Canon 7D Mark II Review

Canon 7D Mark II Review

by William Brawley
Preview originally posted 09/15/2014
Last updated: 03/27/2017

Updates:
01/19/2015: Field Test Part I
02/18/2015: Field Test Part II
03/11/2015: Image Quality Comparison and Print Quality, Conclusion

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Review update:
Winner of our pick as Best Enthusiast DSLR in our 2014 Camera of the Year Awards, the 7D Mark II remains Canon's current top choice for an enthusiast-grade APS-C DSLR suited for a variety of subjects, especially sports, wildlife and action. Since its debut, other high-performance options have been announced, including the flagship EOS camera, the 1D X Mark II, as well as the more price-appropriate option, the Nikon D500. To see how these camera compare, please click here: Canon 7D Mark II vs. Canon 1D X Mark II or Canon 7D Mark II vs. Nikon D500.

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*Note: A pre-production unit was used for these product images and select screenshots.

Five years after the release of the venerable Canon 7D, the "Mark II" update for Canon's flagship APS-C DSLR is here. In keeping with 7D "tradition," the new Canon 7D Mark II brings professional-level features and specs to an APS-C camera and introduces some new, powerful technology and processing horsepower not seen on other EOS cameras. And with Canon being one of the pioneers of the HD-DSLR revolution, it's not surprising that the new 7D Mark II provides significant new features and enhancements over the original 7D for still photography as well as for cinematography.

If you're a professional photographer in need of a speed-shooting, video-recording secondary camera to your full-frame 5D Mark III or 1D X camera, or if you're an advanced enthusiast photographer looking to step up from a mid-range DSLR, the Canon 7D Mark II is aimed right at your needs.

Place your order with a trusted Imaging Resource affiliate now:

• Canon 7D Mark II body-only: ADORAMA | AMAZON | B&H
• Canon 7D Mark II with EF-S 18-135mm IS STM lens: ADORAMA | AMAZON | B&H

Overview

Specs-wise, the new Canon 7D Mark II is leaps-and-bounds more powerful than the original 7D. The 7D Mark II is all about bigger, better and faster! As Canon's Technical Advisor, Chuck Westfall, puts it, the Canon 7D Mark II is a "fusion camera" -- bringing a lot of technology and features down from the 5D Mark III as well as bringing some up from the 70D.

At the heart of the camera is a newly designed 20.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor. While that's the same megapixel count as the sensor on the 70D, according to Canon, the 7D Mark II's sensor is in fact an all-new design, with improved clarity over the 70D's sensor. Fortunately, like the Canon 70D, the new 7D Mark II brings over Canon's Dual Pixel CMOS AF live view focusing system (more on that later).

Coupled with this new higher-resolution sensor is some serious processing horsepower. The original 7D featured dual DIGIC 4 image processors, which was a first for non-1D-series EOS cameras. However, since the camera's debut, Canon has advanced their image processors a bit, with the latest version being the DIGIC 6. The new 7D Mark II features dual DIGIC 6 image processors, giving this cameras more processing performance that any other EOS camera, including the $7,000 1D X and its dual DIGIC 5+ setup! Thanks to the new 20.2-megapixel 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.

Dual Pixel focusing is only part of the story for Canon's new APS-C DSLR. For still photographers, and especially those who shoot sports, wildlife and fast-moving action, the 7D Mark II is equipped with an all-new 65-point, all cross-type phase-detect autofocus system.

Not only is the new AF system a significant upgrade over the 7D's 19-point system, the 65 cross-type AF points is superior to the 61-point, 41-cross-type AF system in the 5D Mark III (5D Mark III vs 7D Mark II) and even the 1D X! (However, only the center AF point on the 7D Mk II is f/2.8 dual cross-type, whereas the 5D3 and 1D X have four dual cross-type AF points.) And, in case you're wondering, fans of teleconverters need not worry, as the 7D Mk II includes the ability to focus at f/8 with the center cross-type AF point.

