Official: Canon EOS 7D Mark II

[ScubaX]

The selected point appears when I activate AF (I use rear-button AF). However, I cannot move it until I first hit the AF mode selection button...then that frees the AF point to be moved somewhere else with the joystick. In other modes, I just have to activate AF, then I can move the selected point with the joystick without the intermediate requirement of pressing AF mode first.

I use back-button AF, I just tap the AF-ON button then I can move the joystick to move the AF point (even after I've released the AF-ON button, although as I stated above, moving the AF point 'times out' just like the metering). That's in all modes, including AI Servo + 61-pt auto.

I dunno what's up. I'm kind of ticked, as since I reset, I now have to press that AF mode button to get the AF point movable in every AF mode. I can no longer simply tap the joystick (after initially activating AF, however that's done) to get it moving. :'( I think something is up with my 5D III.

My 5D3 did the same exact thing right after I got it back from CPS. I thought it might be a setting, but it turned out the lock button was on. Hope it's that simple for you, I never use mine so it took me a while to look at it - that was big "duh" moment.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

If wildlife stills were the only goal I'd definitely rather have the 7D2 over the 5D3.

I'm not so sure about that. A friend of mine with a 70D took some test shots and I don't think the 70D performance at 1600 is all that much better than my 7D. If so, Canon needs some magic in that "low light sensitivity" improvement to the 20.2 Mpixel sensor to make the 7Dii worthwhile, IMO. Without a usable 1600 (or higher) ISO, I'm thinking I wasted all this time waiting for the 7Dii and maybe the 5Diii is the answer.
I'm definitely NOT pre-ordering.

Most of the time I end up totally reach limited when shooting wildlife. In that scenario the FF noise advantage goes away. If you can get close enough to frame as you with the FF, then sure, that is better (so long as you also get enough DOF shooting wide open).

But this would probably do at least as well for noise when reach limited as the 5D3 would and, when the light is a bit better, get you more detail as well. The AF also should be better than the 5D3 and it has more fps.

So for wildlife and nothing else, I'd lean this over the 5D3 for sure. Unless you tend to be able to shoot very close most of the time and the fps and potential AF difference doesn't matter.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

Ok..something has to be wrong...on the DPReview in section 4.Body and Design...it states

"The 7D Mark II uses a new battery, the LP-E6N, that has a higher capacity than the previous LP-E6 batteries found in the 5D Mark III and its predecessor. Importantly, though, the form factor remains the same, which means you should still be able to use the older LP-E6 batteries in it.

The battery gives a battery life of 670 shots in viewfinder shooting and 250 shots in live view mode."

670 shots on one battery that can't be true....with my 60d, with the grip installed with two batteries I can easily get around 9000 shots. I have 4 batteries and can shoot an entire day without recharging...most I have done in a day is about 16,000 photos.

That does sound too low. I just shot about 3000 shots yesterday with my 5D3 on one battery. The 7D2 does have more chips in it though. OTOH it has a smaller mirror to move. OTOH it moves it faster. But yeah 670 sounds too low. I'd think it should it should manage at least 3000 on one battery and probably even more even despite the extra chips.

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

I'm not so sure about that. A friend of mine with a 70D took some test shots and I don't think the 70D performance at 1600 is all that much better than my 7D. If so, Canon needs some magic in that "low light sensitivity" improvement to the 20.2 Mpixel sensor to make the 7Dii worthwhile, IMO. Without a usable 1600 (or higher) ISO, I'm thinking I wasted all this time waiting for the 7Dii and maybe the 5Diii is the answer.
I'm definitely NOT pre-ordering.

That's only the answer if you can either get closer, or use a bigger lens (500/4 versus 300/4, 300/2.8 versus 200/2.8, etc.). If neither is the case, most likely the camera with the smaller pixels will win.

Exactly, only I'm looking at the 800/4 vs my 5004 and that's an EXPENSIVE proposition.
I was hoping that Canon would come up with something that matched the EXMOR process, which would give me a usable 1600.

Exmor doesn't really help at high ISO much. It's more at ISO100-800 where it helps.

