Canon 7D fps rate drop- Single shot vs Servo

Graeme Mills

Graeme Mills

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Hello all,

I have been shooting more in AI Servo this week (birds) and notice a big drop in fps burst rate on my Canon 7D. Setup is Canon 7D and Canon 70-300 4/5.6 L. This happens throughout the focal range and I am shooting mixed ISO but all sub 800 (ISO doesnt seem to affect the low burst rate?). I get 7-8fps on Single shot mode, but as soon as switch to Servo I get (estimated) approx 4fps.

I have read that shifting AF priority to release priority in the custom menu helps, but this doesnt seem to help.

Any information/ thoughts much appreciated.

Cheers

Graeme
 
As well as AIservo AF, the lens can also impact the maximum frame rate (as would the light levels and battery status).....see page 97 of your user guide.

Bob
 
I am not familiar with the Canon 7D but both my 7D2 and 1DX will often slow down on moving subjects. Shifting priority from AF to release will reward you with some soft shots - I don't need those and I suspect you don't either.

Both my cameras are set to first and second frame AF priority so they only release when focus is achieved (or very near to), this does result in lower fps on occasion. The way to improve the frame rate is to improve your technique. If/when I do my part neither camera shows any appreciable FPS reduction on moving subjects, however they can slow quite a lot if I am not doing my part;)
 
Two thoughts?

Are you seeing buffer filling i.e. initially rapid then slows because of the buffer lag.

Cannot recall but does the 7D have dual slots, if so are writing to both at the same time? Why, well the SD card slot is slower writing than the CF card and it is known issue that slows the buffer action and this will likely show is situations of high fps !
 
Box Brownie said:
Two thoughts?

Are you seeing buffer filling i.e. initially rapid then slows because of the buffer lag.

Cannot recall but does the 7D have dual slots, if so are writing to both at the same time? Why, well the SD card slot is slower writing than the CF card and it is known issue that slows the buffer action and this will likely show is situations of high fps !
Click to expand...

Good point BB - forgot about that!
 
Just checked my old 7D (must get round to selling it!) and it is only a single CF card slot........................so ignore my two cards slots remark! Having said that what size card and what is the spec on the card???
 
I’ve had a couple of 7d’s and never experienced this.

Try a factory reset then test again and carefully change your AF till you have it doing what you want.

The problem with sophisticated AF systems is there’s a lot you can get wrong whilst setting them up.
 
Thanks all- will take your input on board- Always working on technique, but would be nice to work on technique at 8fps when required :). I'll try the reset and have a proper look through the user guide also.


jm2 said:
Sounds like you are shooting in Low speed continuous & not High speed continuous,
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Definitely shooting on high speed continuous- thanks for the thoughts.

Phil V said:
I’ve had a couple of 7d’s and never experienced this.

Try a factory reset then test again and carefully change your AF till you have it doing what you want.

The problem with sophisticated AF systems is there’s a lot you can get wrong whilst setting them up.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll give this a go. It really is odd, have just tried again, and again, the same. Could it be because the servo AF is tracking the bird and wont release until the bird is in focus?

Thanks again everyone.
 
I just updated the firmware on a recently aquired 7D. There were some improvements on burst rates in the various updates. What firmware is it running?
 
Oliver Pohlmann said:
Someone might correct me but....

I would presume the camera needs a split second to find focus between each shot when in AI Servo, whereas is keeps the same focus throughout single shot burst. Hence the slower fps in AI Servo.
Click to expand...
Well yes; but it’s not generally this detrimental. I’ve used a 7d and 70-200 shooting motorsport and the speed drop isn’t noticeable until the buffer starts to fill (which I have to put effort into doing)
 
Raw or Jpeg, 2 cards or 1?
Matt
 
Phil V said:
Only 1 card slot, and there’s no discernible difference in speed between Raw and JPEG until the buffer fills.
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Thought it was 7D2, dual card, my 5D3 slows down with 2 cards when both are being written to. Oops.
 
Try back button focus? Do you have AI servo first and second image priority options - if so try release and speed.
 
Possibly a card issue ,you really need a fast c.f card to get the best out of any 10fps camera
 
Well spotted Phil ,thought it was a Mkii .same still stands though high speed cf card will probably cure it
 
Thanks everyone- Really appreciate the responses on here- you learn so much from folk in the know. Was shooting at the weekend in fairly poor light and the camera actually seemed to shoot (AI Servo) at a better rate than described in my initial post. I'll keep all your input in mind, and work my way through each of them to try and resolve it.

Cheers all

RumpFace said:
I just updated the firmware on a recently aquired 7D. There were some improvements on burst rates in the various updates. What firmware is it running?
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Thanks- currently 2.0.3, will be updating to 2.0.6 this week.

newbie1 said:
Try back button focus? Do you have AI servo first and second image priority options - if so try release and speed.
Click to expand...
Thanks- always shooting backbutton focus and will follow up on release and speed.

the black fox said:
Well spotted Phil ,thought it was a Mkii .same still stands though high speed cf card will probably cure it
Click to expand...
Cheers- Was shooting with a Komputer Bay Professional 64GB 1000x which I believe writes at a minimum 100mb/s- Is this a reasonable speed for a cf card?
 
Have you tried a different lens. I know when I put a 50mm 1.8 II on my camera it has a much slower burst rate than my other lenses, I'm not saying a 70-300 L is a slow focusing lens, but is your's actually working correctly.
 
Thanks- Yes, have had the same issue with a 24-105L also. Have updated firmware tonight and will take it out tomorrow, see how it is. Cheers
 
What shutter speed are you using or is the camera using? A slow shutter speed will effect the fps.
 
Have you tried putting the lens in manual focus, just to see what happens. Also I've read that if you hold the AE lock button, this stops the camera trying to meter between frames, therefore in theory speeding up the fps.
Take a look at this link (I hope it's OK/allowed to link from this other forum).
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=759335
 
the black fox said:
Well spotted Phil ,thought it was a Mkii .same still stands though high speed cf card will probably cure it
Click to expand...
But the card keeps up at full speed when the camera isn’t in AI Servo.
It’d be weird if the card saw the camera was in servo mode so decided to go slower. :thinking:
 
Nothing to contribute here... but what is your experience of the 70 - 300 Canon L on the 7D? I am looking to upgrade my Tamron SP 70 300. A great lens for the money but soft wide open and at 300mm

Thinking of a 70 200 L but reckon I would miss the extra reach in the cricket season, where I act as unofficial club photographer.
 
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