Image quality, colour, auto focus responsiveness, live view auto focus, video qualty tilting LCD screen

No GPS , Image shadow noise at high ISO. Af/F not easy for a beginner

First impressions of the 70D were underwhelming. It looks just like a 60D and IQ not much different either. A big omission was the lack of GPS which was highly annoying as its on the FF 6D; so I expected it on the 70D
The touch screen is little more that a gimmick for the benefit for the camera phone crowd.
The A/F Inherited from the 7D is a big leap forward for the sport or wildlife photographer. 7FPS and a very responsive. The A/F is a lot more complex than the 5Dmk2 or 60D; so takes a bit of getting used to. In use, my capture rate of flying birds and motor sport has really improved compared to my 5D2 or 60D and equal to my old Nikon D300S.
Image quality is not much different to the 60D and just about equal to a 5DMK2. low light performance is impressive for an APS camera when used with a 50mm F1.4 or Sigmas new 18-35 F1.8. The Sigma is perfectly matched for this camera and with this combination rivals my Full Frame Canon for IQ. Up to 1600 ISO the IQ and noise is well controlled; beyond that, it is still good but a 5D mk 2 is better. I have used the 70D in very low light at up to 3200 ISO and for an APS camera is still impressive . More than 3200 ISO is for emergency or web use only.
One issue which is disappointing is dynamic range (DR) and shadow noise in RAW files. Highlights are generally OK But Nikon's DR are better overall. Lifting the exposure of shadow areas more does create noise in the dark areas at higher ISOs.
One big plus over Nikon is the colour; which is vibrant right up to 3200 ISO and more. A Nikon D7100 won't get anywhere near that before colour starts to go flat.
Video is where the 70D really shines. the HD video quality is excellent even under poor lighting conditions. OK a 5D mk 2 or 3 will be better, but the difference is less significant than the A/F which is impressive. Due to the 20million A/F points using live view; its possible to follow focus moving objects quite easily and accurately. Shooting musicians on stage has become so much better now that my 5D MK 2 is hardly ever used for this purpose any more. A trick with the live view screen is to select focus by touch to refocus on foreground or background which is a pretty cool thing.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 5D MK2