7d mk2 DR - is it really an issue in the field?

MacroFuji · Apr 11, 2016

I shoot a variety of genres from landscapes, Astro / nights scapes, macro and birds/bif.

My shooting is now more than50% Birding stuff and the Fuji XT1 AF isn't up to the task when compared to the results from a dslr. I rented a 7d mk2 and liked the ergonomics and responsiveness. Flip screen would be nice but not a deal breaker.

Coming from Fuji and previous Nikon with great DR I'm concerned this could be an issue.. Has anyone who has jumped from Nikon to Canon really notice a difference in DR once they got out a shot images?

Also , I've read a few threads in this forum suggesting that the AF system might not be as accurate as expected. Is there a rare occurrence or across all bodies 7dmk2?

Comments and or advice please?

wave01 · Apr 11, 2016

i have 7d2 and to be honest i haven't had any problems it is quick to focus i use it for birds and bif and wildlife. i also use it for landscapes and portraits it hasn't let me down.

MacroFuji · Apr 11, 2016

wave01 said:
i have 7d2 and to be honest i haven't had any problems it is quick to focus i use it for birds and bif and wildlife. i also use it for landscapes and portraits it hasn't let me down.

Thats reassuring... How long have you had your 7Dmk2 for?

What lens do you use for BIF?

Harry Shepherd · Apr 11, 2016

I've been using the 7DMK11 since day one, never found DR to be a problem. I shoot mainly Birds, aircraft and macro. My main two lens are the 100-400L and 100mm IS macro. Just a few examples here http://s304.photobucket.com/user/hssutton1/slideshow/

retired Dog · Apr 11, 2016

I only have a 400mm 5.6 lens for birding. Have had good luck with both so far.

MacroFuji · Apr 11, 2016

Harry Shepherd said:
I've been using the 7DMK11 since day one, never found DR to be a problem. I shoot mainly Birds, aircraft and macro. My main two lens are the 100-400L and 100mm IS macro. Just a few examples here http://s304.photobucket.com/user/hssutton1/slideshow/

Very nice work Harry... Some very impressive images!!! Thanks for sharing... You have pretty much sold me.

Now to decide if i should get the 100-400mm USMii or the 150-600 sigma sports... hmmm...

Zeee · Apr 11, 2016

It has never hindered me. 7D2 and 100-400 II.

This is a crop

vett93 · Apr 11, 2016

MacroFuji said:
Harry Shepherd said:

I've been using the 7DMK11 since day one, never found DR to be a problem. I shoot mainly Birds, aircraft and macro. My main two lens are the 100-400L and 100mm IS macro. Just a few examples here http://s304.photobucket.com/user/hssutton1/slideshow/

Click to expand...

Very nice work Harry... Some very impressive images!!! Thanks for sharing... You have pretty much sold me.

I thought Harry's images are supposed to illustrate the DR problems from 7DII's sensor. I agree with him that DR is not competitive. I would not use my 7DII for landscape. For the same price range, I would use Sony A7II. An example is shown below.

MacroFuji said:
Now to decide if i should get the 100-400mm USMii or the 150-600 sigma sports... hmmm...

I really enjoy my 7DII with 100-400 II for birds. No Sony camera is close to it. Guess it is hard to find a camera that does everything right. That's why we tend to own a few.

--
"Keep calm and take photos"
Photography enthusiast, from 12mm to 500mm

vett93 · Apr 11, 2016

For birds and wildlife, you are absolutely right. They don't demand high DR sensors. But for landscape, I don't think it is up to par.

Zeee · Apr 11, 2016

vett93 said:
MacroFuji said:

Harry Shepherd said:

I've been using the 7DMK11 since day one, never found DR to be a problem. I shoot mainly Birds, aircraft and macro. My main two lens are the 100-400L and 100mm IS macro. Just a few examples here http://s304.photobucket.com/user/hssutton1/slideshow/

Click to expand...

Very nice work Harry... Some very impressive images!!! Thanks for sharing... You have pretty much sold me.

Click to expand...

I thought Harry's images are supposed to illustrate the DR problems from 7DII's sensor. I agree with him that DR is not competitive. I would not use my 7DII for landscape. For the same price range, I would use Sony A7II. An example is shown below.

vett93 said:

Now to decide if i should get the 100-400mm USMii or the 150-600 sigma sports... hmmm...

Click to expand...

I really enjoy my 7DII with 100-400 II for birds. No Sony camera is close to it. Guess it is hard to find a camera that does everything right. That's why we tend to own a few.

