Canon EOS 7D

Noise Reduction (6.16)

By default, the 7D is set for the Standard High ISO noise reduction setting, which falls between Low and Strong. As shown in the chart below, the system makes a major difference in noise performance at ISO 1600 and beyond. Of course, the stronger the noise reduction, the more detail is lost in your final images, though as shown in the Sample Photos section, even the more aggressive setting doesn’t obliterate fine lines too badly. More on how we test noise.

When shooting in bright light, the 7D consistently produced slightly noisier images than the full-frame Sony A900 and Canon 5D Mark II and the APS-C Nikon D5000, though the difference is slim through ISO 800. The Panasonic GH1, with its smaller Micro Four Thirds sensor, is the problem child in the group when it comes to image noise. To assess image noise performance, we shoot our ColorChecker chart with bright 3000 lux illumination at all standard ISO settings (i.e., leaving out extended settings), using each available high ISO noise reduction setting.

Shooting with high ISO noise reduction turned off to maximize detail levels, the 7D produced test shots with higher noise levels than three out of four of our comparison cameras. The difference is most pronounced at the highest ISO levels.

Cranking up the noise reduction processing to maximum holds image noise for the 7D below 1% through ISO 1600, though there is more noticeable noise than the Nikon D5000 and Canon 5D Mark II at high ISO levels.

The image noise results for the 18-megapixel 7D are only a bit lower than the full-frame Canon 5D Mark II (21.1 megapixels) and Sony A900 (24.6 megapixels), with the relatively inexpensive Nikon D500, a 12.3-megapixel APS-C model, offering noise levels nearly identical to the category-leading 5D Mark II. Like the 7D, the Panasonic GH1 tries to squeeze a lot of megapixels onto a smaller-than-usual space (in this case, 12.1 megapixels on a Micro Four Thirds format sensor), but the camera doesn’t handle the noise challenge as successfully.

ISO Options

The standard ISO range is 100-6400, with an extended H setting corresponding to ISO 12800. There’s an Auto ISO mode (used when shooting in autoexposure mode or selectable by the user), with a range of settings from ISO 100-3200.

ISO Comparisons
Canon EOS 7D	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Sony Alpha A900	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	Nikon D5000
ISO Low
ISO 100	ISO 100	ISO 100	ISO 100	ISO 200
ISO 100	ISO 100	ISO 100	ISO 100	ISO 200
Canon EOS 7D	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Sony Alpha A900	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	Nikon D5000
ISO 200
Canon EOS 7D	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Sony Alpha A900	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	Nikon D5000
ISO 400
Canon EOS 7D	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Sony Alpha A900	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	Nikon D5000
ISO 800
Canon EOS 7D	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Sony Alpha A900	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	Nikon D5000
ISO 1600
Canon EOS 7D	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Sony Alpha A900	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	Nikon D5000
ISO 3200
Canon EOS 7D	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Sony Alpha A900	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	Nikon D5000
ISO 6400
Canon EOS 7D	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Sony Alpha A900	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	Nikon D5000
ISO 12800
Canon EOS 7D	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Sony Alpha A900	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	Nikon D5000
ISO 25600
Canon EOS 7D	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Sony Alpha A900	Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1	Nikon D5000

NOTE: The images above are not used in our testing or scoring, but are included here to show real-world examples of the differences between cameras at the various ISO settings.