Canon 7D mk2 owners thread.

Neil B said:
It's got a lot to do with the 1.6 crop Robin, you end up with a "equal ish" quality image after cropping the FF. I don't have one of the big 500mm primes anymore due to portability/flexibility so the 1.6 gets me back some of the reach i lost, it is very much a game of balancing your set-up to work well together.
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....That's right - And also balancing your set-up to work well with you personally. That's primarily why I am selling my Canon 300mm F/4 L IS and 400mm F/5.6 L and buying the new Canon 100-400mm II. When out on walkabout, I too often have to swop those lenses (birds and butterflies) and also I want the closer MFD which the new lens offers. Some users are saying that bare (without extenders) it's as sharp as the 70-200mm F/2.8 L and that's really saying something! 7Dmk2 + 100-400 mk2 isn't going to make me a great photographer but it will further enable me and I'll miss far fewer shots.

Anyway, I wish you all the best with a replacement 7Dmk2 :)
 
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Les McLean said:
That's very useful link Etienne, and Gary I take your point about not being much point in buying the fastest cards, but at least the comparison charts in the link provided can help to steer away from wasting money, for example from the table two cards of similar speeds (SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s 32GB & Toshiba Exceria Type 1 32GB) , there is 6 times the price difference ($50/$310)
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Yeah there's always a sweet spot when it comes to price/performance and it's always changing. I generally buy the fastest I can at the time with the hope that it'll mean I can keep them longer but as far as the camera is concerned, there isn't much difference with fast and fastest cards.
You'll see a bit more difference if you're using USB3 to copy images off after but this isn't exactly super important either :)
 
Jackwow said:
The EF-S 15-85 is a great lens with a great focal length range. I'm on my second.
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Never used it myself but never seen anyone have anything bad to say about it either :)

Would be something else to consider if you don't need a particularly wide aperture
 
RedRobin said:
....That's right - And also balancing your set-up to work well with you personally. That's primarily why I am selling my Canon 300mm F/4 L IS and 400mm F/5.6 L and buying the new Canon 100-400mm II. When out on walkabout, I too often have to swop those lenses (birds and butterflies) and also I want the closer MFD which the new lens offers. Some users are saying that bare (without extenders) it's as sharp as the 70-200mm F/2.8 L and that's really saying something! 7Dmk2 + 100-400 mk2 isn't going to make me a great photographer but it will further enable me and I'll miss far fewer shots.

Anyway, I wish you all the best with a replacement 7Dmk2 :)
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It does sound like a great combo for walkabout (y)
Should be easier walking about with a lighter wallet too :LOL:
 
Just for interest. Comparison between a 7D MkII file @ ISO1600 and a 1DX file @ ISO1600 cropped to the same size as the MkII file.

These are straight out of the camera. Just converted to a TIFF and then the crop saved for web.

7D-MkII-ISO1600

1DX-ISO1600
 
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Cheers Gaz. While its not a very technical test, there are some interesting points that struck me in the difference between the two pics, that's assuming that everything else is identical which I have no reason to doubt. The noise is less in the 1DX, which you would expect, but the difference isn't as great as I would have expected. The thing that struck me most is in the detail. the 7D2 is holding far more detail than the 1DX. Its not fair to make a judgement like this based on just these two images, there's many more areas that should be taken into consideration to make an informed judgement, however, taken on the face value of these images. the 7D2 accounts for itself rather well in my opinion.
 
Yes the MkII looks pretty good but its a fair effort from the 1DX. Its a big crop and is throwing away a lot of pixels. I'm not sure how to work out what the 1Dx is working with. Also the noise is pretty good on the 1DX. It would be interesting to see how a 5D3 would compare with its extra 4MP.

I know its not very technical but its a real world test. This is the advantage of the crop over the FF in this instance.

I've got the same shot at 800 & 3200 but not looked at them yet. I only did it out of interest as I wouldn't crop the 1DX that hard, I'd use a 1.4 to get back some of the reach loss.
 
Like Trev I see less difference than I would have expected too.

