Has anyone found quirks in using all 19 focus points? The other modes seem consistent, but I've had images that are way off when using all 19 points. More so in one shot it seems, since in servo you have a specific point to aim it at to begin focusing which probably helps get it started better than it picking in one shot.
Ah I thought I was the only one! I have had two 7D's now, both with major autofocus issues.
I picked up a replacement 7D unit yesterday afternoon. After some testing in low light with the Tokina 11-16 lens yesterday evening it seemed to be exhibiting the same autofocus issues as my original unit (That I still have). Inconsistently back and forward focusing in single spot mode, and completely lost during full automatic with nothing in acceptable focus anywhere in the frame. Please understand, both units do not hunt for focus. They search, lock and beep to confirm focus has been achieved every time, even though it has not.
Thinking that I may not have been giving the camera a fair go in the dim conditions, I thought to test it in daylight where it may perform better.
Unfortunately daylight proved no better and the same issues were apparent. The most affected lenses I used were the Tokina 11-116 f2.8, Sigma 30mm f1.4 and the Canon 50mm f1.8 II (the Canon was least affected).
After some testing with a focus chart and it appearing the Tokina was indeed backfocusing and in need of micro adjustment, I performed exhaustive testing with a focus chart and the micro-adjustment utility until the lens was supposedly focusing as it should. Unfortunately whilst it was no longer backfocusing on the focus chart from around 2 feet away, taking a photo across the room showed it had had a negative impact on the focus at longer ranges, visibly making the image even blurrier than before. But again the camera believed it was focused and was beeping to confirm such.
Both units performed, more or less, identically in these situations. All lenses work perfectly on my 500D, in all focus modes.
I am at my wits end. I sent back the replacement, explaining the situation, but I am at a loss. I don't know whether to ask for another unit again, as I don't know whether that will fix it. Is it all units that are affected? Is it these particular lenses?
lipslide wrote:
Ah I thought I was the only one! I have had two 7D's now, both with major autofocus issues.
I picked up a replacement 7D unit yesterday afternoon. After some testing in low light with the Tokina 11-16 lens yesterday evening it seemed to be exhibiting the same autofocus issues as my original unit (That I still have). Inconsistently back and forward focusing in single spot mode, and completely lost during full automatic with nothing in acceptable focus anywhere in the frame. Please understand, both units do not hunt for focus. They search, lock and beep to confirm focus has been achieved every time, even though it has not.
Thinking that I may not have been giving the camera a fair go in the dim conditions, I thought to test it in daylight where it may perform better.
Unfortunately daylight proved no better and the same issues were apparent. The most affected lenses I used were the Tokina 11-116 f2.8, Sigma 30mm f1.4 and the Canon 50mm f1.8 II (the Canon was least affected).
After some testing with a focus chart and it appearing the Tokina was indeed backfocusing and in need of micro adjustment, I performed exhaustive testing with a focus chart and the micro-adjustment utility until the lens was supposedly focusing as it should. Unfortunately whilst it was no longer backfocusing on the focus chart from around 2 feet away, taking a photo across the room showed it had had a negative impact on the focus at longer ranges, visibly making the image even blurrier than before. But again the camera believed it was focused and was beeping to confirm such.
Both units performed, more or less, identically in these situations. All lenses work perfectly on my 500D, in all focus modes.
I am at my wits end. I sent back the replacement, explaining the situation, but I am at a loss. I don't know whether to ask for another unit again, as I don't know whether that will fix it. Is it all units that are affected? Is it these particular lenses?
Did you buy both units from the same shop? What are the approximate serial numbers? Both body only?
Have you tried setting the lens to infinity prior to activating the AF? (This helped me somewhat). Tested with AF expansion On? Have you tried it off? Did you try pulling out both batteries and clearing all settings on the cam?
I did all these things and it didn't help, so I returned the body. Bought the kit with the lens and this body seems to be working well... Same firmware version. I would exchange your body for a new one. There are definitely working AF systems out there and the only thing one can assume is that there are some defective units as well. If I were a gambling man I would say both your units have low serial numbers which are very close.
Get it replaced if you can. If not, send it back to Canon and keep your fingers crossed.
The original body that I still have is serial #0230103963
The replacement they sent that had the same issue was serial #0280106420
I don't know if that means anything to you. . .they seem far apart, but then again it may not just be a simple numerical number. Maybe it's part product/country/batch code or something, I don't know.
