Canon EOS 7D Mark II listed as discontinued, but no reason for excitement

Maybe the ones of you who like the 7D2 got a later release. I was unfortunate to get one of the launch ones and it was BAD. In fact it was the worst DSLR body I've ever had (out of 6).

- Expensive
- VERY POOR autofocus accuracy
- very strong AA filter making everything soft
- Canon never confessed it was faulty, just sent me back the same body saying nothing was wrong with it

When I sold that piece of garbage and got myself a 5D3 it was night and day, and up to this day I use it as my main body. I was blaming myself for months with that stupid 7D2, tried numerous fixes and it turned up it was never my fault, that body was useless.
 
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Maybe the ones of you who like the 7D2 got a later release. I was unfortunate to get one of the launch ones and it was BAD. In fact it was the worst DSLR body I've ever had (out of 6).

- Expensive
- VERY POOR autofocus accuracy
- very strong AA filter making everything soft
- Canon never confessed it was faulty, just sent me back the same body saying nothing was wrong with it

When I sold that piece of garbage and got myself a 5D3 it was night and day, and up to this day I use it as my main body. I was blaming myself for months with that stupid 7D2, tried numerous fixes and it turned up it was never my fault, that body was useless.


Wow, i am not the only one.

I started with the 350d, moved to the 40d,then i got the 7d and now i have the 7d mark ii and i always believed that one to be a lemon. Only 2/3 out of 10 photos are sharp, the sharp ones usually look nowhere as good as some of the pictures posted here etc. The first batch of the 7d mark ii was utterly garbage and canons denial of the problem really destroyed their reputation for me.

The specs of the 7d mark 3 better be good, but for sure i am not going to get the first batch.
 
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tomscott

Photographer & Graphic Designer
Just because you can get great pictures from the 7D M2 (or any camera) that does not prove anything - other under the correct conditions the camera can delivery.

I disagree, I specifically posted images in challenging and average situations. Shooting in a rainforrest with extreme changeable light through the canopy with large variations between highlights and shadows is probably one of the most challenging situations a photographer will experience.
 
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I got my 7D Mk. II about a year after their initial release. I normally use it with the EF-S 15\85 lens. Image quality has always been very good,-- but: the image quality from a quality digital camera will generally be very good.

What sets one camera ahead of another then is the extent to which the camera electronics facilitate the photographer's art.

with all 65 focus points activated the 7D will generally select a near foreground object at the point of focus. this is quite often the intention. At times the 7D won't identify a small foreground object as when you want to incorporate a seed head into a blaze of fall color. the manual focus over ride helps -- but doesn't follow the object. the photographer will have to make a number of attempts so as to have a good probability of a hit. but this is not a camera fault; it's the nature of the subject.

at times the subject matter needs to use the center point only, such as when attempting to catch a bumble bee climbing on a flower. and so there is a need to be able to switch QUICKLY from all-points to center point. this is clumsy on the 7D. but this serves to illustrate what i'm talking about : the camera electronics should facilitate the photographer's art

I will note here that my 7D is *slightly* better with L series glass -- e.g. the EF 24-105 F4 L IS USM II -- is a bit better than my older EF-S 15\85. but that is the glass, not the camera.

I should further note that the typical computer screen -- "1080p" -- presents about 2 mpx ( 1920 x 1080 ). And so -- on screen -- whether you start with a 20 mpx image -- or a 50 -- doesn't matter: you'll need a side-by-side image analysis to find any advantage of one over the other.

if you want to crop a tiny piece out of a 50 mpx image -- that's another matter. that crop had better come from the exact spot you had your focus on or it won't be very good. cropping is OK -- to a point. better to have used a quality zoom lens and have better original material than to try and crop out of a frame made with the wrong lens because you didn't have time to make a change.
 
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tomscott

Photographer & Graphic Designer
Wow, i am not the only one.

I started with the 350d, moved to the 40d,then i got the 7d and now i have the 7d mark ii and i always believed that one to be a lemon. Only 2/3 out of 10 photos are sharp, the sharp ones usually look nowhere as good as some of the pictures posted here etc. The first batch of the 7d mark ii was utterly garbage and canons denial of the problem really destroyed their reputation for me.

The specs of the 7d mark 3 better be good, but for sure i am not going to get the first batch.

Interesting I had the same path. 350d to 40d to 7D to 5DMKIII then 7DMKII as a secondary camera then twin 5DMKIIIs and a 7DMKII. Had a 5DMKIII stolen and bought a 6DMKII and 5DMKIV and sold the 7DMKII.

IMO the original 7D wasnt great and sold it within a couple of months. Hated the sensor even at base ISO it was noisy in blue skys and I couldn't take that thing past 1600 was just awful yet the 7DMKII was the opposit I took the 7DMKII to 6400 without too much issue as long as the exposure was correct. I also thought the AF system wasn't reliable on the 7D either.

There could have been an issue with the early 7DMKII cameras, but for many it was getting the AF settings to work for them. Many just had the settings wrong and they take a while to get dialed in. It is a complex AF system but was in the price range that made it available to a huge number of people over the 5 and 1 series. In all respect I feel like there was a lot of user error across the internet with this issue.

