TOYBOX: Canon EOS 7D Mk2
Best-in-class autofocus. Includes sample pics.
Best-in-class autofocus. Includes sample pics.
Not: WiFi and touch screen would have been nice-to-haves. Only modest improvement in sensor’s resolution and noise capabilities.
Tech specs: APS-C (22.4 x 15 mm) 20MP sensor; Dual Digic 6 processors; 65 cross-type focus points; 10fps max burst mode; 1/8000 top shutter speed; Compact Flash and SD card slots; 1920 x 1080 MPEG-4 video
Price: $2700 (body only), $3800 (kit with EFS 15-85mm IS lens). Prices approximate. Shop around for best deals.
Canon's 7DMk2 DSLR arrives five years after its predecessor to high expectations. Five years is a long time in the life of digital technology and there have been significant improvements in DLSRs both from Canon and others. To read some online comments you might think the 7DMk2 was a disappointment given that the top line, most quoted specs aren't major improvements; its 20MP Dual-Pixel AF CMOS sensor is essentially the same found in the 70D and you'll find people bemoaning its lack of WiFi, an articulating screen or a touchscreen. (See sample photos on the right)
But such grumbles miss the point. The 7DMk2 is Canon at its most focused. The company has taken its de facto body for enthusiast wildlife and sports photographers and improved as many as the core features important to that group as it can while still meeting an enthusiast rather than a professional price point.
Chief among these is the autofocus system seemingly pulled and tweaked from the 7DMk2's big brother the 1Dx. The 7DMk2 features 65 cross-type focus points compared to the 19 found in the 7D and this impressive array is married to revised configuration options that give you great flexibility in how you use the autofocus system. The Mk2's menu system is essentially identical to that found on the full-frame 5D Mk3 and this includes the pre-configured use scenarios for focus tracking and priority (telling the camera whether to prioritise subject focus or shutter release and the delay it imposes before refocusing on any new object that passes between the camera and the focused subject). On the 7D these options are buried in the custom function menus and lack description.
On the 7DMk2 there are series of pre-configured options – which can be adjusted – that come with descriptions explaining a likely scenario for their use.
Tweaking your auto-focus is also aided by the new thumb switch which sits around the rear joystick button. By default this switches between the various focus point selection patterns (it can be configured to some other functions if you wish) while the joystick then selects which group of points within a pattern you want to use. Combining these buttons with the main display makes it quick to change focus pattern and point selection.
The most sensitive focus point is, as usual, the centre one. On the 7DMk2 not only can this centre point focus with f/2.8 or faster lenses but it is capable of focusing with lenses as slow as f/8. What this means in practical terms is that the many users of Canon's popular 400m f/5.6 lens (or other telephoto or zoom lenses that are f/5.6) can now marry that lens to their 1.4x converters and maintain autofocus, something that was previously only possible (and not with any great reliability) by the hack of placing tape across three of the teleconverter's pins. I found that the 400mm plus 1.4x converter combo on the 7DMk2 did focus consistently. There was more focus hunting than without the teleconveter if the subject was of low contrast but compared to my experience using the same combo with taped pins on the 7D it was fantastic.
The autofocus also performs admirably in low light. Shooting a fencing competition in a poorly lit gymnasium I was able to maintain good focus on fast moving fencers. All told the 7DMk2's autofocus improvements are probably the key reason for most 7D users to upgrade. You will not find another camera so adept at capturing moving subjects, in focus, at this price point.
The 7DMk2's sensor is not capable of producing the extremely low noise images at high ISOs that its full frame cousins the 6D and 5DMk3 can produce. The sensor produces images comparable to the 70D in noise. This is a small but useful improvement over the 7D's images. The most significant improvement here is the lack of banding in shadows. The 7D was plagued by banding and despite a BIOS revision that attempted to improve things shadows remained the 7D's weak spot. It was a weakness that users compensated for by slightly over exposing images and then pulling them back to correct exposure in post production (shooting RAW, of course). I tied shooting subjects that had been an issue with the 7D – including the dark plumage of Variable Oystercatchers – and was pleasantly surprised that I couldn't make banding rear its ugly head.
Keeping its focus on that key wildlife/sports demographic Canon has improved other crucial areas of the camera. You can capture action at 10fps and the Dual Digic 6 image processors mean the 7DMk2 writes so efficiently to its buffer that you're unlikely to be left waiting. If shooting in JPG you can essentially shoot endlessly without the buffer filling up (the buffer depth is over 1000 JPGs). If shooting in RAW you'll be able to shoot more than 30 shots before the buffer fills.
Recognising that these are cameras that are going to be out in the weather churning through many shutter cycles the body now has greatly improved weather sealing and the shutter is rated for 200,000 cycles compared to the 7D's 150,000. That's an important stat when you're shooting regularly at 10fps.
One downside to these improved features is that battery life seems to have has suffered. Whether it is the 10fps shooting or possibly the power drain of the Digic 6 processors I don't know, but after going through about 1100 frames from a fresh charge I was ready for a recharge. This is still higher than Canon's conservative estimate of 670 shots but noticeably less than I get from a full charge on my 7D. If you intend a full day of high-speed shooting it would pay to bring a spare battery or invest in the BG-E16 battery grip.
The 7DMk2 is no slouch in the video department either. You get full HD video with a choice of frame rates from 24 to 60. The camera gets a dedicated headphone jack and supports uncompressed HDMI external recording. It also benefits from dual-pixel auto focus which reduces focus hunting. Given the promise of dual-pixel focusing for video it is a shame that Canon couldn't find a way to include a touchscreen at this price but the 7DMk2 remains a strong option for videographers. Likewise the lack of WiFi will upset some but ultimately where Canon has chosen to compromise on the feature set it has decided to come down in favour of those features of greatest value for action photography.
That doesn't make the 7DMk2 less of a camera for general use but it certainly makes it a great choice for those who value its core strengths.
Bruce Buckman is a former editorial director of NZ PC World.