--
"Keep calm and take photos"
Photography enthusiast, from 12mm to 500mm

I use my 5D3 for indoor shots but would not hesitate to use my 7D2 if I had to. I know this is not a dark church but shot at ISO 12,800 with the 7D2. May not be a poster but I could draw a lot of detail out.

Zeee · Apr 11, 2016

vett93 said:
For birds and wildlife, you are absolutely right. They don't demand high DR sensors. But for landscape, I don't think it is up to par.

Leigh A · Apr 11, 2016

Like others have mentioned, I use my 7D-2 / 100-400L-2, & 1.4lll primarily for Birding / Wildlife for the extended reach, & "fast" IA-servo AF.

For Landscapes, Event, & "low light" Photography, etc., I use a 6D with 16-35F4L, & 24-105F4L, as the high ISO / low noise capability of the FF 6D is far, far superior to any of the current Canon APS-C cameras.

I have had two IA-servo noise problems, with my 7D-2, that required Factory Service Adjustment/Readjustment of the Imaging Sensor within an 18 month period. I'm not sure if it's a Chronic problem with early S/N 7D-2's?

Leigh

Zenfolio | Florida Wild Nature Photography

Gainesville, Florida Nature Photography Wildlife Photography Wild Birds Wild Flowers Florida Paynes Prairie

www.leighwax.com

Zeee · Apr 11, 2016

Leigh A. Wax said:
Like others have mentioned, I use my 7D-2 / 100-400L-2, & 1.4lll primarily for Birding / Wildlife for the extended reach, & "fast" IA-servo AF.

Just to note AF will slow down bit with the TC. I can easily BIF with it but I don't because the 7D2 has too many fun AF options. With the TC you only get centre point and 4 point expansion S I mostly use it for stills. You can crop the heck out of the 7D2.

Leigh A said:
For Landscapes, Event, & "low light" Photography, etc., I use a 6D with 16-35F4L, & 24-105F4L, as the high ISO / low noise capability of the FF 6D is far, far superior to any of the current Canon APS-C cameras.

I have had two IA-servo noise problems, with my 7D-2, that required Factory Service Adjustment/Readjustment of the Imaging Sensor within an 18 month period. I'm not sure if it's a Chronic problem with early S/N 7D-2's?

It seems to have been. There were some conversations here and on other sites about that but I never kept any stats and I don't recall anyone else doing it so there is no clear answer.

Leigh A said:
Leigh

http://www.leighwax.com

Alastair Norcross · Apr 11, 2016

AF is excellent. I've been reading and posting on dpr for nearly twelve years. With every new camera, there are complaints about AF. There have been no more about the 7DII than about any other DSLR. I'm sure there are the occasional faulty cameras, but there's no reason to think there are more with the 7DII than with any other. If someone has a faulty 7DII, or thinks they have, they then look for complaints, find them, and refer to them as "the 7DII AF problem" or the like, as if it's any different from any other camera. It's not. It's just confirmation bias.

As for DR, it's not a problem at all. The 7DII is a superb landscape camera. Anyone who thinks it's "not up to par" or "not up to the job" is an incompetent photographer. If you need to push shadows by more than 3 stops at base ISO, you will find some more noise and less detail than from a Sony sensor. I've never messed up exposure by that much. The metering system is the best in a Canon DSLR so far (possibly matched by the new 80D and 1DX II), and makes it hard to really mess up the exposure that much. If you really need, or think you need, even more DR in one shot, bracketing is supremely easy. Simply engage the HDR function (making sure you have it set to keep the RAW files), select the bracketing parameters (1, 2, 3 stops, or auto), and fire away with one shutter press at 10fps. The processed JPEG will give you some idea of what you have (depending on what style you select), but, more importantly, you will have the 3 RAWs to process in LR or Photomatix, or whatever program you use.

Just because it's possible to push shadows at base ISO by 4 or more stops with some other sensors, doesn't mean it's anything you need. If my car could travel at 200 mph, it would make literally no difference to me. I'm sure there are people with cameras with Sony sensors who have somehow convinced themselves that they couldn't take the pictures they do take, if they had a Canon sensor instead. They are either mistaken (most likely), or they deliberately take crappy pictures with bad exposure, just to comfort themselves that they made the right purchase decision. I've seen the results of such experiments posted on this forum. They are almost all aesthetic disasters. But hey, low noise and plenty of detail in the (absurdly pushed) shadows.

cblasi · Apr 11, 2016

Alastair Norcross said:
AF is excellent. I've been reading and posting on dpr for nearly twelve years. With every new camera, there are complaints about AF. There have been no more about the 7DII than about any other DSLR. I'm sure there are the occasional faulty cameras, but there's no reason to think there are more with the 7DII than with any other. If someone has a faulty 7DII, or thinks they have, they then look for complaints, find them, and refer to them as "the 7DII AF problem" or the like, as if it's any different from any other camera. It's not. It's just confirmation bias.

