Canon EOS 70D Overviews & Features

In the Iron Man movies, billionaire Tony Stark developed exoskeleton suits to gain superhero prowess, and refined every generation of his armor with slight upgrades. Up to Mk 7 of his suit, the changes had always been slight and incremental, and in many ways it is the same story with the Canon EOS 70D – the Mk 7 of a successful and evolving EOS DSLR line from the billion-dollar business.

So how does the new tech compare against the EOS 60D? Looking at the brochure it is like another version of the Volkswagen Golf – every generation gains more buttons and dials, more screens, more features, more efficiency and more speed.

With all the exciting new large sensors mirrorless cameras and premium compacts being launched, reviewing the Canon EOS 70D now is like taking the Iron Man’s Mk 7 suit out for a date instead of hanging out with the beautiful Pepper Potts. But then, there will always be guys out there who’d rather hang out with Tony’s high-tech suit than having dinner with his sultry assistant, so this review is just for you!

With the EOS 70D, you have a couple more megapixels at 20MP, increased sensitivity of 1 stop, and slightly increased frames per second at 7fps. It gets more exciting though – the more significant upgrades include a big bump in the AF system (19 points up from 9 points), a touch-screen articulated LCD, built-in Wi-Fi and the much touted ‘Dual Pixel CMOS AF’ technology which promises faster phase detection autofocus.

Key features of the new EOS 70D:

20.2MP APS-C sensor
DIGIC 5+ image processor
ISO 100-12800 standard (ISO 25600 expanded)
7fps continuous shooting
19-point AF system
Dual-Pixel CMOS AF
‘Silent’ shutter mode
AF micro-adjustment (Yay it’s back!)
1080p 30fps video recording
3” articulated touchscreen LCD (1040k dot)
Integrated Wi-Fi

Canon EOS 70D
Shutter Response (Live View) 0.05 (0.05)
Wide – Focus / Shutter Response (Live view) 0.1 (0.45)
Full zoom – Focus / Shutter Response (Live View) 0.15 (0.45)
Switch on Time to Taking a Photo 0.45
Shot to Shot without Flash 0.3
Shot to Shot with Flash 0.4
Continuous Shooting – JPEG
(shots before slow down) 6.25fps (62 shots)
Continuous Shooting – Flash 2.5fps
Continuous Shooting – RAW 6fps (14 shots)
We tested focus speeds with the 18-135mm IS STM lens. We could not manage the full 7fps with lens correction switched on or off, managing 6.25fps and a total of 62 shots in JPEG using a 16GB Sandisk Extreme Pro (95MB/s) UHS:I card.

Sample Image:

Value For Money
The Canon EOS 70D is available for £1079 (BHD 670) body only which makes it seem somewhat expensive compared to the alternative cameras available from both Canon and other manufacturers:

Canon EOS 7D, 18mp, 8fps, weather sealed, £1079 body only
Nikon D7100, 24mp, 6fps, weather sealed, £801 body only
Sony Alpha A77, 24mp, 12fps, in body IS, weather sealed, £750 body only
Pentax K-5 II / IIs, 16mp, 7fps, in body IS, weather sealed, £629 / £799 body only
Olympus OM-D E-M5, 16mp, 9fps, in body IS, weather sealed, £788 body only
Panasonic Lumix GH3, 16mp, 6fps, weather sealed, £893 body only

Canon EOS 70D Pros
Excellent colour
Excellent vari-angle 3inch touch screen
Focus in video
Lens correction
Electronic level (although not dual axis)
Excellent battery life (when not using live view)
Solid body with good handling
Playback image star ratings
Q. button gives quick access to settings
Much improved live view focus
Wi-Fi connectivity

Canon EOS 70D Cons
1 year warranty
No AF light – AF-assist uses flash
Images lose detail at ISO3200+
JPEG results can appear soft
EOS Remote Utility limited

Source