Upgrading from a 30D: 50D or 7D?

kcui

So I know I originally said in another thread I was planning to upgrade to a 7D, but I've been reading and surfing and I can't quite make up my mind.

At the moment I don't have the $$$ or interest in going full frame, hence why I am considering either 50D or 7D.

How much extra am I getting with the 7D vs the 50D? Yes, I "know" what features it is loaded with but I guess the question is, am I going to use them, in particular the video. Sure video would be cool to have but for me it is one of those nice to have things that I normally wouldn't go out of my way for.

Another thing I have been reading is that the 7D is a bit noisy due to the extra pixels. Is the jump in image quality really that much greater from the 50D to the 7D? I realize IQ is largely dependent on lenses so, some of it is probably dependent on what and how the user shoots (I do mostly nature / landscapes / urban stills).

While I was almost dead set on getting a 7D, I'm beginning to lean toward perhaps getting the 50D saving the money to throw at another lens (I just dropped some cash on a new L-series).

Current lenses:
Tokina AF 11-16mm f/2.8
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 USM Macro
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (Brand new! )
Sigma 18-125mm f/3.8-5.6 DC OS HSM (Will be parting with this)

Just0a0guy

The first question I have to ask is have you held both cameras and looked through the view finder? I own the 50D and love it Monday my coworker showed me his 7D that he bought with his tax return and I immediately felt the gear lust of wanting one. The new view finder is simply amazing! Its much brighter and the focus points used in AF mode automatically show up so you know where it thinks it should focus if you are not selecting the one you want to use. The shutter action was much quieter and had a smoother feel to it. I did feel that the rearanged controls were not as easy of a transition as I was expecting but shoot anything for a few weeks and you'll adjust (it felt like the backside control wheel was moved down and in so the body did not rest fully in my hand when making an adjustment on the back wheel but it could be my imagination) In the long run I think the 7D will hold value better when you resale it given that video is a standard feature 2 years from now I think any camera without it will have a -$200 or more hit to resale price. That being said I love my 50D and am very happy with the image quality and resolution I bought it the friday before the 7D was announced. At the time there was no way I could afford the 7D and the time I would have missed shooting while i saved up the difference would not have been worth it. But as I start to look for a second body the Idea of the 7D as my primary with the 50D back up has a lot of appeal but i fear the chage in layout might make it hard to jump back and forth between the two as easy as I might think. Both cameras are great and I can't imagine being disappointed as long as your expectations are in line with reality. but from a long term investment pov the 7d will hold value far better.