Thought of many details, but not quite at the level of time.

Again, it is my schwergefallebn again, me to decide between three and four stars. But even at the risk that I'll get here very strong headwind, I forgive only two star, in the hope that my report by reading this and makes himself an image.

The 7D Mark II is an extremely ingenious and robust camera. Canon has really improved here very much detail and thought a lot of little things that make life easier.

Autofocus:
Autofocus is simply brilliant: 65 cross-type sensors that individually and can be moved in various groupings. Subjectively, I also feel that it is against the 7D again become a little faster, but that should decide the major trade magazines. But not only the classic FAF knows how to inspire even the CMPOs autofocus fun. Butter Soft transitions and no trace of pumps. Particularly successful, I find also the possibility that you can adjust the speed of the. For videographers is a valuable option that no longer want to miss one.

HANDLING:
From housing I feel apart from some details no major differences to 7D. But you can clearly see that Canon has oriented here at the 5D Mark III. The two cameras are moving closer together and the new 7D is virtually a 5D Mark III with APS-C sensor. Many things are also here really succeeded. A real bubble level in the viewfinder more user menus, the new AF-range switch (which can be freely programmed), two slots for memory cards, a USB cable with strain relief and finally a rubber cover that you can finally open so far that you the cable can plug without contortions.
Those are little things that are probably in a few feature lists, but sweeten an everyday life.

PERFORMANCE:
The speed has been increased to a whopping 10 frames per second - for sports photographers a friend, also the buffer is big enough that you can enter here correspondingly continuous fire (particularly in JPEG). Verbesser was also the ISO performance. At 16,000 I have the impression that everything is a little muddy (because you have the noise well ironed with a blur), but 12,800 is impressive real.

NEW FEATURES:
For me also are very practical the timer and continuous shooting functions that could previously only be retrofitted on additional hardware. Have never understood why one is not already implemented in the firmware. Furthermore, the camera has finally GPS. Finally there is also a long-awaited headphone output, so you can leveling the sound reasonable at videos and also a GPS function expect a lot of people.

NOT ON THE AMOUNT OF TIME:
But now to the crux: Why the hell will award the type only three stars ...?
To put it briefly: The camera is not on the cutting edge. The next worse 70D -The next worse model, mind you - has WiFi (WLAN), a folding screen and touch screen. Why the hell Canon has omitted from the 7D? Ok, that folding displays are not for everyone is, of course, but a touch screen you can in my opinion really expect in 2015. Especially the brilliant Video autofocus 7D plays its strength only with a touch screen properly (select the multi-point is a cramp).
Each 100-euro phone now has integrated WiFi, why there is something not at a camera costs almost 2000 euros? Especially for tethered shooting would have been the optimum in order to control the DSLR without additional equipment with a mobile phone can. Who has ever made macros at ground level, it is greatly appreciated not having to mess about with USB cables or external wifi adapters since.
Very sad is that there are still no 4K video and no video formats with more than 60fps (now the iPhone provides video to 240 fps). A few little things annoy me personally, in particular, that the zoom function is dressed to the left and one single so no longer blind and can zoom out as its predecessor. Also, the display could have been bigger and make it a proximity sensor can be missed, so that it turns off automatically if you hold the camera to your eye.

One has the feeling, Canon stingy here with new features was a bit short. Sure, the 7D is marketed as a sports camera. But a lot of people taking pictures (like me) semi-professional, and want a high-quality all-round camera with a fast autofocus. In the 70D I lack GPS and the AF is too slow, with the 7D2, there is no WiFi and no touchscreen, Had Wireless LAN connection at least in the optional battery grip, because I had been understanding. But currently there is Wifi only as bulky external add-on option, the one at that costs a hefty 700 euros and additionally needs to be connected to a cable with the camera.

CONCLUSION:
The 7D Mark II is a successful update. Many minor improvements that are fun. For that Canon has, however, allowed more than five years for this, today missing obvious things such as touch screen or WLAN.
You can not go wrong with a lot of 7D Mark II. But it is already outdated with appearance in principle - for lack of a touch screen and Wi-Fi.

For more conservative photographers who do not need newer features such as touch screen, and the like, the 7D Mark II is definitely a buy recommendation. Who needs the camera mainly for video work, which engages better to 70D, the touchscreen thanks is more appropriate. For macro photographers who 70D is due to the folding displays, probably the better choice. In sport, however, the camera plays its strengths: The high frame rate and the ingenious autofocus.

Therefore: great camera, but some downer that would not have been necessary. We can only hope that we do not need again to wait five years for a successor.