For all your subject tracking needs, be it for football, soccer or birds-in-flight, the 7D Mark II features Canon's AI Servo AF III for the same AF performance as the flagship 1D X. So, not only does the 7D Mark II provide much better autofocus performance over the 7D, it also allows current 5D3 and 1D X owners who are using a 7D Mark II as a secondary or backup camera to have their AF systems "in-sync" so to speak, with the same settings and customizations so it's trivial to switch between the cameras.

And with seven AF area modes, including the new Large Zone AF option, the 7D Mark II is capable for action photography as it is portraiture and wedding photography. The 7D2 also features orientation-sensitive AF point selection, letting the photographer configure different AF point modes in landscape and portrait orientations.

Now, while the 7D Mark II has the autofocus chops to lock onto pretty much anything moving or stationary, being able to fire off a fast burst of shots is crucial for sports and wildlife shooters. Again, the 7D Mark II delivers. While it's not at the 1D X's level of 12-14fps, its up to 10fps burst rate is certainly a nice upgrade from the original 7D's 8fp. There's also a new silent continuous burst mode at 4fps.

Thanks to the significant processing upgrade from the dual DIGIC 6 processors, the 7D Mark II's buffer capacity enjoys a substantial boost from the original 7D. The Mark II is now capable of around 26 continuous shots in RAW (Canon specs claim 31 RAW files) and over 1090 in JPEG, which is a big step up from the 25 RAW/94 JPEG buffer performance of the 7D.

The 7D Mark II gets a big upgrade to its metering system, which puts it ahead of the 7D and the 5D Mark III and 1D X. The new 7D Mk II utilizes a 150,000-pixel RGB and IR metering sensor, up from the approximately 100,000-pixel metering system of the 5D3/1D X. And the new system recognizes 252-zons, whereas the original 7D used a 63-zone system. More importantly, unlike the more primitive sensor of the 7D, which only provided limited compensation for red and green, the exposure sensor on the 7D Mark II is full color, allowing much better automatic exposure.

The 7D Mark II features an ingenious anti-flicker feature to allow for more reliable exposures when shooting under sodium- and mercury-vapor lights found in sports arenas. These lights have rapid on-off cycles that, while imperceptible to the human eye, wreak havoc for exposure at faster shutter speeds. Without the feature, a reliable percentage of your shots will be underexposed. With the anti-flicker option on the 7D Mark II, the camera's exposure sensor detects the flicker of these lights and subtly delays the shutter release to ensure photos are only captured when the lights are at their brightest.

There are other notable improvements and additions to the Mark II, including, for the first time, the inclusion of a built-in intervalometer and bulb timer function -- the first such feature in a Canon camera since the EOS-10s in 1990. Nikon users have long enjoyed this feature, while Canon shooters had to resort to external triggers and timers for their time-lapse needs. This is a welcome change indeed.

Squarely aimed as a professional video tool, the 7D Mark II includes both a 3.5mm microphone jack and a headphone jack for monitoring audio. There's also HDMI output (more on that further down) and a USB 3.0 connection. For both HDMI and USB ports, Canon will be including a cable protector/cable locking housing to prevent accidental strain to the cables and ports. Canon stressed that this was an essential item particularly when using the USB 3.0 connection, as damage to this port can require an expensive repair.

Like the 6D, there is now a built-in GPS, and Canon also added a compass function. The GPS module itself has been upgraded to add support for the Russian GLONASS system, which improves positioning accuracy. Unfortunately, there's no built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, which struck us as odd in 2014. When asked about this, Canon said the omission owed to interference from the all-metal construction. Cameras like the 70D have a mixture of metal and plastic -- the top face of the 70D being polycarbonate for instance -- so Wi-Fi radio signals are not blocked.

Lastly, storage and batteries have changed for the Mark II as well -- for the better on both fronts. Taking a cue from the 5D3, the new camera has dual card slots -- one UDMA 7 CF slot and one UHS-type SD slot. Users will be able to automatically switch to a second card upon filling the first, as well as record RAW and JPEG files to separate cards. Canon claims there should be no issue with write speed to the SD card when using the dual slots in sequential mode, though no information was available about performance when writing data to both card types simultaneously.

