Canon EOS 70D

[Cyberman]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

So I am now a proud owner of a Canon 400mm f5.6L to fit on my 70D.

My first task with it is to master it so I can reliably achieve sharp photos.

I am sure you'll get good results very quickly. I have found my new Canon 100-400mm to be very good on my 70D, and it turns out very sharp images with good detail.
its my composition that let's the images down, not the lens!

[colin C]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

My first task with it is to master it so I can reliably achieve sharp photos.

You'll need 1/400sec and above to counter camera shake and triple that for birds in flight. For Owls and Eagles 1/1,000 sec, smaller faster birds, more like 1/2,000 sec. You can experiment with slower speeds as you get used to the beast.

[Gary - Fulham]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

Here's the full review:

Jan 13 update: EOS 70D enhanced review
This review update is now based on 3 months use of the 70D. I used the following lenses and accessories with the camera: Canon 600EXC-RT speedlite, Canon EF-S 15-85 f3.5 to f5.6, Canon EF-S 55-250 F3.5 to f5.6 Mk2, EF-S 60mm F2.8 macro, Sigma 10-20 EX DC f3.5 to 5.6, SanDisk ExtPro 32GB SDHC card, class 10 (95mb/s).
As I suggested earlier, this is probably the best mid-range `prosumer' camera that Canon have produced in the APS-C sensor format and is a snip ahead of the 7D - which is still current and well over 4 years old of course, so still doing very well - and represents an excellent, robust, value for money package. It reminds me in many ways of the 7D - but with a slightly fresher set of features and it is slightly lighter and not as wide or high.
In summary, the pros and cons are as follows:
Strengths
* Well made, compact, sturdy package, ideal for travel and reportage and as a back-up pro camera; weatherproofed body
* Image quality very good (but see below), 20mp is a good compromise between file size and resolution
* Excellent handling, controls fall easily to hand, familiar to Canon user
* Excellent flash system, enhanced ETTL2
* Used SD cards and LP-E6 batteries
* Controls fall easily to hand, great for travel, cycling, walking. Foldable screen means that LCD screen can be protected from damage (e.g. whilst inside a rucksack or pannier)
* SET button, with concentric multi-controller ring and rear control wheel (carried over from the 2012 EOS 6D), work very well, but might be a struggle with large or gloved or cold hands.
* Excellent metering and focussing
* Silent shooting mode a real advantage. Very quiet operation (even in non-silent mode) - the shutter release is significantly quieter than the 60D's or full frame Canons.
* Very good ISO range - 100 to 12800 (H1 boost to 25600) and low light functionality
* Bright, well-designed viewfinder, excellent grid overlay and viewfinder level option from 7D (actually improved over this)
* Good range of custom functions and customisable buttons, latest menu system with same multi-controller wheel set-up as on 6D.
* Well design articulated LCD screen with touch sensitivity (like 60D)
* Built in wireless flash option
* Well-designed top plate, large mode selector dial with lock button
* On chip phase detection system makes video / live view focussing the best yet
* Commendable battery life. Same LP-E6 battery as most EOS cameras above the 600-series. The first charge with the new battery gave me realistically about 400 exposures before I recharged it. However, this involved the usual experimentation one does with a new camera, so I would expect real world use to give at least 600 shots or more
* Shutter speed of 7 fps is good enough for me. As a travel photographer, probably 99.5% of the all the images I have ever taken have been `single shot'
Weaknesses
* Image quality of a high standard and dynamic range better than many previous Canon APS-C cameras but DR could be improved re; Nikon rivals
* Focussing not as versatile or customisable as 7D
* Not a 100% field of view viewfinder unlike the 7D (a criticism of most EOS cameras from me)
* No built-in viewfinder rear shutter (ditto)
* Pointless SCENE, Green Square A+ , `night' and CA settings on top dial. Better to have C2/3 (in addition to C1) or another customisable position. I have never accepted the idea that anyone `trading up' to a better camera needs these settings: at ca. £1000 this camera body is beyond the price range of most `dabblers'
* Lost opportunity to place a true customisable Mf-n button on top of grip (like 7D) - the control in this position is fixed to focussing pattern control on 70D
* Same criticism as for 6D - parsimonious My Menu customising - why just 6 options - with all the RAM this camera has, I can't believe this couldn't easily be 12 or more
* Printed user manual supplied is a short version - the full manual is only found on the CD or as a PDf download from the Net. This is common with Canon now and a trend I hate
