Jrista, you're always full of useful information! Could the shutter button be a factor also? Seems like the 7D, the 5D3, and even the 1D4 I rented...have a shutter release with no satisfying "click" once you go from half press to full press. For stationary birds with my 50D, I just always use center point and single shot mode rather than servo, and use multiple half presses...the focus gets extremely sharp then. Servo mode does work for moving targets, but obviously nothing like as well as the 7D.
But to use the multiple half press technique, you need to feel it going in and out of half press...which I could hardly ever do with the 1D4 or the 5D3...and the 7D I tried briefly felt the same way.
Have you found the 7D able to AF in very low light (25 minutes after sunset)? My 50D can do this extremely well, far better than the 1D4 did...of course both with only center point selected. I even got very accurate focus at times of like 10 minutes after sunset, when I rented the Canon 400 f/5.6 prime, on my 50D.
Given the price of over $2k for a 7D2, I would certainly rather go for a 6D or 5D3...but what if a 70D inherits an AF similar to the current 7D, and for barely a higher price than the old 7D sells for now? It seems to me, that a 70D full of the features we want, at the nice price...is the crop camera to get. Of course if it's just like the 60D with the same feature set, lack of AFMA, and all the other Rebel features that suck...then avoid it at all costs!
