Canon EOS 7D

Manufacturer: Canon
Type: camera (APS-C DSLR)
Year introduced: 2009
Successor: Canon EOS 7D Mark II (2014)
Sensor: 18 megapixel APS-C CMOS (1.6x crop factor)
Video: 1080p at 24/25/30fps; 720p at 50/60fps
Price at launch: under $2,000 (body only)

Overview

The Canon EOS 7D was an 18-megapixel APS-C DSLR announced on September 1, 2009, that became arguably the dominant underwater camera of 2010 and one of the most significant cameras in the history of underwater photography. It combined strong still image capabilities with excellent HD video in a body priced below $2,000, making it the first Canon crop-sensor camera to truly offer “the best of both worlds” for underwater photographers interested in both stills and video (^[1]). Drew Wohl described it as pushing “the envelope the 5D Mark II set in 2008” with 1080p video, a dedicated REC button, and ISO expansion to 12800 (^[2]).

A key advantage of the APS-C sensor was compatibility with the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye, described by Berkley White as “arguably the greatest wide angle lens ever made for underwater photography” (^[3]). The camera also featured a pop-up flash useful for fiber optic strobe triggering, 8 fps continuous shooting, and was well-suited as an all-around topside camera. The APS-C crop factor provided extra “reach” for macro work and allowed use of Canon EF-S lenses including the popular 60mm f/2.8 macro, which does not work on full-frame Canon bodies (^[4]).

The 7D’s announcement generated immediate excitement in the underwater photography community. Forum member ehanauer noted it was “obviously designed to blow the Nikon D300s out of the water,” while others speculated whether it would be “still cameras that shoot high quality video” or vice versa that would define the future (^[5]). One commenter cautioned that the 7D used Canon’s APS-C sensor with a 1.6x crop factor rather than the full-frame sensor of the 5D (^[6]).

The camera was so significant to the underwater imaging industry that Canon featured Wetpixel member and award-winning photographer Fergus Kennedy (forum username “Ferg42”) in an official Canon 7D television commercial, filmed with horses in the Camargue region of southern France. Kennedy confirmed that the entire TV ad was filmed on the 7D, and the HD version “looks really good” (^[7]).

APS-C Advantage for Underwater Photography

The APS-C sensor size offered specific advantages for underwater use that made the 7D particularly attractive compared to full-frame alternatives:

• Wide-angle lenses: The Tokina 10-17mm fisheye provided 180-degree coverage at 10mm on APS-C, with reduced distortion at 17mm for close-focus-wide-angle work. The Canon 8-15mm fisheye offered similar versatility with even sharper results. The Canon EF-S 10-22mm and 10-18mm rectilinear wide-angle lenses were much less expensive than full-frame equivalents and delivered sharper corners when used with large dome ports (^[8]).
• Macro lenses: The APS-C crop provided extra reach with macro lenses. A fully equipped macro shooter could use three lenses: the Canon EF-S 60mm macro (APS-C exclusive), the Canon 100mm f/2.8 IS L macro, and the Sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro, covering the full spectrum from fish portraiture to super macro (^[9]).
• Dome port optics: Full-frame rectilinear wide-angle lenses like the Canon 16-35mm struggled with sharp corners behind dome ports. APS-C lenses behind the same domes produced sharper results, especially in the corners (^[10]).

Video Capabilities

The 7D’s video capabilities drew significant attention from the underwater community. Testing revealed that video noise characteristics were highly dependent on ISO settings, with multiples of ISO 160 (considered the “native” ISO of Canon CMOS sensors) producing significantly cleaner footage than other values. This was an important finding for underwater videographers shooting in low-light conditions (^[11]). Forum discussion linked this to the broader Zacuto “Great Camera Shootout” comparing the 5D, 7D, 1D Mark IV, and Nikon D3S for video performance (^[12]).

Eric Cheng used the 7D extensively for underwater video, including shooting with the INON Underwater Micro Semi-Fisheye Relay Lens (the “bug eye” or “insect eye” lens) in a Nauticam housing with a 60mm macro lens in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia. This combination produced “images with a perspective otherwise impossible to achieve — like seeing the macro world from a small critter’s perspective” (^[13]). Cheng also used the 7D with an insect eye lens during the Wetpixel Ambon Night Safari, capturing video of panda anemonefish eggs showing “tiny hearts beating and eyes moving” (^[14]).

