Introduction
The Canon EOS R7 is another addition to the Canon R series of mirrorless APS-C sensor cameras. It has upgrades, new features, and better performance compared to the previous R series cameras, but at this price point is the Canon EOS R7 worth it? Well, we are here to decode the same to help you decide if the camera is worth your investment.
Key Specifications
- 32.5 Megapixels APS-C CMOS sensor
- The number of automatic selection AF zones – Max. 651 zones for stills and Max. 527 zones for movies
- 4K/60 oversampled (no crop)
- 2.36M dot EVF
- 1.62M dot fully articulating vari-angle LCD
- Dual memory card slot
- 15Fps with mechanical shutter and up to 30Fps with electronic shutter mode
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
- Weight – Approx. 498 gm Body Only and Approx. 589 gm with battery and memory card
The Canon EOS R7 is a highly capable photo and video camera. It has a 32.5 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor. The camera is fast and powerful with an excellent Dual Pixel Auto focusing system that produces high-quality images.
The EOS R7 has a 2.36M dot EVF and 1.62M dot fully articulated vari-angle LCD screen that is helpful especially when shooting in difficult angles.
The mechanical shutter mode provides a maximum of 15Fps, which is great. On the other side, you get up to 30Fps with the electronic shutter mode.
The 4K/60P video on the camera is uncropped making it an excellent choice for both photographers and video creators.
Body, Handling, and Performance
Canon EOS R7 is almost an amalgamation of all Canon R Series cameras in handling and ergonomics front.
It has an amazing grip; even if the camera is small and light, you can use larger lenses comfortably as the grip is deep.
Instead of adding autofocus and manual focus switch on the camera lens, Canon provided it in front of the camera with a custom button in between. This is helpful and makes it easy to switch between the autofocus and manual focus modes plus the photographer can assign a function to the custom button based on their requirement.
They have an interesting hybrid autofocus joystick and exposure compensation dial setup on the camera’s rear side making it very easy for photographers to adjust the exposure or set focus. However, at times due to this setup, you might accidentally adjust the settings you don’t mean to. For example: while adjusting your focus you might hit the exposure dial, screwing up your set exposure. But with regular use, you’ll probably get used to it.
The camera ON/OFF switch selector is on the top right side of the camera which is great. Canon however, included the video selection on the same dial which can be irritating at times as you might accidentally switch to the video mode while switching ON the camera, especially when you’ve spotted a scene to capture and switch ON the camera in a rush.
Canon EOS R7 comes with a 2.36M dot EVF which is the same as its previous version Canon EOS R10. 2.36M is good, but at this price point, it would have been good to see an upgrade on the EOS R7, as when you compare it to Nikon Z5, it comes at a lesser price but has 3.69M dot EVF and a full-frame.
It has a 1.62M dot fully articulating vari-angle LCD which is nice and bright with a very responsive touch screen.
The camera has a Dual card slot which is a very useful feature, as you need not worry about losing your data even if one card corrupts.
The EOS R7 sensor is coupled with the DIGIC X processor. The great thing about this is that it enables the camera to produce excellent RAW and JPEG images.
Talking about the autofocus system, the Canon EOS R7 has DPAF – Dual Pixel CMOS Auto Focus II, which is very similar to the system you find on Canon’s flagship EOS R3, R5, and R6 as well. This autofocusing system allows precise object tracking. The EOS R7 has face detection, eye detection, bird detection, and one very interesting vehicle detection mode. Vehicle detection allows you to focus on the driver of the vehicle and it actually does a great job of producing sharp and focused images.
The Canon EOS R7 has IBIS – In Built Image Stabilization of up to 8 stops of image stabilization which is very useful while taking handheld shots, especially with zoom lenses. This is also an upgrade compared to the Canon EOS R10.
While doing high-speed action photography using the electronic shutter mode, the rolling isn’t great as it might produce an image with a warpy effect. You can however resolve it by switching the camera to mechanical shutter mode. Even if it comes down to 15Fps, it’s a lot.
The EOS R7 eye tracking system does a great job during wildlife photography. However, you might again want to continue using the mechanical shutter mode due to the following reasons.
In electronic mode, the background will tend to tilt while fast pan, due to the rolling shutter.
In mechanical mode, you get a proper background with no tilt.
The EOS R7 is fully compatible with the RF-S and RF lenses. Canon EF-EOS R, EF, or EF-S lenses can be used with a mount adapter. The EF-M lenses are not compatible with the camera. With EF lenses, you however will not be able to produce images as great as the images produced by the RF group lenses.
Overall, the Canon EOS R7’s versatility is appealing which means you can just grab your camera, go out, and walk around the town taking pictures of your food, streets, family portraits, photography of sports games, and pretty much anything you like.
Video
The camera provides 4K/60P with no record limit which is great, as you no more need to worry about the 30 minutes video capping.
With Canon EOS R7, you get oversampled 4K/30P video, where the camera basically shoots in 7K but then gives a 4K from that file that is down-sampled, which helps produce quality video with high details. However, doing a fast pan or shooting with a telephoto lens might cause issues due to the rolling in this oversampled mode. A good way to counter that would be moving to sub-sampled 4K/60P.
You can do a 4K/30P or a 4K/60P and the video at this resolution is not cropped and has a full sensor area.
The other good thing about the camera is no heating issues even when shooting in oversampled 4K/30P for longer durations.
You also get the input for both microphone and headphones. This also adds up to the reason why this is a great camera for vlogging or video creators.
Battery
The Canon EOS R7 uses an LP-E6NH battery which delivers close to 770 shots with the screen.
Canon EOS R7 – Pros and Cons
Pros
IBIS – up to 8 stops of image stabilization
An excellent autofocusing system with DPAF
Amazing ergonomics
15Fps on Mechanical shutter mode and 30Fps on electronic shutter mode
Cons
Lack of RF group lenses
Average EVF at this price point
Conclusion
Canon EOS R7 does a great job on both photos and videos. It has a pro-grade autofocus. Currently, Canon provides a limited range of lenses for its R series. You can try using your older EF lenses with a mount adapter, but they won’t perform as good as the RF lens group, especially the autofocus capabilities for the EOS R7.
The amazing autofocusing system and the IBIS makes it ideal for photography, especially action, sports, or wildlife, or someone who is looking for a super capable hybrid photo and video camera.
However, if you want more of an all-rounder Canon camera at a slightly lower price then probably check out the Canon EOS R10. You might have to compromise on certain features the Canon EOS R7 provides, such as – advanced video and IBIS.
