Canon EOS 70D Review

September 6, 2013 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The Canon EOS 70D is a new prosumer digital SLR camera. Successor to the four year old 60D, the EOS 70D offers a number of key highlights, including a 20 megapixel CMOS sensor, innovative Dual-Pixel CMOS AF system which provides quiet and fast focusing in Live View and video shooting, a 3-inch vari-angle LCD touchscreen, 1080p Full HD video up to 30 fps in either ALL-I or IPB codecs with optional embedded time code and full manual control, 7fps burst shooting, a 19-point all cross-type autofocus AF system (including a high-precision f/2.8 dual cross-type AF centre point), DIGIC 5+ image processor, 63-zone iFCL metering system, built-in wi-fi, and an ISO range of 100-25600. Positioned above the EOS 700D / Rebel T5i and below the EOS 7D, the new Canon EOS 70D is available priced at £1079.99 / €1399.99 / $1199.00 for the body only.

Ease of Use

The Canon EOS 70D is a new addition to the EOS line-up, rather than a direct replacement for the venerable 60D, which will continue in the Canon range for the forseeable future. Measuring 139.0 x 104.3 x 78.5mm, it's ever so slightly smaller than the 60D, but exactly the same weight at 755g including the battery and memory card. There's a textured area on both the deep hand-grip on the front and around the thumb-rest on the rear of the 70D, and unlike the smaller and cheaper EOS 700D / Rebel T3i model, this camera is well-suited to everyone with normal to large-sized hands. The 70D continues to use a metal chassis covered with a plastic outer, as employed by the cheaper EOS 700D / Rebel T3i, with Canon claiming that the 70D is as weatherproof as its predecessor.

On more basic SLRs, adjustments are usually made using a combination of buttons and a single control wheel. This is fine for novices, but awkward for more experienced photographers who want to be able to quickly adjust a combination of exposure, shutter speed or aperture. Like Canon's other semi-pro cameras, the Canon EOS 70D offers two control wheels; a small one on the top of the handgrip, and a large, spinning dial on the back of the camera. This rear quick control dial is characteristic of all high-end Canon EOS cameras. It's a bit of an acquired taste compared to more conventional control dials, but you quickly get used to it and it is easy to spin.

The 70D also has a conventional four-way controller set within the quick control dial, rather than the joystick that higher-end Canon DSLRs use, making it better suited to upgraders from the more consumer-orientated 700D / Rebel T3i. Less understandable is the controller's design - sitting slightly proud of the circular dial that surrounds it and looking more like a wheel itself, it takes some time to get used to this less elegant arrangement. The quick control dial features a lock switch positioned directly underneath which helps to prevent unintentional changes to your settings.

The 70D has a handy dedicated Q button on the rear which which opens the Quick Control screen. Depending on which shooting mode you're using, this lets you set various parameters via the LCD screen, using either the four-way controller or the touch-screen to move around the various options. Similar to the system that Sony Alpha DSLRs have used for a while, the Quick Control screen is particularly well-suited to beginners and tripod work.

The Canon EOS 70D features built-in wi-fi connectivity, which allows you to share images during playback via the Wi-Fi menu option. Enable the Wi-Fi menu option and the Wi-Fi Function option appears underneath, which contains six icons. The 70D can connect to another camera, a smartphone, a computer, a printer, the internet and a DNLA device respectively. Setup is long-winded but relatively straight-forward for each scenario, although you'll need a basic understanding of the protocols involved (or consult the supplied User Guide). Note that you need to install the dedicated and free EOS Remote app to connect the 70D to the world's most popular smartphone, or the Apple iPad, iPad 2 and fourth-generation iPod Touch, or an Android device. You can then use your smartphone or tablet to remotely control almost every aspect of the camera's operation, review images on a larger, more detailed screen and to transfer images between devices.

The 70D can tag your images with GPS data (latitude, longitude, altitude and shooting time) just like many of the company's compact cameras. We prefer having GPS built into the camera rather than having to sync it with an additional device, although it does consequently suffer from the issue of negatively affecting battery life. The EOS 70D does not have built-in NFC, though, as incorrectly stated in some reports.

On top of the Canon EOS 70D, positioned above the status LCD display, are four buttons, each of which has a single function rather than the dual-function buttons of some Canon DSLRs. While this makes it simpler to understand and easier to operate with the camera held up to your eye, it does inevitably lead to more scrolling through the menu system. There are two LCD displays on the EOS 70D, the 3-inch colour LCD on the rear and the smaller status panel on the top. On cheaper cameras, the LCD on the rear usually has to do both jobs, but on this model most of the key settings are visible from above on the smaller panel. This can make the Canon EOS 70D quicker to use and it may also extend the battery life, depending on how extensively you use the LCD screen.

Canon EOS 70D Canon EOS 70D
Front Rear

The main LCD screen offers a fantastic resolution with 1,040K dots, so you may find yourself using it more often than you thought. It allows you to judge the critical sharpness of your photos using the LCD screen, which has been a long-standing issue on Canon's entry- and mid-range DSLRs. The screen also has an aspect ratio of 3:2 - i.e. identical to that of the sensor - so that the photos fill the screen completely, with no black stripes along the top and bottom.

The EOS 70D has an articulated screen, which helps to realise the full potential of Live View and video shooting. In terms of flexibility, Canon's left-hinged, free-angle monitor is on a par with those offered by Olympus and Panasonic, and significantly more flexible with those found on Sony and Nikon DSLRs. The high-res, free-angle LCD screen is much more than just a novelty - it's a lot more versatile than the usual combination of optical viewfinder and fixed LCD, providing new angles of view and enhancing your overall creativity. Above all, it's a fun way of composing your images.

