Canon 7D Mk II is announced and available for pre-order (5 Viewers)

[dandsblair]

No warning

When I first got the camera I used the new battery, my old 7D battery and a thrid party battery. The third party one is fine once you tell the camera to ignore it (a warning screen comes up saying that the camera doesn't recognise the battery at first). The problem I found with the third party battery was that the new charger would have nothing to do with it, so I had to recharge it on the old 7D charger.

The new charger works with the old 7D battery as it should but Canon appear to have put a block on it regarding batteries that cost a tenner, rather than the 70-odd quid that they charge.

I didn't get a warning screen, it just thought it was an old 7D battery when I looked at battery info.
I haven't tried charging it on new charger yet

 

[senatore]

Cannot decide whether to take the plunge and order the 7D mk2.

I currently have the old 7D which I use with the Canon 400 f5.6 lens taking almost exclusively shots of birds.

Is it worth getting one.Any advice would be welcome.

Max

 

[Roy C]

Cannot decide whether to take the plunge and order the 7D mk2.

I currently have the old 7D which I use with the Canon 400 f5.6 lens taking almost exclusively shots of birds.

Is it worth getting one.Any advice would be welcome.

Max

One obvious advantage is AF at f8 which means you could add a 1.4x tc. I have not tried the 7d2 but the combo works well on the 5d3.

 

[Farnboro John]

One obvious advantage is AF at f8 which means you could add a 1.4x tc. I have not tried the 7d2 but the combo works well on the 5d3.

I've seen a few posts like this and so far failed to understand them, so here comes a genuinely ignorant question.

What is the significance of AF at f8? I use my own 500mm f4 + 1.4x tc with my 7d and the light has to be utterly abysmal (I'm talking under trees and well after sunset) before the AF gives up.

Seeking enlightenment.....

John

 

[tdodd]

f/4 + 1.4X = f/5.6 so it is irrelevant to you.

For someone with a 400/5.6 and 1.4X = f/8 it might well be a very big deal.

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Cannot decide whether to take the plunge and order the 7D mk2.

I currently have the old 7D which I use with the Canon 400 f5.6 lens taking almost exclusively shots of birds.

Is it worth getting one.Any advice would be welcome.

Max

Not on my experience...

If you wait another week you can buy mine!

Was out today in -2, burn't through two batteries for about 1000 images with typical chimping. I would normally get close to 2000 out of the 5d3 from one battery.

Loads of shots out of focus by different amounts. AF point is bang on so maybe have to try macroadjusting for the 3rd time.

I will say though that the AF tacking is amazing.

 

[BodyResults]

f/4 + 1.4X = f/5.6 so it is irrelevant to you.

For someone with a 400/5.6 and 1.4X = f/8 it might well be a very big deal.

I wouldn't say it is irrelevant. It would allow you to use a 2x teleconverter with your 500 f4 to give you 1,000 mm focal length and a field of view of 1,600mm.

I have been using my 600 f4 with the 2x tele on the 7D2 wide open and am getting good results.

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Not on my experience...

If you wait another week you can buy mine!

Was out today in -2, burn't through two batteries for about 1000 images with typical chimping. I would normally get close to 2000 out of the 5d3 from one battery.

Loads of shots out of focus by different amounts. AF point is bang on so maybe have to try macroadjusting for the 3rd time.

I will say though that the AF tacking is amazing.

Several times I was able to track individual birds through flocks of other birds. And Long Tailed Ducks can shift... very impressed with the AF tracking of BIF albeit in good conditions.

 

[Farnboro John]

f/4 + 1.4X = f/5.6 so it is irrelevant to you.

For someone with a 400/5.6 and 1.4X = f/8 it might well be a very big deal.

I'm understanding how you get to f/8, just not what on earth the relevance is. I shoot the f/4 lens AF at f/4: in summer I shoot it AF at f/16, 22, whatever. No noticeable difficulty! Hence question... what is the stumbling block people are trying to avoid?

No less baffled,

John

 

[Roy C]

Not on my experience...

If you wait another week you can buy mine!

Was out today in -2, burn't through two batteries for about 1000 images with typical chimping. I would normally get close to 2000 out of the 5d3 from one battery.

Loads of shots out of focus by different amounts. AF point is bang on so maybe have to try macroadjusting for the 3rd time.

I will say though that the AF tacking is amazing.

Looking around lots of different forums there are lots of people reporting soft/oof shots from the 7D2 while other folk are delighted with the Camera! could it be that there are copy variations out there, especially in relation to the AF.
I did think that maybe a lot of it was to do with people not being familiar with the new AF system (compared with the 7D1) but you are an extremely competent bird photographer and well versed with the 5D3 AF system so this would not seem to be the case.

 

[tdodd]

I'm understanding how you get to f/8, just not what on earth the relevance is. I shoot the f/4 lens AF at f/4: in summer I shoot it AF at f/16, 22, whatever. No noticeable difficulty! Hence question... what is the stumbling block people are trying to avoid?

No less baffled,

John

Focusing is always performed with the lens wide open, regardless of your chosen aperture for the exposure. The AF system needs a sufficiently wide aperture (f/stop) in order to work properly. Unless the camera is designed to operate with f/8 optics it is going to have a problem working reliably, quickly, or at all if you fit an f/8 (or slower) lens/TC combination. Having proper support for f/8 focusing is a big deal for those who want more length and can't afford long, FAST glass. So if ever you did want to stick a 2X onto your 500/4 it would suddenly become far more interesting to have f/8 support. If all your lens/TC combinations are f/5.6 or faster it is not a concern for you.

