Canon EOS 70D review

The Canon EOS 70D adds yet more spice to the increasingly competitive mid-range DSLR sector. Whereas last year it was all about the emergence of full-frame cameras in the affordable mid-range, this year Canon has brought an innovative autofocus system into play with its latest 70D.

The Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology splits 80% of the image sensor’s pixels in half, creating two independent diodes that are used as phase-detect autofocus points. The upshot is faster, more accurate autofocus in Live View. There’s also a separate phase-detection sensor, used when shooting with the viewfinder, which is no slouch either.

The result is remarkably reliable autofocus: there’s no hunting back and forth as the camera tries to locate the subject, it simply snaps into focus at breathtaking speed. Previous Canon cameras have struggled with video autofocus, but the 70D has no such problems, and crucially it’s all but silent with the EF-S 18-135mm kit lens.

It’s further boosted by a face-detection mode that keeps your subject perfectly in focus as they walk towards the camera – down the wedding aisle, for instance. Alternatively, you can tap the 70D’s touchscreen to adjust the focus point, with the camera responding quickly and smoothly.

The 70D has 19 cross-type autofocus points, which can be selected individually or in zones. The slightly pricier Nikon D600 has 39 autofocus points (although they’re more closely bunched in the centre of the frame than here). Rarely did we find ourselves craving more, though.

Focus isn’t the only thing that’s bang on: exposure is beautifully judged, too. The camera coped well with a series of tricky situations, including portrait subjects sat in front of bright windows, direct sunlight and areas of high contrast. Colours are accurate, if a little flat on occasion.

Canon has pushed the native maximum ISO limit up to 12800 (and you can also artificially bump this to 25600), which is four times the maximum sensitivity of the 60D it succeeds. This allows you to shoot indoor sports action at frame rates as fast as 1/1,000sec, without needing a flash or tripod. Photos are speckled with noise at ISO 12800, and although they can be saved with aggressive noise reduction in Lightroom, it leaves the images looking a little soft and unnatural. Shooting at ISO 6400 delivers much cleaner results.

Canon isn’t being drawn into the megapixel wars. The 20.2-megapixel sensor is four megapixels worse off than the cheaper Nikon D7100 and eight megapixels poorer than the pricier D600. Once again, though, we rarely found ourselves yearning for greater detail. Photos shot with a 100mm macro lens were brutally sharp, although the kits lens did introduce softness at the edges.

Built-in Wi-Fi is another feature that will appeal to studio-photography enthusiasts. The bundled EOS Utility software delivers remote control of the camera over a wireless network.

The PC software provides a live view (at a limited frame rate) and allows you to adjust the focus point, aperture/shutter speed, autofocus mode and a range of other settings. Photos can be saved straight to the PC, or saved to both memory card and computer. There’s also a more limited iOS app that delivers direct remote control over the camera from an iPhone or iPad.

In terms of body design, it’s difficult to find fault with the 70D. The LCD display on the top plate provides quick-glance access to key settings, and Canon hasn’t skimped on the buttons, despite the addition of an articulated 1,040kpixel touchscreen. There are dedicated buttons for autofocus and drive modes, autofocus selection area, ISO, metering mode, and several more, plus a lock switch to avoid accidental setting tweaks.

Most of the buttons can be manually reconfigured if you find a setting doesn’t fall easily to hand. We’re not convinced by the dual scroll wheel/D-pad that sits to the right of the screen, though, which performs neither function comfortably.

In terms of speed, the 70D canters through the frames. We measured it at rapid 7fps in both raw and highest-quality JPEG, which is faster than the D600’s 5.5fps and even the professional-grade Canon EOS 5D Mark III, which outputs at 6fps.

In conclusion, we’re bowled over by the 70D. The new autofocus system is a genuine breakthrough, especially for those who shoot video from their DSLR, while performance and image quality can’t be faulted. At just over £1,000 for the body alone, it’s a seriously tempting option for enthusiasts who want to sample professional-grade features. Indeed, if Canon had managed to squeeze in a full-frame sensor, we’d be talking about our new A-List winner.

Canon EOS 70D sample pictures:

Shot at f/10, 1/125s, ISO 100. Click this link for the full resolution version

Shot at f/5.6, 1/160s, ISO 125. Click this link for the full resolution version

Shot at f/5, 1/500s, ISO 6400. Click this link for the full resolution version

Shot at f/6.3, 1/100s, ISO 3200. Click this link for the full resolution version

Details
Image quality	5
Basic specifications
Camera megapixel rating	20.2mp
Camera screen size	3.0in
Camera maximum resolution	5472 x 3648
Camera optical image stabilisation	in kit lens
Weight and dimensions
Dimensions	139 x 79 x 104mm (WDH)
Battery
Battery type included	Li-ion
Battery life (CIPA standard)	920 shots
Charger included?	yes
Other specifications
Built-in flash?	yes
Aperture range	fUnknown - fUnknown
Minimum (fastest) shutter speed	1/8,000
Maximum (slowest) shutter speed	30s
Bulb exposure mode?	yes
RAW recording mode?	yes
Exposure compensation range	+/- 5EV
ISO range	100 - 12800
Selectable white balance settings?	yes
Manual/user preset white balane?	yes
Progam auto mode?	yes
Shutter priority mode?	yes
Aperture priority mode?	yes
Fully auto mode?	yes
Burst frame rate	7.0fps
Exposure bracketing?	yes
White-balance bracketing?	yes
Memory-card type	SDXC
Viewfinder coverage	98%
LCD resolution	1,040k
Secondary LCD display?	yes
Video/TV output?	yes
Tripod mounting thread?	yes
Data connector type	USB
Manual, software and accessories
Software supplied	ImageBrowser EX, Digital Photo Professional, PhotoStitch, EOS Utility, Picture Style Editor