the camera automatically senses the orientation
and switches AF points and/or selection modes.
Flexible, Customizable Control Layout
The EOS 7D controls
can be customized to
suit photographers’
individual preferences
and shooting styles.
For example, the
depth-of-field preview button can be reassigned
to perform different functions, like toggling
between One Shot AF and AI Servo AF, or acti-
vating Auto Exposure Lock. This customization
can be performed via the Custom Function menu
or the new Quick Control screen. A control
assignment summary screen makes it easy to
confirm customizations. The following controls
on the EOS 7D can be remapped and reassigned
in this manner: pressing the shutter button
halfway, AF-ON button, AE lock button, Depth-
of-field preview button, Lens AF Stop button,
Multi-Function button, SET button, Main Dial,
Quick Control Dial and Multi-controller.
Battery Grip BG-E7
The BG-E7 is a dedicated battery grip for the
EOS 7D. It houses two LP-E6 Battery Packs,
although six AA/LR6 alkaline batteries can be
used as an alternate power source with the
Battery Magazine BGM-E6. It can also be operated
using the ACK-E6 AC power accessory. With two
LP-E6 battery packs, the BG-E7 approximately
doubles the shooting capacity of the EOS 7D on
a single charge. For easier vertical shooting, the
BG-E7 duplicates the following camera controls:
shutter releas e, Main Dial, AF point selection/
Magnify button, AE lock/Index/Reduce button,
AF start button, and the new Multi-Function but-
ton. The vertical camera controls on the grip can
also be disabled using the ON/OFF switch.
Selection AF, but narrows the usable AF area
to a single, selectable zone for greater com-
positional control.
5.
Auto Selection AF
– The camera will automat-
ically determine best focus, using all 19 AF
points. In One-Shot AF mode, the subject
closest to the camera is usually selected to
be the focus point. With AI Servo AF, the pho-
tographer can select any of the 19 points to
be the start of focus tracking.
By default, only modes 1, 4, and 5 above
are enabled on the EOS 7D. If desired, the pho-
tographer, via Custom Functions, can activate
the remaining area selection modes.
Improved AI Servo AF Mode
The EOS 7D provides three AF modes: One-Shot
AF, AI Servo AF, and AI Focus AF. The AI Servo AF
mode has been improved with a highly useful
feature that enables the photographer to select
the AF point from which focus tracking is to
start. Whereas, previously, AI Servo AF tracking
always started with the central AF point, the
EOS 7D enables the photographer to select any
one of the 19 points as a starting point. When
using automatic AF point selection, the photog-
rapher can see in the viewfinder which of the
points is being used to set focus.
Independent Horizontal/Vertical AF
Selection
Rather than maintain the same AF point or zone
selection regardless of camera orientation, the
EOS 7D enables the photographer to select the
focus area independently for horizontal and ver-
tical shooting. For vertical shooting, the camera
grip can be positioned at the top or bottom. It is
even possible to use different AF area selection
modes (see above) for different camera orienta-
tions. Once the photographer sets these options,
Unmatched Customizability
and Operability
Advanced and Diverse AF Area
Selection Modes
The cutting-edge AF technologies incorporated in
the EOS 7D includes an exceptionally advanced
user interface. It is designed to help the photog-
rapher achieve the most accurate focus at the
desired subject area in an intuitive and expedi-
tious manner. By alleviating concerns regarding
focus and eliminating the need to constantly
recompose, the EOS 7D AF system truly frees the
photographer to concentrate less on the techni-
cal and more on the purely artistic aspects of
image capture. Toward that end, the new system
leverages the superb 19-point AF sensor and the
Intelligent Viewfinder to provide an expanded
range of AF area selection modes, each with
unique display characteristics within the viewfinder.
1.
Single Point AF
– The photographer can man-
ually select any desired AF point.
2.
Spot AF
– Similar to standard single point AF,
except that the focus point is narrowed to a
much smaller area. This is useful when the
lens must be accurately focused on a very
specific subject area, such as an eye pupil or
an animal’s whisker.
3.
AF Point Expansion
– Focus is achieved using
a combination of the manually selected AF
point and adjacent AF points. This is an effec-
tive option with moving subjects that are
difficult to track with a single AF point.
4.
Zone AF
– The area covered by the 19 AF
points is divided into five zones. The photog-
rapher manually selects the appropriate zone
to achieve focus. This is useful when focus
tracking is difficult with just one AF point or
an expanded AF point. Zone AF also gives all
of the advantages and functionality of Auto
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Enhanced EOS HD Video
Unique Advantages
With the introduction of the
EOS 5D Mark II (followed by the
EOS Rebel T1i), photographers
discovered not only the convenience, but also
the very special qualities of Canon EOS HD
Video. Shooting video with a larger-format
Canon CMOS imaging sensor — actually larger
than a single frame of cinema-format 35mm
film — using the range of superb Canon EF
lenses produces HD video while taking advan-
tage of the image quality and characteristics
intrinsic to SLR photography. While EOS HD
Video has expanded shooting horizons for still
photographers across multiple disciplines and
markets, professional videographers and
cinematographers in the broadcast and film
industries have also discovered its amazing
qualities: exquisite depth-of-field characteris-
tics, remarkable capture capability under poor
lighting conditions and deep clean blacks with
undetectable noise. Canon has listened to EOS
HD Video users and, with the EOS 7D, has fur-
ther advanced video capabilities in the form of
Full HD Video.
