The image quality was good on this camera but the speed was lacking
How is it picture ?
I have been shooting motorcycle track photography for about 3 years now.  The fist year I shot with a Canon Rebel T2i (AKA 550D)  The image quality was good on this camera but the speed was lacking.What I didn't realize until I got the 7D was how much the speed was lacking.  The T2i is a great camera in it's own right and for consumers it's very good.  When I bought it I thought, hey it has virtually the same sensor as the 7D this should be good enough.Well, I had no idea how much difference the 19 cross type AF points would make, or how much faster 8 FPS was.  My keeper rate went up immediately.  Now, I realize there are other features I could mention, like the  7D is able to control off camera flashes without the use of a 500 series flash,  but really the reason to buy this camera is speed.  This is Canon's best crop frame sensor camera body, hands down, nothing else comes close.  For my purposes the cropped sensor is an advantage as it multiplies my effective focal length by 1.6 and ISO performance is not terribly important as I'm shooting in daylight.  But, I've spoken with many other photogs that have the 5D mk2 and mk3 and when they shoot outdoor sports they still use their 7D, it's AF system is just faster, as is it's frame rate and the added low light capability of the 5D is moot at 2pm outside.  Further, I shoot this camera with the double battery Canon vertical grip.  It makes for a big camera.  This fits my hand very well and the whole system feels very rugged and sturdy.  Much more so than the plastic bodied rebel.  If you are to read my other reviews you may be sensing a theme here.  Value.  This body is no exception.It's expensive for the novice and relatively inexpensive relative to other pro bodies but it defintely earns it's xD (single digit D) Canon designation.  It is a true pro body and at $1700 it's still a great deal, just look at how much you have to spend to get a 6D, 5D, or god forbid a 1D, and the 1D series are the first bodies to start to compare in terms of AF performance as the other cameras are more wedding cameras.  For the money, you can't beat the Al Servo performance of this camera.  Of course if money was no object I'd have a 1Dx and all the big boy primes but for me money matters and for my money this camera delivers pro quality.  I'm only excited now to see what the 7D mk2 looks like when Canon decides to best this legendary Camera body. 