As for DR, it's not a problem at all. The 7DII is a superb landscape camera. Anyone who thinks it's "not up to par" or "not up to the job" is an incompetent photographer. If you need to push shadows by more than 3 stops at base ISO, you will find some more noise and less detail than from a Sony sensor. I've never messed up exposure by that much. The metering system is the best in a Canon DSLR so far (possibly matched by the new 80D and 1DX II), and makes it hard to really mess up the exposure that much. If you really need, or think you need, even more DR in one shot, bracketing is supremely easy. Simply engage the HDR function (making sure you have it set to keep the RAW files), select the bracketing parameters (1, 2, 3 stops, or auto), and fire away with one shutter press at 10fps. The processed JPEG will give you some idea of what you have (depending on what style you select), but, more importantly, you will have the 3 RAWs to process in LR or Photomatix, or whatever program you use.

Just because it's possible to push shadows at base ISO by 4 or more stops with some other sensors, doesn't mean it's anything you need. If my car could travel at 200 mph, it would make literally no difference to me. I'm sure there are people with cameras with Sony sensors who have somehow convinced themselves that they couldn't take the pictures they do take, if they had a Canon sensor instead. They are either mistaken (most likely), or they deliberately take crappy pictures with bad exposure, just to comfort themselves that they made the right purchase decision. I've seen the results of such experiments posted on this forum. They are almost all aesthetic disasters. But hey, low noise and plenty of detail in the (absurdly pushed) shadows.

Kelly M Jones · Apr 11, 2016

Alastair Norcross said:
AF is excellent. I've been reading and posting on dpr for nearly twelve years. With every new camera, there are complaints about AF. There have been no more about the 7DII than about any other DSLR. I'm sure there are the occasional faulty cameras, but there's no reason to think there are more with the 7DII than with any other. If someone has a faulty 7DII, or thinks they have, they then look for complaints, find them, and refer to them as "the 7DII AF problem" or the like, as if it's any different from any other camera. It's not. It's just confirmation bias.

Agreed. Due to GAS I've shot with a bunch of different cameras over the past 9 years, and it's almost always been the case that AF isn't working for me as well on the new camera compared to the old camera until I shoot it for a few weeks, then magically, AF is fine again. Funny how that works. Not to say that people sometimes get a dud. The ergonomics of the 7DII are best of any camera I've used. It's super easy to change anything I want without taking my eye from the viewfinder.

Alastair Norcross said:
Just because it's possible to push shadows at base ISO by 4 or more stops with some other sensors, doesn't mean it's anything you need. If my car could travel at 200 mph, it would make literally no difference to me. I'm sure there are people with cameras with Sony sensors who have somehow convinced themselves that they couldn't take the pictures they do take, if they had a Canon sensor instead. They are either mistaken (most likely), or they deliberately take crappy pictures with bad exposure, just to comfort themselves that they made the right purchase decision. I've seen the results of such experiments posted on this forum. They are almost all aesthetic disasters. But hey, low noise and plenty of detail in the (absurdly pushed) shadows.

I found the DR on Nikon sensors to be useful in post processing, but agree that it was mostly used to fix incorrect exposures. Still, it was useful.

-Kelly

Rock and Rollei · Apr 11, 2016

cblasi said:
Alastair Norcross said:

AF is excellent. I've been reading and posting on dpr for nearly twelve years. With every new camera, there are complaints about AF. There have been no more about the 7DII than about any other DSLR. I'm sure there are the occasional faulty cameras, but there's no reason to think there are more with the 7DII than with any other. If someone has a faulty 7DII, or thinks they have, they then look for complaints, find them, and refer to them as "the 7DII AF problem" or the like, as if it's any different from any other camera. It's not. It's just confirmation bias.

As for DR, it's not a problem at all. The 7DII is a superb landscape camera. Anyone who thinks it's "not up to par" or "not up to the job" is an incompetent photographer. If you need to push shadows by more than 3 stops at base ISO, you will find some more noise and less detail than from a Sony sensor. I've never messed up exposure by that much. The metering system is the best in a Canon DSLR so far (possibly matched by the new 80D and 1DX II), and makes it hard to really mess up the exposure that much. If you really need, or think you need, even more DR in one shot, bracketing is supremely easy. Simply engage the HDR function (making sure you have it set to keep the RAW files), select the bracketing parameters (1, 2, 3 stops, or auto), and fire away with one shutter press at 10fps. The processed JPEG will give you some idea of what you have (depending on what style you select), but, more importantly, you will have the 3 RAWs to process in LR or Photomatix, or whatever program you use.

