My first few weeks with the R7

Distinctly Average wrote:

BirdShooter7 wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Beautiful shots as always!

Thanks for the review re: birding. I've mainly been using mine for macros, so it's good to hear your (trusted) thoughts.

As far as AF stickiness goes, I'd recommend trying Case 2, and adjusting the TS all the way to ( - ), and the Accel all the way to ( + ), with Switching Tracked Subject at ( 0 ). HUMAN Eye AF with the R7 has been incredibly sticky with these settings (at least as good as my R5), and I'd be curious to see if the same holds true for Animal Eye AF.

Happy shooting!

R2

Thanks, that’s a good suggestion and I definitely plan to try it out when I have some better in-flight opportunities when I have a good chance to try it both ways. So far I’ve been a bit limited but I’m itching to explore the AF more.

I have been just using Auto rather than a specific case so far with good results most of the time. I’ve just been too busy to experiment with the case settings. I will do though and see if I can make the AF better for my particular subjects. On the 7D2 I used to use different settings depending on the subject and conditions but so far have not found the need to do that.

Hi DA.  You're absolutely correct.  A lot depends on the types of subjects one is shooting.  I don't do birding with the R7 (because the R5 is so much more capable, for ME) but for Humans (in motion) the settings I have posted above put my keeper rates through the roof.  It's really worth a try. 

Happy shooting!

R2

Zeee wrote:

Basil Fawlty wrote:

First, thank you very much for posting this well documented review and posting all those terrific pictures! I have been struggling with whether to buy an R6 or spend an additional $1400 for an R5, but after reading your commentary and seeing some of the resulting images, I have to rethink my situation. This has me thinking of maybe just keeping my 5D Mark IV, which is terrific in most of my use cases, then get an R7 for instances where I want to maximize my resolution and improve my ability to crop in without loss in resolution. The only images of yours that I thought were not as sharp as the others were the one where you used a 2x extender and then the one where you used the RF800 f11. Those two images looked decent but seems a tad soft when looking at full size. Nevertheless, they were all impressive (makes me think I need to book a trip to Costa Rico).

I do have one question - was there any Denise or enhancement software used, such as Topaz for any of these images? I'm especially interested in the Owl picture where you shot at ISO 5000 - I was surprised by the lack of noise?

If the R7 works out for me I might wish I kept my R. 30mp. Great IQ and I don't need all the fancy stuff for a general walk around urban and landscape camera.

I think the R7 would make a great general use camera, with the usual caveats re: increased noise and reduced lens availability (esp at the wider end).

Mind you I have never tried my RF 24-105 f4 on the R5 yet. I guess that is next.

That's my go-to lens for landscapes and general walk-around (on the R5/ R6).  It's much improved over the EF versions (IMHO).  And IME the AF is just fast enough for the outdoor sports I shoot, but I do greatly prefer the RF 28-70/70-200 2.8 combo for that  .

R2

R2D2 wrote:

Distinctly Average wrote:

BirdShooter7 wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Beautiful shots as always!

Thanks for the review re: birding. I've mainly been using mine for macros, so it's good to hear your (trusted) thoughts.

As far as AF stickiness goes, I'd recommend trying Case 2, and adjusting the TS all the way to ( - ), and the Accel all the way to ( + ), with Switching Tracked Subject at ( 0 ). HUMAN Eye AF with the R7 has been incredibly sticky with these settings (at least as good as my R5), and I'd be curious to see if the same holds true for Animal Eye AF.

Happy shooting!

R2

Thanks, that’s a good suggestion and I definitely plan to try it out when I have some better in-flight opportunities when I have a good chance to try it both ways. So far I’ve been a bit limited but I’m itching to explore the AF more.

I have been just using Auto rather than a specific case so far with good results most of the time. I’ve just been too busy to experiment with the case settings. I will do though and see if I can make the AF better for my particular subjects. On the 7D2 I used to use different settings depending on the subject and conditions but so far have not found the need to do that.

Hi DA. You're absolutely correct. A lot depends on the types of subjects one is shooting. I don't do birding with the R7 (because the R5 is so much more capable, for ME) but for Humans (in motion) the settings I have posted above put my keeper rates through the roof. It's really worth a try.

Happy shooting!

R2

Auto adjusts two parameters. Tracking Sensitivity (TS) and Accel/Decel. I can see Accel/Decel being OK in Auto. As for TS.

Case 2. TS is a negative setting. If the AF point/s go off your subject AF will hang on and not refocus instantly on something else and give you time to reacquire your original subject. This includes your subject being obstructed momentarily by something else like a tree or another bird.

Case 3. TS is positive positive. The opposite of Case 2. The system will immediately refocuses on another subject when AF point/s fall on it.

How would Auto know my intent? Do I want to hang on to my original subject or refocus on something else? Since most people want to hang to the original subject Auto may be weighted towards a positive TS setting. That of course is a just a guess.