I got them from Camera's Direct (CD) in Australia. As fas as I know they get them imported from somewhere overseas. Asia, most likely.
Tried the infinity trick, tried most everything I can. I am currently using Live View, manual focus and zooming in to get it sharp. For the money I spent, I'd love for it to be at least as functional as my old 500D, but sadly it is not.
Firmware is 1.0.7. . .
I am waiting to hear from CD tomorrow. Hopefully they will send me another one from their latest shipment and that will work. . .fingers are as crossed as the possibly can be.
I love this camera, I just wish it would work as well as everybody elses!
wenis wrote:
Shot about 3k images through various lenses, using mostly the 24-70L. Maybe 10% razor sharp, 20% acceptably sharp for smaller prints, and the rest just plain awful to be honest. Absolutely unacceptable performance from my unit's AF. .
Is it only with the 24-70, or are your other lenses giving the same performance?
Back when the 10D came out, there were a lot of people (including a friend of mine) that couldn't get sharp photos at f/2.8 with the 24-70 with that camera. Her lens worked fine on my 1D), and her other lenses worked fine on her 10D (as well as on my 1D).
Effectivly, the 10D just wouldn't work with the 24-70/2.8 for her (at f/2.8 anyway), and it was the same way for a lot of others.
tuschinski wrote:
I fail to understand why you have to convince others of your woes.
Nobody should have to justify telling the truth. But when others essentially call somebody a liar for reporting the truth, it shouldn't be unexpected when he further attempts to convince them "of his woes".
DavidP wrote:
Is it only with the 24-70, or are your other lenses giving the same performance?
Back when the 10D came out, there were a lot of people (including a friend of mine) that couldn't get sharp photos at f/2.8 with the 24-70 with that camera. Her lens worked fine on my 1D), and her other lenses worked fine on her 10D (as well as on my 1D).
Effectivly, the 10D just wouldn't work with the 24-70/2.8 for her (at f/2.8 anyway), and it was the same way for a lot of others.
Hopefully that's not an issue again with the 7D.
David,
Thanks for the reply. Interesting issue with the 24-70L, but I do not think this applies to my situation. The new body focuses this lens wide open about as well as one could hope for. I haven't done any sort of MA or chart shooting, but pixel peeping shows razor sharp results at 70mm at the focus point. DoF looks even / slight rear. The only other large aperture lens I had tested with is the 50 1.8. Which seemed to exaggerate the issue on my other body. The only way I could accurately focus with this lens was to live view/zoom/manual.
I did also test a 24-105L but as it was mentioned already on this thread F4 is too easy on the AF system... too much margin of error.
The original body that I still have is serial #0230103963
The replacement they sent that had the same issue was serial #0280106420
I don't know if that means anything to you. . .they seem far apart, but then again it may not just be a simple numerical number. Maybe it's part product/country/batch code or something, I don't know.
I got them from Camera's Direct (CD) in Australia. As fas as I know they get them imported from somewhere overseas. Asia, most likely.
Tried the infinity trick, tried most everything I can. I am currently using Live View, manual focus and zooming in to get it sharp. For the money I spent, I'd love for it to be at least as functional as my old 500D, but sadly it is not.
Firmware is 1.0.7. . .
I am waiting to hear from CD tomorrow. Hopefully they will send me another one from their latest shipment and that will work. . .fingers are as crossed as the possibly can be.
I love this camera, I just wish it would work as well as everybody elses! ...Show more →
I have no idea what the serial numbers mean, but would guarantee they are coded somehow.
My original was 02201005XX - the problem camera. The new one is 0220106XXX. This could be meaningless. There could be sub component serialization that might actually mean something, IE, if there is a chip/board for the AF system that has a number. And a certain batch of these are faulty. Who knows.
The AF system is brand spanking new, so it could be a software bug. However, why would some units work and some be faulty on the same firmware? This is why I straight returned mine. It would be logical to assume that this is a hardware or calibration issue and I would rather have a unit that works properly than be without my equipment for a month... or hope that a firmware update would fix the issue.
saturos wrote:
Heh, by my count 3 fanboys had to jump on my post like rabid.. well fanboys. Missing the point of what I said, distorting the message, misusing the label of "troll" and ultimately resorting to personal insults, like "whiny, self important".
