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Canon 7D

 
Canon EOS 7D front
 
  • 18MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400 (Bump to 12800)
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Canon EF/EF-S Mount
  • 860g - 148 x 111 x 74mm
  • Released November 2009
  • New Model is Canon 7D MII
  • Read full specs
  • Alternatives
  • Lenses
  • Size Comparison
  • FAQ
Portability
56
Imaging
57
Features
70
Overall
62

Canon 7D summary

Canon 7D is Canon's Advanced DSLR camera originally announced on November of 2009. It includes a 18 MegaPixel, CMOS APS-C sized sensor and has a full resolution of 5184 x 3456.

Canon launched the updated Canon 7D MII (Read Full Comparison) in an effort to replace this camera.

The 7D is positioned #45 out of 92 in Advanced DSLR cameras & over all #287 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our database. Please try out our Smart camera search to find camera listings based on your custom requirements.

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Below is a diagram of different factors used in the rating system.

Canon 7D family

The Canon 7D has a history of related digital cameras. Here, you can check out all earlier and new models along with main specifications.

ModelVisualizeResolutionSensor SizeMax fpsReleased
Canon-EOS-77D front thumbnailCanon 77D
7D vs 77D
24MPAPS-C6.0 fps2017
Canon-EOS-7D-Mark-II front thumbnailCanon 7D MII
7D vs 7D MII
20MPAPS-C10.0 fps2014
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Canon-EOS-70D front thumbnailCanon 70D
7D vs 70D
20MPAPS-C7.0 fps2013
Canon-EOS-7D front thumbnailCanon 7D18MPAPS-C8.0 fps2009

Canon 7D Pros and Cons

Below is a collection of upsides and downsides of the Canon 7D based on factors which are oftentimes regarded as necessary in a camera.

above average minimum ISO (100)
comes with phase detect autofocus
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
does have HDMI socket
does have microphone socket
does have Top LCD display
flash built-in
good resolution (18 megapixels)
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
nice clear screen (920 thousand dots)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
supports face detect autofocus
switch lenses (Canon EF/EF-S mount)
weather proofing
you can focus manually
display isn't selfie friendly
does not have headphone socket
does not have Timelapse recording
no image stabilization
no moving screen
terrible battery life (800 per charge)
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Canon 7D Sensor specifications

The Canon 7D is run by the Dual Digic 4 processor chip. The sensor spec in the Canon 7D is 22.3mm x 14.9mm (APS-C). The 332 mm² sensor is able to capture 5184 x 3456 pixels and aspect ratios of 3:2.

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The CMOS sensor has 18 megapixels and features a native ISO range of 100 - 6400. This ISO can be extended digitally to a high of 12800. RAW photos are saved which means that you have wider margin for error.

The graphic underneath illustrates the 7D's sensor dimensions compared to other common sizes. The 7D sensor has a crop factor of 1.6 and is displayed in green.

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To get a sense of various aspect ratios, you can refer to the visual below.

Camera sensor aspect ratios

Canon 7D dimensions

Canon 7D weighs around 1.90 pounds (860g / 30.34 oz) & the volume of the camera is 148mm x 111mm x 74mm (5.8" x 4.4" x 2.9"). The weight of average Advanced DSLR camera is 776g so the Canon 7D is more heavy in comparison with various rivals.

Photography Glossary

Underneath is a picture of the Canon 7D next to a soda so you can get a feel for its scale.

Canon EOS 7D dimensions scale

The top view under will show the button design on the 7D.

Canon EOS 7D topview buttons dials

Canon 7D Lens specifications

The 7D uses the Canon EF/EF-S mount and has 331 lenses to select from. Below is a small number of the lenses we have in our database which will fit the 7D.

