Review: Canon EOS R7

Friday 9 September 2022, 13:31 by Nando Harmsen | 10,073 views | 4 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

In May 2022, Canon announced two new mirrorless cameras. These were the EOS R10 and the EOS R7. Canon Netherlands lent me the EOS R7 for a holiday in the German Eifel, where I put the camera through its paces. You can read what I think of the camera in this review.

The Canon EOS R7 on the operating table of a castle in the Eifel.
With the Canon EOS R and EOS RP, Canon entered the world of full frame mirrorless cameras. These were cautious steps on the way to the EOS R5 and EOS R6, and of course the EOS R3.

These cameras set the bar high with excellent IBIS and fantastic autofocus.

The Canon EOS R10 and EOS R7 are not so much successors, but a next step to bring the mirrorless system to APS-C cameras as well.

You know, cameras with a smaller sensor. Canon already had these in its range, the excellent EOS M cameras including the EOS M50 II. With the EOS R10 and EOS R7, however, you get the RF mount and all the lenses available for it.

The most important specifications

First, I want to list the specifications. Not all of them, just what I think are the most important ones.

• 32.5-megapixel APS-C (1.6x) Canon CMOS sensor
  
• ISO 100-32,000, expandable to ISO 51,200
  
• Continuous shooting up to 15 fps with the mechanical shutter and 30 fps with the electronic shutter
  
• Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with 651 AF areas using 100% of the image
  
• 5,915 manually selectable AF points, covering 90% x 100% of the image
  
• AF tracking for people (eye, face and body), animals (eye, head and body for dogs, cats, birds and many more animals), cars and motorbikes in all AF modes
  
• AF sensitivity down to -5 EV
  
• In-body stabilisation in 5 directions, up to a maximum of 7 stops
  
• Shutter guaranteed up to 200,000 actuations
  
• Weather sealing
  
• Dual UHS-II SD slot
  
• WiFi and Bluetooth connection
  
• 4K 60 fps with 7K oversampling, 1080p up to 120 fps, YCbCr4:2:0 8-bit or YCbCr4:2:2 10-bit when HDR PQ or CLog3 is selected
  

The RF mount accepts all lenses with an RF mount, and, via the adapter, EF, TS-E, MP-E and EF-S lenses. Lenses from the EOS-M system will not fit.

The Canon EOS R7 in detail

I was lent the Canon EOS R7 for a while for a review, together with the new RF-S 18-150mm F3.5-6.3 IS STM zoom lens. I took it with me on holiday to the German Eifel. Use in a realistic situation, so to speak.

But not before I had taken a good look at this new APS-C camera.

Compact and light. The kit lens is an 18-150mm lens, perfect as a walk-around lens. This is how I used the camera for the review.
The EOS R7 is a very compact camera, smaller than the EOS R5 and EOS R6. However, the camera does have a similar grip, so the body sits comfortably in your hand.

The body measures 132.0 x 90.4 x 91.7 mm and weighs 612 grams with card and battery. You can see the difference compared with the full frame EOS R5, and the R6 too, when you see them side by side.

The EOS R7 is smaller and more compact than the EOS R5. The sensor size is partly responsible for this, of course. The grip is smaller but no less comfortable.
There are a few changes compared with the full frame R models. The power switch has been moved and allows you to switch between camera and video.

The control wheel by your thumb is integrated with the joystick, and there is an AF/MF switch on the front of the camera.

The Canon EOS R7 at a glance.
There is no screen on top of the camera. You find the PASM dial, an ISO button, the video recording button and the M-Fn button, which gives access to a selection of five programmable functions.

Next to the power switch there is also a LOCK button to lock certain buttons and control dials.

The LCD screen is fully articulating and has 1.62 million pixels. It is of course a touchscreen for operating the camera, autofocus and the menu. The electronic viewfinder is an OLED screen with 2.36 million pixels and a maximum refresh rate of 120 fps.

The LCD screen and electronic viewfinder are not top of the range, but more than sufficient for pleasant use of the camera.
The EOS R7's connections include USB-C, a remote control connection, micro-HDMI, and both headphone and microphone connections. You have two UHS-II SD card slots for storing your images. The EOS R7 also has the multi-function hot shoe.

The LP-E6NH battery, two UHS-II SD slots, a multi-function hot shoe and all the necessary connections, including headphones.

