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Archive 2015 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

Liquidstone
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

Let me share a recent series of captures taken of a raptor diving for prey. I've already posted these before, but I'm reposting it in its own thread just to balance recent threads on the 7D MII's "AF issues."

I shot 27 frames from the time the raptor started to dive till it flew away with its catch. ALL frames are in good focus, and that's a 100% accuracy rate for fast action. I'm very impressed on this AF performance considering that the subject is smallish in the frame (70 - 90 m shooting distance) and the BG in most of the shots is featured.

My 7D MII purchased less than two weeks ago was probably old stock, as it came with FW 1.0.2. I updated to FW 1.0.5 and confirmed my MFA before going to the field. I used 65-points AI servo in the series, shot hand held in M mode, with the 400 DO II + 1.4 TC III mounted.

Here are thumbnails of the whole 27-shot series. I paused a bit after frame no. RO722229 (6th shot in the sequence) to conserve my buffer for the impending explosive action. The EXIF time stamps for the first and last shots are "Shooting Date/Time 11/11/2015 2:53:50 PM" and "Shooting Date/Time 11/11/2015 2:53:55 PM," respectively. This means that all these action happened in a span of about 5 seconds.

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/161868284/original.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/161868291/original.jpg

Here's one of the frames from the series - 3600 x 2400 crop resized to 1500 x1000:

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/161831457/original.jpg

Link to my webpage showing 8 selected frames, with background and shooting info.

Now, I don't disbelieve that there are 7D II copies which might have AF issues, especially those reported by experienced shooters. However, both the beta 7D MII I tested way back in late 2014, as well as my recent copy, have AF performance better than my 1D IV. Perhaps, I'm twice lucky?

To those happy with their 7D MII, please feel free to post your images showing how great the AF is of this amazing camera, which IMHO is perfect for us who can't afford a 1Dx.

Regards,

Romy

Nov 16, 2015 at 06:23 PM

JohnBrose
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

Glad you got a good one, my two are far less than spectacular-my 1d3 is better. I would love to be happy with them. Sorry to comment if you only wanted people that were loving the focus.

Nov 16, 2015 at 06:37 PM

robbytres
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

I've recently taken the plunge and bought a 7D mark ii as well, and though I've only had it out once so far I am really pleased with it. Focused straight out of the box, no MFA was needed on the 600mm lens either bare or with the 1.4 tc.

AF with the 1.4 attached seems a lot quicker than my 1D4, which was a bit of a shock.

Image quality wise, I can't find anything wrong so far, though I've yet to test it in a variety of conditions. My brief dalliance with the original 7D left me very unhappy with the noisy blue sky even at 100iso, so what I have seen with the new one is a huge improvement over that.

My first few test shots with the new camera are here (these are all with a 1.4 converter attached, taken at iso 400)

http://www.pbase.com/rsscanlon/birds_of_britain_from_nov_2015

Despite not having done that much photography over this last few years, I have always (since my first 1D mk ii) had a strong preference for the image quality produced by the 1d series cameras. This new camera is making me seriously think twice about that.

Nov 16, 2015 at 06:42 PM

Liquidstone
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

JohnBrose wrote:
Glad you got a good one, my two are far less than spectacular-my 1d3 is better. I would love to be happy with them. Sorry to comment if you only wanted people that were loving the focus.

Your comment is welcome, John... hope you get a good focusing one in the future.

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:00 PM

PetKal
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

Good show, pare......you get bonus points for shots where the bird is just above water.

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:06 PM

Liquidstone
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

robbytres wrote:
I've recently taken the plunge and bought a 7D mark ii as well, and though I've only had it out once so far I am really pleased with it. Focused straight out of the box, no MFA was needed on the 600mm lens either bare or with the 1.4 tc.

AF with the 1.4 attached seems a lot quicker than my 1D4, which was a bit of a shock.

Image quality wise, I can't find anything wrong so far, though I've yet to test it in a variety of conditions. My brief dalliance with the original 7D left me very unhappy...Show more →

Amazing avian images, Robby!

All awesome, and my favorites are these BIFs - great detail, lovely colors and very nice BG.

http://www.pbase.com/rsscanlon/image/161858380
http://www.pbase.com/rsscanlon/image/161860222

Romy

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:06 PM

Liquidstone
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

PetKal wrote:
Good show, pare......you get bonus points for shots where the bird is just above water.

Thanks, Pete. One downside of hand held BIF shooting for me (as opposed to tripod mounted shooting) is my difficulty in maintaining a level horizon, which is noticeable in many of the frames. I lost my presence of mind in my excitement at witnessing the unfolding action.

Still, I'd take a tilted horizon which is easy to correct in PP for the freedom of movement hand holding affords.

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:09 PM

Liquidstone
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

No pixel was cropped out in this full frame capture.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Shooting Info - Sto. Tomas, La Union, Philippines, November 7, 2015, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + EF 1.4x TC III, 560 mm, f/7.1, 1/2500 sec, ISO 320, manual exposure in available light, hand held, uncropped full frame resized to 1800 x 1200

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/161809590/original.jpg

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:17 PM

Imagemaster
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

Merlins are small falcons that are very powerful and fast flyers.