Canon are generally excellent at identifying issues and sorting them and in this case and in my experience having a pretty early version I dont know whether there was an issue.

I bought mine in December 2014 and once I had it dialed in had very few issues with it. I think also you have to think of the overal package I think I paid £1000 for mine even then, huge amount of camera for the money when a 5DMKIII was £2500 at the same time. Although it was a kick in the teeth when the 80D came along.

Have you set your shutter priority to focus over release? That is the reason many have lack of keepers because out of the box the priority is to release the shutter rather than get critical focus.

TBH i sold mine because it just wasnt being used after buying the 5DMKIV and 6DMKII. Once you are on FF the crop cameras just dont come close even with L glass for me and the newer FF are better in every way although I do miss the speed of the 7DMKII... 8fps of the 5DMKIV is quick enough for most situations.

Regardless they sell for 450-600 now preowned and its still a huge amount of camera and offers a lot for someone on a budget.

I do feel like there is a hole missing in the line up, a pro style body with great IQ at a decent frame rate.
 
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AlanF

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Wow, i am not the only one.

I started with the 350d, moved to the 40d,then i got the 7d and now i have the 7d mark ii and i always believed that one to be a lemon. Only 2/3 out of 10 photos are sharp, the sharp ones usually look nowhere as good as some of the pictures posted here etc. The first batch of the 7d mark ii was utterly garbage and canons denial of the problem really destroyed their reputation for me.

The specs of the 7d mark 3 better be good, but for sure i am not going to get the first batch.
I had one of the first batch, and it was a good one. Maybe there were some lemons, but not all were bad.
 
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Aussie shooter

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When I get it right my 7d2 is a sharp as a tack. Yes. Cropping is an issue but you can't expect anything else when cropping 20mp but I am certainly not disapointed in the camera. Certainly for the price it is in the top two or three wildlife cameras on the market. But like all 7d2 users there are a few improvements I would like to see and hope the next iteration is coming sooner rather than later
 
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It is a sign. The end of dSLR's and the rise of the mirror-less. The end is near.
Yeh, they also said that about film, for the last 20 years...

I still don't see an end to film, indeed it is riding yet another low wave of resurgence, so I expect DSLR's to outlast my career. Not that I am anti MILC's, I'll take whatever works best for the job I have for it, but proclamations of the demise of DSLR's are short sighted and fly in the face of precedent.
 
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zim

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Yeh, they also said that about film, for the last 20 years...

I still don't see an end to film, indeed it is riding yet another low wave of resurgence, so I expect DSLR's to outlast my career. Not that I am anti MILC's, I'll take whatever works best for the job I have for it, but proclamations of the demise of DSLR's are short sighted and fly in the face of precedent.

Absolutely!

This statement should be the last word in all these ridiculous tech arguments

"I expect DSLR's to outlast my career"
"I'll take whatever works best for the job"


says it all, thank goodness Canon don't listen to self proclaimed bloody forum warriors
 
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The 7d2 was a lame, dead duck when it was released, and is even more old hat, "useless" trash now. The sensor is UTTERLY ABYSMAL, and that was it for me. I tested it the first week it was on the market, and I still hate it..disgusting nightime pictures with terrible dynamic range that is easily beaten by an M1. I despise the 7d2 more than the 6d2 though...that one is a true, canon wasnt even trying 2k$ stinker.

You would be far better off with a used 5d3. The 5d3 is still a beast, no fancy gizmos or functions, just raw shooting, reliable full frame goodness. But yeah, let that old trash die.

Sony is about to drop a super aspc model.....they probably designed it at a 7d2 roasting party. And canon will again have no answer. Pathetic.

Yes Sony is launching a new model. And if it is like their other models, the exposure metering will be poor, the ergonomics awful, the weather sealing non-existent, and the color really bad. Pathetic.:)
 
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LukasS

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My 7D mk2 purchase was mostly for Air Shows and some wildlife (at that time had 5D classic) to get enough reach (attached mostly with 100-400mk2, which I bought right after the body) and at that time (early 2015) photographing in Czech Republic and Polish airshows, 80% of other people were using same setup (some with 100-400mk1).

Never complained about the AF, tweaked it a bit (especially disabled priority for shutter release) and 95%+ of shots were in focus, neither complained about the IQ. It did the job I bought it for almost perfectly.

I don't use it that often now, bought for some time 100D, sold it, bought 5D mk4 - FF were my main cameras, but due to big changes in life and move I don't use the 7D too often, and prolly will be selling in few months to make place for new R Pro.

I often catch myself on using 7D's screen as touch screen and wonder why it doesn't work :)).

I've attached most challenging situation I was using this camera for. Still worked great under those conditions:
454A5028-wuxga.jpg
 
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Aussie shooter

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Even cropping is good in7DII if you shoot with good light conditions. Maybe some more PP to remove noise in higher ISOs but that's all.
I guess it depends on how much you have to crop. And yes. Good light makes a big difference.
 
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