In summary
Where the 70D really excels is in its Live View mode, where the Dual Pixel CMOS AF system comes into play and delivers fast and accurate focusing for both stills and movie recording in most types of lighting, from bright sunlight to artificially-lit indoor situations.
The combination of Dual Pixel CMOS AF and an STM lens also provides smooth focus transitions and excellent focus tracking for video recording, making the 70D a worthy contender for video enthusiasts and independent movie makers who want performance that meets the requirements of a pro-level user but comes at an affordable price.
Full review
This review supplements the detailed ‘First Look’ at the Canon EOS 70D, which we published in July, 2013.
Targeted at photo enthusiasts, the 70D features a new 20.2-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor that has been designed and manufactured by Canon. It also introduces the company’s innovative Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology.
While the still picture quality we obtained with the supplied 18-135mm lens appeared quite good superficially and the camera was able to handle most subjects, we were a little disappointed in the Imatest results we obtained. (We believe this is largely the fault of the lens.)
Owners of older or lower-featured Canon DSLRs could find the 70D’s higher resolution, articulated LCD touch-screen and Wi-Fi connectivity attractive if their existing cameras are deficient in any of these aspects. However, photographers who shoot mainly stills may not be tempted to upgrade from the 18-megapixel EOS 60D to the 20-megapixel 70D because there’s not a huge difference in performance between them.
Where the 70D really excels is in its Live View mode, where the Dual Pixel CMOS AF system comes into play and delivers fast and accurate focusing for both stills and movie recording in most types of lighting, from bright sunlight to artificially-lit indoor situations. The combination of Dual Pixel CMOS AF and an STM lens also provides smooth focus transitions and excellent focus tracking for video recording, making the 70D a worthy contender for video enthusiasts and independent movie makers who want performance that meets the requirements of a pro-level user but comes at an affordable price.
Rating
RRP: n/a; ASP: AU$1350 (body only), AU$1795 as reviewed with EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens; US$1199 (body only), US$1550 (with EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens)
- Build: 8.8
- Ease of use: 8.5
- Autofocusing: 8.8
- Still image quality JPEG: 8.5
- Still image quality RAW: 8.8
- Video quality: 9.0