ModelVisualizeFocal LengthApertureStabilizedWeight
Canon-EF-50mm-f1.8-STM lensCanon EF 50mm f1.8 STM50mmf/1.8 159g
Canon-EF-75-300mm-f4.0-5.6-IS-USM lensCanon EF 75-300mm f4.0-5.6 IS USM75-300mmf/4.0-5.6 650g
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Canon-EF-100mm-f2.8-Macro-USM lensCanon EF 100mm f2.8 Macro USM100mmf/2.8 600g
Canon-EF-S-55-250mm-f4-5.6-IS-STM lensCanon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS STM55-250mmf/4.0-5.6 375g
Canon-EF-24-85mm-f3.5-4.5-USM lensCanon EF 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 USM24-85mmf/3.5-4.5 380g
Canon-EF-70-200-F2.8L-IS-III-USM lensCanon EF 70-200 F2.8L IS III USM70-200mmf/2.8 1440g
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Canon-EF-16-35mm-f2.8L-USM lensCanon EF 16-35mm f2.8L USM16-35mmf/2.8 600g
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Canon 7D Connectivity

The 7D has the following connectivity:

  • USB Yes
  • HDMI Yes
  • GPS Yes

Digital cameras that feature NFC or Bluetooth connectivity can easily be used wirelessly with smartphones. You will be able to copy photos and at times alter camera settings with no need to connect physically to the camera.

Many applications even provide a Liveview and release the shutter in case you are not close to the camera. If the camera provides a HDMI port, it could be hooked up to an external monitor. Most cameras enable you to charge the battery pack through the USB socket.

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Canon 7D Video specifications

The highest possible video resolution in the Canon 7D is 1920 x 1080 and you can shoot in H.264 format. 1080p resolution delivers a great balance for quality vs file sizes but 1080p won't give you any room to downsample. While the camera has a microphone port, it is unfortunately missing a headphone port which means that you won't have the capability to keep an eye on your audio levels.

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Canon 7D Weather Sealing

Canon 7D comes with weather proofing making it a good candidate for use for rough locations. This is particularly useful in case you are unsure about the elements you might face for outdoor photography.

Canon 7D Display and Viewfinder

The Canon 7D includes a 3 inch fixed display screen supporting a resolution of 920 thousand dots.

Please note that the display has no touch support. The 7D also has a builtin Top LCD display so that you can instantly checkout your settings.

Canon EOS 7D screen and viewfinder Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

The View Finder specifications for Canon 7D are as follows:

  • ViewFinder Optical (pentaprism)
  • ViewFinder Coverage 100%
  • ViewFinder Magnification 0.63x

For sunny outdoor situations which make the camera displays washed out and difficult to see, viewfinders will be very helpful.

Canon 7D Shutter specifications

Canon 7D continuous shooting rate is 8.0 fps. The highest shutter speed is 1/8000 seconds.

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Canon 7D Flash and Hot shoe specifications

Canon 7D has both built in flash along with external flash support. The max flash sync is 1/250 seconds.

Canon 7D Autofocus specifications

Canon 7D has both Phase Detect AF plus Contrast Detect AF. Phase Detection autofocusing is a lot more quicker & accurate in comparison with Contrast Detect autofocusing. The camera includes Face detect which can be helpful for portraits.

It includes 19 focus points to select from. Canon 7D features manual focus if required for low light scenarios or you want more exact focus control.

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Canon 7D Battery life

The battery life (LP-E6) in the Canon 7D is fashioned to last for 800 pictures according to the CIPA standards which is lesser compared with it's competition. The average Advanced DSLR camera battery life is 909. Nikon D780 offers the best (2260) battery life for this class of cameras.

Underneath is a listing of Advanced DSLR cameras which have the best battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth
Nikon-D780 front thumbnailNikon D780
7D vs D780
2260 yesnoyes
Nikon-D850 front thumbnailNikon D850
7D vs D850
1840 yesyesyes
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Nikon-Df front thumbnailNikon Df
7D vs Df
1400 yesnono
Canon-EOS-90D front thumbnailCanon 90D
7D vs 90D
1300 yesnoyes
Nikon-D500 front thumbnailNikon D500
7D vs D500
1240 yesyesyes

Canon 7D for different forms of photography

The following bar chart gives a summary of the Canon 7D for different forms of photography. To look at more, check out the specific section underneath.

