New EOS 7D Mark II Firmware Available Tomorrow

[East Wind Photography]

Lots of autofocus bugs that need to be addressed, but no fixes yet

Says who?

I've seen a lot of user error, but precious little evidence of "bugs"...

Kieth, despite the fact that your camera works perfectly (or at least you think it does) there are many of us with 7d2 that are not working perfectly. Not everyone with these problems can blame user error. I have a 1d4, 5d2, 5d3 for comparison and one of the problematic 7d2. i sent it in to canon, canon confirmed it had AF problems, fixed it and shipped it back. The difference is dramatic. Images are consistently in sharp focus now.

There's a difference between a defective camera unit and a bug or recall-level manufacturing flaw.

Time will tell, but when one person experiences a problem it may be due to a defective unit, when many people experience the problem...

CR is not the only place on the web where people are reporting AF problems with the 7D2. It is a widespread discussion and happening in many circles of photography. Argue semantics if it makes you feel better or more superior, but it does not deflate the fact that there are issues with this camera that go beyond an isolated incident where one person is making a stink.

Neuro, how is YOUR canon 7D2 performing?

When the 7D came out in 2009, there were many reports of AF problems. Threads on DPR and POTN running to dozens of pages describing those problems. YouTube video demos. A widespread discussion that happened in many circles of photography. A couple of people here on CR forums still haven't gotten over it. Where is the Service Notice from Canon for the 7D AF recall?

MY 7D performed quite well. The 7DII bodies I've tried out (three different ones now) have performed just fine, too.

I thought the 7D AF was ok as well coming up from a 9 point AF system. however once I worked with the 5D3, 1DX and now the 7D2, the 7D AF system was so bad that I never used it again. So in hind sight yes it has problems, possibly not design flaws, just old tech that is obsolete and something I dont have time or the desire to deal with now that I have a plethora of new tools at hand. One of the big issues with crop sensors (and particularly the higher MP versions) is that they magnify the imperfections in everything..by almost double(1.6x). Even a perfectly working version will still not perform exactly as well as a 5d3 and certainly not a 1dx. I'll qualify that in saying that the 7D2 has a magnification benefit in that small targets are larger than in a full frame model and "perhaps" easier to acquire AF in some circumstances. The precision is more of the problem (crop sensor) though than accuracy (better on full frame).

Largely to have the magnification factor available, the lack of precision is just something we have to deal with until the next quantum leap in AF technology, perhaps the ability to focus after the image is recorded.

 

[matukas]

Fingers crossed for AF improvement and even less noise on jpg and raw images
And maybe some video improvements too?

This update corrects the following issue:

• The EOS 7D Mark II is not the EOS 1D C

The firmware download will include a template to be printed on cardstock and applied to the exterior of your 7D Mark II.

You just struck gold there, imagine a rubberised 'tough' protection cover in the shape of your fav 1D series, Ideal for wanna be pros ;D

Few weeks ago I was presented this weird product for my 1DsIII

Camera Armor. Maybe there is some aftermarket for this kind of camouflage for 7D2 with grip

 

[dolina]

My setup. If you can, kindly tell me if the images with 1.0.4 are sharp or not. If you need more info I am glad to provide it.

EOS 7D Mark II with 1.0.4
EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM
AI Servo with appropriate focus limiter, AF is ON, IS is on Mode 1 and IS is ON

Late 2012 27-inch iMac Core i7
Aperture 3.6
OS X 10.10.3

These are Grabs at 2560x1389

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5451/17638727451_7e41206d1a_o.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8685/17636240682_63d37e66e9_o.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8727/17018310863_e9766057ed_o.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5455/17612340266_44788b3e65_o.jpg

 

[lkwan78]

Are all 7dmk2 affected?

Has anyone published a step by step test to see if their 7dmk2 is affected?

I have two 7dmk2's, and on 5/11/15 I shot 863 pics at a little league baseball game. I shot quite a few bursts and action shots using AI SERVO with 65 AF points. The game began at 6:30 and the sun set around 7:30 CST. I had the camera set to 1/1000 on TV and ISO somewhere around 800-3200. I tried 6400 at an indoor volleyball game a week prior, and it was just too noisy.