The 700D is the latest EOS camera to feature a touch-screen. It supports a variety of multi-touch gestures, such as pinching and swiping, for choosing shooting modes, changing settings, tracking faces, selecting auto-focus points, and focusing and taking a picture in Live View mode. In playback you can swipe to move from image to image and pinch to zoom in and out, just like on an iPad or other tablet device. The ability to focus and take the shot with a single press of your finger on the screen makes it quick and easy to capture the moment.

The EOS 70D's built-in pop-up flash features a built-in Integrated Speedlite Transmitter for controlling up to two groups of off-camera Speedlites without the need for an external transmitter. Note that the 70D still doesn't have a PC Sync port for connecting the camera to external lights, limiting its use in studio environments. There's also the expected hotshoe for use with one of Canon's external flashguns.

Like most DSLRs aimed at beginners and amateurs, the EOS 70D provides a number of auto shooting modes aimed at beginners, including portrait, landscape, close-up, sports, night portrait, hand-held night scene, and HDR backlight control, now grouped under the SCN option on the Mode dial on the top-left of the camera, which comes complete with a central lock button to prevent accidental movement. HDR Backlight takes three shots at different exposures and combines them into one with greater shadow and highlight detail, and the Hand-held Night scene mode takes multiple images at fast shutter speeds and blends them together for a sharp result. The fully-automatic Scene Intelligent Auto mode analyses the scene in front of you and automatically picking the best settings, much like the systems used by lot of digital compacts.

There are, of course, manual and semi-automatic modes for users who want more advanced exposure control. Canon refers to these advanced operations as the 'creative zone' and provides all the normal settings including Program, Aperture and Shutter Priority and the full manual mode. Additionally, the Creative Auto mode is targeted at beginners who have grown out of using the Full Auto mode, allowing you to change a few key settings using the LCD screen via a simple slider system for changing the aperture and exposure compensation, or Background and Exposure as the camera refers to them.

Reflecting its more consumer-friendly nature, the 70D now offers seven creative filters, which are only available when shooting in Live View mode and for JPEGs, not RAW files. These include Soft Focus, which dramatizes an image and smooths over any shiny reflections, Grainy Black and White creates that timeless look, Toy Camera adds vignetting and color shift, and Miniature Effect makes a scene appear like a small-scale model, simulating the look from a tilt-shift lens.

Canon EOS 70D Canon EOS 70D
Front Tilting LCD Screen

In addition a feature called Basic+ applies a creative ambience to images when shooting in the Basic modes. Essentially a more extreme version of the well-established Picture Styles, Basic+ enhancements that can be applied to the scene modes include Vivid, Soft, Warm, Intense, Cool and Brighter. There's also some control over what is essentially the white balance via the Shoot by Lighting effect, with the options being Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Flourescent and Sunset.

Once the EOS 70D is in the 'creative zone', users can adjust the ISO setting to one of nine positions from 100 to 25600 (you need to enable the ISO 25600 mode via the 'ISO expansion' custom function option), which is more than adequate for most lighting conditions. The EOS 70D offers a range of three Auto focus modes (One Shot, AI Focus and AI Servo), and there are six preset, auto, kelvin and custom white balance options. The so-called Intelligent Viewfinder, which offers 98% scene coverage, displays key exposure information including ISO speed AF mode selection and metering, and the 70D now uses the same 19-point all cross-type autofocus AF system as the more expensive 7D. The 70D's metering system has also been inherited from the 7D, with the 63-zone dual layer metering sensor analyzing focus, colour and luminance information to produce the exposure. There are four metering modes including a 4% Spot metering mode, useful in tricky lighting conditions as an alternative to the excellent and consistent Evaluative metering system.

The menu system is the same in design as on the EOS 700D and 7D, which in turn borrowed the design from the professional range of EOS cameras. There's a simplified tab structure that does away completely with scrolling, with 15 colour-coded horizontal tabs (dependant upon the shooting mode) and up to 7 options in each one, providing quick and easy access to the various options. You can even setup your own customised menu page for instant access to frequently used settings via the My Menu tab. Only the complex Custom Functions menu detracts a little from the overall usability.

We tested the EOS 70D with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens, which offers a versatile focal range and crucially includes image stabilisation. This is important for Canon, as competitors like Sony, Olympus and Pentax all offer image stabilisation in their DSLRs. The difference between Canon (and Nikon) and the others is that Sony, Olympus and Pentax have opted for stabilisation via the camera body, rather than the lens, which therefore works with their entire range of lenses. Canon's system is obviously limited by which lenses you choose, but it does offer the slight advantage of showing the stabilising effect through the viewfinder. Canon and Nikon also claim that a lens-based anti-shake system is inherently better too, but the jury's out on that one.

The Canon EOS 70D offers fast, positive autofocus, which can track moving subjects very well and which is also near-silent. The EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM is also a very quiet performer, thanks to the built-in STM (Stepping Motor), which makes this lens well-suited to video recording and more candid photography. If you're upgrading from an older or cheaper digital EOS model and already have a lens or lenses, you can buy the 70D body-only.

The EOS 70D features the DIGIC 5+ processor, which produces noticeably faster image processing, start-up and image review times, and better noise reduction in high-ISO images than older EOS cameras (jump to the Image Quality page for ISO samples). Despite the increase to 20 megapixels, the 70D actually shoots more quickly in the fastest Continuous mode than the previous 60D model, obtaining a speed of 7fps for up to 65 full-sized JPEGs or 16 RAW images.

Canon EOS 70D Canon EOS 70D
Pop-up Flash Top

The 70D has a very similar Live View system to the 60D and 700D, with one important change to the autofocusing system which makes it a lot quicker. If you're new to DSLRs and don't understand the terminology, basically Live View allows you to view the scene in front of you live on the LCD screen, rather than through the traditional optical viewfinder. This is an obvious attraction for compact camera users, who are familiar with holding the camera at arm's length and composing via the LCD screen. It's also appealing to macro shooters, for example, as it's often easier to view the screen than look through the viewfinder when the camera is mounted on a tripod at an awkward angle.

