EOS 7D Mark II User experience Thread

Here's a Gadwall I shot today with the 7D2 at ISO 2000.  Completely untouched, just converted the RAW file to jPEG and removed the sharpening and noise reduction that Canon's DPP software seems to apply automatically.  Full res version here: http://iaindmfleming.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v134/p15116628.jpg#sthash.gnPPRYSh.dpuf

Fleming wrote:Here's a Gadwall I shot today with the 7D2 at ISO 2000.  Completely untouched, just converted the RAW file to jPEG and removed the sharpening and noise reduction that Canon's DPP software seems to apply automatically.  Full res version here: http://iaindmfleming.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v134/p15116628.jpg#sthash.gnPPRYSh.dpuf

Pretty soft, was the shutter speed good? I think ISO1600 will prove to be the practical upper limit.

Fleming wrote:Here's a Gadwall I shot today with the 7D2 at ISO 2000.  Completely untouched, just converted the RAW file to jPEG and removed the sharpening and noise reduction that Canon's DPP software seems to apply automatically.  Full res version here: http://iaindmfleming.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v134/p15116628.jpg#sthash.gnPPRYSh.dpuf

Hi Iain,

Long time no see.
Not a bad result at ISO 2000 at all. If the 7D Mark II will perform good at ISO 800, then it will be good enough for most of us.
Sometimes you need ISO 1250 but it's rare at least in my experience.

Indeed, I rarely went beyond 200 ISO with my old D300, and 800 ISO was the limit for my D800 -- so 800 ISO on the 7DII would be quite satisfactory to me as long as I can do 50% linear crops with relative impunity. We shall see.

Scott Fairbairn wrote:

Fleming wrote:Here's a Gadwall I shot today with the 7D2 at ISO 2000.  Completely untouched, just converted the RAW file to jPEG and removed the sharpening and noise reduction that Canon's DPP software seems to apply automatically.  Full res version here: http://iaindmfleming.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v134/p15116628.jpg#sthash.gnPPRYSh.dpuf

Pretty soft, was the shutter speed good? I think ISO1600 will prove to be the practical upper limit.

Yeah shutter speed was 1/2000s.  Definitely looks better after a round of sharpening and some basic PP, but I also see that there's loss of detail between the original jPEG and the version uploaded to zenfolio.  Does anyone know if there's any way to improve the quality of the upload?

Karl Egressy wrote:

Fleming wrote:Here's a Gadwall I shot today with the 7D2 at ISO 2000.  Completely untouched, just converted the RAW file to jPEG and removed the sharpening and noise reduction that Canon's DPP software seems to apply automatically.  Full res version here: http://iaindmfleming.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v134/p15116628.jpg#sthash.gnPPRYSh.dpuf

Hi Iain,

Long time no see.
Not a bad result at ISO 2000 at all. If the 7D Mark II will perform good at ISO 800, then it will be good enough for most of us.
Sometimes you need ISO 1250 but it's rare at least in my experience.

Hi Karl,

I'm pleased with these results for ISO 2000 on a dreary day.  Looking forward to shooting in better light... which of course isn't due for a good week....

Corey. When I got used to using the 1Dmk2, a 1.3 crop, I found it difficult to go back to the 1.6 crop and get sharp images.  In order to convince myself that it was me at fault and not the camera, I went back to basics.  I repeated calibration 3 times with different targets until I was sure.  Then I picked a stationary subject, like a street sign, at about 100 feet.  Don't HH, use a tripod, lock it all up, and long lens technique, to remove any potential for shake, I kept shooting until I was satisfied with sharpness.  I found out that it was me and not the camera.  Now that I'm older I shall have to do that test more regularly

fredcor wrote:Corey. When I got used to using the 1Dmk2, a 1.3 crop, I found it difficult to go back to the 1.6 crop and get sharp images.  In order to convince myself that it was me at fault and not the camera, I went back to basics.  I repeated calibration 3 times with different targets until I was sure.  Then I picked a stationary subject, like a street sign, at about 100 feet.  Don't HH, use a tripod, lock it all up, and long lens technique, to remove any potential for shake, I kept shooting until I was satisfied with sharpness.  I found out that it was me and not the camera.  Now that I'm older I shall have to do that test more regularly

Yeah I started with the 7D then moved to the 1dmkiv I am just going to have to learn again, it will be fun.

here is a Junco shot I took at ISO1000 and cropped by 30%

https://www.flickr.com/photos/corey-hayes/15542646487/

Taking apart a 7D2...
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2014/11 ... more-20561

I spent some time today with the 7d2 outside. I put it through situations where AF often fails with other cameras I have tested, including the 1DIV. For example a bird on a lake, backlit with many bright things in the water, both foreground and background. Subject small in the frame. I'm impressed. Focus nailed quite nicely (I did microadjustment on site), even with 1.4x and 2x TC on 300 f/2.8 V2. Response and lock was quite fast (I pretty much only use 1 AF point with no expansion, but move the point around for best composition). I'm growing confident this will replace my 1DIV on my next safari.

