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7D mark ii still a great camera

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Thomas Rose

Thomas Rose

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After much soul searching, I chose this to be my go-to camera, replacing te 1D series cameras I had used almost since switching from film to digital. After some of the reviews I had read I was surprised to find that the image quality is outstanding even with full frame lenses that are not deisgned for such pixel density and for all the complaints about noise and poo high-ISO performance it is actually very clean up to ISO 6400 and can make usable images at even higher settings.

With its tough build, weather sealing, twin slots and unmatched AF it is most of a 1Dx or 1D mark II in a smaller lighter body. Not quite so tough (pop-up flash, dials rather than buttons less robust door to the card slots, and protruding strap lugs), not quite so good high -ISO, and APS-C ... which make more demands on lens resolution.

But at the price I got mine (a stock clearance item, 5 years old but unused) I am not complaining. I could have bought ten of them for the price of a 1Dx II !

I appreciate the weight saving over the 1D cameras and I don't miss the vertical grip as I always used the main shutter release and nearby controls, even when shooting in portrait mode.

The only problem it gives me is that my widest focal length (24mm on a 24-70 zoom) is now equivalent to a 38mm lens on full frame, and that is not very wide at all. So the next purchase will be a good wide angle lens. Perhaps I should not have sold that 16-35?
 
That is a very good review that you posted...for me the 7D MKII is to this day one of the best APS-C cameras on the market...I really like using ISO 6400 even at f5.6...it is very clean even for larger prints. If you are looking for a wide lens, then here is a link to one that is a lot of bang for the buck...the image quality on this lens is superb, plus IS makes it very usable in low light.

Greetings

Matthias

https://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/lenses/canon_10-18_4p5-5p6_is_stm
 
Thanks. It is nice of you to take the trouble to comment, and to recommend a good lens.

I am afraid I made a couple of typos, and there appears to be no way to edit a review after submitting it:

poo => poor

1D mark ii => 1Dx mark ii
 
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I agree. I also came véry late into the Canon 7DII world, with all of its stories on how AF was jittery, unreliable, how it was second rate to Nikon's D500, how it had compromised IQ, etc, etc. So my expectations were low. I got one in the Canon lens/body promotion with 600,- off half a year ago with the 400DOII and extenders, and it was meant as a temporary solution, until the first wildlife/sports capable eos-R comes along.

There were a few things I had to come to grips with, coming from a 24mp filterless Sony sensor in the Pentax K3II + DA560. Fine detail plummeted with the new set-up, and part of that was due to the AA-filter. Also the base iso DR plummeted equally. But when you expose right, and the 7DII does a fantastic job here, and you adjust your post processing, the final resulting images from the 7DII have a quality that make me appreciate this body quite a lot. You can throw a ton of sharpening at the 7DII images b.t.w., compared to the Pentax K3II (that does not need it admittedly), and they sharpen up very nicely.
 
Thomas Rose said:
Thanks. It is nice of you to take the trouble to comment, and to recommend a good lens.

I am afraid I made a couple of typos, and there appears to be no way to edit a review after submitting it:

poo => poor

1D mark ii => 1Dx mark ii
Click to expand...
I second the recommendation of the 10-18 for ultra wide use. I have owned all three Canon UW zooms for crop (10-22, 10-18, 11-22), and still own the 10-18 and 11-22. They are all good. The 11-22 is marginally the best, but it's an EF-M lens, so won't fit on the 7DII. The 10-18 is also really good, and excellent value. I got mine on sale for around $200, but even at regular price, it's a bargain.

And I agree with your assessment of the 7DII. I've owned mine for nearly five years (got it as soon as it came out). I now mostly use it for sports, because my M6 has replaced it for everyday use. But I find the 7DII performs really well for sports, and I don't hesitate to use it all the way up to its native ISO limit of 16,000, if I need to (in fading light at track meets, for example). A couple of years ago, I did a blind test of high ISO images (3200 and 12,800) from the 7DII, Nikon D500, and a couple of others. No-one preferred any of the others, including the much-lauded D500, to the 7DII. For high ISO on a crop sensor, the 7DII is excellent. Maybe the 90D (and perhaps the M6II) finally surpasses it, but the 80D certainly doesn't (though it has a bit better DR at low ISO, if you care about that sort of thing).

--
As the length of a thread approaches 150, the probability that someone will make the obvious "it's not the camera, it's the photographer" remark approaches 1.
Alastair
http://anorcross.smugmug.com
Equipment in profile
 
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On the 7D mark ii the wide end of my 24-70 was not very wide at all. But with the camera and my usual lenses (24-70 f/4, 135 f/2, 1.4x extender) weighing in at over 2.5 kg I did not want to add another heavy lump of glass and metal.

Thank you Matthias and Alastair. I would not usually have considered that 10-18 lens, with its narrow maximum aperture and plasticky construction, especially after seeing the sharpness field maps on DxO Mark, but thanks to your recommendations I bought it, and I am glad I did.

