The Canon EOS 7D is one of the hottest DSLRs right now because it offers speed and great HD video quality in a lightweight, compact and relatively inexpensive package. This review, by community member agunther, is a wonderfully detailed and thoughtful review that really says a lot about both the pros and cons of the Canon EOS 7D. It stands as an example of how a really great user review should be written.
Reviews by community members are the foundation of PhotographyREVIEW.com. Please write your own review for the Canon EOS 7D or whatever camera and photography gear you own. You don’t have to be an expert – everyone’s opinion counts.
Featured Review: Canon EOS 7D
by agunther (Expert)
| Price Paid: $1899.00 from Amazon.com Review Date: December 15, 2009 Used product for: Less than 1 month Overall Rating: |
5 of 5
4 of 5
Summary:
With the new EOS 7D, Canon drives the Megapixel hype to the next dimension. The 7D claims the crown of the resolution king among the APS-C crowd and puts the competition to shame, at least after reading the specs. Can the 7D really fulfill the high expectations?
I thought long and hard about the 7D. Should I invest this much money into a camera with crop factor or should I get the 5DM2 instead. The full frame 5D promises much lower noise levels, due to the larger pixels size.
Several factors tipped the scale in favor of the 7D.
The crop factor sensor means I can keep running for a while with my current lens setup and that I can get more reach for my buck. In the telephoto range, a 400mm lens will have more reach than a 600mm on the 5DM2. Lenses in this category are very expensive. The difference between 400 and 600 is huge. I already got the wide-angle range covered with a Tokina 12-24 EF-S lens, which wouldn’t fit the 5D anyways.
The 7D is a newer camera, has two digital signal processors and offers 24fps 1080p video (5DM2 does not have that mode). It has an electronic level, built-in flash and a couple of other goodies and it was cheaper than the 5DM2. Eventually everything comes down to economics. The 7D is a good choice for travel photographers like myself. The weight difference between a telephoto lens for a APS-C and a Full Frame camera with the same reach is not negligible.
Since previous reviewers already covered the technical aspects and since you can always look at the datasheet, I will focus on the practical aspects.
A killer feature for me is the electronic level. You can use it in live view mode or on a tripod, but it doesn’t show in the viewfinder. It helps you to straighten your camera and get level shots. Crop losses due to tilted horizons are history now. No more running around with stupid green levels in the flash shoe either.
I don’t believe that the 100% viewfinder really matters. At 18MP you can afford to crop a bit from the edges. On the other hand, the viewfinder magnification and viewfinder illumination really help. This is just what I need for low light outdoor shots.
The 7D currently offers the most High Definition Video Modes of all cameras. It is the first camera to feature 24fps. Paired with the wide range of EF and EF-S lenses available, manual controls and high ISO performance, it is thus one of the most advanced movie recording systems available on the market. However, at 5.5MB/s and a maximum recording length of 4GB at once, there are some limits (about 12min at max resolution). Most of us won’t record clips that long. I don’t have much use for video, but it’s a nice to have feature.
The 19-pont auto focus is one of the best Canon ever made, or so they claim. I have yet to test the limits, but I expect superior performance tracking moving subjects (wildlife, sports, children). Landscape artists like myself may miss the A-Dep mode, at least when you have come to appreciate it. A-Dep automatically adjusts aperture for optimum depth of field.
It’s good to have environmental sealing, but I suspect that 99% of 7D users won’t need it. I had trouble at extreme temperatures before, but no experience yet how the 7D behaves. However, a professional photographer, whose likelihood depends on the photographs, cannot put her camera away just because of the weather. Ask yourself if you really need it!
One thing that really sold me on this camera is the maximum ISO setting of 12800. The pictures come out very noisy, but scaled down they are very usable.
You can see some examples in my Field review (http://www.aguntherphotography.com/reviews/canon-eos-7d-field-guide.html) that I constantly update with new insights.
Strengths:
18 MP resolution, exceeding the resolution of previous Full Frame cameras.
Very fast (8fps). This will come in handy if you need to catch action shots. Its one of the fastest cameras on the market right now. This feature, combined with the resolution and the extended lens reach of the APS-C format will make it a top choice for action shooters.
Video: 7D supports all common frame rats 24fps / 25fps / 30fps at 1080p and faster rates at lower resolution (720p)
Bright large viewfinder
Electronic level is extremely useful. We all struggle with tilted horizons at some point.
Environmental sealing if you find yourself fighting for survival in a blizzard and wanting to leave a HD video will. Just talk fast to keep it below 12 minutes.
Being able to shoot at very high ISO levels can make the difference between getting the shot or getting the blur.
Weaknesses:
None really, these are only minor things.
I would love to have a low-resolution mode (4.5MP that combines 4 standard pixels) with even higher ISO. A mode like this would be very useful for location scouting.
No A-Dep mode (see above).
A swivel screen would be nice to be able to hold the camera high above my head or low to the ground while in live view shooting mode.
At 18MP resolution, I calculate a theoretical minimum aperture of f/8. Smaller apertures will already start to show softness due to diffraction. You need to apply more sharpening for those. Only expensive lenses can resolve that much even at the corners.
Canon’s RAW software DPP doesn’t seem to work correct with monitor color profiles. Pictures look different in Photoshop (yellow tint). DPP also could use a curve tool.
Similar Products Used:
Canon 300D, Canon 20D, Canon 450D
Customer Service:
The Canon repair service is excellent during your warranty period and horrible thereafter. Charging hefty fees to “evaluate” a non problem really turns me off.
Most products fail early in their life or after quite some time, so I usually don’t spend money on extended warranties despite Canon’s bad Customer Service performance.
To read Andre Gunther’s Canon EOS 7D Field Review and browse his travel photography, visit his Web site, aguntherphotography.com.
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