The Skinny on the 7D II/Part I

[Arthur Morris]

The 7D II/7D Specs Comparison Chart

	EOS-7D Mark II DSLR Camera	EOS-7D DSLR Camera
Lens Mount	Canon EF (compatible with EF and EF-S lenses)	Canon EF (compatible with EF and EF-S lenses)
Image Sensor	APS-C (22.4 x 15.0 mm) CMOS	APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) CMOS
Image Processor	Dual DIGIC 6	Dual DIGIC 4
Effective Pixels	20.2 MP	18.0 MP
Total Pixels	20.9 MP	19.0 MP
Maximum Resolution	5472 x 3648	5184 x 3456
Aspect Ratio	3:2	3:2
Still Image File Format	JPEG, RAW	JPEG, RAW
Storage Media	CF Card Type 1, UDMA-compliant; SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards	CF Card Type 1 and II, UDMA-compliant
Card Slot	1 x CF 1 x SD	1 x CF
Viewfinder Type	Intelligent Viewfinder II (Eye-level pentaprism)	Intelligent Viewfinder (Eye-level pentaprism)
Frame Coverage	100%	100%
Magnification	1.0x -1m-1 with 50mm lens at infinity / 29.6° angle of view	1.0x -1m-1 with 50mm lens at infinity / 29.4° angle of view
Eyepoint	22 mm from eyepiece lens center	22 mm from eyepiece lens center
Diopter Adjustment	-3.0 to +1.0m-1	-3.0 to +1.0m-1
Shutter Type	Vertical-travel, mechanical, electronically-controlled, focal-plane shutter	Vertical-travel, mechanical, electronically-controlled, focal-plane shutter
Shutter Speed	30 seconds to 1/8000 second	30 seconds to 1/8000 second
Flash Sync Speed	1/250 second	1/250 second
Drive Modes	Single, high-speed continuous (10 fps), low-speed continuous (3 fps, default), silent single shooting, silent continuous shooting (4 fps), self-timer	Single, high-speed continuous (8 fps), low-speed continuous (3 fps), self-timer
Top Continuous Shooting Rate	10 fps	8 fps
Self-Timer	10 or 2 seconds	10 or 2 seconds
Exposure Metering System	150,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor with 252-zone EOS iSA system	63-zone SPC TTL metering
Metering Method	Evaluative, partial, spot, center-weighted	Evaluative, partial, spot, center-weighted
Metering Range	EV 0-20	EV 1-20
Exposure Modes	Program, shutter priority, aperture priority, Creative Auto, full auto, manual, E-TTL II autoflash program	Program, shutter priority, aperture priority, Creative Auto, full auto, manual, E-TTL II autoflash program
Exposure Compensation	±5 stops in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments	±5 stops in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments
ISO Sensitivity	100-16000 (Expandable to H1: 25600 and H2: 51200)	100-6400 (Expanded: 100-12800)
Autofocus System	TTL secondary image-forming phase-difference detection with AF-dedicated CMOS sensor	TTL-CT-SIR AF-dedicated CMOS sensor
Number of Focus Points	65 all cross-type (f/2.8 at center, dual cross-type)	19 all cross-type (f/2.8 at center, dual cross-type)
Focus Modes	One-Shot, Predictive AI Servo, AI Focus AF, Manual	One-Shot, Predictive AI Servo, AI Focus AF, Manual
Autofocus Sensitivity	As low as EV -3.0 Live View, Dual Pixel CMOS AF: EV 0-18	EV -0.5-18
Built-In Flash	Yes	Yes, GN: 39' / 12 m at ISO 100 and 15mm (APS-C)
Flash Control	E-TTL II	E-TTL II
Flash Modes	Auto, manual, multi flash	Auto, manual, multi flash
Flash Compensation	±3 stops in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments	±3 stops in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments
External Flash Interface	Hot shoe, PC terminal	Hot shoe, PC terminal
White Balance Modes	Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Twilight, Sunset, Tungsten, White Fluorescent, Flash, Custom, Color Temperature	Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Light, White Fluorescent Light, Flash, Custom, Color Temperature
White Balance Bracketing	Not specified by manufacturer	±3 levels in 1 step increments
Movie Recording	Yes	Yes
Movie Resolutions	MOV Format 1920 x 1080: 59.94 / 29.97 / 24.00 / 23.976 1280 x 720: 59.94 640 x 480: 29.97 MP4 Format 1920 x 1080: 59.94 / 29.97 / 24.00 / 23.976 1280 x 720: 59.94 / 29.97 640 x 480: 29.97	1920 x 1080p: 29.97 / 23.976 / 25 1280 x 720p: 59.94 / 50 640 x 480p: 59.94 / 50
Movie Exposure Modes	Program, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual	Program AE, Manual exposure
File Format	MOV, MP4	MOV
Compression	MOV Format (IPB / All-I) Image Data: MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 Audio: Linear PCM MP4 Format (IPB / All-I) Image Data: MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 (Variable bit rate) Audio: AAC	Image Data: H.264 Audio: Linear PCM (monaural)
Audio Recording	Yes, with video	Yes, with video
External Microphone Input	Yes, 3.5mm	Yes, 3.5mm
Headphone Jack	Yes, 3.5mm	N/A
Maximum Recording Time	29 minutes 59 seconds	1920 x 1080: 12 minutes 1280 x 720: 12 minutes 640 x 480: 24 minutes
Monitor	3.0" 1,040k-dot Color Clear View II Color TFT LCD	3.0" 920k-dot Color TFT LCD
Monitor Viewing Angle	Not specified by manufacturer	170°
Interface	USB 3.0 Video OUT (NTSC / PAL) mini-HDMI OUT	USB 2.0 Video OUT (NTSC / PAL) mini-HDMI OUT
Wi-Fi	N/A	N/A
GPS	Yes, built-in	N/A
Power Source	1 x LP-E6N Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Pack Optional ACK-E6 AC Power Adapter Optional BG-E16 Battery Grip	1 x LP-E6 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Pack Optional ACK-E6 AC Power Adapter Optional BG-E7 Battery Grip
Battery Life	Approx. 800 at 73°F / 23°C	Approx. 1000 at 73°F / 23°C
Operating Environment	Temperature: 32 to 104°F / 0 to 40°C Humidity: 85% or less	Temperature: 32 to 104°F / 0 to 40°C Humidity: 85% or less
Dimensions	5.9 x 4.4 x 3.1" / 15.0 x 11.2 x 7.9 cm	5.8 x 4.4 x 2.9" / 14.8 x 11.1 x 7.4 cm
Weight	28.9 oz / 820 g (body only)	28.9 oz / 820 g (body only)

