Explore 94 sample photos taken by the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and 39 sample photos taken by the Canon EOS 7D

Lower noise at high ISO

1,815 ISO vs 854 ISO

The 5D Mark II has excellent image quality 1.1 f-stops higher ISO than the 7D

Significantly better image quality

79.0 vs 66.0

Around 20% better image quality

Better color depth

23.7 bits vs 22 bits

Distinguishes 1.7 more bits of color

Significantly larger viewfinder

0.71x vs 0.62x

More than 30% larger viewfinder

More dynamic range

11.9 EV vs 11.7 EV

0.2 f-stops more dynamic range

Higher true resolution

21 MP vs 17.9 MP

Capture around 20% more detail in your photos

Better boost ISO

25,600 ISO vs 12,800 ISO

The 5D Mark II's boost ISO is 1 f-stop better

Learn more about
the Canon 5D Mark II

Shoots significantly faster

8 fps vs 3.9 fps

More than 2x faster continuous shooting

Significantly more cross-type focus points

19 vs 1

Grab focus in difficult situations

More lenses available

197 lenses vs 156 lenses

Around 30% more lenses available

Less shutter lag

131 ms vs 206 ms

Around 40% less delay when taking photos

More focus points

19 vs 9

Set focus accurately within the frame

Better viewfinder coverage

100% vs 98%

Almost the same

Built-in flash

Yes vs No

A built-in flash is useful for taking indoor shots where there is little light

Cheaper

$999.00 vs $2,485.00

The best price we've seen is $1,486 cheaper (2.5x less)

Slightly smaller

148x111x74 mm vs 152x114x75 mm

Around 10% smaller

Slightly thinner

2.9" vs 3"

Almost the same

Learn more about
the Canon 7D

Which camera do we recommend? Relative to the best recent pro DSLRs, and ignoring price

Snapsort Recommends

Canon EOS 5D Mark II 80

Retailer
Style
Color

You save

vs

68 Canon EOS 7D

Retailer
Style
Color

You save

Compared to recent DSLRs

Common Strengths

	Weather sealed
	Shoot in extreme weather

	Minimal startup delay
	400 ms startup delay

	Both have pentaprism viewfinders
	Pentaprism

	Fast max shutter speeds
	1/8000 of a second

Common Weaknesses

Heavy

5D Mark II:	850 g
7D:	860 g

	Neither has in-camera HDR
	You could do HDR manually

	Fewer storage slots
	1

	No video autofocus
	Manual focus only

	No focus motor
	Won't autofocus with all lenses

	No built-in GPS
	Missing geo-tagging

	Poor maximum light sensitivity
	6,400 ISO

	No flip-out screens
	Less flexible

	No image stabilization
	Risk of blur

	Very small screens
	3.0"

Poor dynamic range

5D Mark II:	11.9 EV
7D:	11.7 EV

Compared to recent pro DSLRs

Common Strengths

Thin

5D Mark II:	3"
7D:	2.9"

Common Weaknesses

Poor boost ISO

5D Mark II:	25,600 ISO
7D:	12,800 ISO

Few focus points

5D Mark II:	9
7D:	19

	Neither camera stitches together panoramas
	You could stitch photos in post

	Low resolution screens
	920k dots

Low image quality

5D Mark II:	79.0
7D:	66.0

Image quality data for the Canon 5D Mark II provided by DxOMark
Image quality data for the Canon 7D provided by DxOMark

