Canon 7d noise

I highly recommend turning off HTP and ALO completely.  Also, turn off Peripheral Illumination Correction.  Your lenses all have a "look" to them and these three options will decimate that look - often leaving you with an artificial plastic look.  With all of these features off the glass does more of the work.

Are you shooting RAW? I shoot RAW out of habit from the days when I had a Nikon D100 which was very soft and temperamental in JPEG mode.  When I got my 20d and later the 7D I just kept shooting RAW.

What ISO are you using? Your noise should look "crystalline".  It's a little hard for me to explain but here's a unique little shot I took at the zoo with my 7D and you'll see the noise doesn't detract from the photo.  This was shot at ISO 1000 in a fairly dark zoo.  I dropped my penlight while trying to take the shot and was unable to make an eye-highlight.

--
Cheerio...
Frank...