But there is another difference which is quite big and that is the colour - Best seen in the woven nest box. Which image is the more accurate to reality?
 
I have edited the RAW files exactly the same, so they have had the same luminance, sharpening, sharpening masking and clarity in LR, and taken a bigger crop. The light was variable when I took these so probably the 1DX is closer to reality. Wont really show in these images but when you see them at 2000px x 1500px on the screen I think the 1DX shows the inherent image quality that it has pretty well.

7D-MkII--ISO1600-finish by garyjenkins8, on Flickr

1DX-ISO1600-finish by garyjenkins8, on Flickr
 
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The detail in the 7D2 v 1DX is affected by the extra pixels of the 7D2 for sure, and using a 1.4 on the 1DX would give a more accurate comparison, as sharpening and other PP adjustments have been applied the effect is exacerbated. As I said, its not a technically perfect test/comparison. An accurate test would have to be done in a controlled environment with a multitude of expensive instruments etc, and a lot of technical knowledge. something we hobbyists cant do, but still interesting to see and thanks Gaz for taking the trouble.
 
Just a little update on my 7dmk2, the new one works as it should straight out of the box and i'm happy to work with this one, i do urge anyone who has issues with theirs to get it sorted and not just put up with iffy performance.
 
Had my real first proper test of using F8 AF today which turned out quite well. I'd tried it a few times before but never for any length of time but today I decided to give it a better test. I had an hour or so of shooting Mergansers which are visiting a local lagoon and the shots came out quite well.

The light wasn't too bad at the time and the AF seemed to do pretty well. I still haven't done any manual adjustments on my 7d2 since I bought it since it's not too bad currently but I get the impression there's a little more improvement to be gained... If I can be bothered to sit down and get my Focal to do it's work.

This was with the 200-400 lens with the builtin TC engaged as well as a second mk3 1.4TC
 
Rustydon said:
As a matter of interest Neil, can you tell us who is the supplier of your second 7DMk2?
Russ
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Jessops and got it delivered to my local store so had the pleasure of telling them "i could be back in a bit for a refund" :D

Gaz J said:
Glad you've got a better copy this time Neil.
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(y) just got to go find some owls now :meh: :indifferent:
 
Having just seen Phal's note above,
Been out a couple of times with my 500mmF4 on the 7Dii. Trying out the ISO, 1600 -2000, 5 m range small birds in garden , I have to say quality is much better than my 7D so big plus. However too many poorly focused shots.
Am using single spot on the eye, 1/1000 shutter speed typically F4. Looked in more detail when comparing actual focus plane on computer image compared to displayed focus point on camera play back. Looks like the combination is front focusing by about 1 cm at 5 m.
So for the first time had to do a micro adjust , (home made kit, box, target print, pen stuck out with tape measure, sure enough at least 1 cm front bias which would put the focus plane right on the front edge at F4 5m. So after a lot of gaffing about have now added +5 on the micro adjust, seems to have centred the focal plane. Hope for some light tomorrow to put to the test with the 500 combo.

Also tried a close focus on a tape measure with the 100 f2.8 macro lens at 2.8 which seems to be close enough.

fingers crossed,

Neil
 
Doesn't need a lot to throw the focus a little. My 500 and 300 are both plus 5. Strangely my 70-200 f2.8 is spot on.
 
Granarystudio said:
.... So after a lot of gaffing about have now added +5 on the micro adjust, seems to have centred the focal plane. Hope for some light tomorrow to put to the test with the 500 combo.
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If my maths is good, Neil, then your +5 MA at 5m distance would move the plane of focus 9.7mm ........pretty much what you estimated.

Bob
 
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Canon Bob said:
If my maths is good
Bob
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Do you have a formula for this, and how does it work as you approach infinity?

I had to MFA my 24-105 and would be interested to hear how this works.

David
 
Willid1 said:
Do you have a formula for this, and how does it work as you approach infinity?

I had to MFA my 24-105 and would be interested to hear how this works.