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon EOS 70D

Pro DSLR

$899 - $999 body only

$1,069 - $1,149 with 18-55mm lens

Has a slightly higher resolution screen

Has a touch screen

Is thicker

Has slightly more startup delay

Compare the EOS 70D vs the EOS 5D Mark II

Compare the EOS 70D vs the EOS 7D

Canon EOS 6D

Pro DSLR

$1,388 - $1,799 body only

$2,199 - $2,399 with 24-105mm lens

Is slightly less noisy at high ISO

Has a slightly higher resolution screen

Has a slower max shutter speed

Has much more shutter lag

Compare the EOS 6D vs the EOS 5D Mark II

Compare the EOS 6D vs the EOS 7D

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Pro DSLR

$3,099 body only

$3,849 with 24-70mm lens

Is slightly less noisy at high ISO

Has a significantly larger screen

Is significantly more expensive

Is slightly heavier

Compare the EOS 5D Mark III vs the EOS 5D Mark II

Compare the EOS 5D Mark III vs the EOS 7D

Canon EOS 60D

Pro DSLR

$672 - $799 body only

$949 - $1,299 with 18-135mm lens

Has a slightly higher resolution screen

Has a screen which flips out

Is thicker

Slightly less viewfinder coverage

Compare the EOS 60D vs the EOS 5D Mark II

Compare the EOS 60D vs the EOS 7D

Nikon D7100

Entry-level DSLR

$997 body only

$1,170 - $1,297 with 18-140mm lens

Has slightly wider dynamic range

Has a significantly larger screen

Has significantly more shutter lag

Compare the D7100 vs the EOS 5D Mark II

Compare the D7100 vs the EOS 7D

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$615 body only

$600 - $1,025 with 18-55mm lens

Has slightly wider dynamic range

Can focus continuously while recording movies

Is thicker

Has significantly more shutter lag

Compare the D7000 vs the EOS 5D Mark II

Compare the D7000 vs the EOS 7D

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Pro DSLR

$1,699 - $1,799 body only

$2,149 with 18-135mm lens

Has a slightly higher resolution screen

Slightly higher maximum light sensitivity

Is slightly more expensive

Is thicker

Compare the EOS 7D Mark II vs the EOS 5D Mark II

Compare the EOS 7D Mark II vs the EOS 7D

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Nikon D700

Pro DSLR

$3,944 body only

Lower noise at high ISO

Many more focus points

Does not take movies

Much lower true resolution

Compare the D700 vs the EOS 5D Mark II

Canon EOS 7D Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

No significant competitors found that are specific to the Canon EOS 7D.

EOS 5D Mark II

Canon

Report a correction

EOS 7D

Canon

Report a correction

Showing 25 comments

Guest

(1:03 AM, March 24, 2013)

I know where you are coming from and in one way you are right. Things in nowadays a "little" different though ... You can do movie with iPhone as one Japanese filmmaker did and celebrate success ...
5D MK II and III are used widely for making future movie with no problem. It is always about script / skills and artistry which paramount the final cut.

Apd198

(1:41 AM, July 03, 2012)

You need to go up to a 1DX level camera for true weather sealing.

Ash Hamdi Films

(3:12 PM, May 26, 2012)

first of all he asked for which camera to use and not an analysis if it "POSSIBLE OR NOT" , second i don't know in which industry you are working, but to make it easier , read about the movie "LIKE CRAZY" , it won best film in Sundance and it was shot with 2 7D's with a budget of $250,000 and sometimes the crew was a max of 10 people. There are countless films to be mentioned that doesn't support your whole analysis

Dartanian

(5:49 AM, April 22, 2012)

It's incredible that you would say that. Perhaps your 40 years of experience has caused you to stay in the 1970's. The 'Singularity' (Google it) is what's happening here, and you are fast becoming obsolete if you cling to your opinions based on previous experience.

Mike the Realtor

(0:56 AM, April 05, 2012)

I think you should burn your degree...LOL. Have you been living under a rock?! More and more people are doing incredible things with DSLR cameras (final episode of "House"). And they do it with little or no budget. Go on youtube or vimeo; dont be a dream killer. Do you know what I could do with three 5D's and a $250k budget?!!

Sol_Invictus

(8:53 PM, March 30, 2012)

I hope you realize that the movies "Hell and Back" and "Act of Valor" were both shot with the 5D Mark II. They didn't have anywhere near the assets you're referring to. Google Danfung Dennis and you'll see the gear he used to make his movie. Which incidentally was nominated for an Oscar.

Leonard Washington

(3:49 AM, March 25, 2012)

I owned both of those cameras. I definitely preferred the 7D for its quickness. I could care less for stills. 7D will focus much much much faster than 5d mk2 in the lower light and sports or whenever you need a fast candid. 5D mk2 has a harder time focusing and only useful with a center AF point really. Though 5D mk2 low light performance if you get it to focus right is OUTSTANDING, and image quality is AMAZING. I usually manual focused on my 5D mk2 and AF in Cont. high on 7D.