Who cares about name calling, we're all assholes and this is the internet.
Ultimately we will never know if these guys are having problems due to user error, and the new cameras work because the custom menu's haven't been molested to death while trying to fix something that isn't wrong. Seriously, we will never know. Still, it's good for everyone to report their findings so we can judge for ourselves what the issue was with the minority of the problem users. And hopefully these issues are with the minority!
Those with problems need to post the Canon repair slip when the camera is returned.
corndog wrote:
Who cares about name calling, we're all assholes and this is the internet.
Ultimately we will never know if these guys are having problems due to user error, and the new cameras work because the custom menu's haven't been molested to death while trying to fix something that isn't wrong. Seriously, we will never know. Still, it's good for everyone to report their findings so we can judge for ourselves what the issue was with the minority of the problem users. And hopefully these issues are with the minority!
Those with problems need to post the Canon repair slip when the camera is returned....Show more →
The Canon repair slips I've gotten in the past have been less than informative on what repairs were done. Or even any explanation of what the problem was to begin with. I can't say I've paid particular attention to each of them but I know the ones associated with my 40D viewfinder didn't have anything enlightening on them. I looked because I was very curious what caused my viewfinder to resemble a funhouse mirror when I looked through it. All distorted. I actively tried to find any information the 2nd time I had to send it in for the same thing. Only thing I could find was "Repair covered under warranty".
On a side note for those people who insist that the focus issues some of us are having is due to "user error" and how they have a perfect copy etc.. Well if they feel that strongly about that, if mine still has the issue when I get it back I'll trade with them. After all if it's all about the user they shouldn't have any problem trading bodies right?
The half dozen or so I received from Canon Irvine have been very descriptive, though the English may not have been the best!
The location you ship to must not be that great. Although I've had to ship way to many items in for repair, the repair process has exceeded my expectations each time.
corndog wrote:
The half dozen or so I received from Canon Irvine have been very descriptive, though the English may not have been the best!
The location you ship to must not be that great. Although I've had to ship way to many items in for repair, the repair process has exceeded my expectations each time.
I looked again the lens repairs seemed to have more detail on them. motor replaced, stuff like that. All the lenses I've sent in over the years have come back just fine. And my 20D repair slip did include details about the shutter being replaced and pins in the CF compartment being replaced as well.
It seems the details were lacking on the 40D specifically.. then again since I need to send it in for the 3rd time for the same problem, maybe the lack of detailed repair slip is indicative of something.. hmm?
I sent the 7D to Jersey, not sure which repair center is the better choice these days. I've heard some say Jersey and some say Cali. Distance wise it's the same to me.. 3 days UPS either way.
After 2 weeks with the camera and a couple of NHL games side by side with my 1D3, I got an RMA and going for and exchange of bodies. Hopefully, I just got one of the lemons.
Well I got my 7D replacement today. I did a bunch of random shots in the back yard just to see of I could get any bad OOF shots and I could not. Set it to AI Servo and captured a few cars driving by. Not stellar but it was quick. I was not comfortable doing that. l need to do a few more BIF and sport shots. I also did 10 burst frames on a static subject and all exposures were the same.
Here is one with my 300L F4 IS & Canon 1.4 , flash with better beamer, tripod and mirror lock up. Focus point dead on the eye.
Finally got a little sun today and went to the local bird sanctuary and goofed around a little. One reason I wanted the 7D was to have more AF points for BIF, etc. These four shots were taken in a row, high speed continuos and I used Zone AF - center cluster.
Note: I messed up a bit because I was doing some high ISO bird testing for someone else and I left it on ISO 1600 for these. I was just a test only. What I found was it locked on very quickly (had the Ai Servo Tracking Sensitivity on fast) and it held on well even in a slightly overcast sky. Very easy to track. In other testa when there was a busy background it had tendencies to jump to that and back to the bird.
So if you are shooting birds in the Sky Zone AF works real well. If junk will be in the way decrease AF sensitivity or what I will do is use center point only.
The bird is small but it shows what they will look like when I get more in the frame. This was as close as they would come to me today but they are all in focus even when it dropped down. I have a 100% crop of the first image to show the focus. All four look good.
300L F4 IS, 5/6, 1/8000. Sharpening only and DFine on last image.