Thanks to Peter Kes for making it possible to post the chart above :).

What Jumps Out At Me?

First off, let’s not forget that the 7D II is a 1.6 crop factor camera that increases the effective focal length of you lens by 60%….

Is it likely that the Dual Digic 6 processors will yield higher quality images with less noise at the higher ISOs? Probably. To know for sure we need to get our hands on a 7D II, get out, create some images, and see how they look on a good monitor. To that end B&H ordered a loaner for me so I should have my hands on one of the first 7D II bodies. Today, I will try to arrange to borrow one from Canon for testing soon but success there for whatever ridiculous reasons is not likely. Some folks including me were not huge fans of the original 7D’s tiny pixels, especially at the higher ISOs and in cloudy or overcast conditions. That said, some folks, like BPN Avian Forum Moderator Dan Cadieux have done just fine with the 7D. If you are a non-believer, click here.

The addition of an SD card slot should make some folks happy. I never use them in fear of losing the tiny SD cards….

The top continuous shooting (frame) rate of 10 fps should make all bird and wildlife photographers happy. Be sure to read the fine print when it becomes available as the maximum frame rate often drops considerably when you go from One-Shot or Manual focus to AI Servo AF.

The new metering system sounds impressive but getting the right exposure will always be more about the photographer’s understanding of exposure theory and their camera’s metering system than about the camera’s metering system….

The expanded ISO Sensitivity (expandable to ISO 25,600 and ISO 51,200) is not likely to be of interest to most nature photographers.

The improved autofocus system sounds great but as always, the proof will be in the pudding. But the My T Fine Pudding is not yet on the shelves.

The improved low light AF sensitivity sounds great as well.

It’s been so long since I have used a 7D that I had forgotten that it has a Built-in Flash. That feature has been continued in the 7D II. I always enjoyed having a pop up flash available for both indoor shooting and for a very few nature photography applications.

I am not qualified to comment on the improvements in the movie capabilities of the new camera but they too sound exciting.

AF at f/8

I was directed to this on the Canon Europe website:

AF System/ Points: 65 cross-type AF points (Centre point is an extra sensitive dual-cross-type point at f/2.8, cross-type at f/8, and sensitive to -3EV).

This is a huge plus as folks will be able to AF with f/5.6 lenses and a 1.4X TC and will be able to AF with f/4 lenses and a 2X TC…. This is so huge that I will try to confirm it with Canon USA’s top technical representative Chuck Westfall today.

More Neat Stuff

A built-in intervalometer permits the creation of time-lapse imagery and supports recording 1-99 consecutive frames in pre-selected intervals. This sounds like a great feature that will make it easy for folks to experiment with time-lapse photography.

Your Call

If you feel that I missed something important here, or if you have any questions on the comparative specifications chart, please fire away and I will do best.

Please consider supporting BPN by using our B&H affiliate logo link below to pre-order your 7D II. It will not cost you a penny more and will help us continue to bring you the latest info and quality critiques.

[Joe Subolefsky]

Read it this morning on your blog, nice breakdown. I cant wait to get one of these with a bare 500 out in the marsh for my ducks in flight stuff. I don't expect it to match my 5DIII for noise but if it can go to 1600 iso without a noise issue I will be happy as heck!

[Arthur Morris]

Read it this morning on your blog, nice breakdown. I cant wait to get one of these with a bare 500 out in the marsh for my ducks in flight stuff. I don't expect it to match my 5DIII for noise but if it can go to 1600 iso without a noise issue I will be happy as heck!

Thanks. Me too. As I said above, and as Arash has said elsewhere, image quality on paper and image quality on a good laptop might be two different things. All pixels are not created equal....

I wish that we had gotten to you and a few others earlier so that you could have used one of our affiliate links to pre-order. Asleep at the switch :).

[Don Thompson]

Artie, you seem somewhat skeptical.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Don,

Just a bit. Perhaps. I am 100% positive that the 7D II will be a huge improvement on the 7D. In addition, I wrote this in this morning's blog when I was responding to a question on 7D AF with older lenses:

I am sure that the 7D II will focus better than the 7D on any lens. I am sure that the 7D II will AF just fine with the older EF lenses. And I am sure that it will AF faster and more accurately with the Series II super-telephotos than with the older lenses. Not because of anything to do with the camera, simply because the Series II lenses feature better AF than the older lenses.

You should subscribe. There will be lots more on the 7D in tomorrow's post.

So what is my concern? I need to see some 7D II images created by me in various lighting conditions at various ISOs to determine if I will be adding one to my gear bag....

There is a chance that I may get to borrow one for a week in OCT.....