Canon EOS 400D vs. Canon EOS 7D

Comparison

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Canon EOS 400D

Canon EOS 7D

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Megapixels

10.10

18.00

Max. image resolution

3888 x 2592

5184 x 3456

Sensor

Sensor type

CMOS

Sensor size

22.2 x 14.8 mm

22.3 x 14.9 mm

Sensor resolution

3893 x 2595

5196 x 3464

Diagonal

26.68 mm

26.82 mm

Sensor size comparison

Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.

Learn more about sensor sizes »

Actual sensor size

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »

	vs
1	:	1.01
(ratio)

Canon EOS 400D		Canon EOS 7D

Surface area:

328.56 mm²

332.27 mm²

Difference: 3.71 mm² (1%)

7D sensor is slightly bigger than 400D sensor (only 1% difference).

Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 3 year gap between Canon 400D (2006) and Canon 7D (2009). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.

Pixel pitch

5.7 µm

4.29 µm

Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.

The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.

Difference: 1.41 µm (33%)

Pixel pitch of 400D is approx. 33% higher than pixel pitch of 7D.

Pixel area

32.49 µm²

18.4 µm²

Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.

Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.

Relative pixel sizes:

Pixel area difference: 14.09 µm² (77%)

A pixel on Canon 400D sensor is approx. 77% bigger than a pixel on Canon 7D.

Pixel density

3.08 MP/cm²

5.43 MP/cm²

Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.

Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.

Difference: 2.35 µm (76%)

Canon 7D has approx. 76% higher pixel density than Canon 400D.

To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.

Specs

Canon 400D

Canon 7D

Crop factor

1.62

1.61

Total megapixels

10.50

19.00

Effective megapixels

10.10

18.00

Optical zoom

Digital zoom

ISO sensitivity

Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600

Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, (12800 with boost)

RAW

Manual focus

Normal focus range

Macro focus range

Focal length (35mm equiv.)

Aperture priority

Yes

Max. aperture

Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)

n/a

Metering

Centre weighted, Matrix, Spot

Centre weighted, Evaluative, Spot, Spot-AF

Exposure compensation

±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)

Shutter priority

Yes

Min. shutter speed

Bulb+30 sec

30 sec

Max. shutter speed

1/4000 sec

1/8000 sec

Built-in flash

External flash

Viewfinder

Optical (pentamirror)

Optical (pentaprism)

White balance presets

Screen size

2.5"

Screen resolution

230,000 dots

920,000 dots

Video capture

Max. video resolution

1920x1080 (30p/25p/24p)

Storage types

CompactFlash type I, CompactFlash type II, Microdrive

USB

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)

HDMI

Wireless

GPS

Battery

AA (2) batteries (NiMH recommended)

Lithium-Ion LP-E6 rechargeable battery

Weight

556 g

860 g

Dimensions

126 x 94 x 65 mm

148.2 x 110 x 73.5 mm

Year

2006

2009

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Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:

Diagonal = √

w² + h²

where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Canon 400D diagonal

w = 22.20 mm
h = 14.80 mm

Diagonal = √

22.20² + 14.80²

= 26.68 mm

Canon 7D diagonal

w = 22.30 mm
h = 14.90 mm

Diagonal = √

22.30² + 14.90²

= 26.82 mm

Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

400D sensor area

Width = 22.20 mm
Height = 14.80 mm

Surface area = 22.20 × 14.80 = 328.56 mm²

7D sensor area

Width = 22.30 mm
Height = 14.90 mm

Surface area = 22.30 × 14.90 = 332.27 mm²

Pixel pitch

Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:

Pixel pitch =	sensor width in mm	× 1000
	sensor resolution width in pixels

400D pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor resolution width = 3893 pixels

Pixel pitch =	22.20	× 1000	= 5.7 µm
	3893

7D pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels

Pixel pitch =	22.30	× 1000	= 4.29 µm
	5196

Pixel area

The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:

Pixel area = pixel pitch²

You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:

Pixel area =	sensor surface area in mm²
	effective megapixels

400D pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.7 µm

Pixel area = 5.7² = 32.49 µm²

7D pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.29 µm

Pixel area = 4.29² = 18.4 µm²

Pixel density

Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:

Pixel density = (	sensor resolution width in pixels	)² / 1000000
	sensor width in cm

One could also use this formula:

Pixel density =	effective megapixels × 1000000	/ 10000
	sensor surface area in mm²

400D pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 3893 pixels
Sensor width = 2.22 cm

Pixel density = (3893 / 2.22)² / 1000000 = 3.08 MP/cm²

7D pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels
Sensor width = 2.23 cm

Pixel density = (5196 / 2.23)² / 1000000 = 5.43 MP/cm²

Sensor resolution

Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.

1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.

2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:

(X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000 →

X = √	effective megapixels × 1000000
	r

3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:

Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X

400D sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.20 mm
Sensor height = 14.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 10.10

r = 22.20/14.80 = 1.5

X = √	10.10 × 1000000	= 2595
	1.5

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2595 × 1.5 = 3893
Resolution vertical: X = 2595

Sensor resolution = 3893 x 2595

7D sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.30 mm
Sensor height = 14.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.00

r = 22.30/14.90 = 1.5

X = √	18.00 × 1000000	= 3464
	1.5

Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3464 × 1.5 = 5196
Resolution vertical: X = 3464

Sensor resolution = 5196 x 3464

Crop factor

Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.

Crop factor =	43.27 mm
	sensor diagonal in mm

400D crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 26.68 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 1.62
	26.68

7D crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 26.82 mm

Crop factor =	43.27	= 1.61
	26.82

35 mm equivalent aperture

Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).

400D equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Canon 400D, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon 400D is 1.62

7D equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Canon 7D, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon 7D is 1.61

More comparisons of Canon 400D:

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