Canon 7D mk2 owners thread.

Not much different to the MkI then, great camera apart from the sensor
Nicest camera I have ever owned for handling, but the image quality was less than great.

By the sounds of it same again, no doubt it's selling well though

Is the low pass filter strong again? It was in the mki which I don't think helped much
 
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I don't think there's an issue with the quality unless you shoot raw and have some kind of aversion to applying noise reduction. The jpegs out of the camera look pretty decent at high ISO and so do the shots I process. Then again I never had much of an issue with the IQ from my previous 70d although I usually avoided going over ISO 800 where possible but for some reason I don't with this 7d2. Maybe I just bought into the hype and I ended up realising it wasn't that bad after all? As long as you don't plan to crop much then I have no issues.

This turned out alright for ISO 2500

Minky - Explored by Phal44, on Flickr
 
High ISO very little in it but at lower ISO marked increase in dynamic range in Nikons favour. 1DX has approx 1/3 stop disadvantage to D4S so nothing to worry about there. Nikons 3d tracking seems very good also but as I never use Canons version thats not an issue for me either.

Only camera i would buy in Nikons range is D750 or D810 and then only for landscapes where , certainly in the D810's instance, the dynamic range and resolution are very attractive features.

I dont have any images from mine to form my own opinion due to work and weather but from messing around with it i'm happy enough. Looking forward to having a go with it in a more serious way after xmas.

The only issue I keep coming across is that some bodies front and back focus randomly. Mine seems fine and hopefully it will remain so.
 
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Nice price drop to £1399 today at Digital Depot or £1299 a couple of days ago at HDEW.
 
Mines going back due to focus issues and personally i need a lot better % keepers straight out of the box.
 
Neil B said:
Mines going back due to focus issues and personally i need a lot better % keepers straight out of the box.
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....Focus issues clearly aren't going to offer you many keepers and I greatly sympathise. However, what aspects of the 7D Mark II otherwise are causing you to come to the conclusion that you "need a lot better % keepers out of the box"? - What does that even mean? Isn't the % of keepers down to the photographer? What other camera which you are used to and fluid with are you comparing the 7D2 with?
 
Neil B said:
Mines going back due to focus issues and personally i need a lot better % keepers straight out of the box.
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And mine,
368 exposures, 3 in focus keepers. I wont work out the % rate, but needless to say, its small.
I am used to a 7Dmk1 and am using the same lenses!!
I have tried many different settings and have done target tests with the camera on a tripod, it changes between totally not locking on, to both front and back focussing so I cant apply maf. When it does lock on its good. I believe it will be a very good body when its sorted. Till then if I get a refund I'll wait for the modifications to be applied.
 
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RedRobin said:
....Focus issues clearly aren't going to offer you many keepers and I greatly sympathise. However, what aspects of the 7D Mark II otherwise are causing you to come to the conclusion that you "need a lot better % keepers out of the box"? - What does that even mean? Isn't the % of keepers down to the photographer? What other camera which you are used to and fluid with are you comparing the 7D2 with?
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See below, and yes i have had one or two in my time :rolleyes:

Trev4 said:
And mine,
368 exposures, 3 in focus keepers. I wont work out the % rate, but needles to say, its small.
I am used to a 7Dmk1 and am using the same lenses!!
I have tried many different settings and have done target tests with the camera on a tripod, it changes between totally not locking on, to both front and back focussing so I cant apply maf. When it does lock on its good. I believe it will be a very good body when its sorted. Till then if I get a refund I'll wait for the modifications to be applied.
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:agree: If they get it fixed i'll be back in but until then i'm out.
 
Thats not good Neil. I will be really disappointed if I get problems with mine after selling my 5D3. Hopefully I wont as it certainly doesnt front and back focus randomly on a static subject which some have been complaining of. Havent tried any moving shots but will be making a point of doing so as soon as I get home even if its just cars on the road.

Robin. No camera is going to get keepers for you. Neil knows how to get good images so will have good technique. If i had these sort of miss rates and shutter speed etc was adequate I would be blaming the camera as well. I know what to expect from the AF system and there is no reason that it shouldnt perform out of the box.
 
Gaz J said:
Robin. No camera is going to get keepers for you. Neil knows how to get good images so will have good technique. If i had these sort of miss rates and shutter speed etc was adequate I would be blaming the camera as well. I know what to expect from the AF system and there is no reason that it shouldnt perform out of the box.
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....Yes, I realise that no camera is going to get keepers for its owner - That was my point and why I pointed out it was up to the photographer but I didn't fully understand his brief post.

I wasn't questioning @Neil B Neil's capabilities - I have seen and admired his bird photography. Crossed wires there I think.

Certainly I would be returning my 7D2 as well if it had such issues as now fully described by Trev.

:)
 
I'd be interests to know what lens you used, the settings, and how far away they were and how big a crop on these please Alan.
 
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alz123 said:
picture 2 its about 50% crop

sigma 120-300 S with canon x1.4 mk3, 1/1600s, iso 1600 , F8
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Cheers Alan, I was interested particularly because number 1 looks a lot noisier than 2. Are you seeing that too or is it just me ?
 