 

[vjlex]

I'm happy to admit and glad I was wrong about the price point. I thought for sure it was gonna be over $2000. Even though I'm not in the market for a new camera at the moment, I admit this 7D Mark II looks pretty good; the excelling point being the very reasonable price. I still don't understand the $3500 introductory price tag for the Mark III. I hope this 7D II sells well! And I hope when the 5D Mark IV does come that they don't make that mistake again. It's still unbelievable to me to think that the 5D Mark III started out at basically twice the price of the 7D Mark II...

 

[Eldar]

I have played with some of the files at:
http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/samples/eos7dmk2/
And they look very promising to me. I will wait for more objective reviews, but it seems likely that I will get the 7DII as a supplement to my 1DX for birds and wildlife and keep on waiting for the high MP/high DR (at lower ISO) alternative ...

 

[Deleted member 372972]

Are there some japan speaking (reading) people there?
On web.canon.jp site is lot of information about the 7D Mark II
http://cweb.canon.jp/eos/lineup/7dmk2/feature-highquality.html

or this

There is a japan AF guide for the 7D Mark II
http://cweb.canon.jp/eos/lineup/7dmk2/img/pdf/af-guide.pdf


The google translation isn't great, but if right the sensor is made in a new process

The new process introduced in the CMOS semiconductor process
Order to ensure aperture ratio of the photodiode (photoelectric conversion efficiency) up and introduce low-profile and a new technical refinement process in CMOS semiconductor process. I was able by optimizing the device structure, to increase the light collection efficiency of the photodiode further. As a result, in spite of the pixel size reduced by the number of pixels, we have achieved high ISO sensitivity, low noise and a wide dynamic range.

 

[Northstar]

I can't wait to read the DXO review of this sensor!! 8) :

 

[Roo]

I think the new camera sounds ace and I want one but I'm a bit miffed at the price here in the UK. at current exchange rates the US price of 1800$ works out at about £1100 and the European price of 1700 euros at about £1350. Yet we are to be charged £1600. Rip off Britain strikes again.

It's the same here in Oz. I was hoping for a price of au$2000 based on the us$1799 price but it's being priced at au$2499. Maybe we'll get the US pricing if we get rid of the Union Jack from our flag ;D

 

[whothafunk]

I think the new camera sounds ace and I want one but I'm a bit miffed at the price here in the UK. at current exchange rates the US price of 1800$ works out at about £1100 and the European price of 1700 euros at about £1350. Yet we are to be charged £1600. Rip off Britain strikes again.

European price in Slovenia means 2000 euros (2587$) and not 1700, as you stated.

 

[lintoni]

I think the new camera sounds ace and I want one but I'm a bit miffed at the price here in the UK. at current exchange rates the US price of 1800$ works out at about £1100 and the European price of 1700 euros at about £1350. Yet we are to be charged £1600. Rip off Britain strikes again.

It's the same here in Oz. I was hoping for a price of au$2000 based on the us$1799 price but it's being priced at au$2499. Maybe we'll get the US pricing if we get rid of the Union Jack from our flag and replace it with the stars and stripes;D

Ftfy

 

[Quest for Light]

I think the new camera sounds ace and I want one but I'm a bit miffed at the price here in the UK. at current exchange rates the US price of 1800$ works out at about £1100 and the European price of 1700 euros at about £1350. Yet we are to be charged £1600. Rip off Britain strikes again.

European price in Slovenia means 2000 euros (2587$) and not 1700, as you stated.

it´s 1699 euro in germany and that´s the official price from canon.

 

[whothafunk]

order 1 for me and ill even add 20eur for your trouble

 

[Datfish]

It's the same here in Oz. I was hoping for a price of au$2000 based on the us$1799 price but it's being priced at au$2499. Maybe we'll get the US pricing if we get rid of the Union Jack from our flag ;D

F#@&^%$ Typical Of Canon Australia and Aussie Retailers....and they wonder why people shop on line offshore despite Canons "no Grey Import " Warranty conditions. That said the dollar has fallen to low 0.90 but not to 0.72!!!!!!

I bought my 5d3 in December 2012 online and paid $AUD 2900 for it then, not the $4000+ Australian sellers were wanting. I also paid and extra $200 for a Mack Diamond 3 Yr Warranty which I have not needed .....suggest those looking at the 7D2 in the near term look around and do the same......... and save heaps!

