Our first thoughts after playing with Canon's most enthusiast-centric SLR
"A new sensor and processing engine combination, along with advanced
metering and AF systems, give the 7D Mark II bags of appeal to the
enthusiast wedded to the idea of an SLR rather than a compact system
camera."
For
10fps continuous shooting
Excellent ergonomics
Lots of customisation options available
Against
Fixed screen that's not touch-sensitive
No Wi-Fi connectivity built-in
SLR design means the viewfinder can't show the image as it will be captured
As
the Canon 7D was launched way back in 2009, its update is somewhat
overdue and there have been rumours of a Mark II version for quite some
time. Now at last the Canon 7D Mark II has been revealed and can take
its place as the manufacturer's flagship APS-C format camera. Canon is
claiming that it will produce 'best in class' image quality.
Although the new camera has a 20.2-million-pixel sensor like the Canon 70D,
we are told that it is a new device. The micro lenses have also been
redesigned for improved efficiency (i.e. light transmission) and this
should contribute to an improvement in image quality. What's
more, this sensor is coupled with Dual Digic 6 processing engines to
make the camera faster and more responsive. This enables a maximum
continuous shooting speed of 10 frames per second (fps) for 31 raw files
or until the card is full with JPEGs; and a native sensitivity range of
ISO 100-16,000 with expansion settings taking it up to ISO 51,200.
That's the highest non-expansion setting in any Canon
SLR. The maximum continuous shooting rate can be set to 2-10fps in High
mode, 1-9fps in Low and 1-4fps in Silent shooting mode. The
Canon 7D's autofocus system is widely respected, but the 7D Mark II
improves upon it with a 65-point system, with all those points being the
more sensitive cross-type. In addition, the central point is a
dual-cross type at f/2.8 and sensitive down to f/8, which is very useful
for photographers who want to use an extender with their telephoto
lenses. The central point is also claimed to function down to -3EV
(moonlight).
Canon has given the new camera the same EOS iTR AF and AI Servo AF III autofocus technologies as the Canon EOS-1Dx and Canon 5D Mark III.
These give the photographer a selection of six shooting scenarios to
tailor the AF system so it has the best chance of keeping a moving
subject sharp. Exposure
is handled by a new 150,000-pixel RGB and infrared sensor – that's
better than the Canon 1DX, which has a 100,000-pixel sensor – and is
divided into 252 zones. As a result, the 7D Mark II is likely to respond
differently to the original 7D in some situations. It will be
interesting to see how the camera reacts in high contrast situations and
if the same weighting is given to the brightness of the area under the
active AF point.
Like the Canon 70D,
the 7D Mark II's sensor has pixels that can be used for phase detection
focusing (Dual Pixel AF) in Live View and Video mode. This enables
smoother, faster focusing than contrast detection alone. Unlike the 70D,
however, the speed at which the focusing occurs can be varied to allow
for slower, more cinematic adjustments in video mode. Further
good news for keen videographers is that Full HD video can be recorded
in Mov or MP4 format at up to 60p in NTSC mode or 50p in PAL. There's an
HDMI port that can provide a clean uncompressed (4:2:2) feed to
external recorders and there are ports to connect both a microphone and a
headphone for better sound recording and monitoring.
There's
also a USB 3.0 port for faster image transfer, and a bracket ships with
the camera to hold the cable securely in place when shooting with the
camera tethered to a computer. On
the back of the camera is a 3-inch, 1,040,000-dot LCD screen which can
be used for composing Movies or images in Live View mode. Naturally,
given that the 7D Mark II is an SLR, there's also an optical viewfinder.
This shows 100% of the field of view and is capable of displaying key
information such as the drive mode when the appropriate control is used
to make an adjustment. There's also an electronic level visible at the
top of the viewfinder which works independently of the AF buttons.
To
help deal with the inconsistent exposure that can trouble images taken
under fluorescent lights, Canon has included a Flicker detection option
that when selected changes the shutter lag for more consistent exposure.
It will be interesting to see how this performs. Canon
has given the 7D Mark II dual card slots: one can accept SD/SDHC/SDXC
media while the other is compatible with CompactFlash (CF) cards. This
may seen unusual now, but it's a good idea decision given that the
camera is likely to appeal to photographers upgrading from cameras with
SD card slots, as well as those looking for a second body to support a
camera that uses CF cards.
CF cards are also generally
faster and have better heat sinking than SD media, which makes them a
better choice in a camera that can shoot at 10fps. Other
specification highlights include an intervalometer for shooting
time-lapse sequences and the like (it has the same functionality as
Canon's TC-80N3 Timer Remote Controller),
multiple exposure mode, a built-in compass and GPS technology
comparable with the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver to enable geotagging of
images.
