Up in the sky, look—It’s a bird. It’s a plane! It’s… a skydiving Canon 7D Mark II??

 

 

Now here's something you don't see a digital SLR doing every day: Just a little before it was due to hit the market, Austrian pro photographer Christian Anderl got his hands on the brand-new, pre-production Canon EOS 7D Mark II. Looking for some unique ways to test its abilities, he got in touch with friend and pro photographer, and together they took the 7D Mark II on a plane ride.

But this was to be no ordinary flight: This was a Pilatus PC-6 Porter, a short takeoff-and-landing-capable Swiss aircraft used by the Red Bull Skydive team. And boy, did they ever have an unusual task for the Canon 7D II.

Where most of us, presented with a skydiving opportunity, would reach for a GoPro -- if we weren't found cowering behind the sofa saying silent prayers of gratitude to the firm ground beneath us, that is -- Lienbacher borrowed Anderls' pre-production camera, and proceeded to enter the history books as most likely the first person to throw himself out of a perfectly good airplane, complete with a Canon 7D Mark II. And not only did he take the camera with him: He actually it strapped to his helmet, for a high-quality, first-person view of the experience.

Both men seemed thoroughly impressed with the Canon's performance in this extremely unusual real-world test. Watch Lienbacher and Anderl discuss the shoot, and what the 7D II brought to the table. You'll also see quite a bit of graded footage from the pre-production camera, all in the YouTube video above. Want to know more about the camera itself? Read our Canon 7D II hands-on preview!

(via Canon Rumors)