David
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David,

The formula is;

Depth of Focus = 2 * F-stop * Circle of Confusion * ( Subject distance / Focal length) Each unit of MA = 1/8 of the single sided Depth of Focus

Note....Depth of Focus is NOT Depth of Field.

Like Depth of Field, Depth of Focus increases as the subject tends towards infinity (ie, magnification decreases)

Bob
 
Quick update,
for my 500mm f4 set the micro adjust to +6 in the end. Not the best light this morning, nothing worth framing, but this has re-centred the focal plane so much higher rate of in focus shots. Also still focuses at infinity. Must admit did eel like I was in the Circle of Confusion!
Also tested my 400 mm f5.6 this needed +2.

thanks for the advice,

Neil
 
I certa
Granarystudio said:
Gaz, Canon Bob,
Thanks for replies, never had to fiddle with either the old 7d or 5diii so a little trepidation having heard the stories of poor focusing,
anyway will test in the real world tomorrow and report back,

Neil
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I wouldn't be concerned about havi to use MA Neil. If you want to get the very best out of your gear then checking focus accuracy is a must IMHO. We spend big money on fast lenses to be able to use them wide open and of course this is where any slight inaccuracy comes to the fore.

The only lenses I don't check are my wide angles. Everything else gets checked without and with a converter.

Ive got a set up that works for me and I can be confident of getting accurate results. I don't know how others set up their lenses but I always set mine with an equal depth of focus in front of and behind the plane of focus.
 
A useful site that includes a printable test chart, in fact its the chart that I use is here. Its an old blog but the principles still hold good and the chart is easy to use. It shows many examples of focussing issues along with the explanations of how to set it up and how to make adjustments.
 
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With regard to this 7D2 focussing issue, it appears to be the same as some experienced with the 70D?....


What folks in this thread seem to have omitted telling us is whether their issues were only evident at F/2.8 or wider, or did I miss that information?
 
7D2 & 100-400 Mk2

DrewBuckley_Dalmatian_Pelican_Pelecanus_crispus050.jpg


7D2 & 300 2.8 IS Mk1

DrewBuckley_Dalmatian_Pelican_Pelecanus_crispus041.jpg
 
Hi Drew (I already commented on some of your same excellent shots in the Birds section)...

As a user of a 7D2 + 100-400mm Mk2 and also having a 1.4x, have you used the 1.4x extender on that combo yet? Does it limit the AF pts you can select, please?
 
Drew, what shutter/aperture were you using...and iso if poss?
 
RedRobin said:
Hi Drew (I already commented on some of your same excellent shots in the Birds section)...

As a user of a 7D2 + 100-400mm Mk2 and also having a 1.4x, have you used the 1.4x extender on that combo yet? Does it limit the AF pts you can select, please?
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Hi Robin, thanks - I only had use of the 100-400 Mk2 for about 20 mins (was a friends) so couldn't comment on that sorry. Lovely lens though and I might add one to the kitbag when prices are a bit nicer :)

George said:
Drew, what shutter/aperture were you using...and iso if poss?
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Hi George, yeh sure thing

Pelican Pic 1
1/2500, f/5.6, ISO 800 - Full zone centre box AF on custom Case 3

Pelican Pic 2
1/5000, f/4, ISO 800 - single point AF, BBF and recompose

Red Kite
1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 1250 - again full Zone box AF on custom Case 3 (bit of a crop!)
 
Thanks a lot, Drew, how are you finding the af in poorer light?.....seems fine on those shots!! (which are excellent, BTW)!
 
Thanks mate, not done any extensive testing but it never missed a beat in over about 3k shots that weekend. If light would be very poor though I'd probably swap to the 5D3 anyways - very impressed with the 7D2 though, great camera for the money
 
RedRobin said:
Hi Drew (I already commented on some of your same excellent shots in the Birds section)...

As a user of a 7D2 + 100-400mm Mk2 and also having a 1.4x, have you used the 1.4x extender on that combo yet? Does it limit the AF pts you can select, please?
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Centre point only when using F8 AF
 
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