Live View is now easier to actually turn on than it was on the 60D. There's a dedicated Live View button on the rear of the camera to the right of the viewfinder, surrounded by a switch to choose between Movie or Stills shooting. A horizontal Electronic Level and very useful live histogram can be enabled to help with composition and exposure, and you can zoom in by up to 10x magnification of the image displayed on the LCD screen. Focusing is achieved either via the AF-On Lock button or more conventionally by half-pressing the shutter-button. Live View can also be controlled remotely using the supplied EOS utility software, which allows you to adjust settings and capture the image from a PC.

Live View attempts to satisfy both the consumer and more technical user, with four types of focusing system on offer. Quick AF works by physically flipping the camera mirror to engage the auto-focus sensor, which then momentarily blanks the LCD screen and causes a physical sound, before the image is displayed after about 1/2 second. The other methods, Flexizone Single, Flexizone Multi and AF + Tracking with Face Detection, now use an image contrast auto-focus system, much like that used by point-and shoot compacts, the main benefits being the complete lack of noise during operation, and no LCD blackout, and additionally a phase-detection system that's cleverly employed directly on the camera's image sensor plane. All of the effective pixels on the EOS 70D's CMOS sensor are able to perform both still imaging and phase-detection AF simultaneously (dubbed "Dual Pixel CMOS AF"), which makes the three Live View modes almost as quick as the Quick AF mode, especially the Flexizone Single mode, taking a less than a second to focus on a clearly-defined subject in bright light, which is much quicker than the 3 seconds that the 60D took. You can also move the AF point anywhere around the middle 80% of the frame, and the 70D successfully and quickly detected faces in most situations.

Live View and Dual Pixel CMOS AF are also used for the Canon EOS 70D movie mode. If you turn the Live View switch to the position denoted by the movie camera icon, the camera will enter the Movie Live View mode automatically. Before you start filming, you need to focus on the subject either manually or using auto focus as described above, and optionally set exposure and ISO. To be able to do this, you first need to set the shooting mode dial to Manual. Now you can set aperture, shutter speed (within limits) and ISO manually (note that even if you do not enable manual exposure for movies, you can still use functions like AE lock and exposure compensation if you feel a need for it). Once everything is set up, you can start filming by hitting the Live View Start/Stop button on the back of the camera.

The EOS 70D offers a choice of 24, 25 or 30fps when recording Full 1920x1080 HD video clips in either ALL-I or IPB codecs with optional embedded time code, 50/60fps when shooting at 720p, and 25 or 30fps at VGA resolution. Note however that the available frame rates are also dependent on what you have set in the menu under "Video system": NTSC or PAL. Another novelty of the 70D is that if you shoot a standard-definition clip, you can use a function called "Movie Crop". This means that you can tell the camera to use only the central 640×480 pixels on the sensor to record video, which effectively gives you 7x magnification. This can come in handy when you do not have the necessary telephoto reach to film something that is happening at a distance.

The EOS 70D will automatically adjust focus during filming, and you can initiate auto-focus at any time while recording a clip. However, be warned that this can do more harm than good, as, depending on the lens, the microphone can pick up the sound of the focus motor, and the subject might even go out of focus for a second or two. Setting a small aperture and relying on depth of field for focus is a better idea. Of course you may wish to utilise the DSLR's ability to produce footage with a shallow depth of field, but in that case, it might be a wise idea to purchase a couple of third-party accessories that make manual focusing and focus pulling easier.

Canon EOS 70D Canon EOS 70D
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

Basic in-camera movie editing allows you to shorten a video file by clipping segments from the beginning or the end. There is a built-in microphone for stereo recording, and you can connect an external microphone equipped with a stereo mini plug to the camera's external microphone IN terminal. Note that there's no headphone jack for audio monitoring though. You can also manually adjust the sound recording level in 64 steps to help ensure that the audio track matches the visual quality of the video, and there's also an electronic Wind Filter.

The EOS 70D uses the same dust-removal technology as previous models, where the sensor is shaken briefly at high frequency to dislodge any dust particles from its surface. This could delay the need for manual sensor cleaning, perhaps indefinitely, but it won't be able to remove 'sticky' deposits like salt spray, pollen or the smears left behind by careless sensor cleaning or the wrong kind of solvent. The 70D also inherits the internal Dust Delete Data system from the 60D, which can map the position of visible dust on the sensor. This can then be deleted automatically after the shoot with the supplied Digital Photo Professional software.

Lens Aberration Correction is a feature that's actually a lot simpler that it initially sounds. Basically it corrects the unwanted effects of vignetting, typically seen in wide-angle photos in the corners of the frame, and chromatic aberrations, otherwise known as purple fringing. The 70D contains a database of correction data for many Canon lenses and, if Lens Aberration Correction is enabled, automatically applies it to JPEG images. For RAW images the correction is applied later in the Digital Photo Professional software. Up to 40 lenses can be programmed into the 70D, with over 80 currently available to choose from. Lens Aberration Correction is a useful and effective addition, particularly for JPEG shooters, and can safely be left turned on all of the time.

Once you have captured a photo, the Canon EOS 70D has an average range of options for playing, reviewing and managing your images. More information about a captured image can be seen on the LCD by pressing the Info button, which brings up an image histogram and all the shooting Exif data, including shutter speed and the time and date it was captured, with a second press displaying an additional RGB histogram. It is simple to get a closer look at an image as users can zoom in up to 15 times, and it is also possible to view pictures in a set of nine contact sheet. You can also delete an image, rotate an image, view a slideshow, protect images so that they cannot be deleted, and set various printing options. A rating of 1 to 5 can be assigned to your images in-camera, and these tags can also be viewed on a computer using Canon’s DPP software and some third-party image editing programs.