The 7D Mark II uses a new battery pack -- the LP-E6N -- however, before you groan loudly after spending truckloads of cash on multiple LP-E6 batteries for earlier Canon DSLRs, we should mention that the 7D Mark II is fully compatible with older LP-E6 batteries: the new "N" variants are the same shape, but have a higher capacity. They also happen to be compatible with the older LP-E6 chargers.

Build Quality & Design

While the original 7D was not technically a 1D-series camera, in terms of build quality and level of dust- and weather-sealing, it was most certainly a rugged camera with 1D-like construction and a full magnesium alloy chassis. In fact, Canon described the level of dust- and weather-sealing on the 7D as matching that of the EOS-1N film SLR. The 7D was a well-built camera that's been known to take quite a beating -- or even some downright torture* -- and keep on ticking (*Don't try this at home, please).

With the new 7D Mark II, Canon's upped the game with even better construction, and dust- and weather-sealing that's "four times better than the 7D." Now, Canon didn't provide a numerical metric as to what "four times better" constitutes, but given the toughness of the original 7D, the Mark II version is most assuredly up to the challenge of shooting in the field in dusty, rainy and generally terrible conditions.

Special care has also been given to the shutter and mirror mechanisms in the Mark II. The shutter mechanism is now rated up to 200,000 shutter actuations (up from 150K in the 7D), and the mirror mechanism was redesigned to more closely resemble the 1D X's system. Specifically, the Mark II now uses a motor to move the mirror directly, rather than relying on springs like the 7D. That means you can expect reduced vibrations from the mirror.

For the upward movement, Canon even built in a tiny brass, spring-mounted counterweight to help counteract vibration. And on the downward movement, a "bound prevention" mechanism slows the mirror drop as it reaches the end of its movement. This is a critical feature for improving AF performance. In a DSLR, some of the light is reflected down through the primary mirror to hit the AF sensor. For fast and accurate AF performance, you want the mirror drop actuation after taking a shot to be as steady and as quick as possible so the AF cycle can begin again.

Aside from the build quality itself, the new 7D Mark II design is classic Canon DSLR, bringing the styling and button layout of the 5D Mark III, with one new change. The 7D Mark II surrounds the normal multi-directional "joystick" button on the rear of the camera with a new AF area-selection thumb lever. By default, this lever lets you toggle through the various AF area patterns after pressing the AF Point Selection Button at the top right-most corner on the back of the camera. Out of the box, this lever mimics the same behavior as the Multi-function M-Fn button that sits up top behind the shutter release button. Now, Canon gives you another, perhaps more comfortable, option for quickly changing AF point modes without taking the camera down from your eye, while at the same time freeing up the M-Fn button for further functionality.

Of course, buttons are customizable on the 7D Mark II and both the AF area-selection thumb lever and the M-Fn can be programmed for other functions that better suit your shooting style.
The depth-of-field preview button has also been re-positioned from the left side of the lens mount to the right side for easier reach when gripping the camera.

Video Features

While the 7D Mark II will undoubtedly provide image quality and AF performances for still photography, the camera's video enhancement are perhaps the most intriguing and significant upgrade from the original 7D.

With the extra processing horsepower, the 7D Mark II is now able to record in both MOV and MP4 formats and up to 1920 x 1080 resolution at 60p, which is up from the maximum of 30p in the previous model (720/60p is still present). Like Canon introduced on the 5D Mark III, the new 7D Mark II includes both ALL-I intraframe compression for higher quality video and IPB interframe compression for smaller file sizes. However, for the first time Canon is offering a third compression scheme for video recording -- IPB Light -- which is an even more compressed format for those times when sheer length of recording time or memory card capacity is paramount.

Of course, one of the hallmark features for video recording on the 7D Mark II is Canon's Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology, first found on the 70D. The 70D's introduction of Dual Pixel AF was certainly game-changing, and with the 7D Mark II the performance and functionality of this full-time video AF system are expanded further.

