At $1,700 it's comparable to the Nikon D300S but offers more megapixels and 1080p HD video recording (versus just 720p on the D300S). Such users are a microcosm of the DSLR world, though, and for the rest of us there's sufficient flexibility and precision that the 7D satisfies pretty much most that you could ask of it. Although the sensor may not be full-frame, the end results are excellent up until you're asking for very large, very high-megapixel prints. If you're a prosumer photographer who, until now, has carried a separate HD video camera, then the 7D could easily lighten your load.

It's hard to argue with the Canon EOS 7D. Continuous shooting mode can grab JPEGs for as long as you can be bothered holding down the shutter-release (assuming you have a swift enough memory card) and build quality neatly straddles the line between reassuringly hefty and usably comfortable. Auto-focus is incredibly swift and reassuringly accurate, with only very rare adjustments required, while despite the tightly-packed high megapixel sensor the camera handles noise and detail admirably. Considering most of the time the results from the DSLR will be viewed on-screen in relatively small sizes, we prefer the output from the EOS 7D rather than its sibling.ĭespite lacking a full-frame sensor, picture and video quality are pretty much consistently impressive from the EOS 7D. Happily the EOS 7D does an excellent job of processing out noise thanks to the dual DIGIC 4 chips, avoiding unnecessary blurring that we observed in shots from the EOS 5D. Of course, with a 1.6x crop factor to the APS-C sensor, the risk is one of extra noise in the final shots, especially when you start to increase the ISO levels. As before you can shoot in single point and spot modes, but there's also the and AF point expansion and AF zone settings that tracks a larger group of points or a group that can be offset from the centre using the small joystick. Faster than on previous Canon DSLRs and generally highly accurate, there was a slight learning curve involved since the company have altered the appearance of the system and the way you flick between the various AF modes.

In use, the new autofocus system quickly displays its worth.

New canon 7d review