Most controls are positioned where we would expect of a modern EOS. The Top Dial has the useful centre lock button and the On / Off switch is now in its usual position below this. There is a good balance of features on the top plate - somewhere between a 7D and a 5D mk3 top plate. It has the larger type LCD, with the usual array of buttons in front of the LCD - AF, Drive, ISO, Metering and panel Illumination. The DOF preview button is now in a much more useful place to the right hand side of the lens throat. The top right hand side of the rear panel has three buttons - all customisable - which will be familiar - AF-On, Metering Lock and AF Points. Below this there are significant changes from the 60d (etc) that came in with the EOS 6D last year. There is the concentric SET, Multi Controller and Rear Dial set up - which actually works very well. This has the associated Lock switch (which, usefully, is customisable) and below the Rear Dial is the Delete (`dustbin') button. Above it are the Play and Magnify buttons and the usual Live View / Video controller button. To the top left of the rear LCD panel is the standard MENU and INFO buttons. I am not a great user of video but it seems to produce fine image quality and I am sure it customisable enough for the enthusiast.
So, all pretty-much standard stuff on a modern EOS and should be intuitive for any Canon user - you'll be able to use it `straight-from-the-box' - certainly for basic usage.
Focussing
The focussing is pretty commendable. It has all the usual focussing `tweakability' of all mid- to high-end EOS cameras these days. Via the C.FnII, you have the option to adjust Tracking Sensitivity, Accel / Decel tracking, AI Servo Priority, AF Assist Beam, AF Microadjust, etc. However, for me the issue is how well does the camera work in real-world situations? I would say the focussing functionality is significantly better than the 5Dmk2 and 6D and probably not quite up there with the 7D or 5Dmk3. For me, that's very good. Not really being a photographer who takes many photographs of moving subjects, I haven't truly used all the focussing abilities of the 7D over the last three years anyway. Probably, if I wanted a `cheaper' EOS for sports or action, I'd go for the 70D regardless (something Canon seemed to have cottoned on to as their 4 year-old EOS 7D camera has been given a new lease of life by `Firmware 2.0' and a big advertising push - one suspects that sports and wildlife photographers actually liked the 1.3 magnification factor of the 1D mk3/4 and there's now a gap as the 1Dx is full frame with no magnification advantages for long lenses).
Metering and Exposure
The camera has no problems in this department. Many earlier EOS DSLRs up to the 5D mk2 struggled with the older matrix / evaluative metering. I found that they consistently overexposed in UK conditions and I used spot / partial metering or used Manual more often than not. Blown highlights and featureless, white skies were a problem on overcast days. Since the introduction of the iFCL metering around the time the 7D was launched (I think it might have been with the 1Dm4), things have improved greatly and the 70D is no exception. I found I could use Aperture Priority metering with few problems. I also found the same with the budget 600D in the UK - I have now sold this as the 70D has effectively replaced this. Exposure is now more `Nikon-like' with fewer clipped highlights and better shadow detail - also likely to be a benefit of the dynamic range of the chip. Viewfinder perspective and information readout are commendable. But I still feel Canon have work to do on the dynamic range of their APS-C sized chips.
Flash
In a word - superb. The best I have found on a Canon DSLR so far, especially with the 600EX-RT speedlite (see separate review). The new ETTL2 + algorithms used in flash calculations seem to have finally allowed Canon flash system to catch up with Nikon
Real world use with typical lenses
Any Canon EF lens made over the last 26 years (or non-Canon EF equivalent) will fit this camera. The Canon EF-S range is optimised for this camera. Most of my first 3 months of shots with the camera were taken with my excellent, workhorse EF-S 15-85 f3.5 to 5.6 which is the premium, latest version of this 24-135 35mm equivalent standard zoom (comparable in quality to the EF 24-105L). I also used the compact, optically superb Canon EF-S 60mm f2.8 macro and the less optically distinguished EF-S 55-250 f3.5 to 5.6 mk 2 lightweight telephoto zoon (a kit lens, that sells at around £110) and the well regarded Sigma EX DC 10-20mm f3.5/5.6 HSM (their equivalent of the Canon EF-S 10-20mm).
The 15-85 and the 70D make a great lightweight travel set. They work well together giving sharp images across the range and punchy colours. Optical aberrations are well controlled and flatness of field relatively good for such a lens. My only criticism of this lens is that it doesn't have a lens lock so the zoom ring tends to drift when carried or stowed in a camera bag.
Conclusion
This is the best prosumer `mid-range' Canon DSLR yet. It rivals the 7D and gives the 6D / 5D mk3 a serious run for its money if you don't want full frame. Great image quality and a very robust, ergonomic package make this camera a fine buy. It can be firmly recommended.