For RAW shooters, the EOS 70D features in-camera RAW image processing. The following adjustments can be applied to any RAW image that you have taken - Brightness, Quality, White Balance, Color Space, Picture Style, Peripheral Illumination Correction, Auto Lighting Optimizer, Distortion Correction, High-ISO Noise Reduction, and Chromatic Aberration Correction. The image is then saved as an additional new JPEG file without affecting the original RAW data.

The documentation that comes with the 70D is very good, as it is with all Canon cameras, with a detailed manual that includes everything you need to know about the camera's operation. Unfortunately Canon have decided to cut their costs by only including it on the supplied CD-ROM, which isn't much use when you're out shooting with the camera.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 20 megapixel Fine JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 6Mb.

The Canon EOS 70D produced images of excellent quality during the review period. This camera produces noise-free JPEG images from ISO 100 all the way up to ISO 1600, with noise first appearing at ISO 3200 - a great performance for a 20 megapixel APS-C Sensor. The faster settings of 6400 and 12800 display progressively more noise, with the fastest setting of 25600 best reserved for emergenices.

The JPEG images were a little soft straight out of the camera using the default Picture Style and ideally require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can change the in-camera setting. The night photograph was very good, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds and Bulb mode allowing you to capture enough light in all situations.

The 6 different Picture Styles and the ability to create your own are a real benefit to JPEG shooters, as are the Highlight Tone Priority and Auto Lighting Optimizer custom settings when used in the right conditions. The HDR mode combines three images taken at different exposures to create a single image with greater dynamic range, while the new Creative Filters allow you to preview the effect before shooting, if only in Live View mode.

Noise

ISO sensitivity can be set between ISO 100 and ISO 12800 in full-stop increments, and a boosted setting of ISO 25600 is also available. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting, with JPEG on the left and the RAW equivalent on the right.

JPEG

RAW

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg
   

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

iso12800.jpg iso12800raw.jpg
   

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

iso25600.jpg iso25600raw.jpg

File Quality

The Canon EOS 70D has 2 different JPEG file quality settings available, including Fine and Normal, with Fine being the higher quality option. Here are two 100% crops which show the quality of the two options.

Fine (6.24Mb) (100% Crop) Normal (3.08Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_fine.jpg quality_normal.jpg
   
RAW (22.4Mb) (100% Crop)  
quality_raw.jpg  

Sharpening

The out-of-camera JPEGs are quite soft and at the default sharpening setting and benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. You can also change the in-camera sharpening level to suit your tastes via the Picture Style options.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

sharpen1.jpg sharpen1a.jpg
   
sharpen2.jpg sharpen2a.jpg

Flash

The flash settings on the EOS 70D are Auto, Manual Flash On/Off, and Red-Eye Reduction. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1m.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (29mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (29mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (216mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (216mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are a couple of portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On setting nor the Red-Eye Reduction option caused any amount of red-eye.

Flash On

Flash On (100% Crop)
flash_on.jpg flash_on1.jpg
   

Red-eye Reduction

Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

flash_redeye.jpg flash_redeye1.jpg

Night

The Canon EOS 700D's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds and there's a Bulb mode for even longer exposures, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 15 seconds, aperture of f/8 at ISO 100. Here is a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

night1.jpg night1a.jpg

Picture Styles

Canon's Picture Styles are preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone settings. The available Picture Styles are shown below in the following series, which demonstrates the differences. You can tweak these Picture Styles to your liking, and there are also User Defined styles so that you can create your own look.

Standard

Portrait

picture_style_01.jpg picture_style_02.jpg
   
Landscape

Neutral

picture_style_03.jpg picture_style_04.jpg
   
Faithful

Monochrome

picture_style_05.jpg picture_style_06.jpg

Creative Filters

Essentially a more extreme version of the well-established Picture Styles, Creative Filters offers seven options, all of which can be interactively tweaked to suit your taste. Note that you have to shoot in Live View mode to access the filters.

Grainy B/W

Soft Focus

creative_filter_01.jpg creative_filter_02.jpg
   
Fish-eye Effect

Art Bold Effect

creative_filter_03.jpg creative_filter_04.jpg
   
Water Painting Effect

Toy Camera Effect

creative_filter_05.jpg creative_filter_06.jpg
   
Miniature Effect  
creative_filter_07.jpg  

Auto Lighting Optimizer

Auto Lighting Optimizer performs in-camera processing to even out the contrast and correct brightness. There are 4 different settings - Off, Low, Standard and Strong.

Off

Low

auto_lighting_optimizer_01.jpg auto_lighting_optimizer_02.jpg
   
Standard

Strong

auto_lighting_optimizer_03.jpg auto_lighting_optimizer_04.jpg

Highlight Tone Priority

Highlight Tone Priority is a custom function which can be enabled from the menu. Use of this custom function improves highlight detail by expanding the camera's dynamic range in the highlights. As you can see from these examples, Highlight Tone Priority reduced the extent of highlight blow-out considerably.

Off

On
highlight_tone_01.jpg highlight_tone_02.jpg

HDR

The Canon EOS 70D's HDR Mode captures three different exposures and combines them into one, retaining more shadow and highlight detail.

Off

+1EV

hdr_01.jpg hdr_02.jpg
   
+2EV

+3EV

hdr_03.jpg hdr_04.jpg

Multiple Exposure

The Canon EOS 70D can can shoot multiple images (2 to 9) and then merge them into a single image. An example with two images is shown below.

multiple_exposure.jpg

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Canon EOS 70D camera, which were all taken using the 20 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Canon EOS 70D enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Canon RAW (CR2) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movies & Video

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 19 second movie is 204Mb in size.

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 18 second movie is 125Mb in size.

This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 11 second movie is 67.5Mb in size.