It's also nice to see the advanced HDR
capability of the 5D Mark III, as this allows you to record a sequence
of three raw files as well as the composite JPEG image that is created
in-camera. One
disappointment, however, is that the 7D Mark II doesn't have Wi-Fi
connectivity built-in. This seems a shame as it would allow
photographers to control the camera remotely via Canon's smartphone app.
It seems odd that this is missing from Canon's top-end,
enthusiast-level APS-C format camera when the full-frame Canon 6D, which
is aimed at a similar audience, has it. Those wishing to transfer
images wirelessly will have to purchase the Canon WFT-E7B Wireless
Transmitter.
The new camera takes a new, higher capacity
variety of the LP-E6 battery that the 7D takes; helpfully, this is
backwards compatible.
Performance and early verdict
As the 7D Mark II uses a new sensor and I have yet to see
any images from it, I can't draw any firm conclusions about the image
quality that it produces. Canon is claiming that it produces 'best in
class' images, but the definition of the camera's class is doubtless
subject to a list a qualifications.
Given that the pixel
count is 20.2 million, we can be reasonably confident that the camera
won't be able to resolve as much detail as a 24-million pixel model like
the Nikon D7100 or D5300.
However, there are lots of cameras around at the moment with 16 million
pixels that produce superb images that people are very happy with, so
that isn't a major issue. Canon's
automatic white balance system is one of the best around and it
generally does a great job of capturing the atmosphere of a scene and
not rendering warm tones completely neutral. In fact it often tends
towards slight warmth in neutral or cool conditions to produce a more
pleasing image.
I see no reason to expect the 7D Mark II to perform any
differently in this regard, but we will test the camera fully in a range
of lighting conditions to make sure when we get a review sample in. In
the past, Canon's iFCL metering system has been a mixed blessing. In
some situations it does an excellent job and produces images with the
subject correctly exposed, but in high contrast conditions the weighting
that it applies to the brightness of the subject under the active AF
point can cause dramatic under- or over-exposure of much of the scene.
I'm
looking forward to investigating the 7D Mark II's new 252-zone metering
system which gathers data from a 150,000-pixel RGB and infrared sensor.
Will it manage to balance the exposure of high contrast scenes more
successfully? Canon's
recent high-end AF systems are excellent and the 65-point version in
the 7D Mark II looks promising. I want to experiment with the hybrid AF
system, which is available when images are composed on the LCD screen in
Live View mode or when shooting movie footage. It will be interesting
to investigate the different speed options.
Early verdict
Although
there are many photographers that are happy to use a camera with 16
million pixels on either an APS-C or full-frame format sensor, I suspect
that there will be quite a few who criticise Canon for only making a
modest increase on the 7D's pixel count (18 million) for the Mark II
version (20.2 million).
However, it's important to
remember that there are significant benefits to having a more modest
pixel count. Granted, detail resolution may not be through the roof, but
the images are likely to have great dynamic range and latitude so that
the camera can be used more successfully in a greater range of
conditions and images adjusted more satisfactorily. The
7D Mark II is aimed at dedicated enthusiast photographers and users who
want to be able to use their camera to shoot a wide variety of subjects
in a huge range of conditions and produce high quality results.
There
are some nice features in the 7D Mark II, not least the versatile AF
system, the ability to create in-camera HDR images, and to record a
sequence of three raw files for post-capture processing and bespoke
merging; there's even a helpful rating button. However,
I think it is a mistake to miss off one of the current 'must have'
features – Wi-Fi connectivity. This allows users to control their camera
remotely while seeing the live view image on their smartphone screen.
It's the type of feature that an enthusiast will appreciate because they
understand the benefit of not touching the camera when taking a shot
with the camera on a tripod.
It also encourages the
camera to be used instead of a smartphone because the image can still be
shared quickly. I think Wi-Fi connectivity is more useful than GPS
technology since I usually know where I've been shooting. In addition,
Wi-Fi connectivity effectively adds GPS technology and geotagging if you
want it. Photography
is going though a major transition at the moment, with compact system
cameras becoming increasingly significant in the market. There are still
photographers who have yet to be convinced of the benefits of an
electronic viewfinder (EVF), but these devices have improved to the
extent that for many they are now becoming a sensible and desirable
option.
It's starting to become strange that you can pay
£1600 (approx US$2,500/AU$2,825) for a camera and still not know what
the image will look like until after it has been taken.
That
said, there are still many photographers for whom an SLR is the only
option that they will consider, and the 7D Mark II looks like a good,
solid proposition. I'm looking forward to testing it fully in the near
future. Sample images
