Quality & Size Options

The 7D supports three resolutions, in both JPEG and RAW modes.

There are two available compression settings, Fine and Normal, for each JPEG size. Each RAW setting can also be paired with a large, fine JPEG.

If you’re shooting JPEGs but want to capture a particular image in RAW JPEG mode, there’s a quick-access button for that. Just press the One-Touch RAWJPEG button, located to the left of the viewfinder, and the next shot will be saved in RAW+JPEG format, after which the camera returns to straight JPEG mode. It also works in reverse: if you’re shooting in RAW, you can switch to JPEG for a shot.

Dynamic Range (10.67)

The Canon 7D shines when it comes to maintaining detail in both bright and dark areas of a high-contrast scene, an ability measured as dynamic range. To measure dynamic range, we shoot a 20-part Kodak stepchart, with gradated patches from solid white to solid black, across the range of standard ISO settings. These individual shots are analyzed using Imatest, then the results compiled to produce an overall performance profile.

As shown in the chart below, the 7D starts at a generous eight-stop dynamic range, and falls off slowly as ISO levels rise. The range is nearly 6 stops even at ISO 1600; by comparison, the Nikon D5000 is down to 4.67 by that point. More on how we test dynamic range.

The 7D has a slight edge over the others at ISO 200 (the Panasonic trails the pack throughout, in part due to its very high image noise levels). As ISO levels increase, dynamic range inevitably falls off, but the 7D range narrows more slowly than the competition.

Image Stabilization (4.87)

The 7D outscored the comparison cameras in our group by a substantial margin, once again underscoring its suitability for shooting in difficult lighting situations. More on how we test image stabilization.

The stabilization system built into the 28-135mm lens consistently reduced image blur caused by camera shake, earning a good score in this section. We test the effectiveness of image stabilization systems by mounting the camera in a specially designed rig that produces repeatable, controlled camera movements along the horizontal and vertical axes, at a low and a high rate. This simulates the effect of shooting standing reasonably still (low shake) and while moving, or with one hand (high shake). We shoot in each situation at shutter speeds ranging from 1/8 second to 1/500 second, with stabilization turned off and turned on. By comparing the resolution of the test photos,we determine the camera’s blur-fighting fitness.

Except for the fastest shutter speed, the Canon image stabilization system produced a significant improvement in our low shake testing, particularly against vertical shake at the tough-to-handhold 1/30 and 1/15 second speeds.

Even when we cranked the camera movement up to a higher level, image stabilization still produced a substantial improvement when the camera shook vertically.

Image Stabilization Comparison Table			Expand
	Low Shake IS Off	Low Shake IS On	High Shake IS Off	High Shake IS On
1/500
1/250
1/125
1/60
1/30
1/15
1/8

The Canon 7D outscored all of the other cameras in our test group for image stabilization.

The following table shows same-size crops of representative photos from our horizontal shake testing, to help visualize the level of improvement we found under the different test conditions.