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Archive 2016 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues

  
 
Matermine
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


Relatively new to photography, but I got into wildlife photography and found a great deal on a used 7D Mark II, so I went for it. I wanted to see if there were any major noticeable differences in IQ at 600mm (Tamron 150-600mm) with various settings, and the results were opposite of what I expected. The SL1 had better IQ, less blur, and better exposure it felt like.

Here's a Dropbox link to the 6 photos (RAW) I took. The pictures ending in "a" are the SL1 and "b" are the 7D2. Same shutter speed, same aperture, same ISO. All on a tripod with lens mount while using a 2 second timer to reduce any motion blur from activating the shutter. So...what am I missing? I know the 7D2 is a vastly superior camera, what am I doing wrong?

Any help/advice?



Jun 22, 2016 at 06:00 PM
onegreatcity
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


Matermine wrote:
I know the 7D2 is a vastly superior camera, what am I doing wrong?


The 7D2 has been a polarizing camera for users on this forum. Those who got one that works out of the box are mostly thrilled, those who sent theirs into Canon for focus inconsistencies and got them fixed are relieved and those who have had nothing but grief are angry or have moved on to another body. Check the Canon forum for various threads celebrating or bemoaning the 7D2. Perhaps yours in among the 'affected'. Good luck sorting it out!



Jun 22, 2016 at 06:09 PM
Gochugogi
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


Maybe you need to calibrate the 7D2 to the lens (AFMA). Most of my lenses need at least a tweak and average is +/- 5 for optimal sharpness.


Jun 22, 2016 at 06:34 PM
NCAndy
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


I think, as Gochugogi suggested, you should check the AFMA on that lens with the 7D2. Also, try using live view focus and see if you still get soft images. My 7D2 since coming back from Canon for correction of AF issues has been stellar. It's been my go to field sports camera in good light. The combination with the 100-400 II with and without the 1.4tc has been outstanding.


Jun 22, 2016 at 07:12 PM
mmurph
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


As above- you really need to perform a Micro Adjust on the lens in the 7DII body.

Your depth of field at 600 mm is very narrow. Every body/ lens combination is different too. A lens can be at -2 on one body, and at +14 on another body. It is the combination of many, many manufacturing variations.

+++

I use Reikan FoCal or Focus Tune to perform micro adjust and test on all of my lenses. It is nice to have quantifiable data to compare results, side-by-side. First, you perform a Micro Adjust on the 7DII. Then test for best aperture, and note the relative sharpness at each F stop. Finally, you can do a 10 shot calculation of the "shot to shot variation." How ACCURATE and how PRECISE your auto focus system is.

When trying to figure these things out, you need to reduce the variables. Put on a 50 mm prime. Shoot on a tripod, with bright light and a high shutter speed. Use a timer to reduce vibration. If you can, shoot with flash to eliminate **any** camera motion.

Compare single point, center point, single shot auto focus, to the Live View auto focus, as someone suggested.

I have had 2 Canon 7DII which were both fantastic. The camera has the best auto focus system and AF controls/ ergonomics of any camera I have ever used. The odds are that your camera is fine.

Long lenses are always an adventure. I tried to compare a Tamron 150-600 to a Sigma 150-600 C on a friends Nikon D810 for him in Florida. We shot and shot and shot, and couldn't get consistent results on the Sigma. It turned out taht the dryer was running in my 2nd floor condo, about 20 feet and 2 rooms away from the target ... But probably on the same beam.

I think it will be worth your effort to do concerted testing, just for your own piece of minds, if nothing else. If you stick with that lens, compare it first at 150 mm. 600 mm is always a trick beats.

Then, go read the 52 page Canon manual on the 7DII auto focus system. Even after owning the 7DII for 1 year, I spent a couple of days studying that, and found some great customization settings to make the 7DII much easier to use for wildlife

http://downloads.canon.com/camera/brochures/EOS_7D_Mark_II_AF_guide_CUSA_9-2014.pdf


(By using 2 different buttons, with different AF modes and settings, for back button autofocus. Combined with the C1, C2, and C3 user modes. Basically, you can have 3 AF settings in each C1, etc. mode. The default setting with no button press. What happens when you push the Back Button AF button, what happens when you push the "*" button next to it. Or more- turn the camera, and each can have different settings in portrait mode. Etc.)

