takesome1 said:
East Wind Photography said:
monkey44 said:
I keep reading about lack of "sharp" in the 7D2, and I'm not experiencing that at all, not even a little. Shooting it with the 100-400 v1 earlier, now the 100-400 v2, and 70-200 f4 IS ... nothing but sharp images.
Of course, individual shots lack 'sharp', but when the set-up and timing and "me" are right, it blows images out of the water. I'm not so sure it's all about the camera design and technology as much as it may be about individual camera and assembly or manufacturing differences which occasionally happen in mass production -- and the complex nature of that camera itself and getting use to how it operates.
I have no doubt some of your got a camera that is 'out of spec', it happens. But I'm not ready to believe yet it's a design flaw. I can't imagine that I can be so lucky as to get the one of the few 7D2's that shoots sharp, and get the only lenses that fit well with it. Makes little sense to believe that.
Those that are saying images are not sharp fall into several categories.
1) they need to make afma adjustments to match the lens to the body
2) are experiencing a hardware or firmware issue (fairly common)
3) are used to the image quality of 1dx or 5d3 and notice the faults with the 7d2.
Some people who are experienced with what it SHOULD deliver never know that the camera is not performing as it should.
The 7d2 is a complex camera with a steep learning curve. But it is evident that there are some that are just flat out bad and only produce about 5 to 10% keepers at a purely technical level. If you are happy with your model, feel lucky as there are plenty out here that are not happy with it.
The 7D II is very sharp when it hits. It isn't soft. This is the only reason I am still using mine on the 500mm.
Mine required a AFMA, from what I have read from others I think that is a common theme. Many might think the camera is soft because of this.
The 7D II AF system is not as precise as expected, that is why some may feel it is soft. This lowers your critically sharp keeper rate. The tests I have done so far with FoCal and Lens Align show my copies precision is on par with the original 7D and 5D II. My keeper rate is on par with the 5D II and the 7D as well, and precision and keeper rate are below the 1D IV.
I think if a person is moving from a 7D or 5D II you wouldn't think much about it at all. If you own a 1 series body or the 5D III the performance wouldn't feel right.
I suppose, based on all of the reports here, that we are just part of the too exacting crowd and expect our 7D2 to act like a 1DX.
Seriously, all I have been saying is that there is a large contingent of owners that have experienced issues so severe that even after AFMA, the technical keeper rate is on par with 5%. 10% max if you lump in one shot AF which seems pretty decent after AFMA. However drop into AF Servo and the keeper rate goes down to 5% and sometimes the camera never gets a proper AF lock.
One of the really serious issues I've found and reported to canon is that even with 1st and 2nd shot AF priority has been selected, the camera will still fire on an out of focus image (incorrectly believes the subject is in focus) in fact NOTHING in the image is in focus. Further Zone AF is supposed to lock on the closest subject. This is not always the case. If there is sufficient background the camera will lose lock on the subject and lock solidly on the background.
These are not AFMA issues and there are numerous similar reports of the same. I sent mine into Canon with very detailed reports of the issues and still waiting for their evaluation. They have been closed a lot due to weather and cannot honor the CPS turn around times
I'm very happy that some of the units are working flawlessly. That gives the rest of us hope that there is a solution and we are not stuck with a badly designed camera body.