Product Images

Canon EOS 70D

Front of the Canon EOS 70D

 
Canon EOS 70D

Isometric View

 
Canon EOS 70D

Isometric View

 
Canon EOS 70D

Front of the Canon EOS 70D

 
Canon EOS 70D

Front of the Canon EOS 70D / Flash Raised

 
Canon EOS 70D

Isometric View

 
Canon EOS 70D

Isometric View

 
Canon EOS 70D

Rear of the Canon EOS 70D

 
Canon EOS 70D

Rear of the Canon EOS 70D

 
Canon EOS 70D

Rear of the Canon EOS 70D / Image Displayed

 
Canon EOS 70D

Rear of the Canon EOS 70D / Live View

 
Canon EOS 70D

Rear of the Canon EOS 70D / Live View Menu

 
Canon EOS 70D

Rear of the Canon EOS 70D / Main Menu

 
Canon EOS 70D

Rear of the Canon EOS 70D / Info Screen

 
Canon EOS 70D

Rear of the Canon EOS 70D / Quick Menu

 
Canon EOS 70D

Rear of the Canon EOS 70D / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Canon EOS 70D

Rear of the Canon EOS 70D / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Canon EOS 70D

Top of the Canon EOS 70D

 
Canon EOS 70D

Bottom of the Canon EOS 70D

 
Canon EOS 70D

Side of the Canon EOS 70D

 
Canon EOS 70D

Side of the Canon EOS 70D

 
Canon EOS 70D

Front of the Canon EOS 70D

 
Canon EOS 70D

Front of the Canon EOS 70D

 
Canon EOS 70D

Memory Card Slot

 
Canon EOS 70D

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The new Canon EOS 70D offers the best all-round combination yet of viewfinder, live view and movie shooting experience for a DSLR camera, backed up by excellent image quality from the 20 megapixel APS-C sensor, proven handling and fast performance, making it a very appealing do-it-all interchangeable lens camera that suits a lot of users.

With its innovative Dual-Pixel CMOS AF system, the EOS 70D is the best "traditional" DSLR camera in terms of auto-focusing during Live View and movie shooting - we'd expect to see this feature quickly incorporated across the EOS range. It still doesn't quite rival the Sony SLT range or many compact system cameras for out and out speed, though, but Canon's new invention has definitely raised its game in what has always been something of a thorn in the DSLRs' side.

You may think that bumping the megapixel count to 20 on such a comparatively small sensor would only degrade the resulting photos, but thankfully you'd be wrong. The 20 megapixel CMOS sensor and expanded ISO range produce virtually no visible noise at all from ISO 100 all the way up to ISO 1600, with even the three faster settings of 3200-12800 producing perfectly usable images (although 25600 is best reserved for emergency use). All other image quality aspects are up to Canon's usual high standards, so top marks go to the 70D in this department. Even the 18-135mm kit lens is worth considering if you've not yet bought into the Canon system.

The 70D shares many of the features offered by its little brother, the Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i - a 3 inch 1040k-dot LCD screen with 3:2 aspect ratio, 63-zone metering, Full HD movie recording with user selectable frame rates, and similar build quality. We'd still recommend paying the extra cash, though, principally for the 70D's better viewfinder, 19-point AF system, secondary LCD screen and control dial, speedier burst shooting, more refined movie mode, wi-fi connectivity and much more intuitive control layout and handling, not even mentioning that compelling Dual-Pixel CMOS AF system. And it inherits so many key features from the higher-end, but older, 7D model that for us the cheaper 70D is a more sensible purchase.

Indeed, until we see Dual-Pixel CMOS AF inevitably make its way across the EOS range, we'd recommend the new Canon EOS 70D as the APS-C camera to go for if you're currently considering a mid-range DSLR camera. It offers a winning blend of features, performance and image quality that is hard to beat, both by its EOS brothers and other manufacturers' offerings. The new EOS 70D marks a real step forward for both Canon and the venerable SLR camera.

5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4.5
Features 5
Ease-of-use 5
Image quality 5
Value for money 4.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Canon EOS 70D.

Canon EOS 6D

The Canon EOS 6D is a new full-frame DSLR with a much more affordable price-tag than the 5D Mark III and a few tricks up its sleeve that its bigger brother doesn't offer. At over £1000 / $1000 cheaper than the 5D Mark II, have Canon cut too many corners for the 6D to be a real contender? Read our in-depth Canon EOS 6D review to find out...

Canon EOS 700D

The Canon EOS 700D (called the Canon EOS Rebel T5i in North America) is a new DSLR camera that boasts 18 megapixels, full 1080p high-definition videos with continuous auto-focusing, and a touch-screen interface. Other key features of the 700D / T5i include burst shooting at 5fps, a vari-angle 3-inch LCD screen with 1,040k dot resolution, ISO range of 100-25,600, 14-bit image processing and Canon's Digic 5 processor. Is the Canon EOS 700D / T5i the best mid-range digital SLR camera on the market? Read our expert review to find out...

Canon EOS 7D

The Canon EOS 7D is a brand new 18 megapixel DSLR camera, complete with 8fps continuous shooting, high-res 3 inch LCD screen, Live View and Full HD movies. The Canon 7D also features a number of significant improvements to its auto-focusing, metering, viewfinder and flash systems, which all add up to make this one of the best-ever specified EOS cameras. Find out if the Canon EOS 7D can also take great pictures by reading the World's first expert review...

Fujifilm X-Pro1

The Fujifilm X-Pro1 is a new premium compact system camera. Building on the popularity of the X100, the retro, rangefinder-styled X-Pro1 offers a brand new sensor that's claimed to rival full-frame DSLRs, an improved hybrid viewfinder, and a new X lens mount with three prime lenses available on launch. Read our Fujifilm X-Pro1 review to find out if it can emulate the runaway success of the X100...

Nikon D600

The Nikon D600 is a new full-frame DSLR camera. Featuring a 24.3 megapixel full-frame sensor, the small, lightweight D600 also offers 1080p HD video, ISO range of 50-25600, a 39-point AF system, 3.2-inch LCD screen and a viewfinder with 100% coverage. Read our in-depth Nikon D600 review now...