Expanded Selection of
Frame Rates and Formats
The EOS 7D makes available a
wide range of frame rates and
video formats, enabling photographers to tailor
their raw footage to specific needs and markets.
For
Full HD (1920 x 1080)
, the available frame
rates are 30 (29.970) fps for NTSC, 25 fps for
PAL, and 24 (23.976) fps for cinematography,
for up to 4GB per clip.
For
Standard HD (1280 x 720)
, the available
frame rates are 60 (59.940) fps for NTSC and 50
fps for PAL.
For
SD (VGA – 640 x 480)
, the available frame rates
are 60 (59.940) fps for NTSC and 50 fps for PAL.
Video is captured with progressive scan-
ning and recorded in the MOV format (MPEG-4
AVC/H.264 video, uncompressed linear PCM
audio) using a variable bit rate. This ensures
high-quality image and sound while keeping
the file size at a minimum. All video formats,
including Full HD Video, can be viewed on an
HDTV via the HDMI output.
Sophisticated Exposure Control
When shooting HD video, including Full HD
video, the EOS 7D employs Center-Weighted
average metering (using the imaging sensor)
to ensure stable motion-picture exposure. If
the AF mode is set to Face Detection Live View,
the camera will use Evaluative metering linked
to the AF point corresponding to the face to
calculate exposure.
The Program AE mode automatically sets
shutter speed (signal accumulation time), lens
aperture and ISO speed. Shutter speed is auto-
matically set to a value between 1/30 and 1/125
second. ISO is set to 100 for basic operation
but the full range up to 6400 is available for
low-light video shooting. (If ISO speed expan-
sion has been selected, the range extends to
12800.) As with still shooting, AE lock is avail-
able for video. Exposure compensation is avail-
able in the range of up to ±3 stops for movie
shooting in 1/3- or 1/2-stop increments.
Full manual exposure control can also be
used when shooting video. ISO speed can be set
automatically or manually between 100 and
6400. Shutter speed can be manually set up to a
maximum of 1/4000 second. Minimum shut-
ter speed is 1/30 sec. when shooting at
24/25/30 fps and 1/60 sec. at 50/60 fps.
Available aperture settings are specific to the
lens used.
Advanced Shooting Capabilities
The EOS 7D provides numerous image control
and enhancement features to help ensure the
highest quality video capture. All of the white
balance settings available for still shooting —
including the manual selection of a specific
color temperature (˚Kelvin) — can be used in
video mode. Similarly, all saved Picture Styles
are available for video shooting. This includes
any Pictures Style that may have been created
or modified using Canon Picture Style Editor
software. In addition, both the Highlight Tone
Priority and Auto Lighting Optimizer features
can be used while shooting video.
A still photo can be captured and saved
separately at any time during video shooting
simply by pressing the shutter release button.
The still image will be saved in the same file for-
mat as for normal still shooting. Video shooting
will be momentarily interrupted — about one
second of the still image will be inserted at the
point of capture — but automatically resumes.
Improved Ease of Operation
A new dedicated Live View/Video Start-Stop
button makes it easy to enter and exit the video
shooting mode. Menu options can now be set
even while the Live View image is displayed.
The on-screen menu has a dedicated video
functions tab to facilitate the setting of various
shooting options.
Easy File Transfer
The new plug-in will allow for simple and easy
transfer of video content from Canon’s EOS DSLR
cameras directly into Final Cut Pro. The EOS
MOVIE Plugin-E1 will take advantage of Final Cut
Pro’s powerful Log and Transfer feature, which
allows users to select video for import from the
memory card, add custom metadata and ingest
the clips in the background so the editing
can begin immediately. The plug-in will be
compatible with Final Cut Pro 6.06 or higher
and currently supports Canon EOS 5D Mark II,
EOS 7D and EOS-1D Mark IV cameras.
TECHNOLOGY
Shutter speed
Aperture
Exposure compensation amount
Exposure
simulation
Image-recording
quality (Stills)
AE lock / Drive mode / AF mode
Picture Style
White
balance
Auto Lighting
Optimizer
Movie
recording size/
Movie shooting
remaining time/
Elapsed time
Recording
movie
Battery check
ISO speed
Shots remaining
Focusing frame
(Quick mode)
Magnifying
frame
Movie shooting information display
SD
HD
Full HD
Three recording modes
1920 x 1080 pixels
16:9 aspect ratio
1280 x 720 pixels
16:9 aspect ratio
640 x 480 pixels
4:3 aspect ratio
Quick Control screen
Single point AF
AF point expansion
Zone AF
AF area selection mode and AF point selection sample
settings for horizontal/vertical shooting
Samples of expanded AF points
Automatic selection within five AF zones
