When we review high-end DSLRs, one of the most common requests we receive is to get them into the hands of professional photographers that work in the kinds of environments for which they were designed. That's why when we received the Canon EOS 7D Mark II we joined up with Adam Jones, a professional wildlife and nature photographer, to see what he makes of the new camera. Adam works with Canon as an Explorer of Light and has been using an EOS 7D Mark II for the past few weeks.
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Watch out for more videos like this, covering gear from several other manufacturers soon.
This is sponsored content, created in partnership with Canon.What does this mean?
This was a terrific concept and WELL EXECUTED! Technical reviews certainly have a place, but this genre brings practicality as well as some really decent thoughts on what the equipment can do, how it does it and how to put it into practical use. This was informative, entertaining and instructive. In some respects it had value no matter which equipment was used. You did a nice job of showcasing some of Canon's excellent products. This feature would have been nearly impossible without shooting at some sort of game preserve. Timelines and budgets don't typically allow for months in the bush. Most wildlife shots in the wild involve risk and luck. I spent some time reviewing comments from various sources including staff. It's always disappointing to read some of the venomous negativity. Really guys get a therapist. There's enough grief in the world without bringing it here.
Summarily, Thanks to Amazon and DPReview for an excellent review/ tutorial - Please keep up the good work!!
I loved this! Was watching on my laptop, but enjoyed it so much I shot it over to my 50 inch tv and watched it with my family. Very entertaining and informative! Such high quality, I didn't think I should need to write a comment like this, to encourage dpreview to do more like this, but just in case you weren't sure, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to reinforce, that YES this is very much great content and will keep me coming back for more. (Sorry for the run on sentence.) Great Stuff! Felt like I was watching natgeo.
I seem to remember that real wildlife photographers only shoot images of wildlife, so why are you people at Canon and DP REVIEW associating yourself with an outfit like the Triple D that whores sad captive animals for money, shame on you. There are a plethora of great wildlife photographers out there that could easily put the equipment to the test in the wild, as opposed to sad armchair photographers that frequent sad and hopefully one day obsolete places like the triple D. You people that frequent such places and capture images of these poor caged creatures are no more real wildlife photographers than I am a candidate for the leader of the republican party. Get out into the wild and get some mud on your boots and a few scratches on your precious 600mm and the carbon fibre Gitzo it sits on, most of which probably looks as pristine as the day you bought it.
U seem to totally miss the point that one of the two guys is a famous photographer with tons of publications to his credit so when u yeap about pristine gitzos and cameras u should maybe ask yourself how worthy R U compared to him. Seems to me that some of u guys have nothing better to do than talk crap about real competent folks just to cover your own limitations. U my friend r one angry fella.
Physics decides the resolution and size of lenses. That's why then best astronomical telescopes have the greatest aperatures. No camera manufacturer or set of its fanatics can change the fact the resolution scales with the inverse of the diameter of the objective lens.
Those big lenses sure do look unwieldy. When will we see some advances to make lenses much smaller? (I remember mirror lenses from film days, and of course they had their limitations.)
This video is one of the best things I've seen from DPreview. Videos like this in the future will be most welcomed. The text review of 7DmkII has also been great. Carry on! :-)
Canon's development is to slow. Now young in photo market Samsung is ahead. The only reason to keep Canon is older system so more mature - many accesories atc. and of course if it is must have mirror presence. And this mirror probably is a STRONG brake for VERY POOR EOS-M SYSTEM.
But people like mirrorles cameras every year more and more....
Actually, if you take the time to actually look into things, in terms of overall technology Samsung ARE way ahead. Only brand prejudice and a limited lens range ( for some ) is stopping them.
The only reason to buy the 7D2 is the AF performance and the wide availability of lenses. In all other respects, it is outclassed.
Boydster first try on and compare - than write opinions.
NX1 produces 28 MP files 15 fps and Canon 20 MP only . so why you are comparing buffers? And in AF test in lens direction NX1 wins with sharp pictures number. Canon wins in perpendicular to lens axis direction but frankly speaking this is much easier for photgrapher than to face direction. OK NX1 had problem with focusing during zooming but I think it will be solved.
Nice review. I've had mine for about 4 weeks now and so far it looks like a keeper. I'm particularly happy with its performance with my Sigma 18-35mm and my Sigma 50-150mm lenses.
Could somebody please tell me what the stand is called when he is making the interval ometer video. Does the stand have a build in feature to move along it over the 15 minutes. cheers.... ps yes im a complete camera noob
It's called a camera dolly. It can be of several types, like a linear one (as shown), a rotating one and one that does both movements. Examples of manufacturers are Dynamic Perception for the first and third types and Losmandy's Starlapse for the 2nd type.
Great footage for enjoying in the evening with a glass of wine, watching how a pro wildlife shooter works, and how the reviewed gear performs in real life. Since all digital cameras today deliver quite good quality compared to some years ago, I think those real life reviews are getting more and more important (e.g. AF performance in challenging moments) - and scientific lab tests less and less important at least for real photographers (excluding geeks).