Well, I don't know what kind of sub-standard, damaged specimen those DxO folk had, but my copy performs very much better than whatever they tested. It delivers completely usable results at all focal lengths and apertures. I rarely want selective focus from an ultra-wide so the maximum apertures of f/4.5-5.6 are no drawback at all. And it is beyond sensible criticism if stopped down a stop or two. At f/8 which is where I tend to use ultra-wides most of the time, the image quality it is just excellent. The AF is quick enough and very accurate, and it even has Image Stabilisation.

Best of all, at just 250 grams and a tiny size I do not mind carrying around with the rest of my equipment. Had I bought something that works on full frame, and that goes to f/2.8 or wider, I'd probably have ended up with something so big and heavy that it would often be left at home.
 
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For a standard zoom, consider the 17-55 f/2.8. It's considerably smaller and lighter than at least the f/2.8 24-70, it has a better wide end, it's sharp, and it focuses fast and accurately (in addition to having IS).

One other thing I really like about the 7DmkII is its crazy long battery life. Whatever the ratings may say, I shoot basketball double headers on it (4000 shots). I normally change the battery at halftime of the second game just to be on the safe side, but the battery's nowhere near exhausted by that point (maybe 40%). Until a mirrorless camera can do that, I suspect a lot of sports shooters won't find it too interesting. The CIPA battery life is essentially meaningless on a body like the 7DII when used as intended; people aren't taking a shot every 30 seconds, half with in-body flash turned on.
 
Hello everybody,

I'm thinking of purchaising a 7D2. Due to my budget, I can't buy a new one. I found a second-hand one whose shutter count is 53175. Do you think it's worth buying it? It would be my main camera.

Thank you!
 
Sekhmet said:
Hello everybody,

I'm thinking of purchaising a 7D2. Due to my budget, I can't buy a new one. I found a second-hand one whose shutter count is 53175. Do you think it's worth buying it? It would be my main camera.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
For what purpose? What's the price?

If your concern is longevity, 50K shutter actuations is nothing for this body. I'm around 150K and plenty of people have put a lot more frames through it.
 
Robert Krawitz said:
For what purpose? What's the price?

If your concern is longevity, 50K shutter actuations is nothing for this body. I'm around 150K and plenty of people have put a lot more frames through it.
Click to expand...
It would be for holidays, concerts and festivals, and I hope animals again (I ceased animal photography due to my studies). With my old 7D, 9 years old, I took 58000 pictures.

The 7D2 I found is sold by a shop, at 850 euros, with 1 year guarantee. I'll call them to ask how old it is.

EDIT: I found one with 3700 clicks! I bought it immediately!
 
AThomas Rose said:
After much soul searching, I chose this to be my go-to camera, replacing te 1D series cameras I had used almost since switching from film to digital. After some of the reviews I had read I was surprised to find that the image quality is outstanding even with full frame lenses that are not deisgned for such pixel density and for all the complaints about noise and poo high-ISO performance it is actually very clean up to ISO 6400 and can make usable images at even higher settings.

With its tough build, weather sealing, twin slots and unmatched AF it is most of a 1Dx or 1D mark II in a smaller lighter body. Not quite so tough (pop-up flash, dials rather than buttons less robust door to the card slots, and protruding strap lugs), not quite so good high -ISO, and APS-C ... which make more demands on lens resolution.

But at the price I got mine (a stock clearance item, 5 years old but unused) I am not complaining. I could have bought ten of them for the price of a 1Dx II !

I appreciate the weight saving over the 1D cameras and I don't miss the vertical grip as I always used the main shutter release and nearby controls, even when shooting in portrait mode.

The only problem it gives me is that my widest focal length (24mm on a 24-70 zoom) is now equivalent to a 38mm lens on full frame, and that is not very wide at all. So the next purchase will be a good wide angle lens. Perhaps I should not have sold that 16-35?
Click to expand...
Absolutely. The 7D II still makes sense today. Specially that it has no successor. The 90D isn’t it. If one wants a crop sensor pro body with reliable autofocus and great ergonomics with a tough body. The dual pixel tech gives it more of an edge to offerings from other manufacturers like the D500 from Nikon.

And its resolution and image quality is still very respectable

As for lenses, the only pro Canon zoom lens for crop sensor is the EF-S 17-55 f2.8.

if you don’t mind a narrower aperture I very much liked the 15-85 f3.5-5.6 that I owned for a while. Gives an equivalent range of 24-136 on full frame.
 
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Thomas Rose said:
Thanks. It is nice of you to take the trouble to comment, and to recommend a good lens.

I am afraid I made a couple of typos, and there appears to be no way to edit a review after submitting it:

poo => poor

1D mark ii => 1Dx mark ii
Click to expand...
You can edit even after submitting. On bottom of the window where you’re typing, there’s “more options”, click that and click edit.
 
Swerky said:
You can edit even after submitting. On bottom of the window where you’re typing, there’s “more options”, click that and click edit.
Click to expand...
Just a quick addition.

If someone has replied to your post you can no longer edit. Also even if nobody has replied after a certain amount of time has passed you cannot recall or delete your post.

Just thought I'd mention.
 
If you don't require compatibility with FF the EFS 10-22 is quite good. Not expensive either.
 
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