Canon 7D Mk II is announced and available for pre-order (3 Viewers)

[GYRob]

Just a quick test both the 3rd shot in a burst using one shot af,

The 1dx has been resized up to about the 7d mkII size

Target about 100ft away dull day 1/3200 sec f5.6 iso 4000 600f4isL MKII +1.4tc for both shots
Over all with a series of shots the 1dx is better with no drift at all it also has more punch to the shot at the price it should be better too.

iv not yet fully set up the 7d mkII still working on what's good for me but I do think its a good 70% of a 1dx for birding .
Iv not had a bird stay still yet to test fine detail 1dx v 7dmkII but I think the 7dmkII will win when your focal length limited .
Rob.
Eddit
well the size didn't quite work out but the noise is a bit better on the 1dx and is more forgiving looks to be less colour to it to me.

 

[Marcus Conway - ebirder]

Some ISO tests. Just need a linnet to stay when I change bodies...

100% crops

 

[GYRob]

I just did a few more test's and on a static subject 7dmkII without tc and 1dx with a tc so it's a ( close FOV )

To me its so close if I was out and had the same lens on both camera's I would not be picking one over the other and this is on a dull day .
I think it would be neck and neck on a bright day . ( I mostly shoot on a bright day )
Iv yet to have the chance to do a side by side in flight test but I get the feeling using the above lens it will also be close and technique on the day will have more effect than the 2 camera's performance .

Rob.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

The battery that was showing 11% charge when I switched the camera off two days ago was showing only 9% when I switched on the camera today. After a single shot the battery symbol started flashing, but I managed a total of 72 shots (with minimal work for the camera - manual exposure on a largely static and rather distant woodpecker preening in top of a tree) before the battery failed altogether.

It's on charge again now - I'll keep an eye on it next charge to test its performance further.

The total number of shots on this charge turned out at 535 - fewer than Canon claim, but much better than I feared when I was getting a 49% remaining reading after only 176 shots earlier in the week.

 

[GYRob]

I wonder if it's more to do with what Lens is used this could explain why there is so much difference from users .

Rob.

 

[AlanH46]

Have been using the 7D Mk2 with a Canon 400mm f5.6 + 1.4 Mk3 converter.

Have now got the micro adjustment on -10 and am getting consistent results.

Was out yesterday in terrible dull conditions and the set up autofocused better that my old 7D would without the converter.

Attached image (50% crop) was shot in dull grey conditions at F10, 1/250 sec and ISO5000. My old 7D would never produce a similar image.

 

[stevo]

Considering the high iso that is pretty clean.

Steve.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

More info on the battery front.

I recharged the battery fully this afternoon and once it was full I set to, checking the menus for settings etc, going through them twice in case I'd missed anything. No photos taken.

I've just checked the remaining charge - down to 92% already.

Perhaps that's why the charge dropped so quickly last time - checking settings and using the menu seems to be a drain. I'll top up the charge again before I use it.

 

[KyleM]

Barred - is this the stock battery or the 3rd party?

 

[Barred Wobbler]

It's the official brand-new 7DII battery.

Used throughout with the 400mm/F5.6L lens.

I'm using the 3rd party only as emergency back-up at the moment while I put the new battery through its paces. Both are recharged and ready for tomorrow when the sun gives us a wink (if the forecast is right). I always carry a spare battery and a spare card, even when I know I'm not going to need them, then I'm sure they'll be in my pocket for when I do need them.

Things are dragging out because we're only getting an hour or two of sun sandwiched between three or four days of solid cloud at the moment. A good spell of light would come in handy.

 

[lewis20126]

Have been using the 7D Mk2 with a Canon 400mm f5.6 + 1.4 Mk3 converter.

Have now got the micro adjustment on -10 and am getting consistent results.

Was out yesterday in terrible dull conditions and the set up autofocused better that my old 7D would without the converter.

Attached image (50% crop) was shot in dull grey conditions at F10, 1/250 sec and ISO5000. My old 7D would never produce a similar image.

Impressive for ISO5000 :t:

cheers,a

 

[HokkaidoStu]

Re the battery. After a full day's shooting (400 or so shots maybe) and a fair degree of reviewing the photos the battery is usually showing around 35-45% remaining.................I do use a 500 f4 which may drain the battery quicker, I don't really know.

