These are two of the best APS-C mirrorless cameras you can buy today. Both the Canon EOS R7 and the Sony a6700 provide a lot of bang for their buck. These cameras offer a great combination of features and value, making them attractive options for photographers and videographers. In this comparison, we’ll examine how some of their key features match up.
We’ve done a detailed review of both of these APS-C stalwarts. Let’s briefly pore over our key feelings about both of them. We had some mixed feelings about the Sony a6700. In our review, we said:
If you own Sony’s full-frame cameras, I don’t think that the Sony a6700 is worth getting because you’re more or less paying for a smaller version of that same camera you have. I’d instead wait for the Sony a7c II. But if you’re getting a camera for the first time and want to spend time with it, mostly outdoors and traveling, then the Sony a6700 is a decent choice. Overall, it’s also one of the most affordable if you’re also considering lenses
The Canon EOS R7 almost immediately won our hearts during our testing. In our review, we noted that:
I’m blown away! You couldn’t get me to believe that Canon would make such a great APS-C camera for such a cheap price. Bird photographers, wildlife photographers, sports photographers and more are bound to really like it. What’s more, if you shoot Canon RF cameras in the full-frame segment, you’re bound to want this as it’s very capable
Table of Contents
Innovations
Neither of these cameras introduced anything particularly innovative to photography. However, we did note that the EOS R7 was the highest-megapixel APS-C camera on the market we tested at the time of its release.
Ergonomics
We look at the ergonomic highlights comparison between these two cameras here.
Rangefinder Style Attraction
Long before the A7C camera was launched, Sony introduced rangefinder-style bodies in their a67 series of cameras. They’ve fine-tuned this in the a6700 and introduced a much more comfortable grip in this model. The camera, as a whole, feels quite comfortable to use. But we wish those buttons were a lot better in quality. That would have made them a lot more pleasing to use. And still no focus point control joystick.
An APS-C Flagship
The Canon EOS R7 is arguably the flagship of Canon’s APS-C camera line. Like its full-frame siblings, the EOS R7 brings down the shutter over its sensor when you want to change lenses. This camera has a focus point joystick to its distinct advantage. No comparison here; the EOS R7 wins on many points.
Build Quality
We don’t skimp on build quality tests at The Phoblographer. Especially weather sealing tests.
Good Weather Resistance
The Sony a6700 has more than average weather resistance, even if it isn’t waterproof. We did some tests with it to test the resistance claims, and it fared pretty well. We just wish those buttons on the back of the camera were made better. The material used to make them kind of feels like an afterthought. Plasticky with distasteful tactile feedback to them.
An All-Weather Star Performer
Rain, sun, or sand, the Canon EOS R7 held up very well to our weather resistance tests. No dust ever made its way to the sensor, especially while changing lenses. The R7 feels like it can take quite a bit of usage in harsh weather conditions. Lightweight and comfortable, you can hold this camera all day without feeling much strain. That grip really helps with this.
Ease Of Use
If you photograph erratic or fast-moving subjects and want greater control of the focus points, the lack of a joystick will slow you down. Sony really should have introduced a joystick with this model. But then, even in their similarly designed full-frame models, it’s conspicuously missing. As a result, we recommend using focus and recompose mode with this camera for most kinds of photography. This might just be the faster route to choose. We also noticed a lot of dust on the sensor during our tests with the a6700. In comparison, hardly any made its way to the sensor on the EOS R7.
The R7 is comfortable to hold and lightweight. But pair it with a L-series lens, and you might notice a weight imbalance. As well as this camera works with Canon lenses, the performance of 3rd party lenses with the R7 didn’t feel quite right. The autofocus on a Samyang 85mm f1.4 RF mounted to this camera wasn’t exactly great. The R7 also couldn’t recognize the aperture values on the IRIX 150mm f2.8 lens. Hopefully, Canon will fix such issues with future firmware updates. Unfortunately, as of the most recent update we tested in June 2023, it’s still an issue.
Neither of these cameras has an inbuilt flash. Thankfully, both support USB-C charging of the battery.
Autofocus Comparison
Arguably, autofocus performance is the most crucial factor to distinguish camera models today.
