A decade later, the Canon 7D Mark II is still a powerhouse performer

Ten years ago, the Canon 7D Mark II was launched – and in many people's minds, it was the very best camera for wildlife photography.

Of course, a decade is a lifetime in camera years. So perhaps it's surprising that, despite its advanced age, Canon 7D Mark II is still an incredibly potent camera – and one that still delivers great results even today.

I must admit, I don't reach for my Canon DSLRs as often as I used to; one of the perils of reviewing the latest cameras is that there's always something newer and shinier on my shelf.

However, the last time I picked up the Canon 7D Mark II I was blown away by just how usable it still is. In fact, while I missed the modern mirrorless trimmings, I could absolutely still take this out on a wildlife shoot and have an absolute blast.

The camera's 20.2MP resolution isn't going to blow anyone away in 2024, but the secret sauce here is the APS-C sensor with its 1.6x crop factor – a secret weapon for wildlife photography! I was feeling frisky and mounted my (similarly underused) EF 135mm, which became a 216mm – ideal for animal portraits.

Pair it with something more sensible, though, like a 70-200mm (which becomes 112-320mm) and you can let rip with its 10fps continuous shooting to capture some incredible images. Canon's sensors age very well, and the shots that come out of this old workhorse still look as good as they ever did.

I also love that the Canon 7D Mark II is both weather sealed and has twin memory card slots – everything a serious outdoor shooter could ask for. My favorite thing, though, is that this is a camera with GPS – an increasing rarity these days, but I love having geodata for my images.

Obviously, like-for-like, this camera can't compare to the two that replaced it: the Canon EOS 90D (indirectly) and the Canon EOS R7 (directly). 

But the truth is, the fact that those cameras can do more doesn't make the Canon 7D Mark II any less capable. The only thing that's truly less here is the price; it can be had for as little as $300 in the US or £260 in the UK MPB.com.

If you're on a budget, or a beginner, or you've never tried sports and wildlife photography and you want to give it a go without breaking the bank, picking up a Canon 7D Mark II is a great value way to get into action shooting. 

You might be interested in the best Canon cameras on the market today, or you could double down and check out the best cameras for sports photography and the best cameras for wildlife photography.