The Canon 7D Mark II is a Game Changer

I wanted a 7D Mark II from the moment I first heard about the possible specs about a year ago. Everything that I read was at that point speculation, but I figured if it just improved on the 7D, and had some of what was listed as being possible that it would be awesome. Little did I know that most of what I had heard about and even more would end up in the final product. Canon found a way to pack the features of the Canon 1Dx into this much cheaper model. In fact I can buy three 7DII bodies for the price of one 1Dx. Don’t get me wrong the 1Dx is an amazing camera, but for the price the 7D Mark II is a game changer. A lot of people use the term game changer when in fact the thing is not a game changer. It is just altering the game a little. This camera is a game changer. I think that it will end up on par with the digital camera because now everyone has a pro quality camera in their price range. The sidelines are going to start to fill up I think.

What Does the Bad DxOMark Score Really Mean?

A while ago DxOMark came out with their tests of the sensor on the camera. They gave it a horrible score putting it in the same league as some Nikon cameras that came out about five years ago. After looking at the results of the DxOMark test I came away feeling the same way that I felt about the camera before. The results look bad on paper, but when you dig deeper into what they test what matters to me the most scored much higher than the cameras that the final score puts it behind. At the end of the day I have not had any complaints with the cameras performance, and the photos look great even magnified. Sometimes you have to test the camera yourself on what you shoot, and decide for yourself if it is worth it. The bad score may hurt sales a bit for Canon, but I think that in the end the public will see that the camera is a good one.

The Real Test: Roller Derby

The real test for any equipment that I have is shooting in the low light of roller derby. You get to test it in low light which means taking the ISO up as high as you can, and also seeing just how good the auto focus system is. There is not a lot of contrast for the camera to use to grab focus so you really have to help it out. I missed some shots a couple of nights ago, but nothing out of the ordinary. I have been really happy with the results so far. Of course it would do alright in great light, but to excel in the dark was a great surprise. I think that a full frame camera is best for roller derby, but as a test this camera did just fine.

Canon 7D Mark II Sample Images

I covered a wide range of sports with this camera just to see what it could do. The day that I received the camera I went straight to a tennis match on campus to try it out. From that first shoot I also covered soccer, basketball, football, wrestling, and roller derby. Here are a few images made with the camera that I really liked.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Price point $1799
• 10 Frames per second
• 65 auto focus points that are super fast to pick up your subject
• 20mp dual pixal CMOS sensor
• Build quality, built to take a beating
• Great weather sealing
• APS-C sensor provides an extra reach of 60%
• For a crop sensor body the high ISO shooting is incredible
• Rating button that allows me to tag images quickly. Very important for my workflow on gameday.
• Dual card slots for SD and CF cards. Great for capturing RAW, but also having a quick jpeg to upload as well.
• Built in GPS
• Custom modes make for easy shooting in a familiar location
• New LP-E6N battery gives longer battery life, but is still compatible with the LP-E6 batteries and cameras. This means that I do not have to go out and buy a bunch of batteries right out of the gate.
• A built in intervalometer. This is something that seems easy enough to put in a camera, but rarely is put in. It seems crazy to me that Canon finally does it with a sports and wildlife camera.

Cons

• No RAW support (yet)
• No tilt on the LCD screen
• No wi-fi

Final Verdict

This is the camera made for what I do most. I shoot sports so I need something that can capture the fast action on the field. The extra 60% reach is great for field sports such as football and soccer where a lot of the action can be further away. That extra reach means that I can be a little lazy and stay in one spot a little longer. The auto focus is fantastic as well. In most situations I can pick up and keep my subject in focus. This is the camera that I had heard about, and hoped would be coming over a year ago. It is worth every penny of the cost.