Canon EOS
7D
 vs
Nikon
D700

Updated (January, 2012): Compare the Canon EOS 7D vs Nikon D800

Nikon D700

100
Winner

Nikon D700
"It has the same ultra solid feel as its bigger (and smaller) brother, and the same magnesium alloy body and soft rubber grips front and back."
dpreview.com | talking about the D700's build-quality
"Class-leading high ISO performance, usable up to ISO 12800"
dpreview.com | talking about the D700's iso-noise

Reasons to buy the Nikon D700

Low light performance
 Low noise at high ISO
2,303 ISO
Overall image quality
 Great image quality
80.0
Color depth
 Great color depth
23.5 bits
Viewfinder size
 Large viewfinder
0.72x
Weather sealed
 Weather sealed
Shoot in extreme weather
Sensor size
 Large sensor
Full frame 36.0x24.0mm
Canon EOS 7D

82
Runner-up

Canon EOS 7D
"Good quality 1080/720p video output with a range of frame rates"
dpreview.com | talking about the 7D's video-quality
"Excellent build quality with magnesium body and environmental sealing"
dpreview.com | talking about the 7D's build-quality

Reasons to buy the Canon EOS 7D

Weather sealed
 Weather sealed
Shoot in extreme weather
Continuous shooting
 Rapid fire
8 fps
Shutter lag
 Barely any delay taking photos
131 ms shutter lag
Cross type focus points
 Many cross-type focus points
19
Viewfinder coverage
 Great viewfinder coverage
100%
Fastest shutter speed
 Fast shutter speed
1/8000 of a second

differences

Advantages of the Canon 7D
Movie format Shoots movies 1080p @ 30fps vs None
Help
 Shoots Full HD (1080p) video as well as still pictures
True resolution Higher true resolution 17.9 MP vs 12.1 MP
Help
 Capture around 50% more detail in your photos
Continuous shooting Shoots faster 8 fps vs 5 fps
Help
 60% faster continuous shooting
Viewfinder coverage Much better viewfinder coverage 100% vs 95%
Help
 Around 10% better viewfinder coverage
Lens availability More lenses available 162 lenses vs 121 lenses
Help
 More than 30% more lenses available
Shutter lag Less shutter lag 131 ms vs 197 ms
Help
 More than 30% less delay when taking photos
Cross type focus points More cross-type focus points 19 vs 15
Help
 Grab focus in difficult situations
Size Smaller 148x111x74 mm vs 147x123x77 mm
Help
 More than 10% smaller
Weight Lighter 860 g vs 1,074 g
Help
 Around 20% lighter
Lowest price Cheaper $1,329.00 vs $2,749.99
Help
 The best price we've seen is $1,421 cheaper (2.1x less)
Thickness Thinner 2.9" vs 3"
Help
 Almost the same
Canon EOS 7D Learn more about
the Canon 7D

Advantages of the Nikon D700
Low light performance Much lower noise at high ISO 2,303 ISO vs 854 ISO
Help
 The D700 has excellent image quality 1.4 f-stops higher ISO than the 7D
Overall image quality Significantly better image quality 80.0 vs 66.0
Help
 More than 20% better image quality
Color depth Better color depth 23.5 bits vs 22 bits
Help
 Distinguishes 1.5 more bits of color
Sensor size Much larger sensor Full frame 36.0x24.0mm vs APS-C 22.3x14.9mm
Help
 More than 2.5x larger sensor
Dynamic range More dynamic range 12.2 EV vs 11.7 EV
Help
 0.5 f-stops more dynamic range
Viewfinder size Significantly larger viewfinder 0.72x vs 0.62x
Help
 Around 40% larger viewfinder
Focus points Significantly more focus points 51 vs 19
Help
 Set focus accurately within the frame
Battery life Slightly longer battery life 1000 shots vs 800 shots
Help
 Around 30% more shots per battery charge
Light sensitivity (boost) Better boost ISO 25,600 ISO vs 12,800 ISO
Help
 The D700's boost ISO is 1 f-stop better
Nikon D700 Learn more about
the Nikon D700
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent pro DSLRs, and ignoring price

Canon EOS 7D Canon EOS 7D
82 vs 100
Explain scores
Nikon D700 Nikon D700
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Nikon D700.

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!

