Nikon D3X00 series, Canon T3i, T5, etc. If you are confused about this aspect, please ask.

2) If you own one of the aforementioned entry level DSLRs, you must offer it up on TPF as a free giveaway if you get the 7D. Obviously this is irrelevant if you don't currently own a DSLR.

3) You must write and submit an essay on what your goals with photography are, why photography is important to you, why getting this would make a huge difference to your goals that you couldn't easily get on your own and finally what you hope to express with your photography.

4) You must submit in this thread 5-10 photos you have taken that you feel best expresses your style. Don't worry about image quality due to type of camera used. These images will primarily be judged based on content, composition and message, rather than image quality. Include your "portfolio" with the essay from step 3. Also include what camera(s) you currently own or borrow, cell phones, point and shoot, D3100, whatever.

The giveaway will end and a recipient chosen after 1 month or 50 completed, valid entries, whichever comes first.

How do you expect people to submit? On the public forum or private message?

Submit on this thread unless you have a really good reason you need to submit privately.

 

[DarkShadow]

wow. one-upped the ever loving snot outta me with this one!
good form mate, good form.

I am not so sure about this.How many times have you done this, a lot if I recall. Besides we all know you have this closest that leads to other closets wear gear is stored.

 

[Nikon Sean]

Let me first start by saying WOW!! I tend to look at the good in people and from time to time wonder why I even do it after being let down time and time again. What you are doing is way more then generous and I thank you for the opportunity to win such a camera.

Thinking of getting a camera before Christmas is when I realized I wanted to try and learn the ins and outs of photography. Realizing I have 2,000 photos on my phone helped me see that I liked recording memories and seeing the world through a camera.

My story starts a long time ago with 2 working parents whom both worked 2 jobs. For the most part I rarely ever saw them. At 15 my dad passed and mother moved onto bigger and better things(I guess) and was raised by my newly married sister and BIL.

Fast forward a decade and as a foreman of a construction company I found my beautiful wife who had a young son who I decided I could not live without and married her and adopted him. We moved to a new state right before my 2nd son was born and became a full time dad due to the cost of daycare. 4 years later my daughter was born and decided when she goes into kindergarten I will go back to work. Now I know I gave alot of background but it is part of why I am doing what I am doing now, and why I would like to get a job in the photography industry. I did not have much of a relationship with my parents so being a full time dad I get to see all of the great things my parents did not get to see me do growing up. I did not want them to turn around in any time of need or triumph and be alone. So what I am trying to say is, if I can work hard at my craft and get into a job with flexible hrs either on my own or through a company I could make sure I am always right by when needed and still express myself through photographs.

Right now I shoot with a Nikon D3300 and the 18-55 and the 55 to 300 kits lenses. Being able to get into a Canon 7D it will give me better means to do the photography that I love the most. 1- Get some great shots of the 3 kids growing up and all of the sports they do and adventures we take so they have something to remember from their childhood when they are my age. 2- Focus on the field I would LOVE to work in professionally which is sports photography. I would sell my current setup and get some quality lenses I would need.

Thanks for your consideration!!!!
Sean

87ers-March 2015 060 by geerlofsean, on Flickr

DSC_2728 by geerlofsean, on Flickr

Conowingo 2 098 by geerlofsean, on Flickr

Stars 001 by geerlofsean, on Flickr

cold day 012 by geerlofsean, on Flickr

DSC_0074 by geerlofsean, on Flickr

top107 by geerlofsean, on Flickr

Conowingo 2 015 by geerlofsean, on Flickr

 

[Life]

I really could use a new/different camera, as I find myself in that situation often, but I already have a D7100 haha

Awesome give away, congrats to whoever gets it!

 

[fjrabon]

I would sell my current setup and get some quality lenses I would need.

To clarify a point, any winner who currently owns a dSLR would need to offer it up as a giveaway on TPF.

I'd be fine with somebody in that scenario selling a second lens, but they'd need to offer up the body and kit lens as a giveaway, to keep up with the spirit of this. I'm not rich and I could have easily sold this thing to either pay for more gear or to pay taxes (doing lots of freelance work makes tax season a PITA). Otherwise, I think your entry was very strong! Let me know if that changes your desire to enter, no worries either way.