I think I'll hold off getting a Mk2 for the moment. Was planning to pick one up while I'm in Thailand but this thread isn't inspiring me to do so yet. Will likely get the new 100-400L and use it with my 7D Mk1 until any potential issues with the Mk2 are sorted.
 
Jackwow said:
I think I'll hold off getting a Mk2 for the moment. Was planning to pick one up while I'm in Thailand but this thread isn't inspiring me to do so yet. Will likely get the new 100-400L and use it with my 7D Mk1 until any potential issues with the Mk2 are sorted.
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Yeah holding back myself was also going to get one but will hold onto my mk 1 for now. :(
 
I don't know if this is true but a photographer friend told me yesterday that Canon had already broken all their records of high sales of DSLR bodies worldwide with the 7D Mark II.

I'm certainly happy with mine - I just have to get to know it better and improve my photography.
 
Mike.P said:
That makes 3 of us then .... also holding off on the 100-400mm MKII until I see a decent review of the Sigma 150-600mm OS Sport.
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My French magazine (nature photography) has reviewed it this month and seems a little luke warm over all. There seems to be a fair bit of light loss and they've measured the 5.6-6.3 as 7.1-8 in terms of light transmission. It vignettes quite noticeably from 500mm upwards and it's still evident until f/11. AF is fast and precise with f/8 capable bodies but they thought that the 70D and D7100 struggled a bit. The hood is a little short when set to the long end (presumably to help mask the vignetting a bit).
On the pro's.... The IS and build quality are both rated as excellent and there's no obvious CA when shooting twigs against a bright sky.

Bob
 
Mike.P said:
Thanks Bob :) or should that be :(
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600mm for £1500 is always going to have some constraints in design and build. Personally I find the "Sport" badge to be a little ambitious. I would bet that a body capable of covering field sports isn't going to have a £1500 zoom with a t-factor of f/8stuck on the front. Maybe sunny day motorsports are more do'able

Bob
 
Canon Bob said:
600mm for £1500 is always going to have some constraints in design and build. Personally I find the "Sport" badge to be a little ambitious. I would bet that a body capable of covering field sports isn't going to have a £1500 zoom with a t-factor of f/8stuck on the front. Maybe sunny day motorsports are more do'able

Bob
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It would only really be used for airshows (where reach and manoeuvrability are king) but maybe I need to carry on looking for a reasonably priced 400mm f4 DO with an extender for that. I also wouldn't need the 7D MKII as that combo would af fine on my 7D
 
Yes, airshows are very different as you can rely on panning to keep things within bounds. For fieldsports at 600mm then I suspect 1/1600 is needed to cater for players moving in opposing directions. Stop the f/6.3 down to f/8 to sharpen it up a little......that's f/11 in exposure terms due to the transmission loss......typical British afternoon at EV 11 +/- a bit and you're already at Iso 12800. Bodies which are acceptable at Iso 12800 are usually going to have something more expensive hanging off the front.

Side issue....
I used to shoot a lot of airshows in the 70's and 400mm on 36x24 film was fine....now it's far too short for a lot of the flying. It confused me for a while until I realised how far back the crowd line had been pushed....safety I guess.

Bob
 
Went out and some bright weather too this is with a 7dmkII 100/400 mkII 1/4000 f6.3 iso 800 400mm full frame shot
Rob.View attachment 27688
 
Well, I'm also still struggling to justify the purchase of a 7D11 :thinking:

Here's my Black-headed Gull taken earlier in the year using a 7D1 plus a Canon 300 f/2.8 MK11 with a 1.4 MK111 TC on. Quite a large crop....

Canon 7DMk1 + Canon 300mm F/2.8 MK11: ISO 250; 420mm; F/4.5; 1/4000s
View attachment 27691


The Mk1 seems to work well enough for me, certainly in bright conditions, and with this lens combo :)

Russ
 
Hazza said:
So then chaps, now you've had it a few months, what's the general consensus? I get the feeling some of you aren't all that happy with it?
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I'm loving mine :) any issues I've had are my fault anyway lol

No doubt there's been people with genuine issues but I do wonder how many camera problems there's been compared to people problems :D
 
Hazza said:
So then chaps, now you've had it a few months, what's the general consensus? I get the feeling some of you aren't all that happy with it?
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....I'm loving so much about mine - It totally suits me as an amateur wildlife photographer. But I still have lots to learn to improve my photography.

I thought today that my 10 fps setting had started malfunctioning. I tried all sorts of things and then later discovered I had accidentally changed from 'H' High Speed setting. It has made me realise how useful 10 fps is even when I only fire off two shots.

I met a guy today who was shooting with a 7D2 on a 500mm Canon mounted on a Gimbal head and he was very pleased with his. Today I shot this....