I don't have any sequences of birds flying towards me as I don't find those type of shots very aesthetically pleasing, and most birds don't fly towards me.

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:30 PM

PetKal
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

OK pare, since you are tempting me, I'll post another one of my 7DII keepers, as long as you do not expect me to say that my 7DMkII rocks.

Edited on Nov 19, 2015 at 06:04 PM · View previous versions

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:30 PM

Methodical
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

Looks good to me.

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:31 PM

Liquidstone
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

Imagemaster wrote:
Merlins are small falcons that are very powerful and fast flyers.

I don't have any sequences of birds flying towards me as I don't find those type of shots very aesthetically pleasing, and most birds don't fly towards me.

Awesome BIFs as usual, Tony.... looks like your 7D MII and 100-400 II are made for each other!

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:40 PM

Liquidstone
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

PetKal wrote:
OK pare, since you are tempting me, I'll post another one of my 7DII keepers, as long as you do not expect me to say that my 7DMkII rocks.

Another amazing BIF macro, Pete. Canon perhaps needs more "dissatisfied" 7D2 users like you posting shots like this.

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:42 PM

arbitrage
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

In that type of light mine can now nail the shots also....lower light....not so much....

Also I see you used 65 point...I have found the 7D2 to be much better in the "Auto" modes like Zone and 65 and not as good in the expansion modes which is the exact opposite of my 1DX. However, since my 7D2 came back from CPS the expansion mode has seen much improvement at least in moderate to good light.

Sometimes it works even in low light....

Edited on Nov 16, 2015 at 07:59 PM · View previous versions

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:46 PM

PetKal
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

Liquidstone wrote:
Another amazing BIF macro, Pete. Canon perhaps needs more "dissatisfied" 7D2 users like you posting shots like this.

Thanx pare.....what you do not see are those many softish shots in that whole sequence, and even that BE I've just posted is not as sharp (well focused) as I'd want it to be.

Nov 16, 2015 at 07:50 PM

Liquidstone
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

PetKal wrote:
Thanx pare.....what you do not see are those many softish shots in that whole sequence, and even that BE I've just posted is not as sharp (well focused) as I'd want it to be.

My perspective on percentage of keepers:

My BIF sessions normally are in the late afternoon - good for about 3 hours of good light in our parts. I usually don't shoot BIFs in the morning because the golden light lasts only for less than an hour in our spot on earth (plus I might have had too many San Miguels the night before

).

I average about a thousand frames per session, and if only 10 % are sharp, that amounts to 100 images. Now, of the sharp images, let's say only 10 % have good aesthetics.... that's still 10 aesthetic and sharp images. Further, if only 10 % of the 10 images is a 24"x36" frameable eye-popper, that's one masterpiece for 3-hours of shooting fun!

Beats a sculptor or a painter, who has to toil for days, month, or even years to make an excellent piece.

Of course, my actual % of sharp captures is way more than 10% of the frames.

Nov 16, 2015 at 08:47 PM

PetKal
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

Romy, please forgive me for posting an almost-BIF shot: the duck is flapping his wings, and building up propellant speed, and about to become airborne (i.e., BIF) any moment.

Handheld 7DII + 600 II

Edited on Nov 19, 2015 at 06:06 PM · View previous versions

Nov 16, 2015 at 09:17 PM

Liquidstone
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

PetKal wrote:
Romy, please forgive me for posting an almost-BIF shot: the duck is flapping his wings, and building up propellant speed, and about to become airborne (i.e., BIF) any moment.

Looks like it's at least 75% in flight, Pete!

That must be the bird whose eye is similar to our Java Sparrow. I had to use AI servo on this one to compensate for my to and from motion during handholding.

Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora)

Shooting Info - Bued River, Rosario, La Union, Philippines, November 13, 2015, EOS 7D MII + EF 400 DO IS II + EF 1.4x TC III, 560 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec, ISO 200, manual exposure in available light, hand held, uncropped full frame resized to 1500 x 1000.

http://www.pbase.com/liquidstone/image/161838894/original.jpg

Nov 16, 2015 at 10:13 PM

PetKal
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

Liquidstone wrote:
That must be the bird whose eye is similar to our Java Sparrow.

Yes, that is what I meant. Although one would be tempted to see a homology in the development of the eyes of those two species, I do not believe we have a common and recent evolutionary ancestor here, thus we can not speak of "homology", but perhaps calling it an example of "homoplasies." would more appropriate.

Romy, that is a beautiful sparrow indeed.

Nov 16, 2015 at 10:36 PM

NCAndy
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · My 7D MII's AF rocks

That Java Sparrow has the shape and beak of our Grosbeak species. Pretty bird.

Nov 16, 2015 at 10:45 PM

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