Canon 7D, conspicuous consumption & "What do I really need?"

So, we live in pretty amazing times. In many ways. Lately, I've been thinking about consumerism and personal satisfaction. I've got a Canon 7D which is just an absolutely amazing device. Without listing boring specifications, suffice it to say: it's got bells whistles and more mega-pixels than a 20"x30" print could ever need.

Yet, I'm not happy with it. I mean, I am totally happy with it... but not really. Ah, the double minded man is like a wave of the sea...

I've noticed auto-focus is slightly off. In fact, more than 60% of my exposures are out of focus. Canon offered we OCD tweakers the option to micro-adjust auto-focus, but for reasons outline below, this doesn't seem to provide full satisfaction. But, should I be seeking satisfaction at all?

I guess I should clarify. I take snapshots. Of my wife, my dog, pretty flowers, landscapes. I'm not a professional, I'm what they in marketing call, an "enthusiast." I take pictures, save them to my computer, sometimes post them on the web, sometimes print them and give them as gifts or hang them on my walls.

From Pictures

I do some minor post-processing, and this is where the "trouble" starts. When I zoom in to 100% on the computer screen, some of the pores and hair follicles on the faces of portraiture subjects are "soft." Perhaps the mandible of an ant is out of focus (using a non-macro lens) nearly 60% of the time. It drives me crazy! I mean, I know the camera is capable of sharp captures, but so many of them are "soft" this way.

Ok, so if anyone is reading this, hopefully you're getting my sarcasm and self-deprecating humor, and yet "the truth is said in jest." Even though you're in on the joke, you may still be thinking "So what? The issue is so minor, as to be completely negligible - unless you're zooming in to 100% magnification - and why does anyone need to do that?" There is a serious question here.

Many questions actually. Like:

What do I need?


Should I expect a level of performance commensurate with my expenditure of cash? Or need the device's performance only match my own?

What monetary expense is justified by gaining what level of quality, features, etc?

Because something "should" perform a certain way, does that justify spending time and aggravation in pursuit of that performance?


I have a 35mm Mamiya film SLR that's really fun to shoot. The results are pleasing, even though processed at the Walgreen's photo-center. I can tell dog's have hair, because I recognize them as dogs - I can make out four legs and floppy ears. There's not a chance I could identify an individual hair on my mutt Phoebe's head by examining an exposure from my Mamiya. Yet, the pictures it produces are aesthetically and personally pleasing. I spent $24 on that Mamiya.

I've invested a lot of time, money and "heart" in this whiz-bang do-hickey of a camera. Why?

I find that often, the justification for my conspicuous consumption is invented long after the purchase. "I need it for my new blog.", "I'm going to start selling prints.", "I want to get into micro-stock photography." etc. etc. etc. But, where does the cycling drive to, spend, justify, be disappointed, repeat ad infinitum, ever end in satisfaction, or dare I say happiness.

So this personal rant, doesn't have any answers, doesn't offer any guidance, and only raises questions. Somehow, other people seem to either lack that nagging internal voice to seek for perfection in the material world, or know how to ignore it. Or at least have the sense not to voice it. For me, I know "turning it off" isn't an option. I'm fairly sure turning the internal dialog into a debate doesn't help. Voicing it is a call to be judged and condemned.

Will sending my 7D into Canon for auto-focus recalibration help? Should I sell it and give the money to the poor?

If anyone has figured some of this out, please take a minute and let me know how you have done so. Perhaps there are many people fighting this same battle here in the U.S. of A.

Buildings are falling in Chile, children are starving in Haiti, and I just read a quote "there are more slaves in the world today, than any other time in history," but I'm suffering too. My camera has soft-focus.