Canon 70D – Review

The Canon with two-digit abbreviation have been designed to satisfy an audience at the turn of the advanced amateur and professional, the so-called prosumers who can appreciate the best APS-C brand and looking for a quality body and rich physical controls.

With time, things have changed, precisely after the 50D, when the segment was occupied by two different bodies: the 7D which has pushed more in the professional sector and the Canon 60D to the consumer.

This new scenario remains unchanged today, but the Canon 70D is an attempt to recover some of those consumers who did not find satisfaction in the Canon 60D.

Canon 70D – Basic Features

The basic structure remains the same, but the technical specifications are improved to try to interest the discerning prosumer. There is an absolute novelty that is the Dual Pixel CMOS AF (deepening), the engine of focus for research phase to 19 points of the Canon 7D, a body tropicalized (although not in alloy), a burst faster, Wi -Fi and many advanced features. The megapixel count goes up to 20 and the image processor is the latest DIGIC 5+.

Canon 70D – Body and Ergonomics.

Aesthetically speaking, there are few differences between Canon 60D (Review) and Canon 70D, to the point that at first glance you could easily confuse them. The structure command is a bit evolved, as we shall see later, but the basic elements are the same. It is a traditional SLR package size from the generously proportioned for a comfortable grip even for those with large hands.

Despite not having a magnesium alloy structure is well assembled, with some detail a bit as poor as the cover for the memory. Thanks to seal the body is weather sealed, so as to resist even a little dust or water. It weighs 750 grams, including the battery, pretty much in line with the Canon 60D.

As most of the prosumer cameras, the Canon 70D also has a second upper display for shooting information. This is particularly useful when using the viewfinder to frame, allowing a more like analog. In this mode, you can completely ignore the main display, and also save the battery.

Despite being slightly smaller than that of the SLR high-end contains all the most useful information, such as the method of feeding, metering, ISO, aperture, shutter, exposure, battery, remaining shots, etc. .. also has a yellow-amber backlight activated for a few seconds with the push of the button with a light bulb icons.

The main display is fully articulated, in common with the previous Canon 60D. The size is always 3″ and the resolution of 1 million points. The most important addition is definitely the touchscreen. Canon has done a great job in this respect because the fingers can be used to check each setting in a convenient and interface in a live-view perfectly optimized. Itself was opened with the Canon EOS M, and we have also seen in the beautiful Canon 100D (review) and is an extra feature because, if you wish, you can also use physical controls.

Again in live-view with your fingers you can also plug the point of focus, and the sensitivity is really good, as the best smartphone. Due to the joint side, the screen can be folded in on itself for added protection during transport, or used for shots from above and below, as well as for the self-timer if completely overturned.

The resolution is more than enough for excellent reproduction and brightness adjustable to 7 different levels, to obtain a good vision even under light direct. Sadly, there is a mode that automatically sets the most appropriate lighting depending on the environmental conditions, so you will have to work manually as needed.

The viewfinder has undergone renovation work, and now it is much more complete. It is always a pentaprism with magnification of 0.95x, but the coverage rises from 96% to 98%, a seemingly minor difference but there comes very close to 100% of the frame.

The information is a quite comprehensive and generous size, a red light shows the point to focus on. You can see the AF method set, and it is also possible to have a grid overlay for visually check the alignment. It is an improved viewfinder on important aspects, and that is perfectly usable even for professional needs, although the 100% coverage would be appreciated.

Canon 70D – Menu and Controls.

The main menu structure is the classic Canon, divided into 15 pages, each of which contains the icon of the section to which they belong: camera, live view, playback, settings, customization and bookmarks. Everything is very clear and well organized, and you can navigate with buttons, dials, and even with your fingers. In the rear, there are ten buttons, a directional pad, the sub dial and the switch block, exactly as in the Canon 60D.

What changes is the arrangement, a little more rational, as well as the presence of a new selector for live-view/film which includes the restart button, just like on the top of the range Canon cameras, including the Canon 5D Mark III. One of the relocations smarter about the trash that before he was in the top left corner and now is the right of the display closest to the play button and the pad.

During the long period of use, I could appreciate an arrangement of keys very rational and efficient. The double ring is well used for exposure compensation methods in semi-automatic and there are direct keys for most functions, including the method of focus thanks to an additional button next to the shutter button, inherited directly from Canon 70D. It moves easily through menus and thanks to the quick menu you have on hand all the major shooting settings.

