I have been digging through some sample images with the 7D Mark II. So far, I’m very impressed. I will have a bigger selection of photos later this week hopefully, but I wanted to share this 100% comparison of ISO 3200 images shot with the 7D Mark II and 5D Mark II.
7D Mark II (left) vs. 5D Mark II (right) – ISO 3200 (click for full size)
Note the time stamp is over an hour apart, but the clock on one of them is wrong and they are actually 15 minutes apart. Shot at ISO 3200 and f/8. I used different lenses, so don’t judge the sharpness of the 7D Mark II by these images. The noise matches up closely as you step on down to ISO 400 as well.
It’s nice to see Canon APS-C cameras taking some bigger steps in ISO performance and dynamic range even though it’s still a generation removed from the solid performance of the 5D Mark III. I haven’t been pleased with the progress on the 60D and 70D compared some of the jumps we’ve seen in Canon’s full frame realm but the 7D Mark II does justice to APS-C sensors on the Canon EOS system.
I have mostly glowing things to say about the 7D Mark II (along with a few minor gripes) in my upcoming review. It is definitely capable of serving as a pro camera. And with the other performance improvements inside of the camera, it is fair to characterize the 7D Mark II as an “upgrade” to the 5D Mark II in terms of overall camera performance.
You can find the 7D Mark II here at B&H Photo.
I like what I saw, but I take a different view with your 70D remarks. I spent 2 weeks in Europe last fall, and I took many evening photo’s with my 70D & 24-105mm, f/4, ‘L’. I got very good results in most cases up to 25,600 ISO and hand held.
The 70D is a good camera and produces solid image quality. However, the image quality jump from the 60D to 70D is marginal, at best.
Look at the image quality improvements among full frame cameras. 5D to 5D II in resolution and 5D II to 5D III in low light performance. Even the just-announced 5D III to 5Ds comparison in resolution.
The 7D Mark II is the first APS-C camera in a while that really makes me raise an eyebrow to the image quality as compared to past APS-C models. It’s a very nice improvement over the original 7D.
My reason for buying the 70D was the much better live view, and video. Along with that I did get better low-light capability. I own both the 60D & 70D.