The 7D has 19 autofocus points arranged in a horizontal diamond pattern. The AF system is a new design which uses a translucent LCD display in the viewfinder. The camera uses TTL 63 zone color sensitive metering system with four variations and exposure compensation of −5 EV to +5 EV in steps of 1/3 EV. E-TTL IIflash metering is provided. The translucent LCD can also display guide lines and the spot metering area circle. As with most other video-capable DSLRs, the Canon EOS 7D's autofocusing function does not work while recording video. Instead, users can only trigger a contrast-detect AF cycle before recording process by hitting the AF button on the camera's rear panel. Users can manually focus the lens during a recording.
Shutter
The shutter is rated to 150,000 shots, and is capable of speeds up to 1/8000 sec, with a flash sync speed of 1/250 sec.
Ergonomics
The 7D has roughly the same dimension as the older 5D Mark II with an updated button layout. It also features a 100% viewfinder with 1x magnification. The 7D was the first Canon camera with a dedicated movie mode switch, instead of movie recording being done in live view as with the 5D Mark II and 500D.
Speed
The 7D has dual DIGIC 4 processors and can reach 8 frames per second continuous shooting. When the camera was first released, the buffer throughput allowed up to 94 frames in large fine JPEG mode, and up to 15 frames in raw. Firmware upgrades, most recently in August 2012, have increased the maximum buffer size to 130 large fine JPEGs and 25 raw files.
Firmware updates
On 6 August 2012, new firmware v2.0 was released with the following enhancements:
On 12 September 2012, Canon introduced the v2.0.3 firmware update with the following changes:
Fix for a phenomenon in which the camera stops working when the auto power off setting takes effect
Fix a phenomenon in which the maximum number of images that can be captured in a burst may be less than the actual number displayed in the viewfinder
Corrections for some errors in the message displayed when saving raw images developed in the camera
On 2 December 2013, Canon introduced the v2.0.5 firmware update with the following changes:
Fixes a phenomenon in which the image files cannot be transferred using the FTP protocol via USB cable after the Canon EOS 7D camera has established a wireless connection to the Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E5A.
On 13 December 2016, Canon introduced the v2.0.6 firmware update with the following changes:
Corrects a phenomenon in which when using the camera with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM or EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM lens, even if lens aberration correction is set to ""Enable"", correction will not be applied.
Accessories
According to Canon's website, the EOS 7D model comes equipped with:
The Canon EOS 7D offers the ability to record audio from an external source. Both shutter and aperture are available for manual control, and the 7D also provides multiple frame rate options, including three that match the HD television timing specs. Like most DSLR modes, the Canon 7D neglects endless autofocus during video recording, which is a great concern for advanced amateurs with pros likely to focus manually nonetheless. Separate movie clips that are captured by the Canon EOS 7D are limited to twelve minutes in the high definition 1080p and 720p modes, or 24 minutes in the standard definition VGA mode, depending on what Compact Flash Card is being used. Larger memory cards make for longer video lengths and are available in multiple sizes for the camera. Independent filmmakers often use the Canon 7D as an affordable alternative to digital cinema cameras. The camera was used on the feature films Stanley Ka Dabba, Vazhakku Enn 18/9, and The Avengers. They have also been used on television in the opening title sequence of the 2009 season of Saturday Night Live. Tiny Furniture was filmed using the 7D