Housing Availability

The Canon 7D spawned an exceptionally competitive housing market, with almost every major manufacturer releasing a housing within months of the camera’s debut. The 7D was so important to Nauticam that it was described as “really the camera that put Nauticam on the map” — the NA-7D was Nauticam’s bestselling housing for four years running (^[15]).

Aquatica A7D

Aquatica announced its 7D housing in November 2009, noting it was “hot on the trail” of their D300s housing. Key features included optical fiber strobe connectors (a first for Aquatica’s Canon housings), Nikonos and Ikelite bulkhead options, 300 ft / 90m depth rating (upgradeable to 425 ft / 130m), and a lightweight design machined from solid aluminum using Aquatica’s new 5-axis machining center. Aquatica emphasized its compatibility with the Megadome and Aqua View Finder accessories (^[16]).

Berkley White of Backscatter published a comprehensive review of shooting both stills and video with the 7D in the Aquatica housing, calling it “quite possibly the best of both worlds for underwater photographers with an interest in video” (^[17]). Eric Cheng reposted the review in February 2010, noting its significance had been understated in the original news item (^[18]).

The Aquatica housing had a street price of $2,800 (MSRP $2,999) (^[19]).

Nauticam NA-7D

Nauticam announced its 7D housing in January 2010, with a USA retail price of $2,800 (MSRP $3,199, street price $2,800). It featured the company’s patented Locking Port Release Lever, patented expanded viewfinder with external dioptric adjustment, 100m depth rating, rubberized ergonomic grips in two sizes, and port adapters for Aquatica, Ikelite, Nexus, Sea & Sea, Seacam, and Subal ports — greatly reducing the cost of switching housing brands (^[20]).

Nauticam finished the first physical prototype in late January 2010, generating excitement in the forums even from the initial CAD renderings. Eric Cheng shared images of the prototype, describing it as looking “great” (^[21]).

Tony Wu published initial impressions of the Nauticam 7D housing in March 2010, reporting that “it took me about five minutes on land to familiarise myself with the controls… the layout was easy to understand, and I had no major issues underwater” (^[22]).

Chris Parsons of Nauticam USA later wrote: “The first time I got my hands on a Canon 7D, one thing struck me — Canon had done what many of us had long hoped for — it had taken professional level autofocus and put it in a camera that was much more manageable than their pro 1D series.” He described the NA-7D as representing “the genesis of Nauticam’s unique ability to innovate in underwater camera housings” and noted that Nauticam revised the housing design after the first units shipped, adding lock improvements and an improved shutter — providing updates to existing customers at no charge (^[23]).

Sea & Sea MDX-7D

Sea & Sea announced the MDX-7D housing in February 2010, with a 100m / 330ft depth rating and two optical strobe ports for fiber optic compatible strobes. Availability was initially estimated for March 2010 but slipped to April. The 100m depth rating was noted as an increase over Sea & Sea’s typical depth ratings, with one forum commenter expressing approval for deep wreck diving in the Adriatic (^[24]).

A Sea & Sea housing for the 7D was also previewed at Beneath the Sea 2010, where Christian von Stetzsch showed it alongside the new YS-01 strobe (^[25]).

Subal

Subal displayed a redesigned Canon 7D housing at Beneath the Sea 2010 (^[26]).

Ikelite 200DL

Ikelite released an updated 200DL housing for the Canon EOS 7D in May 2018 — remarkably, nearly nine years after the camera’s release, demonstrating the 7D’s long lifespan in the underwater market. The housing was manufactured from Ikelite’s new ABS-PC blend (stronger than clear polycarbonate), featured the Dry Lock (DL) port system, improved shutter and AF-ON levers, included a vacuum valve, and was priced at $1,695. It was depth rated to 200 feet / 60m. Ikelite noted that this housing was only compatible with the original 7D, not the 7D Mark II (^[27]).

Easydive Leo II

Italian company Easydive listed the Canon 7D among compatible cameras for their Leo II universal housing, which fit multiple DSLRs by controlling camera functions via USB rather than traditional push buttons, with customizable camera saddles (^[28]).

Housing Comparison

Ross Gudgeon (forum name “Gudge”) published an informative comparison review of the Aquatica and Nauticam 7D housings in April 2010. Both housings were available at a street price of $2,800, and Eric Cheng noted they had “gotten a lot of mail from people who have been paralyzed with indecision” choosing between them. The Aquatica MSRP was $2,999 and the Nauticam MSRP was $3,199, but both reached the same street price (^[29]).