Good luck! "Don't Panic", to quote ... someone ....

Cheers!
Michael



Jun 22, 2016 at 08:05 PM
tiggy
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


Agree that the most likely culprit is the lack of an focus micro adjustment.

Because the SL1 doesn't have AFMA capability, if you are keeping both bodies, you might actually want to AFMA Sigma and Tamron lenses that allow you to use their docks to the SL1, and then AFMA the 7D2 in-camera to the adjusted lens. That would maximize your sharpness across bodies. Long ago I had the Tammy 150-600, and I'm sure Tamron's new dock doesn't support that version of the lens, so this is a bit academic, but will be good advice for future lenses if you keep that little SL1.



Jun 22, 2016 at 08:15 PM
thebmrust
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


I sent my first 7DmkII back a week or so after I got it. Kept the second a day tomorrow and couldn't send it back. Finally sent it to Canon last week. (Should return tomorrow).

I have hope that once it is functional it will be stellar. Otherwise... my experience is mostly negative about the model.

That being said, contact Canon and send it back for a checkup/fix.



Jun 22, 2016 at 08:26 PM
Imagemaster
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


Matermine wrote:
Relatively new to photography, but I got into wildlife photography and found a great deal on a used 7D Mark II, so I went for it. I wanted to see if there were any major noticeable differences in IQ at 600mm (Tamron 150-600mm) with various settings, and the results were opposite of what I expected. The SL1 had better IQ, less blur, and better exposure it felt like.

Here's a Dropbox link to the 6 photos (RAW) I took. The pictures ending in "a" are the SL1 and "b" are the 7D2. Same shutter speed, same aperture, same ISO. All
...Show more

Try doing your testing again using a shutter speed of 1/2000, regardless of it being on a tripod with delayed shutter release. And try focusing on a more definite target instead of bright reflections from a bunch of cars.







Jun 22, 2016 at 08:53 PM
Matermine
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


Thank you everyone for the thoughtful responses! I've read all and taken them into careful consideration. Currently reading through the 51 page 7d2 AF guide, it's a lot to take in.

I've also done some micro-adjustments and found -10 T was a pretty good fit. Unfortunately haven't gotten to shoot with the new settings yet. Got it used off Craigslist and the guy forgot to give me the battery charger and now he won't respond :|

Was somewhat regretting my purchase (too much $$ to spend this early) but you guys have given me a lot of confidence. Thanks for being such a welcoming community!

Here's a shot with my SL1 at 600mm







Jun 22, 2016 at 10:02 PM
mmurph
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


I have this Wasabi 2 battery plus charger kit for my Canon 7DII. It sells for $30 shipped on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Power-Battery-2-Pack-Charger/dp/B0049XGNKK

If you have the Canon battery that came with the camera, you should be fine with the 3 batteries.

I use the Wasabi for day-to-day stuff. I make sure they are "topped up" for events, and tend to rely on the Canon battery first. It usually lasts most of an event, but it is always good to have the backups.

I buy the Wasabi batteries for all of my cameras. I usually use the Wasabi charger too, and leave the OEM charger in the box. The only problem is that all of the Wasabi chargers look pretty much the same.

Did you get the original receipt for the camera? That is what you would need if it is still under warranty. If not, it doesn't really matter.


Good luck!



