For the size of the sensor on the 7D (APS-ish), aren't you running into diffraction limiting except at the f1.4 end of things?
In other words, more MP won't buy more detail unless the sensor size increases as well.
Yes and no.
Lets start from the beginning.
On a digital sensor there are many photo sites or photo sensors. There are 3 photo sites per pixel. Each photo site render a different color. They actually only see in black and white but there is a color filter placed over them so they are more sensitive to specific colors. The camera takes the data from each photo site and then determines the color of that one pixel. If black and white photos where all that we cared about .. we would have 3 times the current resolution.
That’s all good for colors but there is more.
Each photo site has a mini lens over it. The better the quality of the mini lens the more accurate it will be able to render a color. The more accurate the color is the sharper the image looks. But wait.. there is more… We also have something called an AA filter. This filter is placed over the sensor to purposefully degrade the image quality so we do not see Moiré patterns on clothing and other finely detailed objects which often confuses the sensor.
There is a downside to using the AA filter. It degrades the image quality and makes things slightly darker. You are losing about 25% of your cameras resolution because of the filter. There is a science to creating and implementing an excellent AA filter without causing too much image deterioration. These high quality AA filters are often saved for the high end cameras. This is why the 16mp Canon 1Dmk4 camera is able to render much more detail than the 21mp 5dmk2.
So why don’t we just remove the AA filter? Many people have and some camera manufacturers (Leaf, Leica, Kodak, Hasselblad) ship cameras without the filter. For $450 you can have your cameras AA filter removed and a clear piece of glass put in its place. (necessary step to insure other filters are placed at a correct distance from the sensor.)
http://www.maxmax.com/nikon_d700hr.htm
http://www.maxmax.com/nikon_d300HR.htm
As you can see there is a clear benefit to doing it.. but then you may find that there is a horrible disadvantage. It will all depend on the type of photography work you do.
Moiré Hell – It just gets worse as you make the image smaller.
With a sharp enough lens the 7d is able to perform quite well. I will say that if your lens is not up to snuff, any small flaws that you sometimes see become large and noticeable ones in the 7d. For the first time ever.. I have chromatic aberrations on my 70-200mm L. I can always correct them.. but its something I paid good $$ for so I didn’t have to deal with it.
To answer your question directly. Yes, there is diffraction occurring in both the digital sensor and the lens. The resolution of the 7d often outresolves even the best lenses at their sharpest settings. Still there is no denying that the 7d is able to capture more image detail even at f1.4 than a 40d can. Please keep in mind that sensor size (1.6x crop vs Full frame) has some barring on image quality but it isn’t always a conclusive tell all. Strides in technology help so manufacturers are able to create high quality photo sensors.
You can read more about it here:
http://www.clarkvision.com/imagedetail/does.pixel.size.matter/