The menu and the options

The menu controls of the Canon EOS R7 hold no real surprises. They are the same as on all other EOS models and can be operated entirely using buttons and the touchscreen.

There is a wide range of options for personalising buttons, control dials, the custom buttons C1 through C3, and a My Menu with several tabs.

The menu layout is like that of any EOS camera. Customising the controls is very extensive. In this example, you can see some of the adjustments you can make to the AF system.
The camera does seem to be aimed at hobbyists, since you can use the same visual system as I saw on the EOS M50 cameras. There are creative settings such as fish-eye effect, miniature effect and various other filters, aimed at JPEG photographers.

However advanced the options are, the EOS R7 still has playful creative settings for JPEG photographers.

Using the camera

I did not test the video features of the EOS R7, even though the specifications are very interesting for videographers. 4K 60 fps from 7K oversampling and the absence of a 30-minute recording limit are very appealing. You also have C-log3 and YCbCr4:2:2 10-bit available.

Of course, I did film a little with the Canon EOS R7. Unfortunately only in 1080p. I really thought I had set the resolution to 4K, but apparently not.
For this review, however, I am only looking at the camera's options and use for photography. The autofocus and speed, combined with the resolution, make the EOS R7 very interesting for action photography.

The APS-C sensor also gives you a narrower angle of view, making the focal length of your lens appear 1.6x longer.

A brief overview of some of the autofocus options.
The new combination of the control wheel and joystick takes quite a lot of getting used to, especially because of the muscle memory built up over years of using the control wheel separately from the joystick. I kept moving my thumb to the wrong place when I wanted to use the control wheel.

Despite this, it is useful because both controls are in one place. You just have to get used to it. I do miss the dial that is now where the power switch is, which I normally programme for ISO. I now have to press a button first to change it.

A red kite in the German Eifel. I had some trouble with the control wheel because I am so used to its other position on the camera. It takes some getting used to. Unfortunately, afterwards I discovered a substantial greasy smear on the lens, which made the image look a little hazy. (EOS R7 + RF-S 18-150mm at 150mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/500 sec)
The position of the power switch is more comfortable than what you see on the full frame EOS mirrorless models. The extra position for video is especially better than the double operation required with the full frame models.

The EOS R7 has an automatic horizon level. This means that a wonky horizon is corrected automatically. Although I was sceptical, it works remarkably well and is certainly an advantage.

Another option, which I did not really use because there was no need, is pre-shooting. This allows the camera to start saving images when you half-press the shutter button.

When you eventually press the shutter button, a series of photos from half a second before you pressed the shutter button is saved.

Although not really necessary for this type of photo, pre-shooting allows you to take photos before you press the shutter button. The soft image is caused by the greasy smear on the lens, unfortunately.
At 30 frames per second, as many as 15 photos are saved before you fully press the shutter button. This means you are almost never too late to capture the action. Incidentally, the EOS R7 is faster than the full frame models, which do not go faster than 20 frames per second.

The results

The dynamic range of the EOS R7 is smaller than that of its full frame siblings, mainly because of the smaller sensor combined with the high resolution. That does not mean it is poor. You can take perfectly good photos at ISO values up to 3,200, as long as your exposure is correct.

A high dynamic range shot at ISO 1,600. Noise levels are well controlled with this edit.
When you brighten dark areas, you can see that you cannot go much further than 3 stops before the noise becomes distracting. At higher ISO values, you are penalised more quickly, a normal consequence that occurs with every camera.

The original, unedited photo. (EOS R7 + RF-S 18-150mm at 18mm, ISO 1,600, f/8, 1/1000 sec).
The camera is fast and the autofocus is accurate. The crop factor is an advantage when a long focal length is important. During this review, I only photographed with the RF-S 18-150mm, since it is offered as a kit. I expect most people will use the camera in that way too.

The RF-S 18-150mm is of course not the best lens you can get. It is compact, made of plastic, has a wide zoom range and is not very fast. You can compensate for the latter with ISO, of course. The image quality is sufficient for normal use.

The 150mm focal length provides an angle of view equivalent to 240mm. This is a fantastic range for everyday use, such as this townscape of Vianden (LU). (EOS R7 + RF-S 18-150mm at 76mm, ISO 400, f/9, 1/400 sec)
The full performance of the EOS R7 will only come into its own when an L lens is mounted, or one of the excellent affordable primes that Canon offers.