 

[Roy C]

I'm understanding how you get to f/8, just not what on earth the relevance is. I shoot the f/4 lens AF at f/4: in summer I shoot it AF at f/16, 22, whatever. No noticeable difficulty! Hence question... what is the stumbling block people are trying to avoid?

No less baffled,

John

No matter what aperture you dial-in the Camera ALWAYS opens the aperture right up for auto focusing and then closes down to your selected aperture just before the shutter is fired. Therefore no matter what aperture you dial -in your 500/4 + 1.4x tc will always be f5.6 for AF purposes so will AF on any Camera BUT if you had a 400/5.6 lens then a 1.4x tc would take it up to f8 so AF would not be possible on the old 7D.
p.s I see Tim has beaten me to ! The best scenario is to stick a 2x tc on your 500/4 and see if it will AF on the 7D1 as Tim says - the answer is no but it will AF OK on the 7D2

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Looking around lots of different forums there are lots of people reporting soft/oof shots from the 7D2 while other folk are delighted with the Camera! could it be that there are copy variations out there, especially in relation to the AF.
I did think that maybe a lot of it was to do with people not being familiar with the new AF system (compared with the 7D1) but you are an extremely competent bird photographer and well versed with the 5D3 AF system so this would not seem to be the case.

I have a friend arriving Tuesday so will try his out and then will also try on some other lenses. The keeper rate is slow low there must be something amiss. Surely. I really want to love this camera!

 

[Farnboro John]

No matter what aperture you dial-in the Camera ALWAYS opens the aperture right up for auto focusing and then closes down to your selected aperture just before the shutter is fired. Therefore no matter what aperture you dial -in your 500/4 + 1.4x tc will always be f5.6 for AF purposes so will AF on any Camera BUT if you had a 400/5.6 lens then a 1.4x tc would take it up to f8 so AF would not be possible on the old 7D.
p.s I see Tim has beaten me to ! The best scenario is to stick a 2x tc on your 500/4 and see if it will AF on the 7D1 as Tim says - the answer is no but it will AF OK on the 7D2

Thank you Roy and Tim. I get it now. Hmm. Maybe a 2X should be heading for the Xmas list once I have the 7dII, for those odd occasions like the Yellowstone Wolves 1.8 miles away - feeling short of mag with a 500 + 1.4 was a new feeling!

Cheers

John

 

[BodyResults]

I'm understanding how you get to f/8, just not what on earth the relevance is. I shoot the f/4 lens AF at f/4: in summer I shoot it AF at f/16, 22, whatever. No noticeable difficulty! Hence question... what is the stumbling block people are trying to avoid?

No less baffled,

John

When the camera is asked to auto focus it always uses maximum aperture to get accurate focus before it exposes at whatever f-stop the user has selected. Most cameras on Canon only allow auto focus when the maximum f-stop of the lens (plus teleconverter is applicable) is f5.6 or less. The 1D series has allowed f8 focusing before. Then 2 years ago they introduced that on the 5D3 on a firmware upgrade. Now the 7D2 is the first crop sensor camera from Canon where f8 focusing is allowed.

This means you can add a 1.4 tele to an f5.6 lens or a 2x tele to an f4 len and still get auto focus.

Previously on the 7D people have tried this and have either tapped pins that communicated the tele was attached or use non-reporting converter. Results very mixed for many.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Several times I was able to track individual birds through flocks of other birds. And Long Tailed Ducks can shift... very impressed with the AF tracking of BIF albeit in good conditions.

Nice. Which focus method were you using Marcus?

Spot, expand, zone, 65 point?

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Nice. Which focus method were you using Marcus?

Spot, expand, zone, 65 point?

Single point. Normally the middle one. I must say the lock on in the AF is the best I've tried.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

I prefer the single point (or single point spot for static targets), but tracking birds in flight as they pass isn't the easiest task.

I was on the moors yesterday and red grouse were getting up all over the place. I held some, but there were more misses than hits. (My fault, not the camera's).

Having said that, the bird in the image below was about half way between the centre-spot I was using and the left-hand edge of the frame, so it held onto it not too badly. The actual centre spot is probably about where the right hand edge of that crop is.

This was the best of a very bad bunch in poor light - underexposed by two-thirds of a stop in manual when the cloud thickened, ISO 1600, 1/1250. Not a good day - and the rough-legged buzzard I was searching for failed to make an appearance too in the four hours I spent there.




Battery down to 12% after 396 shots, but bear in mind the 27 time exposures for night scenes that reduced the charge from 75% to 46% on their own. This gives a projected 450 for the charge, significantly less than the last one (535), but taking the time exposures out of the equation would have brought the figures to 363 for 59% remaining - a projected 615 for more normal usage. I'll keep an eye on the next charge also.

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Yesterday whilst playing I took some shots from liveview and noticed they were cleaner and sharper.

Today I did a more structured test. The results are below.

Any thoughts?

EDIT 100% crops

EDIT I have also tried some single AF shots and the results are the same.

 

[Winterdune]

Soft pictures, poor battery life, high ISO not wonderful... Is anyone actually over-the-moon happy with their 7dii?
Sean