Videographers can now adjust the Movie Servo AF Speed, including separate speeds for before and during recording. For example, you can set up the camera to quickly lock focus on a subject prior to recording, and then once you begin capturing video, the speed of focus transitions between subjects could be set slower or faster depending on the look you want in that particular scene. You can also adjust the Movie Servo AF Tracking Sensitivity, similar to how Servo AF can be adjusted for still images. With this setting, you can bias the camera towards maintaining your current focus point, or toward quickly focusing once a new target moves into frame. For instance, similar to the advantage brought on by back-button focusing, by adjusting the sensitivity of Movie Servo AF tracking, you can set the camera to be less likely to re-focus if someone or something moves between the camera and your intended subject.

Also new for the 7D-series, is the option for clean, uncompressed HDMI video output in 8-bit 4:2:2 with variable bit rate quality (internal video is recorded at 8-bit 4:2:0 VBR like previous Canon HD-DSLRs). Users have the option of having viewfinder information mirrored over the HDMI signal for use with larger monitors, or disabled for clean external recording. The camera supports simultaneous internal recording and output of clean HDMI signals, however the cameras rear LCD is disabled in this mode. And for the first time on a Canon HD-DSLR, there's also HDMI audio output, which will help for syncing audio with external recorders or for monitoring camera audio away from the camera itself.

The Canon 7D Mark II has a number of other advanced video features including timecode support, a silent movie mode, and, for the first time, optical distortion correction in movie mode.

Hands-on

We had the opportunity to get some brief hands-on time with a pre-production version of the 7D Mark II, and as expected, it feels very well built and extremely solid, just like the 7D and 5D Mark III before it. The deep, contoured handgrip will feel very familiar to users of the 7D and 5D Mark III, and is covered in Canon's typical rubberized material for a nice, secure hold.

Ergonomically, there's not a drastic difference in button layout, though long-time users of the 7D will undoubtedly notice slight tweaks and additions to rear buttons. Compared to the previous model, the Quick Menu button has been moved from the top left corner down between the rear control dial and the joystick button. Menu and Info buttons are placed now on the upper left side of the LCD. Five buttons left of the LCD follow the layout introduced with the 5D Mark III, with Creative Style, a Rate button, a Zoom button, and finally the Playback and Delete buttons arranged from top to bottom. Rather than silkscreen the logo next to the button, Canon's eliminated the doubt and puts logos right on the buttons.

The 7D Mark II keeps the same photo/movie Live View toggle switch with start/stop button next to the OVF like the original 7D, however the camera can now be configured to use the shutter release button for stopping and starting video recording. This ergonomic decision has a secondary benefit: because the shutter now starts and stops video recording, a simple cable release allows you to start and stop recording. This is great for tripod-based shooting to eliminate any issues with bumping the camera, as well as when shooting on shoulder rigs because you can run the cable release down on to handgrip a la the Canon Cinema EOS cameras.

Like the previous model, the optical viewfinder provides 100 percent coverage, and it felt nice and bright. In the Mark II, the viewfinder has been given an upgrade, though, to the new Intelligent VF II, which provides much more shooting and exposure information around the frame than the older model.

Also new for the 7D-series are interchangeable focusing screens. The default screen is calibrated to display approximately a f/5.6 depth of field, however for precise manual focusing with f/2.8 lenses or faster, a Super Precision Matte screen is available as an optional accessory that will show the true super-thin depths of field through the viewfinder.

Overall, the Canon 7D Mark II feels super-solid and well-built, and based on the specs and claimed performance capabilities, Canon sounds like they have another winner on their hands. If you're ready to upgrade from your 7D or simply need a DSLR with some serious photo and video horsepower, the Canon 7D Mark II should be at the top of your list.

Pricing and Availability

The new Canon 7D Mark II was released in November 2014 and is 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. The BG-E16 Battery Grip and optional Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E7A Version 2 are also available, with the grip retailing for around $215 and the WFT-E7A Version 2 going for $769. Both the Canon 7D Mark II camera and Battery Grip are backwards-compatible with the current LP-E6 batteries.

Place your order with a trusted Imaging Resource affiliate now:

• Canon 7D Mark II body-only: ADORAMA | AMAZON | B&H
• Canon 7D Mark II with EF-S 18-135mm IS STM lens: ADORAMA | AMAZON | B&H

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