7D Mark II Reported Issues

[candc]

Here are a couple of test pics to illustrate. Once I had focused on the background, not locked on just focused and released, zone AF refuse to focus on the depth gauge in the foreground as long as any of the 15 points could see the background. Since the gauge wasn't big enough in this angle to cover all of the points. No matter how much I panned the camera horizontally, the 7D2 always chose whichever AF point fell on the background. As I panned back and forth it completely ignored the 9-12 points which would have focused on the gauge.

Repeated this a dozen or so times using all of the different AF and tracking modes. Totally consistent. However, if you fire the shutter without AF ON, it releases the lock. Point it back at the scene and it will instantly lock on the gauge instead of the background. So basically its retaining it focus lock, even when you aren't focusing if that makes sense.

Even if you manually de-focus the lens it jumps right back to the background. Imagine that the depth gauge is a sideline coach and you can see the benefit of this to sports shooters.

The cormorant was probably operator error. But it did peak my interest and I'm glad I took a look at this.

Ok...looks like iTR has a role in zone AF. Manual page 128. Might actually explain not only the zone AF issue but the AF lock lag as I have iTR enabled. This was introduced from the 1dx in this model. According to the documentation when iTR is disabled zone, expanded zone, and 65 point AF will only be based on AF data, not colors, faces and other information...I assume infrared data as well...which is one feature of this new sensor.

More testing in order...

Good call on iTR having a role. That would be great because you could then turn it on and off as circumstances dictate. Adds a whole new dimension, outside of facial recognition, I hadn't considered.

I assumed that it was off by default and that I had to turn it on. I hadn't planned to use iTR until I had other aspects of the AF squared away. I think is slows down the frame rate to that means the 7D2 is even faster then I though. Awesome.

Seems like that could definitely play a role in what I was seeing today. Holding focus on a sort of uniformly lit and colored background vs the post. If that's what was causing what I saw today, I have to say that it really is impressive. I could not get it to drop focus as long as even one AF point could see those trees in the background. The plot thickens. Can't get out again for a few days but when I can I'll go back to the same spot and see if iTR makes a difference. Super.

Well I'm finding that iTR does not have much of a role in the Zone AF issue. I ran some tests in the house and found that when iTR is off it sometimes still has difficulty locking on a foreground object. I would even go as far as saying that even when initial AF has locked on the closer object, AF can switch to the background and hunt around a bit trying to figure itself out. I had this happen with 3 different lenses. With iTR enabled the same things were happening. This is clearly not how it is described in the user manual. Could be useful for some situations but I'd rather it be consistent than questionable. Questionable only makes me want to use that mode less.

I ran the same AF tests with my 5DIII using the same lenses and zone AF just locks on the closest object and stays there. Nothing in the background can make it change focus. I will strike this up as a firmware bug, do more tests outside on a sunny day and see if the condition also remains with more EV.

I have been doing some bif shooting the last couple days below a dam, giving the camera a good shakedown and seeing what works best. I also tried turning itr on and off using zone af and I don't see a difference, if anything it works better with it on. it tracks really well but doesn't always lock on to the closest thing. Sometimes if I would press and release af-on a couple times it will lock on to what I want it to but there is an issue with it not just doing it right the first time. I think there is a setting to make it prioririze a particular af start point with zone af, maybe you could try clearing that preference?

Based one everything that I have found on it so far Zone AF is not suppose to prioritize based on a starting AF point. There is none to start with in that mode. It's supposed to start on the closest thing it can focus on within the selected zone and stay there. Thats supposed to be the priority and what makes it different from the rest of the modes. iTR should really do the same but then use faces color and IR to track the object it selected to focus on.

True. It is on auto by default but maybe setting it to something else then resetting it to auto might clear something that is screwed up in the memory?

 

[photofill]

7D Mark II GPS does not work

Anyone else having problems with the GPS on their 7D2? I have tried everything on mine, turning it on setting it outside away from buildings/trees, etc for a half hour and it still will not connect to any satellites. Meanwhile my phone GPS works fine, even in my basement. I called Canon and they said it needs service.

 

[AcutancePhotography]

Re: 7D Mark II GPS does not work

I called Canon and they said it needs service.

Sounds like you got your answer. I hope they can fix it and quickly for you.

 

[DominoDude]

Back in the days when I had a company supply me with an iPhone I remember testing a few applications that (among other things) listed the number of available GPS satellites and how accurate all data was. I bet there are some similar stuff around yet. Maybe test a few of those to find out if you are out of reach, or if the GPS unit is truly faulty. Could give some clues, and shouldn't have to cost you more than a few minutes of testing.