 

[RichEmmers]

I would Like to throw My Name into the hat for this drawing.

I have always wanted to take up Photography as a hobby, as it was something my late father did.

Well Life got in the way and i never got into it. I had a very bad accident back in 2006 and I have been unable to work since spring of 2007, so When ever I thought about it I would see the prices and it would look more and more like a dream. Well 3 years ago i got into aquariums and fish, as its a way to help me deal with pain since I cant take anything since I'm severely allergic to pain killers.

So I got one tank and then two and before you know it im putting tanks everywhere. I have gotten to the point that I have given complete set ups from 10 gallon to 75 gallon tanks to people to help them out and get started in the hobby.

Fast forward to today and I finally picked up a canon rebel dslr a few ago and I know its a paper weight to most of you but its a start for me.

The 2 main reasons I want to get into photography is my 3 boys play baseball and my daughter in gymnastics. The other reason is I want to to start taking pictures of the fish and corals I see in my tank and all the other tanks I come across while going to fish stores or to the homes of fellow fish keepers.

I have always been a believer of paying it forward and if i was to win this camera I would pay it forward with the camera I have now and also a bag and a extra lens. I feel deep down that taking as many photos as you can, will only help you remember the moment good or bad.

Thank you in advance and what you are doing is just remarkable

Rich

 

[fjrabon]

I would Like to throw My Name into the hat for this drawing.

I have always wanted to take up Photography as a hobby, as it was something my late father did.

Well Life got in the way and i never got into it. I had a very bad accident back in 2006 and I have been unable to work since spring of 2007, so When ever I thought about it I would see the prices and it would look more and more like a dream. Well 3 years ago i got into aquariums and fish, as its a way to help me deal with pain since I cant take anything since I'm severely allergic to pain killers.

So I got one tank and then two and before you know it im putting tanks everywhere. I have gotten to the point that I have given complete set ups from 10 gallon to 75 gallon tanks to people to help them out and get started in the hobby.

Fast forward to today and I finally picked up a canon rebel dslr a few ago and I know its a paper weight to most of you but its a start for me.

The 2 main reasons I want to get into photography is my 3 boys play baseball and my daughter in gymnastics. The other reason is I want to to start taking pictures of the fish and corals I see in my tank and all the other tanks I come across while going to fish stores or to the homes of fellow fish keepers.

I have always been a believer of paying it forward and if i was to win this camera I would pay it forward with the camera I have now and also a bag and a extra lens. I feel deep down that taking as many photos as you can, will only help you remember the moment good or bad.

Thank you in advance and what you are doing is just remarkable

Rich

Hey Rich,

Do you have any images?

 

[RichEmmers]

 

[RichEmmers]

 

[DarkShadow]

Welcome to TPF Rich. I Love the Bicolor Angle fish and Good luck with a chance to win.

 

[michaelpohl]

First off I want to say thanks for the opportunity! Whoever gets it is definitely going to be a pretty lucky person!

I've always had a little nick for photography, getting my first point and shoot at 4, and getting my first (and current) DSLR a little over a year ago(as a gift) (I just turned 18). I love capturing the moment and the activities of people. I love being able to see peoples faces light up when they see good photos of them. One of my favorites is being able to give people copies of them playing high school sports, most of which can barely afford to pay the $150 fee for joining the team, let alone being able to afford anything more then a cheap point and shoot and scans of the school pictures. If I can I like to even print them and hand it to them in person. I've been like a sponge trying to absorb everything I can, and didn't even waste time on auto. I've only ever had my camera in manual. Getting this camera would help out so much with my sports photos. I'm constantly struggling with focus on my T3i. Getting the 7D would make such a difference in my shooting. The focus points, buffer, and burst rate would be amazingly helpful. I would love to be able to work up to some better lenses/body but I'm still a senior in high school and spend a good majority of my day there in school on working on my yearbook (I'm editor in chief) and covering events for the yearbook since we have 1 kodak point and shoot that a parent donated after she upgraded (our cameras were stolen a few years ago and we don't have the money to get any new ones). I'm usually at my high school 3-5 days a week after school cover all sorts of clubs, sports, etc (this week alone I covered golf (Tuesday), baseball (Wednesday), softball (Thursday) and today and monday I was at other high schools for my internship with a local sports company (trying to get as much experience as possible). Not to mention the fact that I'm an athlete myself! I don't have time for a actual paying job. I do a portrait shoot here and there (last one was a month ago, and then before that was the first week of January) but only make a hundred or so dollars from that. I make $10 here and there when the local paper decides to use my photos for their high school write ups but that's only occasionally. All the money I get goes right back into photography and I have managed to buy a 50mm 1.8, subscribed to creative cloud and put enough aside to guarantee that I can pay for it each month, and paid for accessories like my case, memory cards, and a computer, since my old one had a e-300 precessor and 1gb of ram. Thanks for reading this, and thanks for your gesture!

