T3i vs 7D Video difference

[Tariq Peter]

I have been having an ongoing debate with a few friends regarding the difference in video quality shooting in low light between the t3i (with magic lantern installed) and the 7D. According to me they are the same and I can't see any difference.

Does the 7D have a slight edge (0.1 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance?

The Dual DIGIC 4 to me has nothing to do with video quality or how the 7D performs in low light and I can't find an article to prove me wrong. Would love to hear your thougts.

[Chris Medico]

The only difference in my opinion will be in manufacturing tolerances.

I have found no visible difference in image quality between those cameras.

[John Vincent]

Agreed. I think the entire line of cameras looks a like, with the 5D Mark II's DoF being the only real difference.

In the 7D, you're paying for better weather sealing/faster still capacity, not for better over all video quality.

[Murray Christian]

Not the 600D, but I have seen a few comparisons (which I can't find right now) of the 550D, 60D, 7D and 5DII side by side which do suggest some differences.
It's as if the noise is progressively less controlled down the line: 60's better than the 550. 7D better than the 60 etc. Not much though. There's also some differences between the ISOs like 3200 was quite good on the 60D and not as good on the 7D and so on. Which is probably something to do with that non-native ISO usage malarkey that sites don't usually test for and how it differs from one model to the next. But I'm just guessing there. This kind of thing may even vary from unit to unit.

Why the difference? Maybe things are slightly better constructed, electrically speaking, as they go up in price. Slightly higher quality components. But I'm just guessing there as well. That's just my old audiophile comprehension talking. I don't really know. All bar the 5D use the same sensor and all the same processors so I'm thinking the difference isn't there.

I have used all of them at one time or another and, while I'm just some guy on the internet, I think anyone who tells you the video quality is significantly different between them is talking nonsense. The 5D2 has a certain extra smoothness to it, but that's really it for all practical purposes. The others are interchangeable.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by John Vincent

Agreed. I think the entire line of cameras looks a like, with the 5D Mark II's DoF being the only real difference.

In the 7D, you're paying for better weather sealing/faster still capacity, not for better over all video quality.

In addition to shallower DOF, the 5D2 has slightly larger pixels and, hence, slightly lower noise. It's also a better match for fast primes. You can get lenses from 24mm to 85mm at f/1.4 or wider, which takes you from wide to tele with speed. With a crop cam, your widest fast prime is now a 38mm equivalent. On the flip side, you can get the EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS lens for crop cams, providing f/2.8 speed and IS from wide to tele. On the 5D you only get f/4 for the normal range IS zoom.

In addition to weather sealing and faster stills, the 7D offers HD monitoring when recording, but no magic lantern and no manual audio.

Tradeoffs, tradeoffs!

[Kin Lau]

No noticeable difference...I have both.

Any reason why they would be different is because the settings were not the same, eg ISO, WB etc.

Without ML, the 1/2 and 1/3 stop ISO values and WB by K are not available. So someone testing with a 7D _can_ get cleaner video if they used the 160, 320, 640 ISO settings and the T3i was stock w/o ML.

If anything, the 7D heats up faster, and can have more read noise than the T3i, but this is extremely variable and hard to test.

As also mentioned, any mass manufactured item will have certain tolerances, so you will get samples from each model that will be better or worse than the average.

[Colin Rowe]

Originally Posted by Tariq Peter

I have been having an ongoing debate with a few friends regarding the difference in video quality shooting in low light between the t3i (with magic lantern installed) and the 7D. According to me they are the same and I can't see any difference.

Does the 7D have a slight edge (0.1 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance?

No difference whatsoever, as has been mentioned many times before

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

I have found no difference between the two in video mode. However, the 7D is a far better camera with more options for comfortable shooting as opposed to the T3i.

The easiest way to know is conduct a blind test. Never fails!

[Ervin Farkas]

Do a side by side comparison here:

Side-by-side camera comparison: Digital Photography Review

[David St. Juskow]

Originally Posted by Sareesh Sudhakaran

I have found no difference between the two in video mode. However, the 7D is a far better camera with more options for comfortable shooting as opposed to the T3i.

See, I would disagree. In fact, I would rather (and have chosen to) shoot with a T2i than a 7D or 5D- especially if you've got Magic Lantern running. There's just no comparison; video quality is exactly the same (with the 7D. the 5D, in low light, is better. But with a lit shot, I defy you to tell the difference in a blind shootout!)

But the T2i / T3i's screen is miles ahead of the more expensive models. Focusing is instantly easier, faster, better. You don't need a monitor to get an accurate, critically focused shot. You do with the 5D- the screen just sucks, plain and simple. With ML installed, I can even focus using the information on the display (focal distance) if need be- again, way faster and easier than with a 5D or 7D's limitations. And the depth of field on the 5D is so shallow, it's ridiculous. I know that look is in vogue right now, but skip 5 years ahead in time when everyone's sick of it, and you'll be happy with the T2i's output.

On top of that, SD cards are more practical and cheaper than CF cards, another small bonus.

Do a test, but I'm telling you, those rebels, at 1/4 the price, are hands-down winners! I shot second camera with someone and their $40k panasonic varicam, not to mention their $30k lens, and they ended up using most of my footage in the edit, just because they liked the look more. Granted, I had the canon 70-200 lens on it, so yes, it's all about the lens, but still, the T2i's compressed HD competes with anything else out there, at only 800 bucks. Good luck beating that in 2012!

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

Maybe the following features of the 7D are not important enough for your purposes:
1. HD- HDMI out for critical focus-pulling and monitoring
2. Weather-proof body
3. Pro-level still photography features like 100% pentaprism viewfinder and a wireless trigger
4. Faster shutter speed
5. Longer battery life

I own a 550D myself, but don't use it for video.

[John Stakes]

I believe the T3i actually has HDMI out, as well as a wireless transmitter for Speedlite flashes. A grip takes care of the battery issue. As far as shutter speeds, DOF and other aspects of these bodies...they have nothing to do with actual picture quality. A true comparison will have each unit setup in an ideal (well lit) situation. A step further would be to test them in low light, contrast, and on down the list. Throwing Magic Lantern into the mix isn't really doing a fair comparison unless it's run on all cameras IMO.

Extensive comparisons give us more info on the cameras, and show us where one might have an advantage...but for the most part it's just fun/informative conversation. Any competent individual with one of these cameras can produce a similar product. The key advantage of the more expesive units is flexibility.

JS


EDIT: I just realized my comment doesn't answer the OP. But as others have said, there doesn't seem to be a noticeable difference. You may not get a better answer than that anytime soon.

[Greg Fiske]

The t3i and 7d share the same sensor so how could it be different? The 7d vs 5d, there is a difference and you could tell the difference shooting the same subject with both cameras.

[Brett Sherman]

"Throwing Magic Lantern into the mix isn't really doing a fair comparison unless it's run on all cameras IMO."

I don't know why that is. Magic Lantern is available for T3i and not for the 7D. That's just the way it is. It's how it will be used in the field that is a true comparison. If you plan to use Magic Lantern for the T3i then by all means that should be what you compare the 7D to.

[Ned Soltz]

The reason that ML is not available for 7D is very simple-- the ML folks have not been able to hack the firmware yet. I use ML on my T2i and follow the ML Wiki. They are working on 7D and I have no doubt that at some point they will "krack" it. My next DSLR will be a 60D. Love that articulating screen.

Ned Soltz