Canon has equipped the EOS 7D Mark II, the flagship APS-C DSLR, with a newly developed 65-point AF system. The 65-point AF system is the largest array in any Canon DSLR* so far and has been developed with an objective to provide wide coverage f/5.6 cross-type AF sensor. This offers photographers more accurate autofocus with performance which in the same league as the professional EOS-1D X DSLR. As a matter of fact, the new 65-point AF system is developed from the renowned 61-point AF system in EOS-1D X.
Apart from the new 65-point all cross type AF sensor, EOS 7D Mark II’s 65-point AF system also incorporates the auto exposure sensor to assist AF analysis, as found in the EOS-1D X. The auto exposure sensor is a newly developed 150,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor, which works to-gether with DIGIC 6 digital imaging processor to form EOS Intelligent Subject Analysis (EOS iSA) system. EOS iSA enables color and face detection in optical viewfinder and make AF tracking more stable with EOS iTR (EOS Intelligent Tracking and Recognition) function. The 150,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor also has Light Source Detection sensor incorporated. This new AF system detects, recognizes and follows subjects from multiple perspectives using more than just distance data, vastly improved AF performance.
In addition to hardware design, the EOS 7D Mark II also features the same advanced, high preci-sion AI Servo AF III auto focus algorithm first introduced in the EOS-1D X. For easier menu naviga-tion and setting, all the AF settings and Custom Functions in EOS 7D Mark II are grouped into one menu tab as in the EOS-1D X, so there is no need to jump into different menu areas to make changes. In addition, AF Configuration Tool with preset cases as found in EOS-1D X has also been introduced for setting parameters that would otherwise require expert knowledge and experience. Photographers only need to select a preset case according to the situation to optimize AF settings.
Conceptual Diagram of EOS 7D Mark II AF system
*As of 15th Sept 2014
Comparison of EOS 7D Mark II and EOS-1D X AF System
| AF Specification | EOS 7D Mark II | EOS-1D X | ||
| AF Sensor | Number of AF Points | 65 | 61 | |
| Number of Cross-type AF points (max.) | With the f/2.8 Lens | 65 | 41 | |
| With the f/4 Lens | 65 | 41 | ||
| With the f/5.6 Lens | 65 | 21 | ||
| Focusing at f/2.8 or f/5.6 dual cross-type AF points | 1 | 5 | ||
| Focusing at f/4 + f/5.6 cross-type AF points | 0 | 20 | ||
| Focusing at f/8 cross-type AF points | 1 | |||
| Two-line AF sensors in a zigzag pattern | Focusing at f/5.6 AF points | 5 | All Points^ | |
| Focusing at f/2.8 cross-type AF points | 1 | 5 | ||
| High defocus control support | 1 | 1 | ||
| Focusing brightness
range (Center, f/2.8, One-shot AF) |
EV -3 - 18 | EV -2 - 18 | ||
| AF Area Selection Mode | Single-point Spot AF | Yes | ||
| Single-point AF | Yes | |||
| AF Point expansion | 4 points: Up, down, left and right | Yes | ||
| Surrounding 8 points | Yes | |||
| Zone AF | Yes | |||
| Large Zone AF | Yes | - | ||
| Automatic selection AF (all AF points) | Yes | |||
| AF Area Selection Lever | Yes | - | ||
| AI Servo AF | AI Servo AF III | Yes | ||
| AF Configuration Tool | Yes (Case 1-6) | |||
| EOS iTR AF | Metering Sensor's effective pixels (approx.) | 150,000 pixels | 100,000 pixels | |
| Color Information and face detection | Yes | |||