 

[KacperP]

Noise performance is noticeably better than 7D.
Maybe I'm wrong but 60D/7D noise @ ISO 3200 is similar to 7D2 noise @ ISO 12800

 

[marinien]

I honestly do not believe any Canon or Nikon system currently has anything like flexible spot. I know there are the zone and all points modes, but when you pick a single AF point, as far as I know (and maybe the 1D X is different), only that one point will be used, regardless.

I think you are mistaken. Just to make sure we're on the same page here regarding the 5DIII (that page is p.77 from the 5DIII manual), with 61-pt auto selection in AI Servo, you manually select any single AF (1), and the AF system will track the subject across the array of AF points, switching points (2).

So again, can you please explain what is different about the Sony system?

Well, maybe it's just something up with my 5D III. It's currently in my hands. I'm looking at the top LCD, and it says "AI SERVO". When I look through the viewfinder, I see the AF display for One-Shot AF. I don't see any AF points displayed...I only see the brackets. If I move the joystick around, no AF point shows up or is selected. If I activate AF...THEN I see AF points.

So, your telling me that my 5D III isn't behaving properly....that sucks. :\ I guess I need to figure out what's wrong, because I haven't been using the all points mode because it doesn't always initially lock onto my subject properly, and I often miss shots. On the other hand, using single point selection mode is a PITA for BIF.

A tip worth trying is to toggle through the AF modes and try again when you get to the all-points mode. A couple of times and don´t ask me how it happens, I have seen what you describe. But for me it has been sufficient to toggle through the modes and try again.

I reset the camera, and tried that, and it still did not work. Then, I just hit the AF mode button (the one on the back, which you press first, before pressing M-Fn to actually switch modes), and moved the joystick. That worked. So, in most AF modes, you can just move the joystick, and the selected AF point moves. But in all points mode, you have to first hit mode, then use the joystick to move the AF point? Seems very tedious...

But, it does seem to work...mostly. It does initially lock onto the subject under my selected point...but it jumps a lot. As I track, it doesn't seem to really STICK to the originally selected subject...which is kind of annoying. I am not using my 600mm lens, though, so maybe it will work better on that.

I have to say, AI Servo with 61-pt auto is one of my most frequently used modes, it's C3 on my 'everyday' shooting setup. Great to be able to start at a lateral point, pick up a subject moving across the frame, and have the camera track that subject through the frame. The active AF points literally dance across the viewfinder.

When I look through the VF in AI Servo with 61-pt auto, I see a single point showing within the brackets (as I said, I have a different one set for each orientation). As is expected, you need to either tap the AF point select button or the tap the shutter button to move the AF point around with the joystick (that's true in One Shot or AI Servo - the AF system has to be active, and it times out with the metering timeout - although that is selectable on the 1-series).

At least you now know that something you've described as "pretty amazing" and also as "impressive" and "kick-ass" as a Sony 'innovation' is something your 5DIII has been able to do all along (although having the metering tied in as it is on the 1D X and 7DII is even better).

Wait ... sorry to come back to this: this feature was already implemented in the 7D (yes, the one which was out in 2009, page 90 user's manual). If I am not wrong, the 7D is the first Canon dSLR which has this feature. And just like Neuro, this was one of my most frequently used mode

 

[Synkka]

$2499 is $2250 without tax convert it to USD based on 0.90 exchange rate is $2025, so it's still up but not too terrible. Canon Australia has actually been pricing better in recent times, but new products are over priced and there will always be an early adopter fee.
Anyway it will be interesting to see how it goes I suspect a lot of my birding friends will pick it up.

 

[Justhandguns]

Just a quick question. Nobody has mentioned anything about micro adjustment on the MkII, any idea?

 

[Khalai]

Just a quick question. Nobody has mentioned anything about micro adjustment on the MkII, any idea?

AFMA is a given, no need to think otherwise. That would be a shot in the foot with bazooka no less.

 

[dufflover]

I eyeballed the ISO3200 and ISO800 samples against my 70D shots (unfortunately most unprocessed so it's a bit of a tricky RAW to JPG comparison), and the level of grain looks pretty much the same to me. Perhaps a tad sharper due to further improvements in the JPEG engine. I dunno to be lenient maybe 1/3 stop better than the 70D, which is ~1/3 more than the 7D. And I say these numbers as a rough guide of overall practical looks rather than specifically in grain or DR (e.g. reduced shadow banding and AA filter improvements).

Definitely not more than 1 stop. Heck FF is only about 2 stops lol bit over excited Kacper