I found one thing I really really do not like. The exposure scale on the right side is very hard to see in bright sunlight. The display is just not bright enough and I needed to keep my eye in a very specific position to see the scale at all. This is a real problem in the heat of action. It is also a larger problem if wearing sunglasses. Anyone found a way to brighten the scale?

Roger

Mike in O wrote:

OntPhoto wrote:

Coreyhkh wrote:For a crop camera at 16000 ISO that looks good to my eyes.

I'm impressed    But I come from the Canon 40D.  I am wondering how ISO 16,000 looks on a 7D, 1D MK4 or 1DX?  What does a shot at ISO 16,000 look like on those cameras? 

They all look crummy; 16,000 iso is for documentation.  Only the Sony 7s is usable but just barely.

I don't know.  I expect the 1DX to do even better.  I am surprised that the feathers in this 100% crop looks as good as it does.   I expected to see the feathers mucked up with all manner of colour aberration.  I mean, resized and printed at a smaller size wouldn't it look good after noise reduction has been applied to the background? 

100% crop at ISO 16,000.

http://www.pbase.com/golfpic/image/158065762/original

Scott Fairbairn wrote:

Fleming wrote:Here's a Gadwall I shot today with the 7D2 at ISO 2000.  Completely untouched, just converted the RAW file to jPEG and removed the sharpening and noise reduction that Canon's DPP software seems to apply automatically.  Full res version here: http://iaindmfleming.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v134/p15116628.jpg#sthash.gnPPRYSh.dpuf

Pretty soft, was the shutter speed good? I think ISO1600 will prove to be the practical upper limit.

I think you're mistaken Scott. I've got some ISO 3200, 6400, and even 8000 frames that I've taken with the 7D2 that look pretty good. Of course the limits of acceptable are in the eyes of the beholder.

Here's a link to an ISO 8000 frame I took yesterday afternoon.

Here's a 60% crop of a burrowing owl.

Doug Brown wrote:Here's a link to an ISO 8000 frame I took yesterday afternoon.

ISO 8000 and cropped ... very impressive Doug, I guessing you're happy with the new camera.  I'm looking forward to using mine with my 300mm 2.8 with and without a 1.4x .... I think that could be a very impressive combo.

KClarke wrote:Here's a 60% crop of a burrowing owl.

Very nice .... can you supply the shooting details.

Doug Brown wrote:Here's a link to an ISO 8000 frame I took yesterday afternoon.

Wicked!

Doug Brown wrote:

Scott Fairbairn wrote:

Fleming wrote:Here's a Gadwall I shot today with the 7D2 at ISO 2000.  Completely untouched, just converted the RAW file to jPEG and removed the sharpening and noise reduction that Canon's DPP software seems to apply automatically.  Full res version here: http://iaindmfleming.zenfolio.com/img/s6/v134/p15116628.jpg#sthash.gnPPRYSh.dpuf

Pretty soft, was the shutter speed good? I think ISO1600 will prove to be the practical upper limit.

I think you're mistaken Scott. I've got some ISO 3200, 6400, and even 8000 frames that I've taken with the 7D2 that look pretty good. Of course the limits of acceptable are in the eyes of the beholder.

It depends on the beholder as you say, and on the end use. There would have to be something pretty compelling about an image shot that high for me to keep it.

The exposure scale on the right side is very hard to see in bright sunlight.

I've read several complaints about this.  Some people have responded that this is where the exposure scale is placed in the 1DX.  Is that correct?

I wonder if this can be changed in a firmware upgrade.

John

John Guastella wrote:

The exposure scale on the right side is very hard to see in bright sunlight.

I've read several complaints about this.  Some people have responded that this is where the exposure scale is placed in the 1DX.  Is that correct?

I wonder if this can be changed in a firmware upgrade.

John

It is on the right side on the 1DIV and works great.  The scale is well illuminated in the 1DIV and the same brightness as the scale at the bottom, unlike in the 7D2 where is is fainter, uses smaller points, an gets blocked by internal baffles unless your eye is perfectly centered.  If wearing sunglasses, your eye ie further from the viewfinder and the scale is mostly blocked when your eye is centered.  This is a MAJOR problem as i don't have the feedback on exposure easily viewable.

Roger