January 17, 2013
Bison about to lick its nose in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and the Canon EOS 7D

I photographed this bison yesterday as it was about to lick its runny nose. Hey, they have to take care of a runny nose somehow, and they don't have shirt sleeves. :)

Canon EOS 7D

I recently acquired a Canon EOS 7D. I've seen lots of good images made with that body, and as everyone knows, a good cook has a great set of pots and pans. Seriously, I got it to complement the Canon EOS 1D X. My EF 500mm f4 L IS USM is now just a 500 f4 on the 1D X instead of the effective 650mm f4 on the Canon 1D Mk IV with its 1.3x magnification and even that was short for some situations. The 500 f4 is an effective 800mm f4 on the 7D with its 1.6x magnification. I was hoping to get a 7D Mk II before my trip to Africa next month, but had to settle for the original 7D.

Two things will take quite a while to get used to. First, the 19-point AF (autofocus) system doesn't have any focus points near the corners which is where I frequently use them. Second, it's not possible to program the Set button in the middle of the Quick Control Dial to control the ISO, so I'll have to search for the dedicated ISO button up by the shutter release. One other irritating design feature is that the Mode Dial has a tendency to change modes (switching to Tv from Av for example) whenever you're not actively shooting, and I've taken care of that with piece of gaffer tape. Hopefully these limitations will be addressed in the 7D Mk II.