Review: Canon EOS 7D Mark II specs

Thanks to its 10 frames-per-second shooting rate, the 20.2-megapixel APS-C format Canon EOS 7D Mark II is an ideal camera for any photographer seeking to capture fast-moving action images. Coupled with a special flicker-compensating feature, this DSLR is a great choice for shooting artificially-lit indoor sports.

The Canon EOS 7D Mark II has a 65-point autofocus system. The autofocus sensor array covers most of the frame, enabling you to track and capture subjects that are moving across almost all parts of the frame. Depending on the lens, each of the 65 autofocus points are cross-type points, which can lock on to both horizontal and vertical detail in the frame and deliver accurate autofocus on moving subjects. Those moving subjects are easily frozen, thanks to a top shutter speed of 1/8000sec.

The ten frames-per-second shooting speed is helped by the fact the camera deploys Dual DIGIC 6 processors to drive the buffering speed and ensure there is a minimal time lag when shooting action moments, helping to make sure you never miss a split-second of the action. With dual CF and SD card slots, you can keep shooting up to 1,090 JPEG frames or 31 RAW frames buffered.

The camera’s iTR autofocus system uses both colour and face information to recognise and track subjects as they move around the frame. Focus tracking settings can be precisely set via the camera’s dedicated autofocus menu, including the ability to stay focused on the main subject even if another subject passes in front of it.

Low-light shooting with the Canon EOS 7D Mark II is available thanks to a standard ISO range of 100-16,000, expandable up to a maximum of ISO 51,200—this offers shooting possibilities for low-light action, discreet night-time street photography or hand-held macro shots.

The Canon EOS 7D Mark II marked the introduction of Canon’s 150,000-pixel RGB+IR 252-zone metering system, which helps to deliver fantastic results in differing light conditions including infrared. This was the first-ever Canon EOS DSLR camera to incorporate as-shot automatic distortion correction for most of the Canon EF lenses launched two decades before the camera’s 2014 launch date. This correction system includes peripheral illumination correction, chromatic aberration correction and distortion correction.

A useful feature for location, travel, landscape and sports photographers is the fact that the Canon EOS 7D Mark II has a built-in GPS system, which allows you to geotag every photo or movie that you shoot. Overall, the Canon EOS 7D Mark II bristles with useful specs and is a serious choice for action and sports photographers, even when compared to more expensive ‘pro’ DSLRs.