Jun 23, 2016 at 01:10 AM
TrojanHorse
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


I have a 6d and a 7d2 - they use the same batteries and I also augmented them with a wasabi charger and two more batteries. $30 or so for a charger and two batteries? Crikey! They're a great deal. (and they work well)


Jun 24, 2016 at 01:54 AM
oceandream
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


I suggest you to return your 7D II back to person you bought it from if that is possible and continue to enjoy your nice little gem SL1.
I had similar horror story back in the 2011 with the original 7D I bought to replace my lovely 450D. I thought it would be AF heaven but it turned to be that I could not get single shot in focus. No matter what lens I used, from wide angle to tele with same poor results.
First I thought it was my bad technique so I started studying shutter speeds to focal number compensation I stopped breathing when taking pictures to avoid little bit of hand shake that didn't help much.
Then I thought there is a problem with my lenses so I send then together with my 7D for calibration in authorized Canon service, they came back to me in two weeks but I was very disappointed it has exactly same issues nothing changed.
Then I started digging Internet for similar problem reports and realized something is wrong with the body so I sent it to Canon again told then there is something wrong with focusing. Got it back in 10 days but sadly it still had this issue. It gave me same blurry images no matter how good my technique was and how hard I tried. It just focused on something in-between my subject maybe on air? Horrible horrible back or front focus issue probably factory processor calibration issue.

And at the end.

This actually made me switch to manual focusing as a last hope to get photographs! This body opened a whole new world for me! I bought EG-S focusing screen installed it switched my lenses to MF and you won't believe it! Magically I started to get nice sharp imaged at all apertures it was so much fun to manual focus I loved it! With time It bring me to Zeiss world!

Few months later I sold the 7D and got myself a nice 5DII with focusing screen. Wow what a fantastic camera, a pleasure to use. I didn't used Auto Focus much on it as I completely switched to manual focus but from what I can tell auto focus worked very accurate on 5DII always spot on when I needed it.

I appreciate the 7D as it forced to push through my limits and opened a whole new world of photography for me.
But you might be not interested in such experiments and you might have different needs.

Long story short: Avoid 7D series and always go for higher end models either 1D, 5D or 6D.



Jun 24, 2016 at 03:10 AM
Matermine
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


mmurph wrote:
I have this Wasabi 2 battery plus charger kit for my Canon 7DII. It sells for $30 shipped on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Wasabi-Power-Battery-2-Pack-Charger/dp/B0049XGNKK

If you have the Canon battery that came with the camera, you should be fine with the 3 batteries.

I use the Wasabi for day-to-day stuff. I make sure they are "topped up" for events, and tend to rely on the Canon battery first. It usually lasts most of an event, but it is always good to have the backups.

I buy the Wasabi batteries for all of my cameras. I usually use the Wasabi charger too, and leave the OEM charger
...Show more

---------------------------------------------

TrojanHorse wrote:
I have a 6d and a 7d2 - they use the same batteries and I also augmented them with a wasabi charger and two more batteries. $30 or so for a charger and two batteries? Crikey! They're a great deal. (and they work well)



I was really interested in the Wasabi charger and battery set before you two mentioned it haha, but it was on backorder from Amazon and would take a week or so. Ended up going with the STK charger and battery. They both have great reviews (battery being a best seller) and had free next day shipping.

Also, my firmware was at 1.0.2, whereas the current is 1.0.5 and I read some places that 1.0.4 supposedly helped a lot of focusing issues. Honestly, I think my issues were self-inflicted and not expected such fine AF sensors. The SL1 probably had a more broad focus, so it will look better in the short run until I get used to the 7d2 AF.

Thanks again everyone.



Jun 24, 2016 at 06:37 AM
dgdg
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


Imagemaster wrote:
Try doing your testing again using a shutter speed of 1/2000, regardless of it being on a tripod with delayed shutter release. And try focusing on a more definite target instead of bright reflections from a bunch of cars.


+1
The image Tony posted has nothing sharply in focus. I can't see any focus plane at all.

Glad you found the MFA helped. Be careful about camera shake.

David




Jun 24, 2016 at 08:42 AM
molson
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


First step would be to check and make sure that AF Adjust is set to OFF. So many users mistakenly believe the internet stories about how you have to adjust all your lenses, and end up with problems like you seem to be having.

I've bought a number of used Canon cameras from users who claimed they wouldn't focus properly, and all it took to solve the problem was to undo the "corrections" they had dialed in.



Jun 24, 2016 at 02:05 PM
Matermine
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Switched from SL1 to 7D2, having issues


It was initially set to off when I posted this.


Jun 24, 2016 at 03:46 PM





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