Review: Canon EOS 7D Mark II

[bholliman]

There is much more to a photo than IQ. Many who can't afford the 1dx or longer telephotos will find 7d2 ideal for their needs. They will know it is not the very best IQ in the market, but the very best IQ that they can afford.
And MANY MANY times the 2nd best IQ is just FINE. And difference visible only to pixel peeping photographers.

+1 I fully agree. I am often guilty of being a pixel peeper myself. Often the subtle differences in IQ that we make such a big deal about are imperceptible to 99% of the people viewing the picture.

 

[miah]

A 400 5.6 is about the longest lens I can comfortable carry and shoot hand held for a full day out. Even with the 7D2/4005.6L, my right shoulder is a bit sore.

Thanks for posting the great eagle shot, GraFax. I too use a 400 f/5.6 on my 5D3 and just yesterday received a new 7D2. Like you, I shoot a lot of wildlife and want a combo that I can carry around and handhold all day without getting too beat up. Question: I'm thinking about getting a grip for the 7D2. I've never owned or used a grip, but I like the concept. Do you think a grip would add more bulk/weight to the combo than it's worth?

 

[Ryan85]

A 400 5.6 is about the longest lens I can comfortable carry and shoot hand held for a full day out. Even with the 7D2/4005.6L, my right shoulder is a bit sore.

Thanks for posting the great eagle shot, GraFax. I too use a 400 f/5.6 on my 5D3 and just yesterday received a new 7D2. Like you, I shoot a lot of wildlife and want a combo that I can carry around and handhold all day without getting too beat up. Question: I'm thinking about getting a grip for the 7D2. I've never owned or used a grip, but I like the concept. Do you think a grip would add more bulk/weight to the combo than it's worth?

Hi Miah, like you I just got my 7d2 this weekend and will be using my 400 5.6 with it. I have been using my 5d3 with the lens. As far as the battery grip goes IMO if you are going to shoot vertical/portriat orientation a lot the grip will help you use better form while handholding. It is going to,add weight so if you hand hold all day that might get to you.

 

[Loswr]

A 400 5.6 is about the longest lens I can comfortable carry and shoot hand held for a full day out. Even with the 7D2/4005.6L, my right shoulder is a bit sore.

Thanks for posting the great eagle shot, GraFax. I too use a 400 f/5.6 on my 5D3 and just yesterday received a new 7D2. Like you, I shoot a lot of wildlife and want a combo that I can carry around and handhold all day without getting too beat up. Question: I'm thinking about getting a grip for the 7D2. I've never owned or used a grip, but I like the concept. Do you think a grip would add more bulk/weight to the combo than it's worth?

Hi Miah, like you I just got my 7d2 this weekend and will be using my 400 5.6 with it. I have been using my 5d3 with the lens. As far as the battery grip goes IMO if you are going to shoot vertical/portriat orientation a lot the grip will help you use better form while handholding. It is going to,add weight so if you hand hold all day that might get to you.

Personally, I find it less tiring to handhold a gripped body all day if a large lens (the 400/5.6 certainly qualifies) is being used. If your hands are medium-large, you can use your whole hand on the body, not just 3 fingers.

 

[miah]

A 400 5.6 is about the longest lens I can comfortable carry and shoot hand held for a full day out. Even with the 7D2/4005.6L, my right shoulder is a bit sore.

Thanks for posting the great eagle shot, GraFax. I too use a 400 f/5.6 on my 5D3 and just yesterday received a new 7D2. Like you, I shoot a lot of wildlife and want a combo that I can carry around and handhold all day without getting too beat up. Question: I'm thinking about getting a grip for the 7D2. I've never owned or used a grip, but I like the concept. Do you think a grip would add more bulk/weight to the combo than it's worth?

Hi Miah, like you I just got my 7d2 this weekend and will be using my 400 5.6 with it. I have been using my 5d3 with the lens. As far as the battery grip goes IMO if you are going to shoot vertical/portriat orientation a lot the grip will help you use better form while handholding. It is going to,add weight so if you hand hold all day that might get to you.

Thanks, Ryan85! In addition to less typical vertical shots, I've heard the 7D2 eats batteries, so I was thinking the grip would be nice to keep the party going all day long without having to swap batteries at a critical moment. Murphy's Law has caught me a number of times, swapping batteries right when the crucial moment comes and goes. That said, I hate carrying anymore weight/bulk than absolutely necessary, so I'm leaning towards going without. I'd like to hear from Grafax, since he's been shooting with his rig for a while, now. I'm headed to Bosque del Apache on Thursday, so I need to order (or not) that grip today.

Adding to GraFax's comment from earlier in the thread, I noticed he said he hasn't had much luck with a 1.4x TC on the 400 f/5.6. I'd have to agree that it's not the preferred set-up, but I've captured some of my best shots of BIF with the 1.4x TC attached to the 400 with my 5D3. In other words, that combo gives me fewer keepers, but when it hits--it hits!

