I managed to get out to Malibu Lagoon State Beach for a few hours on Sunday to test out my new Canon 7D camera. Did it live up to my expectations? Did I live up to my expectations? Keep reading for my impressions and a preliminary verdict.

A month ago, I had three Canon SLRs: the 5D Mark II, the 1D Mark IIn, and the 40D. Even I’ll admit that three SLRs is too many for one person! So, as I mentioned last week, I recently sold my trusty 1D Mark IIn and 40D, and invested in a Canon 7D to replace them. I had a couple of reasons for investing in the new camera.

First, because I’m shooting more video these days, I wanted to have two video-capable SLRs. My Canon 5D Mark II fits that bill, but my 1D Mark IIn and 40D did not. I haven’t done much testing of the new video system in the field, but I will say that the camera is set up for video much more sensibly than the 5D Mark II; more of the video controls are easily accessible right on the body itself – you don’t have to delve into menus to find the controls you need.

Second, I wanted an “action” camera that yielded larger, higher-resolution files than my 1D Mark IIn. The latter is a fantastic camera, but its images – at 8.2 megapizels – are a bit small by today’s standards. By an action camera, I mean one that (1) can capture images in rapid succession, and (2) has an autofocus system capable of tracking fast-moving subjects.

The 7D did not disappoint on the first front. At a zippy 8 frames per second (the same as the 1D Mark IIn) I was able to capture nice multi-image sequences of flying birds at Malibu Lagoon. In testing the 7D’s autofocus capabilities, I re-confirmed my long-held suspicion that I am terrible at photographing birds in flight – I need a lot more practice before I can reliably keep a moving bird steady in the frame with my 500mm lens! I can report, however, that I captured at least as many sharp images with the 7D as I have in similar conditions with my 1D Mark IIn, and my rate of keepers should go up with more practice!

The high pixel count of the 7D, and particularly its high pixel density – i.e., the large number of pixels packed into a relatively small sensor area – concerned me when I first read the specs after the camera’s release last year. Small pixels usually mean more “noise,” which manifests itself as spurious color or grain in digital images. In addition, such extreme resolution would seriously test the quality of my lenses.

Luckily, I found that, even with a 1.4x teleconverter attached, my 500mm lens delivered images that were very sharp when viewed at 100% on the computer. I don’t think I’ll need to be investing in any of Canon’s new supertelephoto lenses any time soon! The 7D images weren’t overly noisy, either. Even at ISO 800, I got images that were quite presentable, and with some software noise reduction in post-processing, I won’t be surprised if ISO 1600 images are usable too.

In short, I’m very happy with what I’ve seen so far from this camera. It should make a great replacement for the 1D Mark IIn and 40D, and a perfect complement to the 5D Mark II (which is better than the 7D in low light and with more static subjects).