Not As Fast As We’d Like
The focus on the Sony a6700 seems slightly crippled. It delivers its best AF performance when the exposure preview is disabled. But that’s not really why we buy mirrorless cameras, do we? The WYSIWYG abilities of such cameras are one of their main appeal factors. This camera isn’t all that great for birding, especially when paired with Tamron lenses. And you have to ask, who’d use the a6700 with a G-master lens? Where the Sony a6700 performed like a wizard was in street photography. With human detection AF mode activated, it blazed through every street scene we tested it in. Even if it didn’t quite nail the focus every time. Changing the focus from one face to another is a pain without a joystick, and you must use the touchscreen.
Exceptional Almost Every Time
When photographing fast-moving subjects, especially those coming towards the camera, the EOS R7 did very well in well-lit scenarios. It even holds focus on people when it temporarily loses sight of the subject. In low light conditions, exposure preview doesn’t help keep up this AF performance if scene detection is enabled. But turn this off, and it performs almost flawlessly. We love the vehicle detection performance too. Our preferred tips for superior AF on the EOS R7 are:
- Set AF-on to tracking
- Use M-fn to change the focusing points
- Use the touchscreen to quickly switch AI focusing types
- Utilize the + button to servo and single
- Use selective areas with tracking set to AF-on
Image Quality
Which camera comes out on top?
a6700 – How Do High ISO Files Look So Good?
APS-C sensors have gotten really good in the last 5 years. The scattered noise and soft detail issues that plagued them in the 2010s seem to have vanished. For best results when shooting over ISO 3200 with the Sony a6700, we recommend overexposing by a stop. It’s far superior to what we’ve seen from Fujifilm’s XH2s and on par with the Canon EOS R7. Take a look at more images we took from the Sony a6700 here.
EOS R7- Insanely Good. You Have To See It
If I asked you to guess what ISO this shot was taken at, chances are you wouldn’t guess anything higher than ISO 1600. But this was taken at ISO 12800, and the level of detail it produced is unbelievably good for a crop sensor camera. The JPEG output on the EOS R7 is fascinating. More high ISO images among others taken with the EOS R7, can be found here.
Conclusion
Which is the best?
Sony a6700 – Three Stars
We still feel that the Sony a6700 was designed to live in the shadow of the Sony a7r V and the more powerful Sony a1. It’s a good camera, but it’s not really what we’d call a great one. There’s only a single card slot. That viewfinder should really have had a pivoting option. And it really should have been released much earlier. Having said that, if you’re looking for a rangefinder-type APS-C version of some of Sony’s higher-end cameras, there’s no similar model for comparison.
Canon EOS R7 – Four Stars
Canon took all the autofocus goodness of the full-frame EOS R3 and neatly packed it into the EOS R7. It outperforms the DSLR 7D series from which it inherits the Canon APS-C flagship segment. But our biggest gripe is that it needs Canon L-series glass for flawless results. Lower-end lenses just don’t cut it when it comes to AF performance on the EOS R7. We still love that high ISO output though.
Tech Specs Comparison
Sony a6700 | Canon EOS R7 | |
Sensor | BSI-CMOS | CMOS |
Megapixels (effective) | 26 | 33 |
ISO Range | 100-32000 (expandable 50-102400) | 100-32000 (expandable to 51200) |
Max shutter speed | 1/4000 sec (manual) 1/8000 sec (electronic) | 1/8000 sec (manual) 1/16000 sec (electronic) |
Exposure Compensation | +5 to -5 EV | +3 to -3 EV |
Continuous Shooting (stills) | 11 fps | 15 fps |
Autofocus Points | 759 | 651 |
Viewfinder Resolution | 1,036,800 dots | 2,360,000 |
LCD size | 3 inch | 3 inch |
Card slot(s) | UHS-II SD | 2x UHS-II SD slots |
Dimensions (W x H x D) | 4.8 x 2.7 x 3″ (122 x 69 x 75.1 mm) | 5.2 x 3.6 x 3.6″ (132 x 90.4 x 91.7 mm) |
Weight (Body Only) | 0.9 lb / 411 g | 1.16 lb / 530 g |