Canon EOS 7D Mark II vs Pentax 645Z

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS 7D Mark II and the Pentax 645Z, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II was introduced in September 2014 and Pentax 645Z was introduced in April 2014. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS 7D Mark II over Pentax 645Z.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax 645Z over Canon EOS 7D Mark II.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has a 3.0" Fixed screen with 1,040k dot resolution and Pentax 645Z has a 3.2" Tilting screen with 1,037k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Pentax 645Z very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting.

Viewfinder

Cameras have built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinders. Canon EOS 7D Mark II has 100% coverage with 1x (0.63x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Pentax 645Z has 98% coverage with 0.56x (0.71x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II features a 20.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.4 x 15 mm and a total area of 336 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 16,000 and expands to 100 - 51,200 in boosted mode. Pentax 645Z features a 51.4 megapixel Medium format CMOS sensor with dimensions of 44 x 33 mm and a total area of 1089 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 204,800.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS 7D Mark II is equipped with Dual DIGIC 6 processor and can take pictures up to 5472 x 3648 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4104 x 2736 (M-Raw), 3648 x 2432, 2736 x 1824, 1920 x 1080, 720 x 480 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Pentax 645Z is equipped with PRIME III processor and can take pictures up to 8256 x 6192 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 6912 x 5184, 5376 x4032, 1920 x 1080 with 4:3 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has Canon EF/EF-S lens mount and Pentax 645Z has Pentax 645_AF2 lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Canon EOS 7D Mark II its crop factor is equal to 1.6x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.6. Due to Medium format sensor in Pentax 645Z its crop factor is equal to 0.79x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 0.79.

No Low-Pass Filter on Pentax 645Z

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Pentax 645Z. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

No Image Stabilization

The cameras do not have image stabilization. On Canon EOS 7D Mark II it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Pentax 645Z nothing can be done. On Pentax 645Z it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Canon EOS 7D Mark II nothing can be done.

Built-in GPS on Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which allows you to automatically tag the location where you took your photos. You can later categorize, organize, and search for photos based on location. This is very useful for travel and outdoor photographers for documenting the locations where images were captured.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in GPS.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (5 GBit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS 7D Mark II has a Mini HDMI and Pentax 645Z has a Micro Type D HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS 7D Mark II comes with LP-E6N battery pack with battery life of 670 shots and Pentax 645Z comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 650 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) and one for CompactFlash (UDMA 7). Pentax 645Z has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slots.

Shutter

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has Electronically Controlled Vertical-travel Mechanical Focal-plane shutter. Pentax 645Z has Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS 7D Mark II, and up to 1/4000 sec on Pentax 645Z. Canon EOS 7D Mark II can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps. Pentax 645Z can shoot continuously up to 3.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 65 (65 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax 645Z has 27 focusing points. They both have detection range from -3 to +18 EV

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Pentax 645Z range from 0 to +20 EV and -1 to +21 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS 7D Mark II and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax 645Z.

Flash

Canon EOS 7D Mark II has a built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. Pentax 645Z has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or X-Sync Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Canon EOS 7D Mark II and 1/125 sec on Pentax 645Z.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II body has dimensions of 149 x 112 x 78 mm (5.87 x 4.41 x 3.07") and Pentax 645Z body has dimensions of 156 x 117 x 123 mm (6.14 x 4.61 x 4.84"). Canon EOS 7D Mark II weighs 910 g (2.01 lb / 32.10 oz) and Pentax 645Z weighs 1550 g (3.42 lb / 54.67 oz).

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Pentax 645Z

149 mm

112 mm

156 mm

117 mm

112 mm

117 mm

78 mm

123 mm