Is the 7d considered "Consumer Grade"?

[DisasterDan]

I wasn't too sure where to put this so my apologies if I got it wrong. The title pretty much states it all. After a comment from a friend ive been wondering if the Canon 7D is considered a Consumer level DSLR or is it more in the range of a professional body (Which was my argument). It does not really matter to me which category it falls in, ive just been wondering. Its a tricky question too because to some a 550D might be considered "professional" in their eyes and a point and shoot to another. So I thought I might ask everyone here their thoughts on the matter.

 

[Derrel]

I would not call the 7D a "professional" body, which is a term often associated with the flagship-level Canon and Nikon bodies. I do not consider it a "consumer" body either, but rather something in between those two extremes. Perhaps the best description might be "semi-pro body". The 7D has a lot of really nice features and good specifications, at a pretty fair price for a fast-handling, 8 frames per second camera; and yet, the price is too high to put it in the entry-level category. Some people might call the 7D a "high-end prosumer" body; prosumers being the dedicated enthusiasts who almost religiously upgrade at each iteration of bodies, and who many feel are the driving force behind feature and specification upgrades and advancements. The whole area of classifying the camera models in the middle of a manufacturer's range hinges a lot on semantics,and the definitions vary a lot from person to person. THe 7D could be considered a "high-end consumer" body by one person, and a "semi-pro" body by another person--and the camera's specs and price will not change on iota.

 

[Overread20]

The grading of DSLRs into entry - beginner - all those complex middle range names and then pro is mostly only "enforced" at the manufactures end where they like to put a little label on the body to say its "a pro" "entry level" etc...

As for if its "professional" I would say this term breaks into two parts - either by professional you mean the "BEST" there is, at which point its limited to the 1D series and the 5DM2 (until canon release a new fullframe 1D camera body). The other definition is what a working photographer uses to earn their living from - at which point the floodgates open and almost any camera can be considered professional for a given level of work. For some a rebel is enough to produce a product people want to pay for - for others its got to be a 7D - and then for some they've got to have the best there is.

Most generally consider that midrange bodies are capable of being used for "pro work" whilst most also consider rebels to be not worthy of being used for pro work (this argument tends to be more snobby than anything else because it ignores lighting, lenses, composition, quality of product, the output medium, shooting environment -etc...).

In the end its like Derrel says - you can debate what bracket you think the camera should be classed as, but that won't change what its used for, its specs, its price or anything else.

 

[table1349]

I wasn't too sure where to put this so my apologies if I got it wrong. The title pretty much states it all. After a comment from a friend ive been wondering if the Canon 7D is considered a Consumer level DSLR or is it more in the range of a professional body (Which was my argument). It does not really matter to me which category it falls in, ive just been wondering. Its a tricky question too because to some a 550D might be considered "professional" in their eyes and a point and shoot to another. So I thought I might ask everyone here their thoughts on the matter.

Why does it matter? This is like calling a photographer a professional. The term professional photographer doesn't mean one damn thing in this world. If you can find enough people to by your photos to support yourself you are a professional photographer. Doesn't mean you can take a decent photograph to save your soul, just means you found enough suckers to buy your stuff to make a living. On the other hand the term accomplished photographer does mean something. They are a person that understands the fundamentals of photograph, the advanced fundamentals and can use their knowledge to take decent photographs. It that person happens to be accomplished and makes their living from their photography then that is great.

Same thing with camera bodies. Any body that meets your needs to accomplish the task at hand is a quality body. If it doesn't, then for you it is not a body that allows you to accomplish your needs.