Nikon D7100

The D7100 is a new prosumer DSLR camera from Nikon, succeeding but not replacing the popular D7000 model. The weather-proof D7100 features a 24 megapixel DX image sensor, 51-point autofocus system, 6fps burst shooting and a high-resolution 3.2 inch LCD screen. Read our detailed Nikon D7100 review to find out if it's the right DSLR camera for you...

Olympus OM-D E-M5

Olympus have expanded their Micro Four Thirds family with the launch of the OM-D E-M5. Boasting the World's fastest autofocus system, the E-M5 brings the original design ethos of the 1970's film OM series kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Read our expert Olympus E-M5 review to find out if it's the best compact system camera on the market.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 is a new compact system camera that promises to offer both high-quality still images and movies. The exciting GH3 features Full 1080p HD video with bit rates up to 72Mbps, a 16 megapixel sensor, a 3 inch swivelling touchscreen OLED, built-in wi-fi connectivity, a weather-proof body, and an extensive ISO range of 125-25600. Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 review to find out if it's the most complete video/stills camera yet...

Samsung NX300

The Samsung NX300 is a new mid-range compact system camera featuring a 20.3 megapixel APS-C sensor, hybrid AF system, 3.3-inch tilting AMOLED touchscreen, 8.6fps continuous shooting, Wi-fi and NFC connectivity, full 1080p video, and an ISO range 100-25,600. Read our in-depth Samsung NX300 review now...

Sony A77

The Sony A77 is the flagship model in the second generation of Sony's SLT camera range. The A77 offers a 24.3 megapixel sensor, 12fps burst shooting, 1080p Full HD movies, high-resolution OLED viewfinder, 3-inch free-angle LCD, 19-point auto-focus with 11 cross-sensors, built-in GPS and an ISO range of 50-16000. Can it really challenge Nikon and Canon in the discerning prosumer market? Read our detailed Sony A77 review to find out...

Sony NEX-7

The Sony NEX-7 is a new compact system camera with a long list of photographer-friendly features. Offering a 24.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, 1080p HD movies, high-res 3 inch tilting screen, 10fps burst shooting, built-in electronic viewfinder and pop-up flash, the NEX-7 seems to be on paper at least a very exciting proposition. Read our full Sony NEX-7 review, complete with sample JPEGs, RAW files, and movies, to find out if this is the ultimate compact system camera...

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Canon EOS 70D from around the web.

cameralabs.com »

The Canon EOS 70D is the company's latest mid-range DSLR, featuring a 20.2 Megapixel APS-C sensor, Full HD video, a fully articulated touch-screen monitor, built-in Wifi and an innovative new autofocusing system which promises far superior performance during Live View and movies. Announced in July 2013, it comes three years after the EOS 60D and replaces that model, slotting between the EOS T5i / 700D and the increasingly aged EOS 7D.
Read the full review »

pocket-lint.com »

At first glance the Canon EOS 70D may look like just another DSLR. But it's oh so much more than that: the 70D wages all-out war against not only the rest of the mid-level DSLR market, but also has the technology to take on mirrorless models - often called compact system cameras - too.
Read the full review »

ephotozine.com »

The Canon EOS 70D is the latest Digital SLR from Canon, and one of the most advanced with an all-new 20.2 megapixel APS-C sensor, with dual pixel AF focus built into the sensor. The 70D updates the 60D, which will remain on the market for the time being.
Read the full review »

pcpro.co.uk »

The Canon EOS 70D adds yet more spice to the increasingly competitive mid-range DSLR sector. Whereas last year it was all about the emergence of full-frame cameras in the affordable mid-range, this year Canon has brought an innovative autofocus system into play with its latest 70D.
Read the full review »

whatdigitalcamera.com »

The Canon EOS 70D is the most anticipated DSLR of the year, and is the latest model in Canon's double-digit DSLR range.
Read the full review »

Specifications

IMAGE SENSOR

Type 22.5mm x 15.0mm CMOS
Effective Pixels Approx. 20.20 megapixels
Total Pixels Approx. 20.90 megapixels
Aspect Ratio 3:2
Low-Pass Filter Built-in/Fixed with fluorine coating
Sensor Cleaning EOS integrated cleaning system
Colour Filter Type Primary Colour

IMAGE PROCESSOR

Type DIGIC 5+

LENS

Lens Mount EF/EF-S
Focal Length Equivalent to 1.6x the focal length of the lens

FOCUSING

Type TTL-CT-SIR with a CMOS sensor
AF System/ Points 19 cross-type AF points (extra sensitivity at f/2.8 at centre)¹
AF Working Range EV -0.5 - 18 (at 23°C & ISO100)
AF Modes AI Focus
One Shot
AI Servo
AF Point Selection Automatic selection: 19 point AF
Manual selection: Single point AF
Manual selection: Zone AF
AF points can be selected separately for vertical and horizontal shooting
Selected AF Point Display Indicated by a transmissive LCD in viewfinder and on top LCD panel and Quick Control screen
Predictive AF Yes, up to 8m¹
AF Lock Locked when shutter button is pressed half way in One Shot AF mode or AF-ON button is pressed.
AF Assist Beam Intermittent firing of built-in flash or emitted by optional dedicated Speedlite
Manual Focus Selected on lens
AF Microadjustment C.Fn II-13
+/- 20 steps (wide and tele setting for Zooms)
Adjust all lenses by same amount
Adjust up to 40 lenses individually
Adjustments remembered for lens by serial number

