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First impressions

Canon has unveiled a new enthusiast SLR to complement the other offerings in the EOS range. The 70D shares a few things in common with its predecessor, the soon-to-be-defunct EOS 60D, though there are several new additions to entice upgrade buyers.

What strikes you most about the spec sheet for the 70D is just how long in the tooth the top-end APS-C camera from Canon looks — the EOS 7D. It's over three years old now, so many photographers might find the 70D a better fit in certain areas, movie recording especially.

The 70D can hit 7fps in continuous shooting (compared to the 7D's 8fps) and push out 65 JPEG or 16 RAW images in sequence. It has some degree of weather sealing, though not as much as the 7D, which seems to be able to withstand just about anything. At the time of writing, we weren't able to find out a specific IP rating for the 70D.

What is most notable about the 70D is the Dual Pixel CMOS AF system. This is a new technology that Canon claims can seek and achieve focus much faster than traditional systems, which is especially useful for situations where pulling focus in video is desirable. It also means that the bane of many camera AF systems — Live View — is much quicker when it comes to focusing performance.

Dual Pixel AF works on the basis that two photodiodes are situated on each individual pixel on the sensor. They work independently in order to grab focus, and then come together for the image capture component. The Dual Pixel AF component covers around 80 per cent (17.9x12mm) of the overall sensor size (22.5x15mm). The system works on the same principle as phase-detection AF in that the lens drive is determined by the signal shift in the AF points. In theory, this system is designed to produce the same sort of swift focusing experience as the viewfinder when using Live View.

But on paper, Dual Pixel AF can only do so much. The test comes down to real-world performance in Live View focusing and video recording. In our brief time with a pre-production 70D, adjusting focus on the touchscreen felt swift and smooth compared to previous Live View implementations. You will notice the difference most when using Canon's STM lenses, which are designed for quiet focusing in video. There are, however, currently only three on the market; 18-55mm, 18-135mm and 40mm models. Fortunately, the system also works with all existing EF and EF-S lenses from Canon for regular photography.

The Dual Pixel system is different to the Hybrid AF system used by Canon on its previous SLRs, like the 700D and 100D, which operates on a combination of phase and contrast-detect AF. The 70D's regular AF system also consists of 19 cross-type points scattered throughout the frame. Like the 5D Mark III, the 70D also gets a multiple exposure mode to overlay different frames using an additive or overlay method.

Also on offer is the viewfinder, which boasts a few new additions from before, including an option for an electronic level indicator. The viewfinder provides 98 per cent coverage, and for those who like to shoot with spot metering, an overlay circle appears to show you the metering area.

Like the earlier full-frame 6D, this camera also comes with built-in Wi-Fi for sharing and transferring photos between the dedicated app and the camera, or between camera to camera. In our brief hands-on time with a pre-production 70D, the camera was able to send and receive photos from a PowerShot S110, though only in JPEG form, not RAW. Luckily, the 70D offers in-camera RAW processing with control over parameters such as white balance, picture styles, brightness, noise reduction and distortion compensation.

Canon is also claiming better high-ISO performance from the 70D over earlier cameras, with a native ISO range of 100-12,800, and expandable to 25,600 in the high settings. Creative filters come in seven different flavours: grainy black and white, soft focus, toy camera, miniature, fish eye, art bold and water painting.

Pricing will be set at dealer discretion when the camera is released in Australia come early September 2013.