7d mk2 seems very soft?

[sanj]

The photo you post is indeed soft BUT it is so soft that I can't believe it is the camera. There is something else wrong which am sure you will figure out eventually. This is not a FF vs crop issue. AFMA or processing seems to be the issue.

 

[sanj]

Oh I just checked the replies and found you have figured it out. Great!

 

[Phil L]

I received mine on Monday and got out a few days this week to try it on BIF action.
My initial impressions on the first day of using it were that the jpegs right out of the camera were soft. I was confused since it really seemed like I was nailing the focus as I was taking the pictures.
I thought... if this was my old trusty original 7D the images would have all been sharp.

But I later figured it was a strange camera, I had been used to the feel and handling of the 7D with a battery grip, so give it a chance.
So I calmed myself down and went back out trying to pay more attention to technique.

Plus... I did increase the Sharpness in the settings. I'm still tweaking and dialing it in, but I now feel more comfortable and confident in the camera for wildlife action.

Here are my photo blog posts for the week if anyone wants to see how I made out.

Bald eagles, an osprey, and a gull mid air battle over a caught fish.

http://phillanoue.com/2014/11/08/bird-on-a-mission/

http://phillanoue.com/2014/11/07/high-speed-chase/

http://phillanoue.com/2014/11/06/osprey-double-dipper/

http://phillanoue.com/2014/11/05/looking-for-a-place-to-land/

http://phillanoue.com/2014/11/04/get-out-of-our-neighborhood/

 

[luckydude]

I've got the original 7D and the 5DIII. I hated the 7D after I got the 5D, it was way soft. But I played around with the in camera settings and found that the 7D wasn't sharpening as much as the 5D when shooting jpegs (which I do exclusively; I know, I know, but that's how I roll).

I liked the 7D quite a bit better after upping the sharpening.
********
Hey....Luckydude
.... exactly what did you do to the settings to up the sharpening????
Thanks.

I wandered through the menus and found one that said sharpening or something like that. Clicked it up a couple of ticks. If you can't find it let me know, I'll get my butt out of this chair and go find it for ya.

 

[Raptors]

Hey Sue,

I'd be interested to hear how you like the 7DII after the hockey shoot. I shoot roller hockey indoors and I used to use the 7DI but my goto setup is the 5DIII & the 200mm f2. If the 7DII does significantly better than the 7D at higher ISO then I could go with the 7DII & the 70-200mm 2.8 which is a little more flexible than the prime.

Thanks.

Hey luckydude,


I was planning on using the new 7DII on my recent hockey shoot, but the lighting was horrible! AS I have not had a chance to test the new 7D and
this being a paid shoot, I shot with my 1DX, 300mm 2.8II @6400 ISO. I mainly bought the 7D to use for my wildlife photography. I may try and go to the
local arena and test the 7dII...if I do , I will certainly post my findings.

Sue

 

[CLohmeyerJr]

I too am questioning the sharpness on my new 7D II. Today was the first day of shooting with this camera and here a re a few examples.

 

[CLohmeyerJr]

Another example.

 

[Act444]

Haven't had a chance to REALLY test out my 7D2 (i.e. at an actual event), but from test shots out and about, sharpness-wise all I can say is that it is significantly improved over the original 7D (which was soft on EVERYTHING), and about on par with my SL1/M. It only "looks soft" if I compare to my 5D3 (which we know is not a fair comparison)...

 

[MichaelHodges]

Looks like the 7D. Great features, soft results.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Looks like the 7D. Great features, soft results.

Is your opinion of the 7DII based on personal experience, or based on the images in this thread? The first two of those three posters solved their 'my 7DII is soft' issue, one with appropriate post-processing, the other with a lens adjustment (AFMA, presumably). The third, the eagles a couple of posts up on this page, the first of which is a front-focused image (also likely an AFMA issue) with abysmal white balance (or maybe it's perfectly accurate...if the bald eagle just took a swim in a vat of Tang).

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Every time a new model comes out, we have a flurry of posters with soft images.

In some cases, the camera needs to go back, but in most, the photographer needs to spend more time with his new camera.


When I received my 7D, one of the first to be shipped, I took it out and got s lot of oof images. After reviewing my settings, I tried again, and the results were much improved. The third time, I started to get consistently good results, but I did a lot of checking exif's on the bad photos in between.

With my 5D MK III, I did a AFMA on my lenses, then I set it up on a tripod, and took a few carefully controlled shots which were all razor sharp. After that, I knew any soft images were my error, and sure enough, they were.

 

[East Wind Photography]

Looks like the 7D. Great features, soft results.

