Canon 5D v 7D

I had access to Canon 5D (2.0.3) and 7D (1.0.9) so I decided to do some test. This test doesn’t have any images so in some places you simply have to take my word for it.

IMAGE
5D (full sensor size) – even though it has larger sensor I find it only marginally more light sensitive.

7D (1.6 crop sensor) – when set to lower contrast in picture styles the image looks exactly the same as 5D.
7D’s crop might not sound that significant but it does when you try to work with extreme lenses (such as wideangle lenses). My Tokina 11-16 even at 11mm on 7D wasn’t as wide as 16mm on 5D.

Both cameras show significant amount of artifacts when you record a wide vista with everything in focus.

5D, because of larger sensor, shows images that are a bit less noisy than 7D, but in real life applications when you run the image through very heavy h264 compression the difference is not noticeable.

FOCUS
5D – even with version 2.0.3 HDMI still outputs only SD signal thus you can’t focus using external monitor in record mode (no run&gun capability).

7D – HDMI outputs 720p (or something that looks like it) not uper sharp but definitley better then 5D and from my test using HDMI monitor totally acceptable for focus.

AUDIO
5D – manual audio, so you can get crisp audio using external pre-amp adapters such as JuicedLink

7D – auto audio… you get all the pluses and minuses of auto, plus because you have no manual control you can’t use external pre-amps thus you have to relay on in-camera circuitry = crap audio.

WINNERS (based on my experience of shooting those):

NARRATIVE (lots of visuals)
7D as it allows to focus with HDMI monitor

NARRATIVE (lots of dialogue)
5D as dialogue is usually static so with decent focus puller you can get sharp image and great audio (with 7D recording to external device is an option but there might be sound drifting issues).

MUSIC VIDEO
7D as it allows on the fly focus. Unless you do some very specific visually oriented work such as such extreme lens effects with fisheye as then the effect is more pronounced with 5D.

DOCS (general)
Neither: 7D allows on the fly focus but the audio is crap while 5D has crisp audio but so what if the shots might be potentially out of focus.

DOCS (sit down interviews)
5D as with sit down interviews there is usually very little focus shift and the audio you will get (if used with a pream such as JuicedLink) will be crisp.

DOCS (run and gun)
Neither, or potentially 7D as it allows to focus on the fly (with HDMI monitor), but the audio is OK at best.

COMMERCIALS
Either one as with commercials spots you usually get a focus puller to take care of the focus and the soundman that records to external device for sound back up anyway.