Canon EOS 700D review

The upgrade to the Canon 700D is so subtle that we spent the first few minutes pondering whether Canon had accidentally sent us its predecessor. Indeed, even Canon seems mildly embarrassed, quietly shuffling the Canon EOS 650D into early retirement, leaving the 600D on the market for those who want a cheaper, last-generation DSLR.

The 700D has an almost identical specifications sheet to the 650D: the 18-megapixel CMOS sensor, 9-point cross-type autofocus sensor, and DIGIC 5 processor are all carried across from its predecessor. It also has the same 3in articulated touchscreen; it’s surprising that this feature remains unique to Canon on consumer DSLRs, given that it makes advanced controls much more accessible. So quickly does touchscreen control become second nature for reviewing images or tweaking ISO settings that we now find ourselves futilely pawing at the screen on non-touchscreen models.

The most significant change from the 650D to 700D is the new kit lens. It’s still an 18-55mm lens, but this stepper-motor driven model is almost silent in operation, meaning video footage isn’t tainted by motor noise when refocusing. The new lens doesn’t extend when focusing and it can lock on to objects as close as 25cm from the lens. Canon claims the new glass also boasts improved autofocus when shooting video, although we saw little evidence of that. The autofocus still tends to wander, especially in low light, although it’s marginally quicker to latch onto subjects.

Canon should also be applauded for cutting down the number of options on its mode select dial, which was starting to get a bit silly on the 650D. Some of the more esoteric shooting modes have now been relegated to the touchscreen menus, and the dial now spins through 360 degrees, so you don’t have to go through a near full revolution to reach the automatic scene modes after shooting in manual.

Picture quality is, as you would expect, indistinguishable from that of the 650D. The Canon’s sensor may have six megapixels fewer than the Nikon D5200, but photos certainly don’t lack detail – you’d struggle to notice the difference between the two at anything less than 100% zoom. Colours are reproduced faithfully, and even when shooting raw images at ISO 6400, noise can be all but eradicated using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

It’s a step ahead of the Nikon D5200 in terms of performance. In our tests it fired at 2.4fps in raw for eight frames and 4fps over 48 frames in JPEG mode, before slowing to the speed of the memory card. The D5200 was able to shoot only five frames at 1.6fps before filling its buffer, making the 700D a far better choice for anyone who’s going to be shooting fast-moving sport or action.

Overall, we think the 700D edges out the D5200 as the best consumer DSLR, despite the Nikon’s superior autofocus system. However, Canon fans should also give serious consideration to the recently launched Canon EOS 100D, which doesn’t have the articulated screen, but otherwise squeezes near-identical specifications and performance into a smaller body. Anyone with a 650D, though, should pass this update by.

Canon EOS 700D sample pictures:

Shot at f/5.6, 1/4000s, ISO 500. Click this link for the full resolution version

Shot at f/5, 1/4000s, ISO 1000. Click this link for the full resolution version

Shot at f/2, 1/800s, ISO 100. Click this link for the full resolution version

Related Posts

Samsung Galaxy S7 Review: A Great Phone in its Day, but Don’t Buy One Private Internet Access Review Pluto TV Review—Is It Worth It? ExpressVPN Review – Unbiased and Tested In-House “Your Payment Requires Additional Review” in Zelle – What Does it Mean? CyberGhost Review iPhone Xs vs iPhone X: Which of the Apple Flagships Should You Buy? How to Allow Camera Access on Snapchat