With the EOS 7D, Canon is pulling out all the stops to appeal to keen amateur and semi-pro photographers. In a nutshell – or rather, a tough magnesium alloy shell – the 7D offers an 18.1-megapixel sensor, speedy 8fps performance, 19-point autofocus and full HD video recording.

The Canon EOS 7D is Canon's top of the range APS-C camera. Below it sit the compact forms of the EOS 1100D , EOS 600D and EOS 60D and above it the full-frame glory of the ￡200 more expensive EOS 5D MKII . The big difference between the 5D MKII and the 7D is inside.

The pro-orientated, 18-megapixel EOS 7D digital SLR has a couple of minor flaws, but they're far outweighed by all the positives. Offering tank-like build quality, class-leading resolution, excellent high-ISO performance and brilliant continuous-shooting speeds, it's a fantastic camera

Hard-as-nails build quality; Ergonomic design; Impressive 8-frames-per-second shooting; Records 1080p movies; Good high-ISO performance

Mediocre detail from kit lens and JPEG processing; Occasional exposure howlers

As a smaller sibling to the 5D Mark II, it was the video capabilities that created the buzz around the EOS 7D. It was the only alternative for sensible frame rates, whilst still being able to take advantage of the huge selection of fast EF lenses and giving that pleasing, filmic depth of field look.

When I first received Canon's press release for the EOS 7D , I assumed the camera was a full-frame model, perhaps bridging the gap between the EOS 5D Mark II and the EOS-1D Mark III (since updated to Mark IV). However, to my surprise, I discovered that it's an 18-million-pixel APS-C-format camera.

The battle of the pixels is a long-running war that still shows no signs of letting up. In fact, the APS-C sensor has been continuously developed to take more pixels and ultimately allow the user to shoot larger images.

The past few years has seen a rapid growth in popularity of consumer digital SLRs, and a corresponding expansion of the ranges of cameras available from the main manufacturers. A couple of years ago Canon's DSLR range consisted of a triple-digit "entry-level" model such as the EOS 350D or 400D , a...

I loved my 7D straight away, pictures where quality, design was beautiful, and if fits very beautifully in your hand. I was very satisfied with the video quality and the artistic shots you can get with this camera are untouchable from 99% of the camcorders out there. Life was great..

Water Resistent; FAST burst speed; Fits very nicely in the hand

Little heavy for petite users

a good camera but too technological and gets in the way of taking pictures

good IQ at low iso; solid camera; video

high iso quality; complicated AF

I am a novice but keen SLR user, this being my second SLR after a 600D. I have had help how best to navigate the controls and I have got some fantastic results. I like taking photos showing "as it is" - and I am extremely pleased so far.

Bright LCD; Comfortable Controls; Easy To Use; Fast Shutter Speed; Great Image Quality; Image Stabilisation; Strong Construction

Heavy