Direct access to AF, Drive, ISO and Metering, all arranged near the secondary display, are particularly useful, as well as the possibility to use the arrow keys for direct selection of the point of focus. On the right of the lens is a small button to preview the exhibition while that on more than one occasion I felt like missing is a direct button for white balance, which must be set also through the quick menu.

Canon 70D – Image quality and Performance.

The images can be saved in JPG, RAW or RAW JPG, with different combinations on the quality (there are RAW reduced M and S). As usual, JPG choosing the noise level is greatly controlled by the algorithms of the camera during the development of clean, and you can capture photos even at ISO 3,200, albeit with the loss of fine details. The RAW allows you to keep all your information, but it shows the digital noise, leaving the user the ability to clean it up during post-production.

The RAW images at ISO 400 with a grain offering light, visible only at 100%, while at ISO 800 starts to look a bit more in the shadows, but the results can also be used for prints of great size with a minimum of retouching. ISO 1,600 is the most reasonable limit to bring home images that can be used for different destinations while from 3200 onwards, it enters the realm in which the photos are attractive only on small, always talking about RAW.

The Canon 70D goes up to ISO 12,800 and although this extreme is strongly inadvisable can be used for the web, especially choosing and working on small JPG. As expected most of the noise lurks in dark areas of the image, so even at ISO 800 you will have to use a reduction if you decide to open up the shadows in post-production.

Canon 70D – Battery, Memory and Connections.

At the bottom, at the grip, is the cover with the slot for the battery. This is the LP-E6, now a standard in all the recent high-end Canon DSLR. The autonomy offered by CIPA standard is very high, surpassing the 900 shots. Indeed, the battery life is great and allows you to face a full day of work without problems. Also in the video recording performs well outlasting the full-frame Canon 5D Mark III, with movies that can quickly drain your battery. Included is the classic charger electric current.

Secure Digital memories are inserted from the side, behind a flap that is also the lightest element of the whole body, exactly like that of the Canon 60D. Support of all modern high-speed memory and capacity, including of course the SDXC UHS-1. Being disconnected from the battery you can easily replace the memory even when the camera is on a tripod.

Behind two rubbers flaps positioned on the left side are all the physical connections, one for the remote control for an external microphone, HDMI output and USB. The flaps are separated allowing you to open only one used at the moment and have a fairly robust protective rubber. Always here on the side you can see the integrated mono speaker, which also serves to video playback (while the stereo microphones are at the top, near the door accessories).

Canon 70D – Video

The Canon cameras are also often used in the field of video, and the Canon 70D does not disappoint in this respect. In addition to the presence of an audio input and HDMI output provides the ability to record Full HD video encoded in H.264 or formats below. The quality is achieved with the 1920 x 1080 @ 25fps ALL-The progressive, but you can also record video in HD quality at 50fps.

Thanks to the touch screen are also possible to decide with your fingers the number of points to focus during recording and objectives STM you can get excellent result’s thanks to AI SERVO, which is the focus obtained through the research phase through the Dual Pixel CMOS AF. Below is a short movie recorded with the 70D and two lenses, the 35mm f / 2 IS and the 100mm f / 2.8 IS Macro, always using the manual focus.

Canon 70D – Conclusions

Canon is usual to follow a policy of its own evolutionary models Canon 70D, and this is exactly what you would expect. Already the Canon 60D was a great camera, but in this evolution are several issues improved significantly. There are so many positive specific date, ranging from the touchscreen to the Wi-Fi, the focus at the Dual Pixel CMOS AF.

The image quality does not mark a dramatic step forward, after all it is now difficult with current technology, although there are improvements in performance at high ISO. What really makes the difference are the features, because the Canon 70D camera looks like a much more mature on important issues, including the viewfinder and focus.

Certainly, the Canon 70D is more robust on the physical plane, having the body of magnesium alloy, but what about the technical characteristics of the Canon 70D is second to none APS-C Canon. I’m there are many strings to its bow and one of them is definitely in good button layout and wealth of physical checks. The notes are really sore actual minimum and some subjective in nature.

For example, I would appreciate a direct access to the functionality of the white balance, even if you change rather quickly via the quick menu. Summing up the Canon 70D is a SLR camera with good ergonomics that will please the most demanding palate’s thanks to a good viewfinder and a valid motor focus and tickle with features like Wi-Fi, GPS, touch screen and adjustable focus for research phase in Live View. Difficult to assign a rating, less than four and a half stars. The price of one body is about 1,000$.