Victor by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

IMG_6923 by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

Pittsburg Baseball by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

JV Football by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

Shelbi And Trevor 1 by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

Luis by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

2-Man Stunt Team by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

.50BMG Rounds and AR-50 Sun Bathing by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

IMG_0111 by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

IMG_9159 by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

 

[Gary A.]

Wow ... good stuff fjrabon! You need to change your nickname to fjmagnanimous. Wonderful gesture.

Gary

 

[fjrabon]

First off I want to say thanks for the opportunity! Whoever gets it is definitely going to be a pretty lucky person!

I've always had a little nick for photography, getting my first point and shoot at 4, and getting my first (and current) DSLR a little over a year ago(as a gift) (I just turned 18). I love capturing the moment and the activities of people. I love being able to see peoples faces light up when they see good photos of them. One of my favorites is being able to give people copies of them playing high school sports, most of which can barely afford to pay the $150 fee for joining the team, let alone being able to afford anything more then a cheap point and shoot and scans of the school pictures. If I can I like to even print them and hand it to them in person. I've been like a sponge trying to absorb everything I can, and didn't even waste time on auto. I've only ever had my camera in manual. Getting this camera would help out so much with my sports photos. I'm constantly struggling with focus on my T3i. Getting the 7D would make such a difference in my shooting. The focus points, buffer, and burst rate would be amazingly helpful. I would love to be able to work up to some better lenses/body but I'm still a senior in high school and spend a good majority of my day there in school on working on my yearbook (I'm editor in chief) and covering events for the yearbook since we have 1 kodak point and shoot that a parent donated after she upgraded (our cameras were stolen a few years ago and we don't have the money to get any new ones). I'm usually at my high school 3-5 days a week after school cover all sorts of clubs, sports, etc (this week alone I covered golf (Tuesday), baseball (Wednesday), softball (Thursday) and today and monday I was at other high schools for my internship with a local sports company (trying to get as much experience as possible). Not to mention the fact that I'm an athlete myself! I don't have time for a actual paying job. I do a portrait shoot here and there (last one was a month ago, and then before that was the first week of January) but only make a hundred or so dollars from that. I make $10 here and there when the local paper decides to use my photos for their high school write ups but that's only occasionally. All the money I get goes right back into photography and I have managed to buy a 50mm 1.8, subscribed to creative cloud and put enough aside to guarantee that I can pay for it each month, and paid for accessories like my case, memory cards, and a computer, since my old one had a e-300 precessor and 1gb of ram. Thanks for reading this, and thanks for your gesture!

Victor by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

IMG_6923 by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

Pittsburg Baseball by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

JV Football by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

Shelbi And Trevor 1 by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

Luis by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

2-Man Stunt Team by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

.50BMG Rounds and AR-50 Sun Bathing by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

IMG_0111 by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

IMG_9159 by michaelpohlphotography, on Flickr

What lenses do you currently own?

 

[Nikon Sean]

Sent you a message fjrabon

 

[michaelpohl]

I got my t3i with a kit lens (the 18-55 whatever) and I got gifted that 75-300 f4-5.6 which I think goes for like $100-$150, and I picked up a nifty fifty back in June.