Good reviewers are nitpicks. And it is this quality that makes us the darling of our readers, and a thorn for manufacturers, whose seemingly perfect products we take apart, and come up with a list of imperfections. As a reviewer, one must school oneself be as objective as possible, eliminating bias. Products come, products go. We’ve almost seen it all when it comes to consumer electronics, and our collective experience over the years is not insignificant.

Don’t mistake us for cynics. Finding fault is our job, as is appreciating quality i.e. say it, as it is, call a spade a spade – choose your analogy. Every once in a while, a product comes along that impresses us a bit more. These aren’t necessarily perfect, none are, but they’re close. Which brings us to the subject of this, rather lengthy review – the Canon EOS 7D which is their flagship 1.6x crop body. If you’re new to dSLRs, throughout this review, you’ll come across jargon that might not be fully understood. Remember that while we’re trying to keep this review simple, there’s very little, that’s not technical about a digital SLR camera. We’ll simplify a few things, and pique your curiosity to Google others. 

Canon’s naming nomenclature needs dissecting first. They have four distinct series of dSLRs. The highest series has a single number followed by a “D” for digital. The next series have two numbers, three numbers and four numbers. Therefore an EOS 1000D is a lower model than an EOS 500D, which is in turn lower than an EOS 7D. Within a series, a smaller number signifies a higher-end model. Therefore an EOS 5D is a higher model than an EOS 7D, however model numbers can get crowded, therefore a 3 year old 50D might not be an upgrade to the shiny 60D.

Crop sensor?

DSLR veterans will begin to yawn here, but for the understanding of our newbie’s, let us talk a bit about crop sensors, also called APS-C sensors. The 7D, (for short), is the highest model from Canon that uses a 1.6x crop sensor. The next highest model in Canons arsenal is the EOS 5D Mark 2, which is a full frame camera. Cropped sensors were developed as cheaper variants to full frame sensors. FF sensors have an identical size to a 35mm film frame, which is 36mm x 24mm. The 7D’s sensor, in comparison, being a cropped one, has dimensions of 22.2mm x 14.8mm. This smaller size of sensor enables the chassis of the camera to be kept smaller, unless the manufacturer intends for a standard size, as with the 7D. Such crop sensors are much cheaper to manufacture, due to the much smaller surface area of the silicon wafer. Lens for crop-sensor cameras are also generally cheaper. Crop sensors were therefore developed to allow those on a lower budget to also enjoy the benefits of dSLR cameras.

Full frame sensors do have inherent advantages for discerning users – the larger surface area means each photodiode on a full frame is larger (given a fixed megapixel rating), therefore capturing a wider dynamic range with lower noise levels. This equates to better contrast and detail, and better results in low light conditions. In general, very few crop cameras can match full frames when shooting in low light (high ISO). However, crop cameras have one significant advantage – they are sharper at the corners, full frames tend to be less sharp at corners. A cropped sensor also equates to a longer zoom. The focal length doesn’t change, but when the same lens is being used on a smaller sensor the field of view narrows. Therefore a 50mm lens on a full frame camera would be equal to 50mm x 1.6 (the crop factor), which would be 80mm. So crops give you longer zooms with the same lens, but a poorer wide angle.

Click next to read on about the features of the EOS 7D