 

[miah]

A 400 5.6 is about the longest lens I can comfortable carry and shoot hand held for a full day out. Even with the 7D2/4005.6L, my right shoulder is a bit sore.

Thanks for posting the great eagle shot, GraFax. I too use a 400 f/5.6 on my 5D3 and just yesterday received a new 7D2. Like you, I shoot a lot of wildlife and want a combo that I can carry around and handhold all day without getting too beat up. Question: I'm thinking about getting a grip for the 7D2. I've never owned or used a grip, but I like the concept. Do you think a grip would add more bulk/weight to the combo than it's worth?

Hi Miah, like you I just got my 7d2 this weekend and will be using my 400 5.6 with it. I have been using my 5d3 with the lens. As far as the battery grip goes IMO if you are going to shoot vertical/portriat orientation a lot the grip will help you use better form while handholding. It is going to,add weight so if you hand hold all day that might get to you.

Personally, I find it less tiring to handhold a gripped body all day if a large lens (the 400/5.6 certainly qualifies) is being used. If your hands are medium-large, you can use your whole hand on the body, not just 3 fingers.

Thanks, Neuro. My hands are in the medium-large category and without gloves I can pretty comfortably hold on to the 5D3/7D2 body with all four fingers. But once I'm wearing gloves, forget it. I know you shoot with a 1Dx. Do you find the extra grip nice to have when you're wearing gloves out in winter conditions? If so, even just using the removable grip seasonally might be a worthwhile investment (especially since batteries drain faster in the cold, as well).

 

[Ryan85]

Thanks for,the advice on the 1.4x extender. Your right I've heard the 7d2 does really eat the battery up so the grip may be a good idea. If you want to talk to GraFax you might ask him on a different thread like anything posted with a 7d2, he said he's done with this one as there's been some disagreement with ff vs crop. I'm not familiar with the place your heading Thursday but enjoy and I hope the new camera helps you capture some great photos!

 

[JoFT]

I read a bit of the topics here on this thread. I have a long story with the 7D. I wanted to avoid the investment into the Canon 28-300mm-L-Lens. Shooting Hockey in halls.. Field hockey. Not Ice Hockey. My daughters plays it... 7D+ 24-105 should work from the focal range - and did work but definitely not from the noise point of view.... I was totally disappointed... I wanted to sell it. And I bought the 28-300mmL as well as the 5DMIII....

But than came the "Aha-Moments".
• Field Hockey in the summer outdoors: Best choice: 23-300L with the 7D!! no way, also for soccer!!!
• Birds, Animals: great, especially with the 100-400
• Ski Racing with the 100-400: just amazing...
• flash control with off camera flash: also great...

Big improvements against bot 5D´s MkII & III really.

For me it was no sauté: the 7D MarkII is a must - and I am not disappointed: it is a great camera. It has the best Autofocus I ever used... You can use it as general purpose camera, but it´s bulky... Use it for what it is made for - and there is no better camera on the market for those purposes...

And to give you some ideas:
http://delightphoto.zenfolio.com/blog/2014/11/7d-mark-ii-the-beast---reloaded

 

[miah]

Thanks for,the advice on the 1.4x extender. Your right I've heard the 7d2 does really eat the battery up so the grip may be a good idea. If you want to talk to GraFax you might ask him on a different thread like anything posted with a 7d2, he said he's done with this one as there's been some disagreement with ff vs crop. I'm not familiar with the place your heading Thursday but enjoy and I hope the new camera helps you capture some great photos!

Thanks, Ryan85; I PM'ed Grafax, so hopefully he'll rejoin the stage...

 

[justaCanonuser]

Absent a major firmware update, I don't think the NX1 is going to make any in roads into the Canon/Nikon sports and wildlife markets.

As long as only a small to nothing selection of good tele lenses with Samsung mount is available, the NX1 will be no match for Canon/Nikon sports and/or wildlife shooters. But I appreciate that brands such as Samsung try hard to challenge the (still) big players, we users can only profit from competition.

I expect the 7D2 to be what my old 7D, my 5D3 and older Canon models always proved to be: solid tools you can always rely on when you need them to perform - even in rough terrains, even after crashing against rocks. That's what really matters.

But my feeling is that we are really encountering the last days of the SLR dinosaur period. That said, they still are damn good cameras! And as long as mirrorless cameras with bigger sensors are not with fast electronic shutters available, digital photography is not mature anyway. Hey Sony, where's your AX without mechanically shuddering shutter? This challenge might be a chance for Canon to return as a really innovative company, the dual pixel AF was already a good move.

 

[rany]

The Mark II is the successor to the original 7D, look at the review: http://d800vsd810.com/canon-eos-7d-mark-ii-review/