Canon 7D Mark II arrives, eats 1D X for lunch with more horsepower, amazing autofocus system

 

 

The new Canon 7D Mark II is here, and at long last, as many Canon users would likely agree. Five years after the original flagship APS-C camera was released, Canon's made some significant strides in image quality and performance for both stills and video in a variety of areas. They've taken a lot of the technology and processing performance of the 5D Mark III and 1D X cameras, as well as innovations from the 70D and combined them into a new rugged, high-performance APS-C flagship HD-DSLR.

At the heart of the camera is a newly designed 20.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor. While that may sound familiar, given the 70D's identical resolution, according to Canon, the 7D Mark II's sensor is in fact an all-new design, with improved clarity over the 70D's sensor. However, like the Canon 70D, the new 7D Mark II brings over Canon's Dual Pixel CMOS AF live view focusing system, with some notable improvements with speed and sensitivity adjustments.

Coupled with this new sensor is some serious processing horsepower. The new 7D Mark II features dual DIGIC 6 image processors, giving this camera more processing performance that any other EOS camera, including the 1D X and its dual DIGIC 5+ configuration! Thanks to the new sensor and the new dual image processors, the default ISO range is now 100-16,000 and expandable up to 25,600 and 51,200, which is a big jump from the maximum expandable ISO of 12,800 with the 7D. And the continuous burst shooting gets a bump up to 10fps with a 31 RAW/1090 JPEG buffer capacity.

Alongside Dual Pixel AF, the phase-detect AF system has undergone a big improvement. For still photographers, and especially those who shooting sports, wildlife and other fast-moving action, the 7D Mark II is equipped with an all-new 65-point, all cross-type phase-detect autofocus system (5D Mark III and 1D X only had a 61-point, 41-cross-type AF system). The 7D Mark II utilizes the 1D X's AI Servo AF III for excellent subject tracking and face detection.

For all the details about Canon's big upgrade to their flagship APS-C DSLR, head over to read our comprehensive, hands-on Canon 7D Mark II preview, or to see all the big changes from the original 7D, check out our in-depth comparison of the 7D Mark II vs. 7D.

The new Canon 7D Mark II is set to be available this November and will be sold in both a body-only model with a retail price of $1,799 or with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens for $2,149. Also scheduled to be available are the new BG-E16 Battery Grip and optional Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E7A Version 2, though shipping dates and estimated retail pricing have yet to be announced. Both the Canon 7D Mark II camera and Battery Grip are backwards-compatible to the current LP-E6 batteries.

Get in line to pre-order what's surely to be an extremely popular camera:

• Canon 7D Mark II body-only, $1,799 - B&H
• Canon 7D Mark II with EF-S 18-135mm IS STM lens, $2,149 - B&H