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Canon EOS 7D In Depth Review

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Posted by Patrick on Nov 12, 2009 in Cameras, Featured Content, Reviews

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Performance

Camera performance from the EOS 7D is impressive. From near instant startup times to the quick and adept AF (yes even in low light), to the incredible 8 fps continuous shooting speed, there’s hardly an aspect to the EOS 7D that will leave the vast majority of consumers wanting.

We’ve already discussed the improvements in the EOS 7D’s handling, but to reiterate this is a well balanced camera with intuitive button layout, and subtle ergonomic enhancements like the camera’s grip and the groove that the shutter lays in, all of which go to enhance a pleasurable experience in the hands. Pull the camera up to eye level, and you’re treated to a nice, bright 100% view of your image at 1.0x magnification. The read outs inside are easy to see, and the transmissive LCD screen allows for a whole range of interior views, like the dual axis electronic level, AF area, AF zones, grid overlay and more.

Speaking of AF, the EOS 7D features an all new 19 point AF system, all of them of the cross-type variety, and all of them manually selectable. The AF system allows for the ability to enhance each point by choosing from spot AF, which pinpoints each AF point for achieving maximum focus, for example in macro type work. Then there’s the option to expand each point which extends coverage of any particular AF point to the points surrounding it, which helps in tracking moving subjects for example, where the initial point momentarily loses contact. All together the EOS 7D offers 5 methods for selecting AF points:

Manual selection: single point AF- user can choose any of the 19 points

Manual selection: spot AF- The actual size of any AF point is larger than indicated in the viewfinder. Spot AF allows for a more concentrated point, barely smaller than the point indicated in the viewfinder for detail critical work.

Manual selection: AF point expansion- focus is achieved with the selected AF point with help from surrounding points.

Manual selection: Zone AF- AF is selected automatically from one of five selected zones: left, right, top, bottom, center.

Auto selection: 19 point AF- in one shot mode, the closest object to the camera is selected automatically for focus. In AI Servo a manually selected point can be chosen (not just the center point), and the surrounding 18 points will automatically track the subject.

Click for a larger view. AI Servo with AF point expansion.

Out of the box, the EOS 7D AF system works very well. One shot focusing is quick and performs well even in very low light conditions. Capturing dynamic subjects is also pretty straightforward, from our experience offering better results than the EOS 5D Mark II. Furthermore, for photographers with a singular interest in sports or wildlife photography, the EOS 7D has a good number of custom functions available for further dialing down results.


The AF selection modes as show in the Quick Control screen.	The next series of images show the options available for customizing the AF. Here, adjusting tracking sensitivity.

Setting tracking, drive, and image priorities.	Setting servo tracking methods.

Setting lens drive when AF is impossible.	Microadjustments panel for optimizing focus on individual lenses.

Manual AF point selection pattern.	Link orientation to AF points.

Live View

The EOS 7D offers a fully featured live view shooting mode complete with 10x image magnification and live histogram. As we mentioned before, the EOS 7D separates Live View from movie shooting via a switch on the rear of the camera. To activate Live View, turn the switch to Live View and press the start/stop button. There are a number of different displays to choose from to aid in composition, focusing, information gathering, and even whether the camera is level. The later is possible thanks to a dual axis electronic level that shows the pitch and roll of the camera via a visual level. This level can also be activated while not in live view and is visible in the viewfinder. It’s a welcome addition, and is great at helping you square up your images, but can become a distracting game to itself, so remember to use it as a rough guide and move on.

Live view focusing comes in three flavors. AF Live is slower and uses contrast detection, AF Quick is faster and uses phase detection, and finally the EOS 7D offers Face Detect AF which throws a focusing box around the nearest face in the composition. None of these methods are particularly speedy, and I noticed few consistent differences in focusing speeds between the EOS 7D and EOS 5D Mark II’s Live View focusing. So for the most part, Live View shooting with the EOS 7D is best left to tripod work, where it becomes an invaluable tool at getting well exposed and sharply focused pictures.


Choose between 3 focusing modes: Live, Quick, and Face detect.	Dual axis electronic level shows pitch and roll on the LCD (or viewfinder).

Live View offers 2 magnification levels. Here's the image before magnification...	...Now at 5x magnification...

...and finally at the full 10x magnification.	The view in Live View can be adjusted. Here with a minimal amount of information, but with one of 2 optional grid overlays turned on.

Here with slightly more information.	And here with the incredibly handy live histogram.

Canon EOS 7D SLR Digital Camera at B&H Photo

Get your Canon EOS 7D and support this site at the same time, by making your purchase through the following links at B&H Photo Video. They offer the best selection and service, and your purchases there help us continue to provide you with more and more great content.

Camera Body (only)
Camera Body with EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens

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