I sold both now and buying a 1D series camera ;)

Bcdane

(9:05 PM, March 22, 2012)

Salt water splash from a Hawaiian wave.... immediate towel dry, was prepared incase with a silica cube and stuck camera in a bag in case.... Canon... sorry,... complete write-off!. Weather sealed? tickles of rain, dust ok. The NIkkon shooter at front of boat and camera got complete heavy wave soak.... A OK. Nice 'false' sense of security. Readers.... don't get it wet, especially salt water.... didn't even get a chance to corode... done.

Filmbird

(8:25 AM, March 17, 2012)

And 'For Lovers Only'. With a cast and crew of about 5-10 people, on a $0 budget. They've made a profit of over $200,000. Sorry Delijaxd, but you're wrong...

ADPTraining

(7:34 AM, March 07, 2012)

Delijaxd is an idiot. Redtails and Act of Valor were shot with 5Ds and 7Ds. DSLRs are the future.

Wdeptuch

(2:57 AM, March 07, 2012)

You have no clue what you are talking about, the canon 5d mark ii and the 7d have been used on feature films and television shows over the past several years.
You dont have to worry about the sound on these if you are shooting for a feature because you should be shooting that seperately (like with an h4n zoom) like they do with the reds and film cameras.

Delijaxd

(6:14 AM, February 25, 2012)

Having both a college degree in film making and 40 years of experience in the industry, I can assure you that it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE for ANYONE to make a "full length feature film" with any digital SLR type camera - a complete waste of time. In theory, yes "impossible" may be over-stating it, but unless you have a crew of 100 or so, plus a viable script and a huge budget - while technically possible, it would also require at least 3 or more cameras, a complete sound system (you can't expect to get even sound from 2 or more cameras) and there's just so much more I could go on for 10 full pages and only address a small fraction of the obstacles you would face. Take a look at the Nikon website and they have a 4 or 5 minute "movies" made with the new D800 camera. Take a look at the credits at the end - there are well over 100 people that were credited with their contributions to a movie that ran for less than 5 minutes - a typical 'full length feature" would require everything they had (my guess is at least a half dozen cameras, countless lenses, and a separate sound recording system - which is expensive but an absolute requirement) - and my guess (based on the cost of shooting 30 second TV commercials) or a $250,000 budget - a full length feature film is on average over 100 minutes long, so multiply that budget by 20. (Only $5million - which seems WAY too low - but maybe possible if you don't have to pay anyone - just pay for the equipment, the sets, permits, etc.) - Of course if the unions get wind of what you are doing, expect the cost to be much higher.

Feral Thibedeaux

(5:40 PM, February 14, 2012)

Easy... 5d... the 550d (t2i) side by side comparisons have shown that
in almost all respects, performs like the 7d... If you are upgrading... spend the dosh, get the 5d... the bigger sensor, lower contrast ratio (due to the larger sensor) and video capabilities are amazing

Steve

(5:25 PM, January 06, 2012)

7D : Magnesium body with shutter durability up to 150,000 cycles and exclusive dust and weather resistance. (http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products/professional_cameras/digital_slr_cameras/eos_7d#Features)
5D:High performance with 3.9 fps continuous shooting, new shutter with a durability of 150,000 cycles and improved weather-resistant body.
(http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products/professional_cameras/digital_slr_cameras/eos_5d_mark_ii#Features)
Seems They are *both* weather resistant but the 5D isn't dust resistant.

Doctorz

(2:37 PM, December 26, 2011)

I looked at these two cameras before choosing the 5d MkII. IMO these two cameras are just about equal except that the 5D has the full frame 35mm CMOS sensors while the 7D has the smaller APS-C CMOS sensor. Thus the 5D behaves as a true 35mm camera while the 7D behaves as "smaller" frame camera. By the nature of physics, the APS-C sensor has a 1.6x focal length multiplier -which becomes important when one is shooting wide field of views: e.g. a 24mm lens shoots as a 24mm lens on the 5D while the 7D with the same lens shoots as a 38mm lens (24 x 1.6). Thus it's tougher to shoot "wide" with the 7D. Conversely, because of the 1.6 focal length multiplier, a longer lens (e.g. 200 mm) on the 7D will have more "reach" than that on the 5D. It will behave as a 320mm lens. (200 x 1.6). To those still undecided, may I suggest reading Canon's CMOS White Paper found here: http://media.the-digital-picture.com/Information/Canon-Full-Frame-CMOS-White-Paper.pdf

As for lenses: keep in mind that if you already have an investment in EF-S lenses, you cannot use them on the full frame 5d as these lenses are designed only for APS-C sensor cameras.

