Canon 7D vs. T3i

[TheJozbo23]

I am going to moving to Canon DSLR's here soon and I have been looking at the comparisons of the 7D and the T3i. I really like how the 7D has much better fps, but besides that I didn't really see very big differences between the two. But I would have to think with almost a one thousand dollar difference there have to be some bigger differences.
Most of the shots I take are landscape, and portraits

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

The 7D is two steps above the T3i, in Canon's line up....the 60D is about halfway between them.
The 7D is significantly bigger then the T3i (and all the Rebels). It's made with a metal allow frame and more metal parts where the Rebel uses plastic. I've never seen a Rebel break apart, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue, but it's part of the reason for the price difference. Also, the 7D has very different body. The ergonomics are different, the 7D has more external controls (buttons & dials etc.) For example, in manual mode; on the 7D you have one dial for shutter speed and one for aperture. On the Rebel cameras, you have to press a button while turning the dial, to change the aperture.
I think the 7D has a bigger viewfinder with more display options.

Some of the biggest selling points of the 7D are the frame rate and the AF system. It shoots at a very fast frame rate, which may be good for action/sports, but otherwise may or may not be a feature that you would use. The AF system is the most advance that you will find in a Canon camera for less than $4000. It's much better than what is in the 60D or even the more expensive 5D mk II. That is a big reason why it costs more than the T3i or the 60D.

So if you mainly take landscapes and portraits, you may be better off choosing a cheaper body and putting that money toward good quality lenses.