EXPOSURE CONTROL

Metering Modes TTL full aperture metering with 63 zone Dual Layer SPC
(1) Evaluative metering (linked to all AF points)
(2) Partial metering (approx. 7.7% of viewfinder at centre)
(3) Spot metering (approx. 3.0% viewfinder at centre)
(4) Centre weighted average metering
Metering Range EV 1-20 (at 23°C with 50mm f/1.4 lens ISO100)
AE Lock Auto: In One-shot AF mode with evaluative metering exposure is locked when focus is achieved.
Manual: By AE lock button in creative zone modes.
Exposure Compensation +/-5 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments (can be combined with AEB).
AEB 2, 3, 5 or 7 Shots +/-3 EV 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments
ISO Sensitivity* Auto (100-12800), 100-12800 (in 1/3-stop or whole stop increments)
ISO can be expanded to H: 25600
During Movie shooting: Auto (100-6400), 100-6400 (in 1/3-stop or whole stop increments) ISO can be expanded to H: 12800

SHUTTER

Type Electronically-controlled focal-plane shutter
Speed 30-1/8000 sec (1/2 or 1/3 stop increments), Bulb (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode)

WHITE BALANCE

Type Auto white balance with the imaging sensor
Settings AWB, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, White
Fluorescent light, Flash, Custom, Colour Temperature Setting.
White balance compensation:
1. Blue/Amber +/-9
2. Magenta/ Green +/-9.
Custom White Balance Yes, 1 setting can be registered
WB Bracketing +/-3 levels in single level increments
3 bracketed images per shutter release.
Selectable Blue/Amber bias or Magenta/ Green bias.

VIEWFINDER

Type Pentaprism
Coverage (Vertical/Horizontal) Approx. 98%
Magnification Approx. 0.95x¹
Eyepoint Approx. 22mm (from eyepiece lens centre)
Dioptre Correction -3 to +1 m-1 (dioptre)
Focusing Screen Fixed (Transmissive LCD screen)
Mirror Quick-return half mirror (Transmission: reflection ratio of 40:60, no mirror cut-off with EF 600mm f/4 IS USM or shorter)
Viewfinder Information AF information: AF points, focus confirmation, AF area selection mode
Exposure information: Shutter speed, aperture value, ISO speed (always displayed), AE lock, exposure level/compensation, spot metering circle, exposure warning, AEB.
Flash information: Flash ready, high-speed sync, FE lock, flash exposure compensation, red-eye reduction light.
Image information: Card information, maximum burst (2 digit display), Highlight tone priority (D+).
Composition information: Grid, Electronic level (2 methods)
Other information: Battery check, Alert symbol
Depth of Field Preview Yes, with Depth of Field preview button.
Eyepiece Shutter On strap

LCD MONITOR

Type Vari angle 7.7cm (3.0") 3:2 Clear View II TFT, approx. 1040K dots
Coverage Approx. 100%
Viewing Angle (Horizontally/Vertically) Approx 170°
Coating Anti-reflection, Solid Structure and Anti smudge
Brightness Adjustment Adjustable to one of seven levels
Display Options (1) Quick Control Screen
(2) Camera settings
(3) Electronic Level

FLASH

Built-in Flash GN (ISO 100, meters) 12
Built-in Flash Coverage up to 17mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 28mm)
Built-in Flash Recycle Time Approx. 3 seconds
Modes Auto, Manual flash, Integrated Speedlite Transmitter
Red-Eye Reduction Yes - with red-eye reduction lamp
X-Sync 1/250sec
Flash Exposure Compensation +/- 3EV in 1/2 or 1/3 increments
Flash Exposure Bracketing Yes, with compatible External Flash
Flash Exposure Lock Yes
Second Curtain Synchronisation Yes
HotShoe/ PC Terminal Yes/ No
External Flash Compatibility E-TTL II with EX series Speedlites, wireless multi-flash support
External Flash Control via camera menu screen

SHOOTING

Modes Scene Intelligent Auto (Stills and Movie), No Flash, Creative Auto, SCN(Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, Handheld Night Scene, HDR Backlight Control), Program AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual (Stills and Movie), Bulb, Custom
Picture Styles Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined (x3)
Colour Space sRGB and Adobe RGB
Image Processing Highlight Tone Priority
Auto Lighting Optimizer (4 settings)
Long exposure noise reduction
High ISO speed noise reduction (4 settings)
Multi Shot Noise Reduction
Auto Correction of Lens Peripheral illumination and Chromatic aberration correction
Basic+ (Shoot by ambience selection, Shoot by lighting or scene type)
Creative filters (Art Bold, Water painting, Grainy B/W, Soft focus, Toy camera, Miniature effect, Fish-eye)
RAW image processing - during image Playback only
Resize to M or S1, S2, S3
Drive Modes Single, Continuous L, Continuous H, Self timer (2s+remote, 10s +remote), Silent single shooting, Silent continous shooting
Continuous Shooting Max. Approx. 7fps. (speed maintained for up to 65 images (JPEG)¹³(with UHS-I card), 16 images (RAW))²³

LIVE VIEW MODE

Type Electronic viewfinder with image sensor
Coverage Approx. 100% (horizontally and vertically)
Frame Rate 30 fps
Focusing Manual Focus (Magnify the image 5x or 10x at any point on screen)
Autofocus: Dual Pixel CMOS AF (Face detection and Tracking AF, FlexiZone-Multi, FlexiZone-Single), Phase detection AF (Quick mode)
Metering Real-time evaluative metering with image sensor.
Evaluative metering, partial metering, spot metering, center-weighted average metering.
Display Options Grid overlay (x3), Histogram, Multi aspect ratios