Teknodogg

(3:45 PM, December 13, 2011)

if you do a lot of sports than go with a 7D

Rizengrom

(7:29 PM, December 12, 2011)

It's weather Resistant, not weathersealed

xeres

(6:03 PM, December 07, 2011)

Being an amateur photographer I've understood, through the years, that lenses are at least as much important than cameras. After an uppgrade from a 500D to a 7d (I really love that machine !) I got the feeling that my best lens did a better work with a 500D than my worse lens did with my new 7D.
Anyway, I.m quite sure the 5D is a better rending camera concerning details, colors and sharpened pictures. But the 7D has got newer technology (autofocus, 2x digic-4 processor for real fast pictures series and so on...). I would advise people with my ambition (wanting to take real good pictures and make nice HD movies to buy a 7D and put the money that is over in a better zoom lens. The 7D is more than enough camera for the creative amateur!

Bobraposo1970

(9:17 PM, November 17, 2011)

I am looking to upgrade my Rebel XTi and considering Canon 7D or 5D. Issue is that I have a lense 18-200 that is not compatible with the 5D, but I love the power of this camera. Any recos?

Boskovicluka

(9:37 AM, September 21, 2011)

I prefere the 5D too, but this review is the worst ever. Expecially the "weather seal" kix hahahah

SHAMWOW

(3:04 PM, September 13, 2011)

I am looking to upgrade my Canon T1i. I currently only use the 50 f 1.4 and the 85 f 1.8. I shoot a lot of basektball and landscape things. I am really starting to get into portrait photography as well. I am a college student so obviously I am on some what of a budget but I could probably get enough for the 5d if need be. Any comments or suggestions would be great on which camera is better and why. Thank you

Dadvianphotography

(10:36 AM, September 13, 2011)

can't afford a 5d mark II =( and L lenses...wish i could ..but 1,000 extra for the body...and twice the price of any lens...help please..can't decide betwin a 5d mk II with a 50 mm lens or a 7d with a 18-135 mm ,a 10-20 sigma wide angle a rokinon 8 mm fish eye..and a nikon sb 28 vintage flash for off camera flash =(....something inside of me tell's me go for te 5d...but other part tells me that its a 3 year old body and an up grade can come real soon...reasons to buy 5d..low noise at high iso and full frame format...reasons to buy 7d..focus system and the option of 60 frames ps ..i love slow mo =( please help

Stefanots

(9:23 AM, August 23, 2011)

http://canonfieldreviews.com/7d-1-weather-sealing/
Isn't 7D weathersealed?
The weathersealing isn't as good as 1D series, but it's quite complete

Ted Ciesielski

(3:37 AM, August 20, 2011)

Absolutly 5D! All Zeiss P2 pro lesnses and Shift lenses are for full frame cameras only like 5D

Ted Ciesielski, DP
"man w the movie camera"

BobGuch

(8:07 PM, August 08, 2011)

ahh which one to buy when you already own a canon 550D :P

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

vs

Canon EOS 7D

Reasons to buy the Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Reasons to buy the Canon EOS 7D

galleries

differences

Advantages of the Canon 5D Mark II

Advantages of the Canon 7D

recommendations

Which camera do we recommend? Relative to the best recent pro DSLRs, and ignoring price

vs

similarities

Compared to recent DSLRs

Compared to recent pro DSLRs

dxomark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Canon EOS 70D

Canon EOS 6D

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Canon EOS 60D

Nikon D7100

Nikon D7000

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

Nikon D700

Canon EOS 7D Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

appearance

discussion

Showing 25 comments