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by Roger N. Clark
This review includes an analysis of noise, dynamic range, and full well capacity of a Canon R7 camera. The Canon R7 an APS-C crop sensor 32.2 -megapixel mirrorless camera.
Contents
Introduction
Results: Canon R7 sensor analysis
Sensitivity
Fixed Pattern (Banding) Noise
Stacking Fixed Pattern (Banding) Noise
Dark Current and Thermal Noise
Autofocus Tracking Setup
Some Negatives
Conclusions
Final Comments
Appendix 1 Table A1: ISO 100 Sensor Data and Analysis
References/ Notes
Disclosure
Introduction
This review is under construction. I am publishing a partial review because of the pseudo-fixed pattern banding noise in the Canon R7. The Canon R7 is a versatile camera for general photography. I bought the R7 as a compliment to my R5. With smaller pixels, it gives more reach (more pixels on subject) than the R5 (which has 4.39 micron pixels compared to the R7's 3.2 micron pixels). I also have and use a Canon 90D DSLR which is also a 32 megapixel camera with 3.2 micron pixels. I bought the R7 for its 4K HDR (10-bits/pixel). The Canon 90D also has 4K,, but not only standard dynamic range (SDR) with 8-bits per pixel. I wanted the better 4K for wildlife photography. The R7 does well at tracking wildlife action photography, for example, Figure 1b. The R7 has delivered on all fronts except one: very low light astrophotography.
The R7, unlike other modern cameras that I have tested suffers from banding that is greater than similar era and even older cameras. For example, the Canon 90D has excellent low level uniformity. The R7 banding is at a low level and shadow areas in regular images may not ever see this problem. But in astrophotography, where one is boosting very faint signals this can become a problem. Figure 1b shows a nice image of three galaxies, and no banding is visible. That is because I spend a lot of time mitigating the banding, and the banding limited how faint I could stretch the image data to bring out faint details.
To better understand the technical details of this review, please see:
EOS R7 Mirrorless Digital Camera
Results: Canon R7 sensor analysis
Table 1a photonstophotos derived results
How to Interpret Digital Camera Sensor Reviews:
Sensor Noise, Thermal Noise, Dynamic Range, and Full Well Analysis .
Please support Clarkvision; make a donation (link below).
Click here to go to B&H Photo and Purchase the Canon EOS R7 Camera.
Figure 1a. Tawny Eagle on the Serengeti, Tanzania, made with a Canon R7. Illustrating the R7 action
photography
Gallery image with more details.
Figure 1b. The Leo Triplet: Galaxies M65, M66, and NGC 3628, made with a Canon R7, and calibrated
for natural color. To make this image, I used a tracker with low periodic
error, a stock Canon R7 mirrorless camera, a stock camera lens.
Gallery image with more details.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Read noise Read noise pixel gain Dynamic Read noise
iso electrons DN gain e/DN Range this study
electrons
1600 0.101
Dynamic Range assumes full well in DN is 2^14 - 2048 = 14336 DN
Read noise in electrons:
photonstophotos.net input referred read noise for Canon R7
Read noise in DN:
https://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/RN_ADU.htm#Canon%20EOS%20R7_14
Derived gain = Read noise in electrons / Read noise in DN.
Table 1b Camera Data
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Camera introduced: 7/2022 Sensor size = 22.3 x 14.8 mm (APS-C) Pixel pitch: 3.2 microns. Image size: 6960 x 4640 pixels = 32.3 megapixels. Offset= 2048 at ISO 1600 -------------------------------------------------
Sensitivity
Fixed Pattern (Banding) Noise
Table 2 shows noise in image form. The pattern (banding) noise of the R7 is low but significant for astrophotography. The banding is variable from frame to frame and does not subtract out (see the second image in Table 2), thus it is pseudo-fixed pattern noise. The magnitude of the banding increases with exposure time, roughly linearly! There may also be a temperature dependence, but more data are needed to confirm this.
| Table 2. Apparent Noise, 1-minute dark frames, Full Image | |
 | ISO 1600 Single image shows banding pattern noise. Image Range: -2.00 to 2.00 electrons about the mean Full image statistics: min= 182 electrons max= 1655 electrons mean= 206 electrons ( 2041 DN) standard deviation= 3.74 electrons 0 pixels =zero (0.000000%) |
 | ISO 1600 Image pair subtraction: & & & banding pattern noise is still apparent Image Range: -2.00 to 2.00 electrons about the mean Full image statistics: min= -1448 electrons max= 1448 electrons mean= 0 electrons ( 0 DN) standard deviation= 2.92 electrons |
Conclusions
The Canon R7 is an excellent camera for general photography and 4K HDR video, but has a limitation in astrophotography due to the banding problem. Better cameras for astrophotography in the Canon line that I have data for are the Canon R5 and 90D.
The R7 banding problem is more than a single unit. Besides my R7 camera, I have data from a friend's R7 which shows the same problem. There are also reports online of others seeing banding problems in R7s.
The R7 is a great camera if you don't do astrophotography. I will be keeping my R7 for general photography and 4K HDR video.
See my Canon R7 gallery for many examples illustrating what this camera can do.
EOS R7 Mirrorless Digital Camera
Click here to go to B&H Photo and Purchase the Canon EOS R7 Camera.
Appendix 1
References
Notes:
DN is "Data Number." That is the number in the file for each pixel. I'm quoting the luminance level (although red, green and blue are almost the same in the cases I cited).
16-bit signed integer: -32768 to +32767
16-bit unsigned integer: 0 to 65535
Photoshop uses signed integers, but the 16-bit tiff is unsigned integer (correctly read by ImagesPlus).
Procedures for performing this analysis are described in: Procedures for Evaluating Digital Camera Noise, Dynamic Range, and Full Well Capacities; Canon 1D Mark II Analysis
Disclosure
Roger Clark is a B&H Photo affiliate. The affiliate links to a product simply allow the ability to buy the product for the same price as if the purchase was made through B&H directly. By using the link you support this site and enable it to remain active with new reviews and information. Please support this site.
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http://clarkvision.com/articles/evaluation-canon-7dii
First published December 22, 2025.
Last updated December 22, 2025.