Firmware Updates

Canon supported the 7D with an unusually long series of firmware updates, culminating in what was billed as “the most comprehensive firmware update that Canon has ever issued”:

• v1.2.2 (July 2010): Fixed a phenomenon where the set aperture moved unexpectedly when shooting movies in manual exposure mode with certain Canon lenses such as macro lenses (^[30]).
• v1.2.3 (November 2010): Fixed issues with using Speedlights and macro lighting (^[31]).
• v1.2.5 (April 2011): Fixed CF card compatibility issues, improved UDMA-7 read/write speeds, fixed an issue where shooting movies would stop with high-capacity CF cards, and corrected an IS function bug with certain lenses (^[32]).
• v2.0 (August 2012): A landmark update adding higher maximum burst rates (15 to 25 RAW images; 8 to 17 RAW+JPEG), GPS receiver GP-E2 compatibility, manual audio level adjustment during video, in-camera RAW processing, JPEG image resizing, image ratings, customizable file names, and time zone settings. Adam Hanlon commented wryly that the update’s subtext was “Please don’t dump us for a Nikon D800 / D4 just yet” (^[33], ^[34]).
• v2.0.3 (September 2012): Bug fixes for v2.0, including a fix for the camera stopping when auto power off took effect and burst count display errors (^[35]).

Competition

The Canon 7D faced its most direct competitor when Nikon released the D7000 in September 2010. Adam Hanlon wrote in his comprehensive D7000 housing review that “many Nikon owners were coming round to the fact that they would need to ‘jump ship’ over to Canon” before the D7000 arrived, but the D7000 “proved to be a similar performer to the 7D, and in some respects, seems to actually deliver better results” — in a camera selling for around $1,300 (^[36]).

The Canon T2i (550D) was positioned below the 7D, with Sterling Zumbrunn of Backscatter noting it provided “exceptional performance and amazing value” as an entry-level SLR but with some compromises in “performance, ergonomics and construction” compared to the 7D (^[37]).

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Announcement

Rumors of a 7D replacement began circulating as early as December 2012, with predicted specs including a 24.2 MP APS-C sensor, dual DIGIC V processors, dual memory card slots, and 10.2 fps burst mode. The camera was reportedly aimed at “the sports and nature market,” though the predicted February 2013 release date proved wildly premature (^[38]).

Canon officially announced the EOS 7D Mark II on September 15, 2014, nearly five years after the original. Key specifications included a 20.2 MP APS-C CMOS sensor, Dual DIGIC 6 processors, 65-point all cross-type AF system with -3 EV sensitivity, Dual Pixel CMOS AF for video, ISO 100-16000 (expandable to 51,200), 10 fps continuous shooting, 1080p video at up to 60fps, dual memory card slots (CF and SD), built-in GPS, and USB 3.0. It was priced at $1,799 body only (^[39]).

Nauticam noted that the Mark II’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF — the second generation of the system introduced with the Canon 70D — was “useful for underwater shooters,” and that the Auto ISO was “now programmable and allows for exposure compensation when shooting in manual,” a valuable feature for underwater videographers (^[40]).

Mark II Housing Availability

Housing manufacturers moved quickly for the 7D Mark II, with Nauticam shipping first:

• Nauticam NA-7DMKII (November 2014, $3,400): Shipped on the camera’s launch day. Featured a dual function lever for ISO and M Fn, a flash activation lever (a first for Nauticam Canon housings), vacuum reset button in the port mount, and the company’s multi-selector pad. Chris Parsons called it “the most refined Nauticam SLR housing to date” (^[41]).
• Aquatica A7D Mk II (early 2015, $2,799): Compatible with Aquatica’s port system, offered optical, Nikonos, hybrid, or Ikelite strobe connections. Priced identically to the original A7D from five years earlier. Notably, the A7D Mk II was the first Aquatica housing to offer Ikelite’s internal TTL circuitry through a new partnership between the two companies (^[42], ^[43]).
• Ikelite (mid-to-late December 2014, $1,800): Polycarbonate construction with Ikelite’s TTL circuitry, balanced aluminum tray with quick-release handles (^[44]).
• Sea & Sea MDX-7DMKII (March 2015, $3,599.95): Compatible with the company’s Internal Optical YS Converter, redesigned ergonomic levers, luminescent buttons, built-in leak detector, and 100m depth rating (^[45]).
• Seacam Prelude (October 2015): Aluminum housing with high-value anodizing, double O-ring seals on all controls, titanium Safety Lock fastening, compatible with Seacam’s port, strobe, and viewfinder systems (^[46]).
• Recsea RDH-C7DMkII (November 2015): Lightweight aluminum housing at 1.86 kg, 100m depth rating, Recsea Airlock Vacuum System, compatible with an extensive range of lens ports for Canon, Tokina, and Sigma lenses, plus port converters for Inon, Sea & Sea, Nexus, Subal, and Olympus ports (^[47]).