Please DPR, I want to see more of this very good stuff! (And, please, not always with Country muzak.)
One of your best dp reviews to date..So many people are knocking this camera for not being 4k ....This is a camera first and video is a second.. this camera will grab focus in stills and video better than any 4k camera thats out there...oh and we will see if samsung nx 1 will do what it says it can do....Great job and effort in making this video...people need to stop bashing and star shooting....
I thought this video was informative and interesting. I did not care about the gear but much more interested in how they were shooting. There were bits and pieces of things that I picked up that may help me to be a better photographer.
It was informative listening to Adam setting-up and using the camera. With this level of camera an exhaustive video is impossible, unless a full-length feature "film" is made, and I just consecrated on what I could learn. The video presentation and location represents a lot of work which I am thankful for - IMO nicely done! (As my hearing is going, please kill the music.)
This is a (way) too long infomercial no more or less informative than any other infomercial. Next time don't make me loose so much of my all too short life.
We were not paid to produce this video, but all costs (flights, camera crew etc) were covered by Amazon.com, and it was featured on Amazon.com as well as DPReview.com. We had full editorial control and it was our concept and our execution. Canon USA supplied all the equipment used on camera, as well as the C300s used to shoot the film.
Seagman : No, it's healthy to want know who's behind these videos, and good that DPReview is transparent about it. We should all look at advertising with a critical eye. Here you've got an advertising aspect to it (well someone has to make and sell the cameras we want!), but also a great hands-on feed-back from someone with experience. I'm sure that much of the feed-back on DPReview including our comments influence the developments of the cameras.
Hi Barney, thank you. However question still remains; who initiated the idea to make the video, perhaps the work instigates would be a better choice. I hope you are enjoying Superbowl, I am enjoying the silence!
Loved the video. Adam was the perfect guest, clear, succinct and instructive. I have no interest in the camera --- too much for me. But I used the video to learn, and for that purpose it was superb.
That was an awesome video. One of the best I've seen from dpreview. A good review/test of a new camera used in situations for what the camera is designed to do. Well done!!!
I guess I've been delivered the hardest critics on this video, so I'll comment on this one.
I assume that "I want one" refers to a 7DII . And that's exactly why I react so strongly.
The video doesn't make you say "I want to book a similar trip to take great shots". That would have been appreciated and fine.
But in reality you have learn't nothing about whether this camera is better suited for the task than anything else out there. -- Yes, you know it can do the job. But maybe there are options out there that can do the task for half the price. How would you know? Do you know more about the keeper ratio compered to other offers?
So to me, this is an informercial for Canon. Not photography.
Barney doesn't lie when he says that Canon had no influence on the editorial content, but the fact that only Canon equipment was used means that the content was limited to only Canon equipment. With so many different brands out there, I'd say that is a big influence on the editorial content.
I'm on the same page as you, but for slightly different reasons. While the video was very informative to viewers for how a pro actually uses his camera to capture different types of wildlife situations, as you said it didn't actually show how the 7DII might be better/ different at it than any other camera. Not to mention, the actual camera use wasn't really specific to the features of the 7DII - most all of the features, settings, and techniques used could have been just as successfully shown with an original 7D or even a 70D.
I would disagree with you about it being a Canon infomercial, in that it was not actually a very effective "7DII" infomercial - because the new and unique autofocus features of the 7DII, that Canon has developed specifically for these type of action scenarios, weren't even demonstrated, much less mentioned. It would have been nice to have taken advantage of this situation to learn if these features actually work as promised in a demanding wildlife situation, to learn if they have been improved over their implementation in the 7D and 5DIII, and to see how tweaking the various AF tracking parameters and using the different AF Cases actually affects the performance and keeper rate in real-life use. Plus seeing how the Dual Pixel technology works for Live View/Movie continuous focusing in such a perfect demonstration situation. Perhaps next time bring Canon's Rudy Winston along to remind you how to take advantage of the camera's new and unique features!
Eleson, you're presuming a lot. I said "it confirms that I want one". I have used all three 5Ds, a 1D-X, and a 7D with many lenses, including a 70-200 F2.8L IS, the 100-400 L and 500mm F4L, so I do know what I want, not "I want to book a similar trip to take great shots", I do that already. If you have invested in Canon lenses and don't want to switch to Nikon, the 7D will give a lot more reach than any of the Canon FF. The improvements on the 7DII sound very good, and it's great to see someone in action with it, in complement to a usual review. What I was also looking for was any feature or performance where the guy says "this is really not good for me", as did Bettina Hansen in her hands on testing. That also helps me decide. If it was pure commercial junk, then we wouldn't have your or my comments here to praise or slag off what we see, a great feature on DPreview.
Great video! This is where DPReview should be, head and shoulders above the average turntable review.
Although I don't shoot with Canon these days, I'll add my appreciation for a great review of a very nice camera. I see this style of review as appealing to photographers, not just for someone contemplating the purchase of a specific camera model.