Is your opinion of the 7DII based on personal experience, or based on the images in this thread? The first two of those three posters solved their 'my 7DII is soft' issue, one with appropriate post-processing, the other with a lens adjustment (AFMA, presumably). The third, the eagles a couple of posts up on this page, the first of which is a front-focused image (also likely an AFMA issue) with abysmal white balance (or maybe it's perfectly accurate...if the bald eagle just took a swim in a vat of Tang).

Based on the shadows it looks like the Eagles were taken during the golden hour. So the white balance is probobly correct.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Based on the shadows it looks like the Eagles were taken during the golden hour. So the white balance is probobly correct.

It seemed to me that the fork in the branch casting a shadow on the eagle's back suggests a higher sun angle than 'golden hour'. Still, my comment was a bit off-color and I apologize (for the comment and the bad pun).

Regardless, it appears front-focused - the bark on the trunk appears sharper than that on the branch where the eagle is perched. I'd test focus adjustment before questioning the sharpness of a new camera on the first day of shooting.

 

[CLohmeyerJr]

Looks like the 7D. Great features, soft results.

The third, the eagles a couple of posts up on this page, the first of which is a front-focused image (also likely an AFMA issue) with abysmal white balance (or maybe it's perfectly accurate...if the bald eagle just took a swim in a vat of Tang).

The suggestion that the photos are front focused is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. The camera is only three days old and it has not been to the shop to have the AFMA work done yet. As for the "tang" comment I will bite my tongue! It just so happens that this photo was taken very early in the morning and the sun was shining directly on this tree where the eagle was feasting. No matter what I did with white balance or color adjustment the orange tint will not go away.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Looks like the 7D. Great features, soft results.

The third, the eagles a couple of posts up on this page, the first of which is a front-focused image (also likely an AFMA issue) with abysmal white balance (or maybe it's perfectly accurate...if the bald eagle just took a swim in a vat of Tang).

The suggestion that the photos are front focused is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. The camera is only three days old and it has not been to the shop to have the AFMA work done yet. As for the "tang" comment I will bite my tongue! It just so happens that this photo was taken very early in the morning and the sun was shining directly on this tree where the eagle was feasting. No matter what I did with white balance or color adjustment the orange tint will not go away.

Not sure about 'been to the shop for AFMA'? AMFA is something you do yourself, at home. If you're still having issues after AFMA, the body (and/or lens) may need service. But backing up a step, there's an easy way to get a read on whether AFMA is going to help for a given lens+body combo. Use a stable tripod and choose a flat, high contrast target (a sheet of newsprint taped to a wall works), take a set of live view shots, then a set of phase (viewfinder) AF shots (set of = 5 or more), pick the sharpest of each and if LV is sharper, AFMA can help.

Sorry again about the Tang comment. :-[ As for the WB, what's your RAW converter? Here's a quick attempt of mine...

 

[CLohmeyerJr]

There is a shop where I live that I use to do the AFMA. After reading through how to do this I felt more comfortable letting an expert do it. They adjusted my original 7D to the same lens I used on the photos that I attached.

I am using Lightroom to convert my raw. I have only been using this for a few months so I do have a lot to learn. I would to hear how you made the orange tones go away.

 

[neuroanatomist]

There is a shop where I live that I use to do the AFMA. After reading through how to do this I felt more comfortable letting an expert do it. They adjusted my original 7D to the same lens I used on the photos that I attached.

Cool - I've never heard of a shop providing that as a service. Personally, I use Reikan FoCal.

I am using Lightroom to convert my raw. I have only been using this for a few months so I do have a lot to learn. I would to hear how you made the orange tones go away.

I use DxO Optics Pro. But I don't think that mattered for this - I have to confess, all I did was use the 'dropper' on one of the more weathered/neutral-looking patches of bark on the trunk. Perhaps I should have said a really quick attempt of mine?

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I also downloaded it and corrected the color in lightroom. I adjusted the head feathers to be white.

It appears to me that the camera focused on the crossing branch above the back of the bird. I'd check focus on a flat wall, its really easy to have a camera focus on the wrong area.

I assume that there was a high ISO, there is a lot of noise, so the fine detail is lost.

 

[Northstar]

I too am questioning the sharpness on my new 7D II. Today was the first day of shooting with this camera and here a re a few examples.

Ha...you're joking right? That eagle's eye look plenty sharp to me.

Where was the focus point? It does look like the branch and trunk in front of him are sharp too, and his body is not, which suggests the focus point might have caught that tree branch in front of him but the depth of field was great enough to get his eye in focus, but not his body? Just a guess.

I also did an edit for you....simply food for thought.

 

[Berowne]

your flicker site is impressive

+1
great shots!

+1 Very nice!