Canon 7D Review

The Canon 7D helps to bridge the gap between Canon’s professional cameras and their prosumer line, fitting nicely between the 50D and the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. This camera works well for an experienced amateur or is a great second camera for a pro. It takes the 50D and ramps up a some of features such as the number of megapixels, frames per second, ISO rating, and number of focus points to make the 7D more robust than the 50D.

Specs

The 18 mega pixel sensor is more than enough to blow up an image, with a max photo size of approximately 26" x 17.25", you can probably fudge it a little bit and push the size a bit more. The increased fps is great for sports shots, or other fast moving targets, allowing you to get crisp action shots.  The 8 fps is almost overkill for most situations, but can help you capture that split second where the photo is perfect.  
One of the most exciting aspects of this camera is that it will film video in 1080p - if you buy nice glass, this will take great HD video in addition to the 18 megapixel images.  The combination of HD video and high quality images makes this camera a great pick for someone looking for a versatile, top of the line camera and a nice video camera.  The best part of combining photo and video is that you don’t have to change your set up to change from photo to video; all you have to do is flip a switch.  The 7D lets you capture life as it happens (with pictures or with video) on the fly.

Design/Build

The body of the 7D is just over 5.75 inches wide and about 4.25 inches tall, making it about a quarter of an inch smaller than the Mark 5D II and the 50D.  Canon has made a couple significant changes; the buttons are larger, making the camera easier to operate if you are using gloves. The other large change is you can now use a switch to change between live view mode and video recording mode.

The 7D has a sealed magnesium body that is very similar to the Mark 5 II and the body alone weighs 1.8 pounds, making the 7D feel very substantial. With the increased weight comes an improved LCD screen that is significantly better than the screen on the 50D. Additionally, the viewfinder is much larger than the viewfinder on the 50D and permanently displays the ISO rating. All of this to say the 7D is a substantial DSLR that feels durable without feeling too bulky.

Shooting Modes and Menus

Canon uses the same shooting modes on the 7D as it has put on the Mark 5 II, leaving little else to be desired.  There are seven different shooting modes:
If you are shooting in an environment where you are shooting outside of a studio, the TV and AV settings are very helpful – you can set up either the aperture or shutter speed and have the camera help you out so that you can spend less time on the settings and more on framing.

As far as controls and settings, the7D has more than enough options to give you the flexibility to shoot under almost any conditions:

The Bottom Line

While the Canon 7D may not initially look significantly different than the 50D, it upgrades many of the features, but doesn’t bulk up the body like the Mark 5 series.  The most practical upgrades  (increased frames per second, number of megapixels, and number of autofocus points) make this camera a much more versatile DSLR than the 50D.  One of the most notable drawbacks of the 7D is that it isn’t a full frame camera.  Overall, the Canon 7D is an extremely versatile camera that fits nicely into Canon’s line up. If you are on the fence between the Mark 5 II and the 7D, you might feel a little disappointed (if you really need the full capabilities of the Mark 5 II), but you can get the job done with the 7D.  On the other hand, if you are in-between the 7D and the 50D, you will be blown away by the 7D, get it.