I have a grip coming next week, maybe that'll get me through 2 days without worrying about the battery. The battery in the 7D MK1 seemed to last forever, with the MK2 I'm recharging it after every trip outside.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Well, that's more like it.

The sun came out at mid-day so I went out for a couple of hours.

Fully recharged battery, absolutely no messing about with menus. Most shots on Tv with Auto ISO (small birds hopping in and out of dappled shade).

244 photos taken (RAW + Small JPG) with 400mm/F5.6.

79% of charge remaining. After downloading to computer with EOS, 75% charge remaining.

That's better.

Goldcrest, ISO 3200 cropped, sharpened, no noise reduction

Tree Sparrow ISO 640, cropped, sharpened, no NR

 

[Barred Wobbler]

I've just been out trying my hand at star shots and some night-scenes with 27 exposures ranging from one minute to 15 minutes.

That gave the battery something to think about, despite not using the camera's built-in timer. I used a wireless shutter release. 27 exposures knocked the charge down from 75% to 46%.

This was a 15 minute one. I had to deal with a bit of light-spill from a level crossing light on the east coast main line in the bottom left of the frame and there was a bit of noise that manifested itself as red specks, but noise reduction sorted that.

2nd pic is a 10 second exposure F11, ISO 400, lightened a bit with 'levels'. Prominent six-way starburst on the highlights.

3rd photo - 30 seconds.

 

[dandsblair]

First few shots

Struggling to get to grips with camera and pretty sure that micro adjustments I made and AF method need to improve. I particularly struggled with Bearded Tits, just not sharp but it was cloudy so needed ISO2000 and getting focus on Tawny Owl(s) tried a few settings.
Practice obviously needed.
Only used DPP to crop and size these

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Another 50 shots knocked off, this time with the 17-200 (IS switched off) bringing the battery count to 321 with 33% charge remaining. That's about 500 projected, so considering the hammering it took with the time exposures the other night I reckon the battery has got over its 'first night nerves' and things might just be OK.

Photo from earlier this morning.

 

[tdodd]

BW, shooting as you do I'd simply be topping up the battery each day and worrying far less about total shoots per charge. Lithium ion batteries are quite happy to be topped up and there is no need to drain them before recharging. Once every few months a full discharge and recharge can help maintain calibration accuracy, but day to day there is no need or benefit to do that. If anything it will do more harm than good.

 

[dandsblair]

Other battery

Just out of interest tried fully charged (in old 7D charger) Dot.Photo clone battery. It was recognised as Canon battery with 85% re-charge potential, so looks like certain copy batteries will work OK with Mark ii.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

BW, shooting as you do I'd simply be topping up the battery each day and worrying far less about total shoots per charge. Lithium ion batteries are quite happy to be topped up and there is no need to drain them before recharging. Once every few months a full discharge and recharge can help maintain calibration accuracy, but day to day there is no need or benefit to do that. If anything it will do more harm than good.

I'm doing it the way I am to test the battery on a full charge in operating conditions on an untried camera, looking on it as a survey.

I'm more concerned about the total capacity for when I'm abroad, firing off shots in large numbers, particularly on a trip to Goa in a few weeks time, which is the prime reason I bought the Mark II when I did, rather than waiting a while for the price to come down, as I did with the 7D.

The early indications were that it would struggle to last a full day in the field on a charge if there were to be a large number of targets, hence my concern. The sporadic nature of my shooting since I got it is more a reflection on the almost total cloud cover we've had this month than a reflection on the way I normally operate. I'm trying to put the camera through its paces to see what I can expect.

I always carry a spare battery and card with me, even when I know I won't need them, but I want to know that if called on a charged battery and a spare would get me through a full day's shooting with charge to spare.

The early indications when I was down to 49% remaining with only 176 photos taken cast that in doubt.

I'm feeling more comfortable now, and I'm posting on here as I said I would a few weeks ago to keep others informed of the progress on the field test after other people also said that they were experiencing low battery performance.

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Just out of interest tried fully charged (in old 7D charger) Dot.Photo clone battery. It was recognised as Canon battery with 85% re-charge potential, so looks like certain copy batteries will work OK with Mark ii.

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.