^ Best viewed on Flickr
 
Sadly I am going against the grain here. Mine is going back next week for a refund. Its clear to see that the owners who have a good model are delighted and getting some excellent results, but I got the Friday afternoon one it seems. The overall design and functions of the camera pleased me a lot, and I will get another one in due course, but the results for me were very inconsistent so I couldn't correct using the maf. The only consistent thing about the af was that I could regularly get both back and front focussing and total misses, with the occasional shot in focus, and that was with the camera on a tripod looking at a focus chart in good lighting and with a high shutter speed, IS turned off. Running my MkI on the same test with the same lens and conditions resulted in good focus every time.

I don't want to knock what is going to be a good camera, but for me, I am going to wait a time to see if there are any modifications or firmware updates before I try again.
 
Trev4 said:
Sadly I am going against the grain here. Mine is going back next week for a refund. Its clear to see that the owners who have a good model are delighted and getting some excellent results, but I got the Friday afternoon one it seems. The overall design and functions of the camera pleased me a lot, and I will get another one in due course, but the results for me were very inconsistent so I couldn't correct using the maf. The only consistent thing about the af was that I could regularly get both back and front focussing and total misses, with the occasional shot in focus, and that was with the camera on a tripod looking at a focus chart in good lighting and with a high shutter speed, IS turned off. Running my MkI on the same test with the same lens and conditions resulted in good focus every time.

I don't want to knock what is going to be a good camera, but for me, I am going to wait a time to see if there are any modifications or firmware updates before I try again.
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....In the circumstances I think you are doing the right thing. I would find such problems very disheartening and my confidence in Canon would have taken a heavy knock.

Quite honestly, when you compare the very best images that a good photographer gets from a 7D with the best from a 7D2, there really isn't a significant difference.
 
I was thinking about upgrading but with what I've read about the focusing problems, which I don't think is entirely down to user error, I can't be bothered with the agro. So Canon's quality control, or rather a lack off, has effectively lost them a sale.
 
artyman said:
I was thinking about upgrading but with what I've read about the focusing problems, which I don't think is entirely down to user error, I can't be bothered with the agro. So Canon's quality control, or rather a lack off, has effectively lost them a sale.
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Even with the advances in technology and manufacturing methods its inevitable that some aren't quite up to the mark. The MkII is not alone in that respect. Think 1D MkIII as perhaps the worst example but the 1DX had a recall. The Nikon D750, which is getting great reviews, has an issue on some models, D600, D800. Oil splatter, uneven focusing side to side.

Canon is probably having a look at this random focus but it will need a hell of a lot of bodies to be returned before they acknowledge that there is an issue.

Some will be down to user error or needing MA. I've been surprised at what people think is in focus and can't believe the difference that a bit of adjustment makes. Some bodies will genuinely be off. Some people have gone back to the 5D3.

Talking to a friend yesterday who said that he found it harder to equal his 5D3 with the MkII.

Yesterday was the first time I'd had a chance to use mine in anger on some small birds. One thing I did notice is that the single AF point seems to be quite big and moving to spot focus improved matters.

Reading about the few that have returned their bodies wouldn't put me off buying one. Its a nice camera with a lot going for it. If you buy a lemon get a replacement or refund. Its no different than with anything else you buy.
 
Examples posted remind me that I need better subjects to photograph far more than I need a better camera. How many more pictures of seagulls or common birds on sticks does the world need? Pictures need to be interesting to be worth having and no camera is going to pick your subject and lighting for you. I won't be buying.
 
tdodd said:
Examples posted remind me that I need better subjects to photograph far more than I need a better camera. How many more pictures of seagulls or common birds on sticks does the world need? Pictures need to be interesting to be worth having and no camera is going to pick your subject and lighting for you. I won't be buying.
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There isn't anything wrong with birds on sticks images when they are well exposed and sharp. There is when they're not, but that's no different than anything else.

Look forward to seeing your inflight images of goldcrests, nuthatches etc
 
Gaz J said:
Canon is probably having a look at this random focus but it will need a hell of a lot of bodies to be returned before they acknowledge that there is an issue.

Some will be down to user error or needing MA. I've been surprised at what people think is in focus and can't believe the difference that a bit of adjustment makes. Some bodies will genuinely be off. Some people have gone back to the 5D3.
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....I wholeheartedly agree with what you have written except that Canon is almost certainly having a look at this random focus but it will need a hell of a lot of bodies to be returned before they publicly acknowledge that there is an issue. Sorry if I seem to be being pedantic but I doubt very much that Canon are being quite as complacent as your words probably unintentionally suggest.

I didn't know you could check or adjust the body for focus other than for specific lenses. Or am I misinterpreting your words?
 
tdodd said:
Examples posted remind me that I need better subjects to photograph far more than I need a better camera. How many more pictures of seagulls or common birds on sticks does the world need? Pictures need to be interesting to be worth having and no camera is going to pick your subject and lighting for you. I won't be buying.
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....Tim, we ALL need good subjects to photograph and, equally if not more importantly, good light!

People have posted images in this thread to demonstrate results when using the new 7D Mark II, not as entries to a best photo competition.

Anyone seriously considering buying a 7D2 wants to see 'real-world' results taken by amateurs and not just by Canon's top-flight ambassador professionals (which we want to see and enjoy as well).
 
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