So I have both of these cams and I don't think that DXOMark makes much sense when comparing them. I regularly shoot with both and noticed that I tend to get better photos with the 7d. So I did a very quick test while shooting with both.
Processed with Lightroom. Did some exposure compensation (0, +2 and +5 stops) to take a look at the shadow quality.
http://hmcindie.pp.fi/5n_7d_test/Don't worry about the sharpness, was mostly looking at the dynamic range.
5n is shown to be better in lowlight and having more dynamic range than the 7d. I feel that this is not true. When doing 6400 ISO they are almost exactly alike. The 5n has odd horizontal stripes with light sources (it also handles highlights a bit worse). The 7d is a bit worse in ISO 100 as the extreme shadows has vertical sensor noise. But the usable material is about the same.
Now why is the score so different with DXOMark? Every other review place places the 5n sensor as about the same quality as the 7d. This confirms my own experiences (though I do prefer the 7d slightly).
Still the 5n gets a considerably better lowlight score? The sensor noise on the 7d is slightly better than the 5n especially when doing lowlight stuff. Less chroma noise. Other places like dpreview confirm this. DXOMark doesn't make sense.
5n also has a tendency to overbloom. Edges of contrast tend to bloom to the sides more than using the same lens on the 7d. Easy to spot when doing night time long exposure photos.
It just kinda bothers me as everyone is always claiming that the Sony sensors are MUCH better in lowlight than the old Canon 7d stuff. Which they aren't. The 5n has the same sensor as the nex-6. Jpeg quality is better but I shoot everything raw.