Portrait photography with Canon 7D

The Canon 7D gets a points tally of 74 which is above average, meaning that it is a very decent option to use for portrait photos. Shooting portrait photos leans heavily to sensor dimension, RAW support and capability to use external lighting.

Photography Glossary
has manual focus
good MP (18 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
features face detection autofocus
saves RAW formats

Canon 7D Street photography features

Coming in at a moderate points tally of 57, the Canon 7D is somewhat suited to buy for street photography. A very good street photography camera comes with a fine balance of picture quality and portability.

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decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
environment sealing
screen does not articulate
lack of image stabilization

Canon 7D Sports photography information

A nice sports photography score of 64 suggests the Canon 7D is a very decent choice for shooting sports. A camera needs good tracking and fast continuous shooting for sports photography.

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maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
sensor resolution is decent (18 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
weather proofing
supports phase detect autofocus
no image stabilization
low battery pack (800 shots)

Canon 7D Travel photography information

Size is super critical in getting a camera for travel. On the whole, the Canon 7D gets a modest 53 for a travel camera which makes it fairly acceptable to take on your journeys.

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environment proofing
resolution is good (18MP)
flash built-in
does not have Time Lapse recording
not so great battery (800 CIPA)
display isn't selfie friendly

Canon 7D as a Landscape photography camera

For those who are looking to purchase a digital camera for landscape photos, the most significant factor will no doubt be image quality. The Canon 7D with it's above average grade of 63 as a landscape camera is a fine pick among it's rivals.

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focusing manually
change lenses (Canon EF/EF-S mount)
screen size is good (3")
decent sensor resolution (18MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
environment proof
no image stabilization
bad battery life (800 shots)
lack of Time Lapse function

Vlogging with Canon 7D

A vlogging camera really should posses a moving screen, microphone input and if possible IBIS. Taking all things in to account, the Canon 7D is simply not acceptable for vlogging as it delivers a subpar rating of 28.

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features face detection focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
has external microphone support
does not offer selfie friendly screen
no image stabilization

Canon 7D Alternatives

If you are in the market for alternatives to the 7D, below is a number of the top scored cameras which fall within the family of Advanced DSLR.

The graph down below provides you an overview of the 7D versus it's top ranking rivals shown above.

Following are additional cameras you might take a look at as alternative options. To read through a complete comparison, simply click the "compare" link.

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Specifications

General Information
Brand Name
Canon
Model
Canon EOS 7D
Class
Advanced DSLR
Released
2009-11-06
Physical type
Mid-size SLR
Sensor Information
Sensor type
CMOS
Processor
Dual Digic 4
Sensor size
APS-C
Sensor measurements
22.3 x 14.9mm
Sensor surface area
332.3mm²
Sensor resolution
18MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio
3:2
Highest Possible resolution
5184 x 3456
RAW files
Maximum native ISO
6400
Maximum enhanced ISO
12800
Minimum native ISO
100
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points
19
Lens
Lens mounting type
Canon EF/EF-S
Available lenses
326
Crop factor
1.6
Screen
Type of display
Fixed Type
Display sizing
3 inch
Display resolution
920 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech
TFT color LCD, liquid-crystal monitor
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type
Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder coverage
100%
Viewfinder magnification
0.63x
DXO scores
DXO Overall score
66
DXO Color Depth score
22.0
DXO Dynamic range score
11.7
DXO Low light score
854
Features
Minimum shutter speed
30 seconds
Fastest shutter speed
1/8000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate
8.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation
Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range
12.00 m
Flash settings
Auto, On, Off, Red-eye
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize
1/250 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions
1920 x 1080 (30, 25, 24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 50 fps), 640 x 480 (60, 50 fps)
Maximum video resolution
1920x1080
Video file format
H.264
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless
None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS
Optional
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight
860g (1.90 lbs)
Physical dimensions
148 x 111 x 74mm (5.8" x 4.4" x 2.9")
Other
Battery life
800 pictures
Form of battery
Battery Pack
Battery model
LP-E6
Self timer
Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type
Compact Flash (Type I or II), UDMA, Microdrive cards
Card slots
One
Price at release
$1,050