Canon EOS 7D DSLR Preview
Digital Camera Professional Performance At An Affordable Price
Sep 5, 2009
The recent release of APS-C size sensor cameras with a host of professional features by Nikon with their D300s and Pentax’s K7 left Canon slightly behind, until the announcement of their 7D.
The Canon EOS 7D is new model, rather than an upgrade of an existing model. It is considerably cheaper than the Canon’s budget full frame professional camera the 5D Mk11, and only a bit more expensive than Canon’s previous APS-C sensor flagship, the 50D.
The 7D is particularly interesting for owners of Canon APS-C size sensor DSLRs looking to upgrade to a professional standard DSLR while still using all their existing lenses systems based on EF-S lenses or third party lenses such as Tokina and Sigma made specifically for APS-C sensors.
“We consulted over 5,000 photographers worldwide and asked them what they most wanted to see from a camera. Matching this insight with cutting-edge technology, we were able to develop a camera that truly gives photographers the versatile tool they require to experiment with their images,” said Mr Uchidoi, Group Executive of Photo Products Group, Canon Inc. Japan.
On sign that the Canon EOS 7D is aimed at knowledgeable photographers are the features Canon emphasise in their promotional releases. Forget live view and movie modes, although the 7D does have these features, Canon are focusing on improvements to camera performance.
High Resolution Sensor
The most obvious new feature is the Canon developed class leading 18Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor. According to Canon the EOS 7D sensor features condensed circuitry with improved sensitivity and increased capacity of the photodiodes, which helps reduce noise at high ISO and reduces highlight clipping when shooting in bright conditions.
Canon says they concentrated on designing gapless micro-lenses in the sensor so the photodiodes capture more light.
Along with the hardware research, Canon updated their image processing software and says the new DIGIC 4 removes colour noise as well as reducing luminance noise without loss in detail, so that at ISO 6400 noise levels are similar to those of ISO 1600 from the older DIGIC III equipped cameras.
The Canon EOS 7D boasts an impressive ISO range of 100 – 6400, and this is expandable to 12800 for photographing subjects in their natural light without using a flash.
Shooting Speed
The EOS 7D also features: Dual “DIGIC 4” processors to cope with the extra pixels per image, and the extra noise reduction tasks, yet the camera has an impressive continuous shooting rate of 8 frames per second. The EOS 7D can maintain this speed for up to 126 images when shooting JPEG while using a UDMA card and for 15 images when saving the images in the Raw format.
Improved Autofocus
Canon have always been at the forefront of autofocus performance so when Canon says the “EOS 7D boasts the most advanced AF system ever seen in an EOS SLR” photographers should be in for a treat.
The EOS 7D has a 19-point cross-type AF sensor and the improved AF system offers a range of manual and automatic settings. Action photographers will appreciate the Zone and Spot AF modes for tracking and capturing moving subjects quickly and accurately.
These modes allow photographers to use a smaller area of the sensor to determine focus. This is useful for small subjects where background detail might distract the AF sensor. The Zone AF limits automatic selection to one of five zones. Canon says this makes it easier to focus on fast moving subjects that are difficult to track with Single Point AF or AF point expansion, such as birds in flight.
Metering
The EOS 7D also incorporates a new metering system. The EOS 7D combats the problem of metering sensors being more sensitive to red subjects, leading to overexposure. Canon’s new system has a dual layer sensor, with one layer sensitive to red and green light and one that is sensitive to blue and green light. The meter compares the level of the two layers and adjusts the meter reading accordingly.
Viewfinder
Real photographers prefer to use optical viewfinders, and Canon made sure the EOS 7D will not disappoint in this area. The Canon EOS 7D Intelligent Viewfinder t offers photographers 100 per cent frame coverage with 1.0x magnification. This offers photographers see a large bright image that helps with critical composition and fine adjustments to focusing.
Canon have incorporated a transmissive LCD in the viewfinder so photographers can choose between various overlay features such as AF points, the spot metering circle and a composition grid. The EOS 7D is also includes a Dual-Axis Electronic Level in the viewfinder and on the LCD. This feature is for important for landscape photographers to ensure a level horizon.
Weather Sealing
This is important for action and landscape photographers as they sometimes have to shoot in unfavourable weather conditions. The Canon EOS7D has a light, yet strong, magnesium alloy body offering protection against moisture, and dust.
Availability
The Canon EOS 7D Digital SLR camera is set for U.S. release at the end of September. In a body-only configuration the estimated retail price is $US 1,699.00. In a kit version with Canon's EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens the estimated retail price is $US1,899.00.
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