Brief: The Canon 7D is Canon’s prosumer APS-C sized digital SLR. Announced on September 1st, 2009 with an MSRP of $1,699 for the body and $1,899 for the kit with Canon’s EF 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens. It is the second Canon SLR to ship with 1080p HD recording capability. The little brother to the well recieved 5D Mark II, the 7D adds increased flexibility in frame rates and improves controls for video shooters.
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The 7D is expected to reach stores in late September. It is likely that there will be initially tight supply, however over the near term it should not be as difficult to obtain a 7D as the first few months after the 5D Mark II launch since the 7Ds market is more of a mass market camera.
Phil Bloom has spent a few days with a pre-release 7D, and has posted his comments in our 7D for HD forum. He’s also posted two shorts shot with the camera, Dublin’s People and Shaving it Back.
Jason Magbanua in Manila has also spent few days with a pre-production 7D and shot the excellent short Perya (Town Fair).
The Canon EOS 7D offers a great tool for filmmakers and videographers, allowing excellent depth of field control, a wide variety of compatible lenses and improved shooting controls over the 5D. The APS-C sized sensor is significantly larger than any video camera at it’s price point, allowing for excellent low light performance and image detail. With the kit option priced at slightly more than half the price of the 5D Mark 2 kit, it’s an excellent value for those on a budget.
The 7D resolved the framerate limitations from the 5D by offering 1080/30p, 1080/25p, 1080/24p, 720/60p and 720/50p HD shooting rates in addition to 480/60p and 480/50p SD options. The NTSC standard rates (30p, 60p and 24p) are their video equivalents, so 29.97fps, 59.94fps and 23.976fps.
The Auto Gain Control Limitation
The 7D features a built-in mono microphone as well as a stereo microphone mini-jack. Unfortunately the camera features Automatic Gain Control, limiting the shooters ability to control varying audio volume levels. The Magic Lantern firmware on the 5D Mark II added an option to disable this feature and manually control audio, so a similar modification may appear for the 7D.
The 12 Minute Limitation
Like the 5D Mark II before it, in order for the 7D to avoid being taxed as a video camera in the EU, the video recording limit is 30 minutes in standard definition (480/30p) mode. At HD bitrates this is rougly equal to 12 minutes of video, resulting in a 4 gig file. There are no overheat or sensor issues, but the maximum possible single shot is roughly 12 minutes. Once the shot is complete, another 12 minute shot can be started with a delay of only a few seconds.