I'm not blaming the camera 100%, bc i still think most of the errors are my lack of experience with my new 600f/4, but i can't help to think how many more shots would have been keepers?

I hope we can get this fixed so i can get have a higher ratio of keepers next time.

 

[East Wind Photography]

Are all 7dmk2 affected?

Has anyone published a step by step test to see if their 7dmk2 is affected?

I have two 7dmk2's, and on 5/11/15 I shot 863 pics at a little league baseball game. I shot quite a few bursts and action shots using AI SERVO with 65 AF points. The game began at 6:30 and the sun set around 7:30 CST. I had the camera set to 1/1000 on TV and ISO somewhere around 800-3200. I tried 6400 at an indoor volleyball game a week prior, and it was just too noisy.

I'm not blaming the camera 100%, bc i still think most of the errors are my lack of experience with my new 600f/4, but i can't help to think how many more shots would have been keepers?

I hope we can get this fixed so i can get have a higher ratio of keepers next time.

Have you AFMA matched your camera to your lens? That can fix a LOT of AF issues. Before I sent mine in for repair I was getting only 10% keepers after lens calibration. The AF in servo mode was jumpy, often losing lock for no apparent reason.

No reason you shouldnt be getting 90-95% in focus with that lens as long as you are using a fast shutter speed and setup is stable.

If you are not getting that then it might be good to have Canon check it out.

 

[flyingSquirrel]

My setup. If you can, kindly tell me if the images with 1.0.4 are sharp or not.
These are Grabs at 2560x1389

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5451/17638727451_7e41206d1a_o.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8685/17636240682_63d37e66e9_o.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8727/17018310863_e9766057ed_o.jpg

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5455/17612340266_44788b3e65_o.jpg

According to my standards, none of those shots are sharp. It may be a combination of the focus being off, and/or the shutter speed not being sufficient. For a shot to be sharp, in my book, the feather detail should be razor sharp, so you can see every single individual strand, with no softness or OOF look to it. Especially with the 800mm lens, the results should be incredible if everything is done properly and the equipment is working properly.

 

[flyingSquirrel]

I have two 7dmk2's, and on 5/11/15 I shot 863 pics at a little league baseball game. I shot quite a few bursts and action shots using AI SERVO with 65 AF points. The game began at 6:30 and the sun set around 7:30 CST. I had the camera set to 1/1000 on TV and ISO somewhere around 800-3200.

In my opinion, the major mistake you made is using 65 AF points. I don't even know why that option exists. The camera doesn't know what point you want it to focus on, so you'll get a bunch of shots that are focused in random places all over the board. You should be using a smaller grouping of focus points, and making sure that you put those points on your subject (the face, if possible). For wildlife shooting, I use a single AF point.

Your SS of 1/1000 is most likely too slow for the kind of action you're shooting, especially because of the focal length you are working with.

The IS mode that you used (1, 2, 3, on / off) will also affect the results, as well as whether you used a tripod, and so on.

Consider also, all of the AF settings and configuration options on the 7D2 will play a HUGE role in the results.

There are so many variables.

I'm not blaming the camera 100%, bc i still think most of the errors are my lack of experience with my new 600f/4, but i can't help to think how many more shots would have been keepers?

I hope we can get this fixed so i can get have a higher ratio of keepers next time.

I think your initial analysis of the situation is probably accurate. I would recommend that you improve your skills with your new lens - in particular, read the manual carefully a couple times, learn what the settings do, and experiment / test them. Super teles take some skill and knowledge to get the proper results.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

When the 7D came out in 2009, there were many reports of AF problems. Threads on DPR and POTN running to dozens of pages describing those problems. YouTube video demos. A widespread discussion that happened in many circles of photography. A couple of people here on CR forums still haven't gotten over it. Where is the Service Notice from Canon for the 7D AF recall?

MY 7D performed quite well. The 7DII bodies I've tried out (three different ones now) have performed just fine, too.

I pre-ordered the original 7D, and AF stumped me my first outing. Rather than post about the issues, I went back, read the manual again, and tried different settings. The 2nd time I used it, it was perfect because I had the wrong settings the first time. There was a lot of posts from users who had problems, but most of them were similar to mine.

The thing I did not like was its poor high ISO performance. Eventually, RAW processors and NR became good enough to allow me to extend my use above ISO 800.