Canon EOS 7D Mark II Review

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Sharpen Your Focus With all new EOS 7D Mark II Canon D-SLR, a successor to the APS-C D-SLR, the 7D. comes with 65-point autofocus system runs circles around the original 7D’s 19-point system, and on-sensor phase detection vastly improves autofocus speed when recording video. There are some drawbacks; it doesn’t have an articulating rear display or integrated Wi-Fi like the less expensive Sony Alpha 77 II. But the 7D Mark II is a killer SLR that action shooters and videographers should take a close look at.

As you’d expect from an SLR that’s positioned at the top of its class, the 7D Mark II features a big, bright optical viewfinder with 100 percent frame coverage. A black outline shows the area covered by the 7D’s autofocus system that lights up in red when the focus system is engaged. The active focus point is also displayed in the OVF, as is a digital level, and icons that let you know when the auto focus system is engaged and when you’re shooting under flickering lights. Shooting information is displayed via a green LCD that runs across the bottom and along the right side of the finder.

WHEN DENSITY CALLS

The rear LCD on the Canon EOS 

7D Mark II isn’t hinged, but its 

1,040k-dot resolution makes 

it look incredibly sharp.

DESIGN AND FEATURES

 7D Mark II

INTERFACE READY

A number of interface ports let you 

easily get your data from the 7D 

Mark II; there’s even support 

for two memory cards.

The 7D Mark II is as big as some smaller full-frame bodies, measuring 4.4-inch x 5.9-inch x 3.1-inch and weighing 2 pounds. Its 1/8,000-second shutter is rated to 200,000 cycles and the body is sealed to protect it from dust and water. The result is an extremely durable body that feels a lot more solid than the company’s entry-level full-frame offering, the EOS 6D.

Some design choices had to be made to achieve the durability the 7D Mark II promises. The rear 1,040k-dot-resolution LCD is a fixed panel, which isn’t quite as useful for video as the vari-angle display that Canon uses in the midrange 70D, and the magnesium alloy chassis means that there’s no built-in Wi-Fi, as an all-metal build interferes with wireless data transmission. That didn’t stop Canon from including a GPS module, which adds location data to images when enabled; Sony went the opposite route with its Alpha 77 II, omitting a GPS and including Wi-Fi, as well as a hinge-mounted display.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II PERFORMANCE AND CONCLUSIONS

PROS

• 10fps continuous shooting. 
• 65-point cross-type autofocus system. 
• Good control layout.
• Huge JPEG shooting buffer. 
• Lots of detail at high ISO.
• Access to Canon lens system.
• 1/8,000-second shutter. 
• Integrated GPS. 
• CompactFlash, SD card slots. 
• Shoots 1080p60 video. 

CONS

• Pricey. 
• Lacks built-in Wi-Fi. 
• Fixed rear LCD. 
• Servo AF unavailable when shooting at 1080p60.