Conclusion

The Canon EOS R7 left me with mixed feelings. It is a very nice camera with excellent performance. Its video capabilities in particular are professional, which should not be underestimated.

For photography, you quickly get the impression that this is the mirrorless version of the famous EOS 7D Mark II. An action camera with an APS-C sensor that is perfect for photography with longer focal lengths. Yet the camera also seems very much aimed at hobbyists. The creative settings in particular, aimed at JPEG photographers, reinforce that feeling.

Echternach (LU) in black and white. The EOS R7 has options to do this in-camera using the creative settings. I prefer to do this with a raw image in post-processing. (EOS R7 + RF-S 18-150mm at 54mm, ISO 400, f/9, 1/500 sec)
Although the EOS R7 will perform excellently with an RF100-500L lens, an RF70-200L lens or any other RF L lens, I think it is better suited to the standard RF lenses.

Think of the RF100-400 that I reviewed recently, or the RF primes that I used in the French Tarn.

The EOS R7 with RF18-150mm lens was small and light enough to hang from the strap during walks through the Eifel. Just be careful not to touch the front element, which is why I had a substantial greasy smear on the lens when photographing the red kite.
In this respect, the Canon EOS R7, at a recommended retail price of 1519 euros, or 1919 euros with the RF-S 18-150mm, is a camera that falls somewhat between two stools. The price is too high for the creative JPEG photographer, while the photographer willing to spend this amount is unlikely to be interested in those creative features.

What I like

• Excellent resolution
  
• Fits comfortably in the hand despite its light weight and small size
  
• Combination of control wheel and joystick works well, but takes some getting used to
  
• Better position for the power switch, which also includes switching to video
  
• Fantastic AF and AF tracking
  
• IBIS
  
• Fantastic video options
  
• Dual card slot
  
• Crop factor is ideal when long focal lengths are desired
  
• Good dynamic range
  
• Auto level option
  
• Pre-shooting available, up to half a second before fully pressing the shutter button
  
• Dedicated AF/MF switch on the camera body
  

What I like less

• Control wheel and joystick combination takes a lot of getting used to
  
• You have to be careful not to accidentally switch the camera to video mode when turning it on
  
• Shutter is louder than expected
  
• Falls between a consumer camera and a semi-professional camera
  
• Micro-HDMI connection
  
• Creative settings may not make sense for this camera's target audience
  
• The camera regularly froze and required the battery to be removed before it would work again
  

Echternach in beautiful sunlight. (EOS R7 + RF-S 18-150mm at 18mm, ISO 400, f/9, 1/500 sec)
The camera regularly froze, with nothing working, not even the power switch. I could not find out why this happened. It was necessary to remove the battery for a few seconds to get the camera working again.

After returning from the holiday, I looked for a reason why the camera froze. It turns out that this can happen when you press the play button immediately after taking the photo to review it.

Canon is working on solving this problem, and it will not be long before a firmware update fixes it. In any case, it is something to bear in mind until then, because you could miss great moments because of it.

A photo of the ruins of Beaufort. Reviewing the photo after taking it risks the camera freezing. So it is a matter of waiting for a firmware update. (EOS R7 + RF-S 18-150mm at 138mm, ISO 3,200, f/6.3, 1/4000 sec)

Who is this camera for?

This brings us to the question of who this camera is suitable for. As I said, I find that difficult to say. It is a fantastic second camera for someone who already has a mirrorless camera, or as a B-roll camera when filming.

The Canon EOS R7 is certainly recommended. But I would not dare call it a replacement for the EOS 7D Mark II, although it can certainly be used that way.
The serious amateur photographer will also get a lot of enjoyment from the EOS R7, and the options are good enough to compete, partly, with Canon's full frame models. In some cases, the options are even more extensive.

In some respects, the EOS R7 is a fully-fledged replacement for the EOS 7D Mark II. The camera is incredibly fast, the autofocus is fantastic and the crop factor gives you that extra magnification.

On the other hand, the EOS R7 also seems aimed at the amateur who simply wants to take beautiful photos. The creative functions point in that direction too.

Do you find the EOS R7 too expensive? Then you can always consider the Canon EOS R10. This camera's specifications are not as extensive as those of the EOS R7, but for anyone who does not need them, the EOS R10 can be a good alternative.

Would you still prefer full frame? Then the EOS RP is worth considering. It is cheaper, but you do miss modern features and options such as IBIS and the excellent autofocus capabilities.

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