CanonEOS 7D
 Canon EOS 7D vs Nikon D700
NikonD700
Uses Travel score Travel
On holiday or vacation
64
87
Vote Vote
Sports score Sports
Fast action, sometimes indoors
77
80
Vote Vote
Features Color accuracy Color accuracy
White balance in varied lighting
59
89
Vote Vote
Autofocus peformance Still image focusing
Speed and accuracy
59
87
Vote Vote
Manual controls Manual settings
How quickly and easily you can change settings
63
82
Vote Vote
Build quality Build quality
Is it sturdy, well made, plastic or metal
61
87
Vote Vote
Green arrow Join in the discussion below!

similarities

Compared to recent DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Weather sealed Weather sealed Help
Shoot in extreme weather
Screen resolution High resolution screens Help
7D:920k dots
D700:922k dots
Cross type focus points Many cross-type focus points Help
7D:19
D700:15
Viewfinder Both have pentaprism viewfinders Help
Pentaprism
Fastest shutter speed Fast max shutter speeds Help
1/8000 of a second
Storage slots Fewer storage slots Help
1
Weight Heavy Help
7D:860 g
D700:1,074 g
HDR Neither has in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
Screen flips out No flip-out screens Help
Less flexible
Autofocus No video autofocus Help
Manual focus only
Image stabilization No image stabilization Help
Risk of blur
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
3D Neither camera can take 3D photos Help
No 3d support

Compared to recent pro DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Size Fairly small Help
7D:148x111x74 mm
D700:147x123x77 mm
Built-in flash Each has a built-in flash Help
External flash not needed
Thickness Thin Help
7D:2.9"
D700:3"
Light sensitivity (boost) Poor boost ISO Help
7D:12,800 ISO
D700:25,600 ISO
Light sensitivity Poor maximum light sensitivity Help
6,400 ISO
Battery life Few shots per battery charge Help
7D:800 shots
D700:1000 shots
Screen size Very small screens Help
3.0"

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$1,097 body only

$1,227 with 55-200mm lens
Dynamic range Has slightly wider dynamic range
Movie continuous focus Can focus continuously while recording movies
Shutter lag Has significantly more shutter lag
Cross type focus points Has slightly fewer cross-type focus points
Compare the D7000 vs the EOS 7D
Compare the D7000 vs the D700
Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Pro DSLR

$2,160 - $2,400 body only

$2,799 with 24-105mm lens
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Built-in flash Doesn't have a built-in flash
Shutter lag Has slightly more shutter lag
Compare the EOS 5D Mark II vs the EOS 7D
Compare the EOS 5D Mark II vs the D700
Canon EOS 60D

Canon EOS 60D

Pro DSLR

$879 - $1,304 body only

$1,139 - $1,342 with 18-135mm lens
Screen flips out Has a screen which flips out
Thickness Is thicker
Shutter lag Has significantly more shutter lag
Compare the EOS 60D vs the EOS 7D
Compare the EOS 60D vs the D700
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$624 - $800 body only

$869 - $1,100 with 18-135mm lens
Screen flips out Has a screen which flips out
Weight Is significantly lighter
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the EOS 7D
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the D700
Nikon D5100

Nikon D5100

Entry-level DSLR

$650 - $749 body only

$600 - $750 with 18-55mm lens
Dynamic range Has slightly wider dynamic range
Screen flips out Has a screen which flips out
Fastest shutter speed Has a slower max shutter speed
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the D5100 vs the EOS 7D
Compare the D5100 vs the D700
Nikon D300S

Nikon D300S

Pro DSLR

$1,700 body only

$2,547 - $4,295 with 18-200mm lens
Storage slots Has more storage slots
Shutter lag Has significantly more shutter lag
Compare the D300S vs the EOS 7D
Compare the D300S vs the D700
Pentax K-5

Pentax K-5

Entry-level DSLR

$1,029 - $1,500 body only

$1,349 - $1,650 with 18-55mm lens
Dynamic range Has slightly wider dynamic range
Image stabilization Has image stabilization
Lens availability Slightly fewer lenses available
Cross type focus points Has slightly fewer cross-type focus points
Compare the K-5 vs the EOS 7D
Compare the K-5 vs the D700

Canon EOS 7D Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

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

Nikon D700 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D3S

Nikon D3S

Pro DSLR

$4,999 - $5,197 body only
Low light performance Significantly lower noise at high ISO
Battery life Much longer battery life
Size Much larger
Viewfinder size Slightly smaller viewfinder
Compare the D3S vs the D700

appearance

Canon EOS 7D Nikon D700
Canon EOS 7D Nikon D700
Canon EOS 7D Nikon D700

Find similar cameras

Here are some links to help you find other cameras with similar features to both of these:

discussion Which do you think is better?

Speech is free, but discussion at Snapsort is moderated! Please discuss your opinion of these cameras here, and discuss feedback for Snapsort at our support community.

Showing 2 comments

hunter04 (5:47 AM, September 20, 2011)
i think the nikon d700 is goood... because of the low noise at high iso and the full frame sensor.....
but i go for 7d.... much better color for the eye..
 
Thepedalshop (6:54 PM, June 19, 2011)
When you see major motion picture companies using the cannon d 7 as there main camera for filming in HD you know there is a reason.