 

[East Wind Photography]

Re: 7D Mark II GPS does not work

Anyone else having problems with the GPS on their 7D2? I have tried everything on mine, turning it on setting it outside away from buildings/trees, etc for a half hour and it still will not connect to any satellites. Meanwhile my phone GPS works fine, even in my basement. I called Canon and they said it needs service.

I believe it's typical for a gps device to take a great deal of time to initially get its act together. My 7d2 did not sync up for a couple of days but eventually started to work. It could be slowed down by infrequent polling cycle.

Also according to the docs it must have a signal on 5! Satellites. I would have thought 3 would be enough.

I would keep it running but if it doesn't work before the end of your return window, the return for an exchange and see how it goes.

 

[privatebydesign]

Re: 7D Mark II GPS does not work

Also according to the docs it must have a signal on 5! Satellites. I would have thought 3 would be enough.

Not for any kind of accuracy, the standard I always worked with was 12, but that was often 'out' by many yards, particularly altitude, most of our gear (marine) was upgraded to 18 satellites. Don't forget GPS is piggybacked on the side of US military capabilities and is deliberately dumbed down for the average consumer market. Meanwhile my phone can show me what room it is in in my house on Google Maps because of the WiFi location supplementation.

 

[East Wind Photography]

Re: 7D Mark II GPS does not work

Also according to the docs it must have a signal on 5! Satellites. I would have thought 3 would be enough.

Not for any kind of accuracy, the standard I always worked with was 12, but that was often 'out' by many yards, particularly altitude, most of our gear (marine) was upgraded to 18 satellites. Don't forget GPS is piggybacked on the side of US military capabilities and is deliberately dumbed down for the average consumer market. Meanwhile my phone can show me what room it is in in my house on Google Maps because of the WiFi location supplementation.

Canon docs clearly state that it needs at least 5 satellites. More is always better. I would think that for a camera generally you dont need to know what room your are in...though I would bet some would differ.

 

[luckydude]

From this afternoon. 7D2 with 400 5.6L prime. Last time I shot here was with my 5D2 and nothing was this sharp. I can see the individual drops of water dripping off his tail from 100 yards away.

Holy crap, people. Click on that picture. Wow. Nice job!

On a different note, anyone compared the 400mm 5.6 vs the 400m 4.0 DO for BIF? I have the latter but I'm hearing stuff like the 5.6 has fast focussing. Faster than the 4.0?

 

[Light Sculptor]

I am big into BIF and have owned most of the lenses used for that, including the 400mm 5.6 and the 400mm DO. The DO is significantly faster to acquire AF with than the 5.6, and I was happy to see that it was also sharper as well, so I sold the 5.6 forthwith! (on the original 7D and 5D3).

The DO has been a much maligned lens, but I have gained some wonderful photos with it, that I just would not have with the 400 2.8 and the 500 4.0 which I use a lot as well. They are technically better lenses of course, but that does not mean a great deal, when you have to whip your lens barrel around on a quick draw for a fast flying bird you have flushed. In this case I have found it is better to have the lighter lens. Also the weight of the DO is amazing when you have hiked a mountain in the depths of winter carrying your tent etc! When I take my 500mm high in the mountains I usually can't get it onto fast moving BIF in time, where as I can with the quick-draw DO.

I am currently selling my DO. The reason is the DO mark 2!

 

[East Wind Photography]

Trying to keep this forum focused on reporting 7D2 issues. Please discuss lenses in their respective forums.

Thanks
OP

 

[East Wind Photography]

OK Here is a summary of issues we are tracking for the 7D Mark II:

1) Fraction of a second AF lag(lock) on half press (w/300mm F2.8L IS II)
Still looking for confirmation and a repeatable process

2) Shutter not firing 2nd volley when rear AF-ON set to AF-OFF and pressed first
This is confirmed and likely fixable with a firmware update

3) Manual AF point selection is retained seperately for each AF mode (can default be set back to center?)
THis is confirmed. Still looking for a workaround

4) Zone AF not always locking on closest subject
This is confirmed by several users. Inconsistent forground lock. Needs fixing.

5) 3rd party flashes not exposing properly when used as a wireless slave.
Looking for more tests. Does not seem to be an issue for Canon flashes.

6) GPS does not seem to work reliably
Long delay to get GPS to work when new out of the box. Could be normal as GPS's often need more time initially to find themselves on the globe. More reports needed on how GPS is operating for them.

Some of these looked like iTR'ish like symptoms but with iTR off problems persist.

IF you have anything to report on any of these or have any new issues to report, please share.

THanks
OP

 

[East Wind Photography]

A couple of updates on 1 and 4. The noticed lag seems to occur only when the camera comes out of sleep mode and only with the 300mm f2.8l is II. All other lenses I own snap right to business. It also seems more jittery. Canon suggests tweaking the tracking sensitivity down a bit for this lens and see if it calms down a bit. Still a work in progress.

