As such I got to try the camera under a broad variety of conditions in addition to my usual test locations around my home town of Brighton. I tested the EOS 7D Mark II over Christmas and New Year, split roughly between family gatherings and a road trip across Western Europe to Italy. Read on to find out if this is the camera for you! Canon EOS 7D Mark II field report It all adds up to a highly confident DSLR, especially for sports, wildlife and event shooters, but what about everyone else? To find out I tested the 7D Mark II under a wide variety of conditions and situations to find out where it excels and where other options may be more appropriate. The Mark II also inherits the iTR AF and AI Servo AF III technologies of the 1Dx and sports twin memory card slots too. Inside there’s a new highly customizable 65 point AF system, all of which are cross-type sensors, with the center point sensitive down to -3EV, a big improvement over the 19-point AF system of the 7D. Canon also claims small improvements in photo image quality over the 70D.
But it is a different sensor, now with 8 channel readout, supporting the faster continuous shooting speed of 10fps (versus 8fps on the 7D) and 1080p video at 60p (versus 30p). The 20.2 Megapixel APSC sensor shares the same resolution as the EOS 70D and also inherits the Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology of that model, allowing it to smoothly and confidently refocus during Live View and Movies.
Announced in September 2014 it comes a considerable five years after the original EOS 7D, and aims at a similar group who want the handling and power of a pro body at a lower price than the 1D series. The Canon EOS 7D Mark II is a semi-pro DSLR featuring 20.2 Megapixels, 10fps continuous shooting, tough build and 1080p movies with continuous AF. Alternatively get yourself a copy of my In Camera book or treat me to a coffee! Thanks! Buy it now! Check prices on the Canon EOS 7D Mark II at Amazon, B&H, Adorama, or Wex. If you're not wedded to EF lenses though, also consider Nikon's newer and arguably even more confident D500. If you're after a camera mostly for landscape, architecture or more general-use, you'll be better-served by one of the many high-end mirrorless options now available, but if you're a sports, action or event shooter who likes to seamlessly capture quality stills and video, the 7D Mark II will make your job a breeze. Sure it can't compete with full-frame cleanliness in low light, but the field reduction applied by the APSC sensor is actually preferred by many sports and wildlife photographers. Indeed it'll also throw-in AF in lower light, effective focusing for movies and a built-in GPS receiver. If you always wanted the flagship 1Dx but couldn't afford it or accommodate the size and weight, the 7D Mark II will give you most of its handling performance in a smaller, lighter and much cheaper package.
Summary Canon's EOS 7D Mark II is one of the toughest, fastest and most confident DSLRs for sports, action and event photography.