[colin C]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

Very comprehensive review and much better for other prospective users coming from an owner, rather than a reviewer. Owners find things out that reviewers don't have the camera long enough to find.

[RedRobin]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

^^^^
A veritable and commendable opus! I'm about to read it but would you like to edit it with some paragraph spacing - It really would help people to read and digest it and not be put off by such a dense mass of text.

[RedRobin]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

* Pointless SCENE, Green Square A+ , `night' and CA settings on top dial. Better to have C2/3 (in addition to C1) or another customisable position. I have never accepted the idea that anyone `trading up' to a better camera needs these settings: at ca. £1000 this camera body is beyond the price range of most `dabblers'

....Not pointless regarding price when you take into account that there are plenty of affluent people who can afford the 70D and will want it because of also having reportedly excellent video capabilities. I'm not a videographer but there are plenty out there who will love the 70D's video features. Many of those more affluent will be across the pond in America and territories which don't add inequitous tax like the UK does.

I expect that the SCENE options will be of more use to videographers.

The A+ mode is useful if you simply don't have time and want to very quickly grab a shot - It leaves the camera to sort out all the settings which it thinks best and the 70D doesn't do too badly at it. Obviously, as a more discerning photographer you want to control settings yourself.

[RedRobin]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

* No built-in viewfinder rear shutter

....Forgiving my ignorance but what is that, please?

Doesn't Live View in lifting the mirror provide an excellent alternative to the viewfinder?

[2Beers]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

Thanks for the informative review, its useful to me as I am currently looking to upgrade from a 60D and am unsure whether to opt for the 70D or the 6D
The lenses I have are
EF-s 18 - 55 kit
EF-s 55 - 250
EF 50mm
EF 100- 400 L

[Cyberman]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

Thanks for the informative review, its useful to me as I am currently looking to upgrade from a 60D and am unsure whether to opt for the 70D or the 6D
The lenses I have are
EF-s 18 - 55 kit
EF-s 55 - 250
EF 50mm
EF 100- 400 L

If you choose the 6D your EF-S lenses will not fit and will need replacing.
But all your lenses would fit the 70D.
Other than that it's the cost of the full frame option versus the high end crop sensor.

[Gary - Fulham]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

The viewfinder shutter is a rare beast these days but is useful when you use a tripod. It completely prevents all light entry in through the rear viewfinder eyepiece to not affect metering.

[colin C]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

The viewfinder shutter is a rare beast these days

Standard on the 1 series bodies and I do use it for long exposures.

Canon used to include a little clip that fitted over the viewfinder for this very purpose, but I suppose it is just as easy to stand behind and block any light entering the viewfinder.

[RedRobin]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

The viewfinder shutter is a rare beast these days but is useful when you use a tripod. It completely prevents all light entry in through the rear viewfinder eyepiece to not affect metering.

....What am I missing here? - When the 70D is switched to Live View the viewfinder completely is cut off. I am fairly confident I read about this metering aspect very recently and that the 70D solves such an issue. But I stand to be corrected.

[colin C]

Re: Canon EOS 70D

....What am I missing here?

If you take long exposure shots, such as light trails from motor vehicles, or buildings at dusk etc., you may be positioned where light entering the viewfinder from behind the camera could adversely affect the exposure. To counter this, some high end cameras have a switch that would close a blind just inside the viewfinder, stopping any light entering from the rear.

If you haven't got a rear blind mechanism, as long as you cover the viewfinder, or block any light with your body, you shouldn't have a problem.