#4 required more tests side by side with my 5diii and a call to canon. The zone AF issue appears to be a result of having more AF points on the 7d2 than on the 5d3. The zone is also larger on the 7d2. Careful tests between the two show similar issues of not locking on forground subject. However on the 5d3 this is masked by the zone having fewer points and therefore less info to lock onto something else. 7d2 behaves more like 5d3 when the foreground subject is about the same % of AF field as on the 5d3.

It's not a bug but just the camera trying to do what it's supposed to do. Canon will report it for investigation to see if tweaking the algorithm is needed.

#6 I'm having good GPS response. Need others to report on their experiences. I suggest when it's first enabled to let it update every second, then once you get a GPS lock and leave it enabled, set it to update once every 15 minutes or more often when you go on site. In the bag set it to the maximum setting to save your battery.

All of the others, please share your experience with these configurations so we can determine if these are systemic issues or one offs. Canon does pay attention to reports but we have to contact customer service to get it in the queue.

Thanks.

OK Here is a summary of issues we are tracking for the 7D Mark II:

1) Fraction of a second AF lag(lock) on half press (w/300mm F2.8L IS II)
Still looking for confirmation and a repeatable process

2) Shutter not firing 2nd volley when rear AF-ON set to AF-OFF and pressed first
This is confirmed and likely fixable with a firmware update

3) Manual AF point selection is retained seperately for each AF mode (can default be set back to center?)
THis is confirmed. Still looking for a workaround

4) Zone AF not always locking on closest subject
This is confirmed by several users. Inconsistent forground lock. Needs fixing.

5) 3rd party flashes not exposing properly when used as a wireless slave.
Looking for more tests. Does not seem to be an issue for Canon flashes.

6) GPS does not seem to work reliably
Long delay to get GPS to work when new out of the box. Could be normal as GPS's often need more time initially to find themselves on the globe. More reports needed on how GPS is operating for them.

Some of these looked like iTR'ish like symptoms but with iTR off problems persist.

IF you have anything to report on any of these or have any new issues to report, please share.

THanks
OP

 

[East Wind Photography]

Thanks for the follow-up and the update. Much appreciated. As you predicted, follow up testing demonstrated iTR had so effect on issue #4 for me. GPS working fine for my uses. Battery drain still a concern with GPS but seems to have leveled off for some reason. I'll probably only activate it consistently for travel work.

I think the leveling off issue is completely normal. I see that in mobile phones and laptops. The devices have to learn the drain rate in order to predict % battery usage. GPS will drain a battery as its on all of the time when enabled even if power is off. This is why you can minimize the drain by having it update on the longest time schedule. If you disable it, you run the risk of it taking longer to sync up when you need it...as well as drift in the clock. I guess we will figure out in time how much the GPS drains the battery.

 

[alby87a]

I bought the 7d mark ii two weeks ago and its a great camera. However I have a 70-200mm mk1 2.8 lens there's times I'm trying to shoot and it won't shoot/focus and what not. However on my regular 7d with that lens I don't have that issue. I realized the when the af jumps for my 70-200mm lens on the 7d mark ii it stops focusing then maybe after a minute or 2 its working fine then it could happen again. I tested my 7d mark ii with a tamron lens (24-70mm with VC its no issue with that) So I'm ruling out as a body issue but the lens works perfectly fine on a regular 7d it jumps here and there but still remains to focus. Just wondering if anyone is experiencing this issue. Also I realize the flicker warning is going off with both lens but the test is just with regular lamp lighting.

 

[Deleted member 372972]

Hi,
another flash problem I have, may the third party problem too.
I use the YongNuo YN-622C ETTL radio triggers on my 7D before and after getting the 7D II they didn't work
Nearly all exposures where full flash exposures.
If I set the flash control to manual it worked, but ETTL, even with a Canon 430EX II flash on the YN-622C device didn't work.
I would say Canon changed the wireless flash control interface a little bit, so third party flashes could have a problem.
In my test the pre flash for ETTL was too bright, so the camera will send a full flash needed command too the flashes and the picture is overexposed. With the use of the internal flash as wireless master the pre flash isn't that bright.
It's not a Canon problem, but I think it's good to know.

In my thread http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3747630#forum-post-54671707 a user say that the Pixel King ETTL flash devices have the problem too, but this devices have a update function so they may be work later.