FILE TYPE

Still Image Type JPEG: Fine, Normal (Exif 2.21 [Exif Print] compliant) / Design rule for Camera File system (2.0),
RAW: RAW, M-RAW, S-RAW (14bit, Canon original RAW 2nd edition),
Digital Print Order Format [DPOF] Version 1.1 compliant
RAW+JPEG Simultaneous Recording Yes, any combination of RAW + JPEG, M-RAW + JPEG, S-RAW + JPEG possible.
Image Size JPEG 3:2: (L) 5472x3648, (M) 3468x2432, (S1) 2736x1824, (S2) 1920x1280, (S3) 720x480
JPEG 4:3: (L) 4864x3648, (M) 3248x2432, (S1) 2432x1824, (S2) 1696x1280, (S3) 640x480
JPEG 16:9: (L) 5472x3072, (M) 3468x2048, (S1) 2736x1536, (S2) 1920x1080, (S3) 720x408
JPEG 1:1: (L) 3648x3648, (M) 2432x2432, (S1) 1824x1824, (S2) 1280x1280, (S3) 480x480
RAW: (RAW) 5472x3648, (M-RAW) 4104x2736, (S-RAW) 2736x1824
Movie Type MOV (Video: H.264 Intra frame / inter frame, Sound: Linear PCM, recording level can be manually adjusted by user)
Movie Size 1920 x 1080 (29.97, 25, 23.976 fps) intra or inter frame
1280 x 720 (59.94, 50 fps) intra or inter frame
640 x 480 (29.97, 25 fps) inter frame
Movie Length Max duration 29min 59sec, Max file size 4GB (If file size exceeds 4GB a new file will be created automatically)
Folders New folders can be manually created and selected
File Numbering (1) Consecutive numbering
(2) Auto reset
(3) Manual reset

OTHER FEATURES

Custom Functions 23 Custom Functions
Metadata Tag User copyright information (can be set in camera)
Image rating (0-5 stars)
LCD Panel / Illumination Yes / Yes
Water/ Dust Resistance Yes (equal to EOS-1N)
Sound Memo No
Intelligent Orientation Sensor Yes
Playback Zoom 1.5x - 10x
Display Formats (1) Single image with information (2 levels)
(2) Single image
(3) 4 image index
(4) 9 image index
(5) Jump Display
Slide Show Image selection: All images, by Date, Folder, Movies, Stills
Playback time: 1/2/3/5/10/20 seconds
Repeat: On/Off
Background music: On/Off
Transition effect: Off, Slide in 1, Slide in 2, Fade 1, Fade 2, Fade 3
Histogram Brightness: Yes
RGB: Yes
Highlight Alert Yes
Image Erase/Protection Erase: Single image, All images in folder, Checkmarked images, unprotected images
Protection: Erase protection of one image at a time
Menu Categories (1) Shooting menu (x6)
(2) Playback menu (x3)
(3) Setup menu (x4)
(4) Custom Functions menu
(5) My Menu
Menu Languages 25 Languages
English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese
Firmware Update Update possible by the user.

INTERFACE

Computer Hi-Speed USB
Other Video output (PAL/ NTSC) (integrated with USB terminal), HDMI mini output (HDMI-CEC compatible), External microphone (3.5mm Stereo mini jack)

DIRECT PRINT

Canon Printers Canon Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge
PictBridge Yes

STORAGE

Type SD, SDHC or SDXC (UHS-I)card

SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEM

PC & Macintosh Windows 8 / 7 / 7 SP1 / Vista SP2 / XP SP3
OS X v10.6, v10.7, v10.8

SOFTWARE

Browsing & Printing ImageBrowser EX
Image Processing Digital Photo Professional
Other PhotoStitch, EOS Utility, Picture Style Editor

POWER SOURCE

Batteries Rechargeable Li-ion Battery LP-E6 (supplied), built in for date & settings
Battery Life Approx. 920 (at 23°C, AE 50%, FE 50%)¹
Approx. 850 (at 0°C, AE 50%, FE 50%)
Battery Indicator 6 levels + percentage
Power Saving Power turns off after 1, 2, 4, 8, 15 or 30mins.
Power Supply & Battery Chargers AC Adapter Kit ACK-E6, Battery charger LC-E6, Car Battery charger CBC-E6

PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Body Materials Aluminium and polycarbonate resin with glass and conductive fibre
Operating Environment 0 – 40 °C, 85% or less humidity
Dimensions (WxHxD) 139.0 x 104.3 x 78.5mm
Weight (Body Only) Approx. 755g (CIPA testing standard, including battery and memory card)

ACCESSORIES

Viewfinder Eyecup Eb, E-series Dioptric Adjustment Lens, Eyepiece Extender EP-EX15II, Angle Finder C
Case Leather case EH21-L
Wireless File Transmitter Built in
Lenses All EF and EF-S lenses
Flash Canon Speedlites (90EX, 220EX, 270EX, 270EX II, 320EX, 420EX, 430EX, 430EX II, 550EX, 580EX, 580EX II, 600EX, 600EX-RT, Macro-Ring-Lite, MR-14EX, Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2, Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT)
Battery Grip BG-E14
Remote Controller/ Switch Remote Switch RS-60E3, Remote Controller RC-6
Other Hand Strap E2, GP-E2
   
AF System/ Points ¹ Peripheral Cross type AF points will not function as a cross type AF points with the following lenses: EF 35-80mm f4-5.6 (II/III/USM), EF35-105mm f4.5-5.6 (USM). EF 80-200mm f4.5-5.6 (II)
Predictive AF ¹ with EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM at 50kph
Magnification ¹ with 50mm lens at infinity, -1m-1 dpt
Continuous Shooting ¹ Large/Fine(Quality 8) resolution
² Based on Canon's testing conditions, JPEG, ISO 100, Standard Picture Style. Varies depending on the subject, memory card brand and capacity, image recording quality, ISO speed, drive mode, Picture Style, Custom functions etc.
³ Maximum fps and buffer capacity may be reduced depending on the cameras settings and light level
Battery Life ¹ Based on the CIPA Standard and using the batteries and memory card format supplied with the camera, except where indicated
  • *Recommended Exposure Index
  • All data is based on Canon standard testing methods except where indicated.
  • Subject to change without notice.

Your Comments

Loading comments…