Just because it's possible to push shadows at base ISO by 4 or more stops with some other sensors, doesn't mean it's anything you need. If my car could travel at 200 mph, it would make literally no difference to me. I'm sure there are people with cameras with Sony sensors who have somehow convinced themselves that they couldn't take the pictures they do take, if they had a Canon sensor instead. They are either mistaken (most likely), or they deliberately take crappy pictures with bad exposure, just to comfort themselves that they made the right purchase decision. I've seen the results of such experiments posted on this forum. They are almost all aesthetic disasters. But hey, low noise and plenty of detail in the (absurdly pushed) shadows.

Click to expand...

Leo3 · Apr 11, 2016

I have both lenses and love them both on my 7D 2.

But the 3 lb difference is huge for walking around and handholding.

I now mainly use sigma on monopod, and handhold the 100-400 ii

So keep that in mind...

TheBlackGrouse · Apr 11, 2016

MacroFuji said:
I shoot a variety of genres from landscapes, Astro / nights scapes, macro and birds/bif.

My shooting is now more than50% Birding stuff and the Fuji XT1 AF isn't up to the task when compared to the results from a dslr. I rented a 7d mk2 and liked the ergonomics and responsiveness. Flip screen would be nice but not a deal breaker.

Coming from Fuji and previous Nikon with great DR I'm concerned this could be an issue.. Has anyone who has jumped from Nikon to Canon really notice a difference in DR once they got out a shot images?

Also , I've read a few threads in this forum suggesting that the AF system might not be as accurate as expected. Is there a rare occurrence or across all bodies 7dmk2?

Comments and or advice please?

DR of the 7DII is not overwhelming but having a 7D for 6.5 years I'm used to it: ETTR (1 stop), HTP (1), GND filter (2) and with DR+4 you have your landscape camera

The colors have been improved, but that's my subjective view.

The AF for moving targets is definitely not better than the AF on my 7D. However, spot and zones are much more accurate.

Just mentioning it, this could all be due to copy variation

rxb dc · Apr 11, 2016

MacroFuji said:
I shoot a variety of genres from landscapes, Astro / nights scapes, macro and birds/bif.

Just to note - the fast frame rate and focus is very helpful in outdoor macro - I've used that to my advantage on windy days where it is hard to get good focus on flowers as move.

MacroFuji said:
My shooting is now more than50% Birding stuff and the Fuji XT1 AF isn't up to the task when compared to the results from a dslr. I rented a 7d mk2 and liked the ergonomics and responsiveness.

Indeed - I love the usability.

MacroFuji said:
Flip screen would be nice but not a deal breaker.

Yes - especially for macro and sometimes for low landscapes.
I actually prefer my 700D for indoor macro for this exact reason.

MacroFuji said:
Coming from Fuji and previous Nikon with great DR I'm concerned this could be an issue.. Has anyone who has jumped from Nikon to Canon really notice a difference in DR once they got out a shot images?

Not an issue with macro for flowers or leaves, my favorite macro topics. Basically, if the lighting is harsh enough to need excessive shadow boosting, you are not going to get good colors anyhow.

For BIF, I think more DR would not hurt especially when you have a bird partially in the sun and then you have shadow under the wing etc. On the flip side, those are not ideal lighting conditions for birds anyhow.

Just to note, the high ISO performance of Canon sensors is actually pretty good - and people sometimes assume that low DR might mean poor high ISO performance but that is not the case.

MacroFuji said:
Also , I've read a few threads in this forum suggesting that the AF system might not be as accurate as expected. Is there a rare occurrence or across all bodies 7dmk2?

1. What I have seen is that there have been a few expert users who have had real issues (Kris for example).

2. There have been the vast majority who's cameras have worked just fine.

3. And then many users, mostly new here, who complain of focus issues but have very rarely posted examples, and certainly not used any sort of scientific approach to testing their cameras. Unclear if some of them were in fact trolls.

My take is that there are certainly some issues with some cameras or camera/lens combinations - but more often than not, new users get carried away with the settings or have unrealistic expectations.

MacroFuji said:
Comments and or advice please?

--
Safety Warning: Bad taste unmitigated by moderate skill

7d mk2 DR - is it really an issue in the field?

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