We shot a few clips yesterday with a 16-35L mounted on a 7D to compare it with the 5DMrkII with a 24-70L. I dont have the clip in my hands yet (will get them tomorrow), but from our initial tests, it seems like the 7D low light capabilities at higher ISO is about 1 1/3-1 2/3 stop lower than the 5D. Basically, ISO 1250 on the 7D looks about the same as 3200 on the 5D.

The increase of noise is not linear. By that I mean that ISO 800 on both camera is about the same, it is only above 1250 that we can see a difference.

Scott Boune who did his own mini review of the video of the 7D does not seem to notice the difference between the two. It is probably because he did not go high enough in the ISO chart.

Is this something you should worry about? No. Unless you are shooting in very dark places (or at night @ f2.8 and smaller), ISO 640 should be enough for most shots. Also, to correct Scott, the 5DMrkII also has the auto focus feature for video and it works the same way as with the 7D: it only works in live view: while you are not recording.

Our tests also show something very interesting: the 7D seems to process moire pattern much better than the 5D and the jelly effect is much less noticeable. This is probably thanks to the 7D smaller sensor, being smaller, it takes less time to fully scan it. What ever the reason, it makes the 7D much more desirable for fast moving subjects.

As I said above, I will get the footage from this weekend tomorrow and should be able to put it online soon.

We also did some steadicam shots at 60p, I am very curious to see how these will turn out, especially since I am the model walking around like an idiot…

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Related posts:

1. 7D vs 5DMrkII noise test
2. Canon 7D Moire pattern test