Legacy

The Canon 7D holds a distinctive place in underwater photography history. It arrived at the convergence of several trends: the DSLR video revolution launched by the 5D Mark II, the rise of Nauticam as a housing manufacturer, and the growing importance of APS-C sensors for underwater work. The camera remained in active underwater use for nearly a decade, with Ikelite releasing a new housing for it as late as 2018 (^[48]).

For Nauticam specifically, the 7D was transformative. Chris Parsons wrote: “Nauticam came ‘out of nowhere’ (through hard work and determination), and is now the most successful underwater imaging equipment manufacturer on the planet. And it all started with the 7D” (^[49]).

Timeline

• 2009-09-01: Canon announces the EOS 7D with 18 MP APS-C sensor, 1080p video, and 8 fps burst (^[50])
• 2009-10-28: Nauticam enters the US market; forum users immediately ask about a 7D housing (^[51])
• 2009-11-26: Aquatica announces A7D housing with optical fiber connectors (^[52])
• 2009-12-17: Wetpixel member Fergus Kennedy featured in Canon 7D TV commercial (^[53])
• 2010-01-10: Nauticam announces NA-7D housing at $2,800 USA retail (^[54])
• 2010-01-15: Berkley White publishes review of 7D in Aquatica housing on Backscatter (^[55])
• 2010-01-25: Nauticam finishes first physical NA-7D prototype (^[56])
• 2010-02-27: Sea & Sea announces MDX-7D housing (^[57])
• 2010-03-15: Tony Wu publishes initial impressions of Nauticam 7D housing (^[58])
• 2010-03-26: UnderWaterVisions becomes UK Nauticam distributor; 7D housing among initial lineup (^[59])
• 2010-03-27: Sea & Sea previews 7D housing at Beneath the Sea 2010 (^[60])
• 2010-03-28: Subal displays redesigned 7D housing at Beneath the Sea 2010 (^[61])
• 2010-04-11: Ross Gudgeon publishes Aquatica vs Nauticam 7D housing comparison (^[62])
• 2010-04-12: Canon 7D video ISO sweet spots analysis published (^[63])
• 2010-06-15: Eric Cheng shoots bug eye / endoscope video with 7D in Lembeh (^[64])
• 2010-07-22: Canon releases firmware v1.2.2 (^[65])
• 2010-10-01: Easydive Leo II universal housing lists 7D compatibility (^[66])
• 2010-11-11: Eric Cheng uses 7D with insect eye lens at Wetpixel Ambon Night Safari (^[67])
• 2010-11-26: Firmware v1.2.3 released (^[68])
• 2011-04-26: Firmware v1.2.5 released with UDMA-7 improvements (^[69])
• 2012-07-06: Canon previews major firmware v2.0 update (^[70])
• 2012-08-07: Firmware v2.0 released — “the most comprehensive firmware update Canon has ever issued” (^[71])
• 2012-09-18: Firmware v2.0.3 bug fix released (^[72])
• 2012-12-07: First 7D Mark II rumors surface (^[73])
• 2014-09-15: Canon announces EOS 7D Mark II (^[74])
• 2014-11-14: Aquatica announces A7D Mk II housing at $2,799 (^[75])
• 2014-11-18: Ikelite announces 7D Mark II housing at $1,800 (^[76])
• 2014-11-27: Nauticam ships NA-7DMKII housing at $3,400 (^[77])
• 2014-12-09: Aquatica and Ikelite TTL partnership announced, with 7D Mk II housing first to offer it (^[78])
• 2015-03-02: Sea & Sea announces MDX-7DMKII housing at $3,599.95 (^[79])
• 2015-10-20: Seacam ships Prelude housing for 7D Mark II (^[80])
• 2015-11-22: Recsea releases housing for 7D Mark II (^[81])
• 2018-05-14: Ikelite releases updated 200DL housing for original 7D at $1,695 (^[82])

References