The Canon 7D Mark II is the optimal APS-C DSLR on the market. It’s 65 all cross-type autofocus sensor makes the camera perfect for shooting video. Not only does it have the autofocus technology, it also boasts a frame rate of up to 60 fps shooting 1080p video in either MP4 or MOV. With the reviews out for this camera, I figured I’d take it out myself and shoot a video to test its capability (I am not a professional videographer by any means, so I knew this would be a challenge) as well as some individual shots.

With the holidays, I wanted to create a video of my family for my grandma, who unfortunately couldn’t make it to our family Christmas.  The Canon 7D Mark II paired with the 24-70mm lens was my chosen set up.  My favorite thing about this camera was its autofocus technology. I’ve tried shooting video before on other DLRS with autofocus on, and it never did the job well. Being new to videography, I depend on a good autofocus system. Even when I was close to a subject, the camera had no trouble autofocusing, and the flow of focus was so smooth, it was almost unnoticeable.

Unfortunately, my battery on my external RODE microphone died before I could use it for my family Christmas videos so the video below has a song layered over it (always bring extra batteries!). Even though I was using the microphone in the camera while shooting, I think the in-camera microphone, with its limitations, still produced great sound.  But like any DSLR, I suggest an external microphone.  Check out my “home video” below!

Don’t think this camera is just for video! It certainly has great picture quality as well. Being in a poorly lit room at my aunt’s house, I wasn’t expecting very great quality because the ISO was set at 3200. While I was going through the photos in post processing, I was surprised by how much I liked the photos and the tone and quality I was able to get out of it.

Another great example of this camera’s ISO capabilities are these images taken by Julie Schatz of a local performance here in Columbus at ISO 3200.  These images were JPEG files taken directly from the camera in monochrome.  Check out the detail!

TJ and I went out shooting the 7D Mark II for some more shots on a cold night at Hoover Reservoir in Westerville.  After shooting for a little bit, the subzero temperatures were too chilly, but the camera body was still working without any trouble.  The durability and weather sealed body made this camera perfect for the conditions and any blowing snow.  Though the shoot didn’t last long, here’s a shot of the winter sky over Hoover.

Because our Hoover shoot was cut short, we decided to test out the in-camera double exposure capabilities a few days later (still a little chilly in 28 degree weather, but better than the subzero temperatures!).  By going to the menu and enabling the double exposure option (also can be accessed by the button on the top left of the screen on the back of the camera, shown as a paintbrush-looking icon), we selected two exposures to layer.  The trick was getting both shots slightly underexposed, but exposed enough to see detail and to overexpose the background.  This is achieved by shooting up at the subject.  The backlighting of the sky overexposed the background (we used Photoshop to remove any remaining unnecessary background parts to achieve the totally white background).  The results were pretty spectacular for never having done in-camera double exposure before.  I’m excited to experiment more with this feature!

Although I didn’t get to experiment with the astonishing dual processors ability, the 10 fps continuous mode is perfect for shooting sports or any action photos to freeze motion.  I’m hoping to take it out at another time to shoot some sporting events this upcoming spring.

If you’re not 100% sure on purchasing this camera, come rent it from our rentals department here at Midwest!  For $80, you can take the 7D Mark II camera body out for a weekend.  Also, they’ve got plenty of Canon lenses to rent out!  Rent with us and if you decide afterwards you want to purchase, the $80 will go towards your purchase (within 10 days of the rental return).  Check out our rental policy before renting!

Overall, this camera gives photographers the creativity and quality they want while still being an APS-C.  Not convinced?  See what you can do with the 7D Mark II and control your photos!