A truly superb prosumer DSLR that offers a huge amount of features

Versatile; sturdy; powerful and takes top class stills and video

Not full frame

We could go on forever about the Canon EOS 7D's features and versatility, but suffice to say: if you're looking for a top class all-round performer and aren't too concerned with going full-frame, this is currently the best body around.

As soon as you pick it up, it's clear that the Canon EOS 7D means business; It's big, heavy, sturdy and packed with dials and buttons, For the well-versed in DSLR photography, the Canon EOS 7D is a dream to use.

It's certainly not a camera for the DSLR beginner, as the amount of manual options on offer will only serve to confuse; There is a fully auto mode, naturally, but why spend £1,250 on a DSLR and treat it like a point and shoot, We'd also have like to have seen a full frame option, especially at this...

So you've had your affordable DSLR camera a while now, and are looking to upgrade. You want to be able to shoot stills at machine-gun speed, not to mention silk-smooth high-definition video.

Generally a stunning camera, but needs to be used on RAW to make full use of the excellent CMOS chip, as the JPEGs can be unreliable

Canon's EOS 7D digital SLR is designed for users who want fast shooting performance. That means sports photographers, nature photographers, and anyone who needs to freeze-frame a fast-moving subject.

Solid body; Fast burst mode; Versatile focusing modes; Very good high ISO performance

Focusing not always accurate; Could use more accessible focus controls

The Canon EOS 7D is a new advanced cropped-sensor DSLR with a very rich feature set starting with an 18 MP sensor with ISO sensitivity range up to 12,800 and high-speed continuous drive up to 8 FPS and including many advanced features such as a 100% coverage viewfinder, a digital level,

Very low image noise; Excellent sharpness; ISO range entirely usable; up to 1600 for large prints; Super-fast autofocus speed and tacking; No shutter lag and great shot-to-shot speeds; Quick and responsive; Large 100% coverage viewfinder; 2-Axis digital level; Full choice of exposure modes for

Frequent overexposure; Poor color accuracy; Poor white-balance; both auto and preset under artificial light; Slower than average instant review speed; Slow to power-off due to sensor cleaning; LCD too bright; Several interface oddities

Canon's new 7D looks to bridge the gap between the incredible but expensive 5D Mark II and very capable stills camera the 50D. At $3499, the 7D is midway in price between these two excellent cameras. Does it perform well enough to carve out its own niche?

If you can justify the price tag it's hard to fault Canon's new APS-C flagship. With class-leading image quality, fast operation and excellent handling the EOS 7D is everything a semi-pro model should be, and the excellent movie mode will be a welcome bonus to those that like their pictures to move.

Class-leading detail and resolution at base ISO; good per-pixel sharpness; Very good low-light performance; low noise levels and good retention of detail; 8 frames per second continuous shooting speed; Thanks to Dual Digic 4 processors very quick and responsive performance; Excellent build quality

Unreliable white balance under artificial lighting; Slight tendency to overexpose in contrasty conditions; Occasional jagged lines in 720p video; No built-in AF illuminator

Canon's new camera is aimed at pros and serious amateurs. The Canon EOS 7D camera defines a new category for Canon not quite fitting in any of the camera maker's existing lines of cameras.

Tim Grey loves Canon's new dSLR but hankers after a full-frame sensor You'd need about eight frames per second to capture the rate of camera development. When you're choosing a new kit, you've either got to steel yourself for your new camera's almost instantaneous obsolescence, or be prepared to...

Superfast 8 frames per second shooting; Spiffy new AF system; Sterling HD video capabilities; Impressive ISO performance

1.6x magnification via crop sensor; Weird placement of AF button