Bye

Markus

 

[East Wind Photography]

I bought the 7d mark ii two weeks ago and its a great camera. However I have a 70-200mm mk1 2.8 lens there's times I'm trying to shoot and it won't shoot/focus and what not. However on my regular 7d with that lens I don't have that issue. I realized the when the af jumps for my 70-200mm lens on the 7d mark ii it stops focusing then maybe after a minute or 2 its working fine then it could happen again. I tested my 7d mark ii with a tamron lens (24-70mm with VC its no issue with that) So I'm ruling out as a body issue but the lens works perfectly fine on a regular 7d it jumps here and there but still remains to focus. Just wondering if anyone is experiencing this issue. Also I realize the flicker warning is going off with both lens but the test is just with regular lamp lighting.

I only have the 70-200 mk ii but have not experienced anything like that with my other lenses. You said that it's working with other bodies...it's still possible that the lens electronic contacts are dirty. That would be something to check and clean. Dirty contacts can cause so many sporadic issues that its the first thing I usually suspect.

Also if the lens works fine with other bodies then it's not likely the lens. It wouldnt be intermittent one one body and not on another. Therefore I suspect it may be contct related or something with that camera body.

If the contact cleaning doesnt work, you should consider going back to the dealer with your lens to try another body and see if it's yours or something related to the 7D in general. Are you able to still excahnge the camera if needed? If it's within your exchange window you should just do it and not wait too long. Otherwise the only recourse willl be to send both lens and camera to Canon and have them iron our the problem.

 

[tron]

...
Also if the lens works fine with other bodies then it's not likely the lens.
...
It wouldnt be intermittent one one body and not on another. Therefore I suspect it may be contct related or something with that camera body.

7DII is a new body. Dirty contacts? In that case the problem would be with all lenses attached to that body...

The camera exchange suggestion is good if possible but I suspect it will work the same...

 

[East Wind Photography]

...
Also if the lens works fine with other bodies then it's not likely the lens.
...
It wouldnt be intermittent one one body and not on another. Therefore I suspect it may be contct related or something with that camera body.

7DII is a new body. Dirty contacts? In that case the problem would be with all lenses attached to that body...

The camera exchange suggestion is good if possible but I suspect it will work the same...

The issue may not be with the camera contacts but with the lens contacts. The camera contacts align slightly differently between bodies and any dust or grime on the contact can cause a problem for one but not the other...particularly since this is an older lens.

May not be the problem but it's an easy fix if it is.

 

[East Wind Photography]

Hi,
another flash problem I have, may the third party problem too.
I use the YongNuo YN-622C ETTL radio triggers on my 7D before and after getting the 7D II they didn't work
Nearly all exposures where full flash exposures.
If I set the flash control to manual it worked, but ETTL, even with a Canon 430EX II flash on the YN-622C device didn't work.
I would say Canon changed the wireless flash control interface a little bit, so third party flashes could have a problem.
In my test the pre flash for ETTL was too bright, so the camera will send a full flash needed command too the flashes and the picture is overexposed. With the use of the internal flash as wireless master the pre flash isn't that bright.
It's not a Canon problem, but I think it's good to know.

In my thread http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3747630#forum-post-54671707 a user say that the Pixel King ETTL flash devices have the problem too, but this devices have a update function so they may be work later.

Bye

Markus

Curious if these 3rd party flashes work ok when they are attached directly to the camera or is it only when the are used as slaves?

 

[Deleted member 372972]

Hi,
another flash problem I have, may the third party problem too.
I use the YongNuo YN-622C ETTL radio triggers on my 7D before and after getting the 7D II they didn't work
Nearly all exposures where full flash exposures.
If I set the flash control to manual it worked, but ETTL, even with a Canon 430EX II flash on the YN-622C device didn't work.
I would say Canon changed the wireless flash control interface a little bit, so third party flashes could have a problem.
In my test the pre flash for ETTL was too bright, so the camera will send a full flash needed command too the flashes and the picture is overexposed. With the use of the internal flash as wireless master the pre flash isn't that bright.
It's not a Canon problem, but I think it's good to know.

In my thread http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3747630#forum-post-54671707 a user say that the Pixel King ETTL flash devices have the problem too, but this devices have a update function so they may be work later.

Bye

Markus

Curious if these 3rd party flashes work ok when they are attached directly to the camera or is it only when the are used as slaves?

Hi East Wind Photography,
the YN-622C is a radio trigger only.
It will be attached to the flash or the camera itself.
I tested the YN-622C on camera with on YN-622C flash and this seems to work, but on camera flash is the least useful for me.
Still thinking that the wireless flash data transfer protocol from canon is slightly changed on the 7D2, so 3rd party flashes make a false preflash.
I have a similar problem with an older Nissin flash, but this was on 7D not 7D2.
Just curios that the original canon gear have no such problems, but this is original vs. 3rd party.