The only problem is... we'll now expect this done for every new camera ;-)
Is there a rating site for game farms and safari packages? That might help people assure people better wild animal shots than the choice of camera. The only wolves or cougars I've ever seen are only out of the corner of my eye, at dusk, and in flight into the brush. Sharp-eared bears that don't flee before I see them are probably not ones I'd want to face anyway. No kidding: wildlife encounters that facilitate photography are either by chance or require extensive patience and preparation, neither of which monetize easily. Pros who must deliver money-shots with tight turnarounds need see-'em tricks besides a camera. An early GH4 promo featured Crococun zoo reptiles. Odds are I'll never see a wild chimp in native habitat, or be in danger if I did, so maybe the zoo or chimphaven are the answer. Canon does sponsor the PBS Nature series, though, so maybe varmints will pose more willingly for that brand.
Yeah! great example of exactly why I would want to upgrade from the 7D to the MkII...( a note to the video editor, the audio is really booming, try to keep the levels neutral in post and keep the floor lower, the music can be moved back to allow better vox)
It is important that Adams uses a Canon Mark II for all his work, not even the 5D Mark III. This is rather amazing, given that the Mark II and Mark III are have very small buffers and do not hold many images in burst mode and do not track moving images nearly as well as the 7D Mark II and perhaps other makes of cameras. This should be mentioned. Adams tries very hard NOT to be a Canon fanboy and to have integrity and objectivity so kudos to him. And the dp presentation lays out the shoot in a way that is not overly conclusion filled. So I came away feeling it was a well done piece, that allows us to judge for ourselves the merits of this camera in a real life setting. Yes, it would be nice to know if Canon paid for this, likely they did. Doing a piece on the video there would not have been helpful as he was not a videographer as he said.
I attended a workshop of Adams here in KY at a state park about 25 years ago and it was a turning point for me. Great photographer and very generous with his knowledge. He showed us some samples of his work and I decided right then thats what I was going to do. Went on later to work on some of the same projects as he did. Never did get to thank him, but if he sees these reviews, THANKS!
Barney, great video, I hope DP Review does more of this.
Is there any chance you could post some examples of the types of angles Adam chose for his shots that you missed? I would love to gain some insight into the way a professional sees.
The heart of this camera, its most powerful and customizable feature, is its AF system - the AF Cases, the AF Area Modes, and the AF settings such as Tracking Sensitivity, Accel./Decel. Tracking, AF Point Auto Switching, and AI Servo Image Priority. Taking full advantage of all these options is the key to capturing in-focus images of moving subject, and these settings are able to be adapted for predictably moving subjects vs. more erratic subjects, as were encountered.
The video was informative, but I am disappointed that the above features were barely mentioned, even though the situation was an ideal opportunity to explain, test, and take advantage of those key features which distinguish the 7DII from any other camera in its class.
I loved seeing this new body put through it's paces out in the real world. I for one look at specs as a guide, but I always look to real world examples before making a purchase of this nature. I have a 7D MKI, and have been waiting for a replacement for a year or two. After seeing this I'd be ready to part with my hard earned cash!
I feel sorry for DPReview editors these days. So many people criticizing everything no matter what they do. This is a photo site about photo gear and making images. Why people feel the need to be critical about every minute thing (I mean 4:1 compression on audio??? REALLY???) is beyond me. Throughout my years in the business, I find that measurbaters typically are not the ones out there making images but rather trolling sites just to see their comments online. If you have trouble making good/useful/sellable images with most any modern camera and lens these days, then you have an issue elsewhere, than blaming the equipment itself. I'll just leave it there because I fully expect to get bashed for stating my opinion here. I just need to learn to quit reading comments here. It's like being on YouTube. SMH
Can i bash you ? Not ;) DP do most things the right way to me. And the rest is almost peanut. I seen Oly/Pana/Fuji/Sony/Canon/Nikon cameras praised the same way when DP was thinking it was a good camera. Seeing the last Gx7 review, they are, once again, honest and professional. And about this video, some ppl asked DP to go outdoor with this camera...and they done it ;) But even then, there will be some complaints...
I think I can explain why Canon gets the in-depth reviews, besides the speculation that Canon paid for the expenses in cases like this. If you ask the major retouching studios what cameras are used for print, web and portrait use you will get the answer that 95% of all commercial images come from Canon bodies with Canon lenses. You go where the money is, simple answer. As far as I know, not one image from a Sony has been post processed by a major retouching studio. If you want supporting data for my claims, please contact me and I will put you in touch with someone at the top retouching studios.
Steelhead, This is camera independent, what David is saying is that studios see more Canon images but doesn't mean Sony images don't require this process/step for the sort of publish/presentation.
Nice video. I think everyone should switch off the thought that the 7DMk2 was used, go through the video and see how Adam gets what he wants. It’s about what he wants that’s interesting NOT what he is using. I don’t understand some of the comments. Some mentions about DXOmark score which I’m not sure how it changes how Adam does his business – does Adam needs to change his approach on photography because of DXOmark scores?
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