The Canon EOS 7D delivers a double barelled package of great looking high-resolution still images and attractive high definition video for the serious photographer. But at $1600 for the body without a lens, that photographer needs to be very serious or have cash to spare.

The 7D shoots 18 megapixel images with a full frame CMOS sensor, which means that the sensor is the same size as a 35mm film negative. This means that the 7D does not have the lens multiplier that many other SLRs have; the focal length of the lens is what you get, so zooms are longer with the 7D than they are on partial frame cameras like the T2i.

The camera body is on the large side: it is just under 3 inches thick, 4.4 inches high and 5.8 inches wide. The camera body alone weighs a sizable 28.9 ounces, so you definitely feel it when you are carrying it around your neck. On the back of the camera body is a large 3-inch LCD screen that has a very high 921k pixel resolution. This means that it does an excellent job of showing off the high resolution images it captures; it is easy to see fine details without having to zoom in. We did find that the screen got a little hard to see in bright daylight, though. However, with the optical viewfinder that is able the LCD screen, you don't need to use this to shoot, as all of the shooting information is shown in the viewfinder and on the small LCD screen on the top of the camera body. That's one advantage that the 7D has over the smaller Micro Four Thirds cameras such as the Panasonic GF1: the optical viewfinder is easy to see whatever the lighting conditions.

On the left side of the screen are a number of buttons that control features such as accessing the on-screen menu and playback modes. The controls used while shooting are all located on the left side of the camera back within easy reach of the thumb and fingers. This means that, with some practice, most of the controls can be accessed by touch with the eye to the viewfinder, so you can change settings without looking away from the subject. Another control dial is located next to the shutter button on the top of the camera, while the movie stop and start button is located on the back of the camera, next to the viewfinder. Many of the buttons and dials on the back of the camera are configurable, so you can switch around which features are assigned to which for easy access.

The camera is a handful, but it is a comfortable one. We found that the grip was a good size to fit naturally into the hand with a firm grip and the shutter and control dial falling naturally under the index finger. The on-screen menu is the home to a lot of options, but it is well organized so it is easy to find the options you need.

Performance (read in-depth performance coverage at DigitalCameraInfo.com)
We found the 7D to be an excellent performer overall, producing sharp images with very low noise. The noise remained low at ISO levels up to 800, but it did get more pronounced from here to the maximum ISO levels of 6400. Engaging the noise reduction did help (especially at the high setting), but there is some accompanying loss of detail. Although the noise isn't a big problem, the images are noisier than the Nikon D5000. The 7D also had good color performance: we found in our tests that it the colors from our test chart were accurately captured and reproduced.

Our tests of the video features of this camera revealed that it does an excellent job: it captures 1080p video at either 24 or 30 frames per second. This video contained a good level of detail and bright, accurate color. Motion was smooth and realistic, and the 7D also did an excellent job capturing video in low light, keeping the colors bright and the noise low in darker situations than many other cameras. The video is stored as MPEG-4 files complete with stereo sound, but the built-in microphone captures poor sound as well as noises from the camera operating. Fortunately, you can plug a better microphone into the 3.5mm microphone jack on the side of the camera body. 

Comparisons (read in-depth comparisons at DigitalCameraInfo.com)
There are a number of similar cameras available, such as the Nikon D5000, which is priced at about $850. The Nikon shoots images at a much lower resolution (12.3 megapixels instead of the 18 megapixels of the Canon), but did out-test the 7D in some areas, with better color and lower noise. However, the Nikon is less robust, has a smaller sensor and captures lower resolution video than the 7D. The Canon 5D Mark II is a more expensive camera that is designed for professionals that shoots higher resolution images (21.1 megapixels), but it is also much more expensive at $2699 for the body alone.