Blown Away By Canon 7D Video

We’ve spent the last few weeks carrying a Canon EOS 7D around with us while shooting some events and have been really blown away by the video quality. Last year we did some shoots with a full-blown Canon prosumer camcorder, the top tape-based HD model before moving into interchangeable-lens systems and the 7D easily exceeds the video quality, and the range of lens choices makes the system much more versatile. We shot the 7D outside under some very harsh noon-light in the Oregon winter and the color saturation was excellent.

When we took the unit inside under fixed lighting (and mounted the camera to a tripod) we were further impressed with the resolution. The ability to put on optics like a f/2.8 or even an f/1.2 lens and rack-focus while shooting is amazing, and while I’d love predictive autofocus in my shooting, I’m comfortable with the depth of field and focus needs to capture most movement. (What I’m not very good at is staying still while holding the camera to my face—but I’m not willing to lug around a shoulder or chest mount system just to use my camera as I often flop back and forth between stills and video.

Here is a sample video from the 7D, keep in mind that the video has been recompressed by VideoPress, the site that streams the video. Mac Create Premium members can download more of our unedited sample videos here.

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Author: David Schloss

David Schloss is the director of the Mac Create Network and the Aperture Users Network, a professional photographer, writer, editor and photographic educator who specializes adventure sports, travel and lifestyle photography. Schloss is the author of the books Blue Pixel Personal Photo Coach: Digital Photography Tips from the Trenches and Blue Pixel Guide to Travel Photography: Perfect Photos Every Time. Schloss is the former Technical Editor for Photo District News, a position he held for six years.