In 2009 I set my 7D TS to -2 and have been shooting like that until today. It has saved me many times. Case 2 with TS-2 since getting the 7D2 and 5D4. The 7D did not have Case numbers. I also bump up Accel/Decel to +1. If I'm shooting drag cars or anything moving towards me at irregular speeds I'll go to Case 4 and bump up Accel/Decel to +2.

I really like this guy and he spends some time on it at 9:17. I have not registered those two parameters as he suggests. I use the case numbers themselves and the parameters are tuned to my taste. I'm on Case 2 90% of the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IKCU_q7vfE

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Don't Look Up

First off, you have a new fan Your photography is freaking amazing ! I'm not going to kid myself into believing > all I need is an R7 and I'll be instantly getting shots like these lol Reminds me of the old thing where a guy goes out and has the best meal he has ever had, then tells the chef, "You must have some excellent cooking utensils" lol

Secondly, you shoot mostly in JPG ?!?! I'm sure you realize how many folks would think that was a huge, noobykind of mistake ! But I think I have a great analogy here. So, I was a hard-core, semi-professional bass fishermen for many years, and I had many sponsors. In a nutshell, I was super successful. (not money wise, but rather big fish wise) I used to fish with a spinning reel "only" because I have a hand-eye thing that made me atrocious with a bait caster. So I used to have guys ask me all the time, "Do you you think I should use a spinning reel" ? My response, "Only if you suck as bad with a bait caster as I do" lol My point of this story, is the best way to do things is > the way that's best for you ! I wouldn't even consider shooting in JPG, mostly because, "I'm not so good that I don't need RAW (or cRAW) tofixmany of my photos in PP. Obviously you don't need RAW. The proof is in the pudding

I shoot with an R5 (which was REALLY expensive for me) I have made a lot of photos which I think were really good. I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be, but is anybody ? Striving to perfect our craft, is what keeps us going, right ? I know that's a lot of it for me.

Anyway, I really need a backup camera, and totally expect to buy the R7 at some point. But I am going to rent one soon, to check it out first.

Thank you for this fantastic report / review, and all the fantastic shots My favs were the Blk/Wht Owl, and the Resplendent Quetzal Just WoW !

Edit: I was checking out your website, and just WoW ! Beautiful stuff ! Those Red and Pink Warblers... and that was it "orange cheeked" Bunting ? Just as awesome as it gets

Zeee wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Distinctly Average wrote:

BirdShooter7 wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

Beautiful shots as always!

Thanks for the review re: birding. I've mainly been using mine for macros, so it's good to hear your (trusted) thoughts.

As far as AF stickiness goes, I'd recommend trying Case 2, and adjusting the TS all the way to ( - ), and the Accel all the way to ( + ), with Switching Tracked Subject at ( 0 ). HUMAN Eye AF with the R7 has been incredibly sticky with these settings (at least as good as my R5), and I'd be curious to see if the same holds true for Animal Eye AF.

Happy shooting!

R2

Thanks, that’s a good suggestion and I definitely plan to try it out when I have some better in-flight opportunities when I have a good chance to try it both ways. So far I’ve been a bit limited but I’m itching to explore the AF more.

I have been just using Auto rather than a specific case so far with good results most of the time. I’ve just been too busy to experiment with the case settings. I will do though and see if I can make the AF better for my particular subjects. On the 7D2 I used to use different settings depending on the subject and conditions but so far have not found the need to do that.

Hi DA. You're absolutely correct. A lot depends on the types of subjects one is shooting. I don't do birding with the R7 (because the R5 is so much more capable, for ME) but for Humans (in motion) the settings I have posted above put my keeper rates through the roof. It's really worth a try.

Happy shooting!

R2

Auto adjusts two parameters. Tracking Sensitivity (TS) and Accel/Decel. I can see Accel/Decel being OK in Auto. As for TS.

Case 2. TS is a negative setting. If the AF point/s go off your subject AF will hang on and not refocus instantly on something else and give you time to reacquire your original subject. This includes your subject being obstructed momentarily by something else like a tree or another bird.

Case 3. TS is positive positive. The opposite of Case 2. The system will immediately refocuses on another subject when AF point/s fall on it.

How would Auto know my intent? Do I want to hang on to my original subject or refocus on something else? Since most people want to hang to the original subject Auto may be weighted towards a positive TS setting. That of course is a just a guess.

In 2009 I set my 7D TS to -2 and have been shooting like that until today. It has saved me many times. Case 2 with TS-2 since getting the 7D2 and 5D4. The 7D did not have Case numbers. I also bump up Accel/Decel to +1. If I'm shooting drag cars or anything moving towards me at irregular speeds I'll go to Case 4 and bump up Accel/Decel to +2.

I really like this guy and he spends some time on it at 9:17. I have not registered those two parameters as he suggests. I use the case numbers themselves and the parameters are tuned to my taste. I'm on Case 2 90% of the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IKCU_q7vfE

-
Don't Look Up

Then again Ron from Whistling Wings likes Auto but it has been a year since I seen that on one of his videos. I prefer to control that myself but whatever works for each persons style.

Rudy Winston once said in an excellent video about the 7D2 and Case number tracking characteristics. There are many ways to fine tune the parameters but Case 1 is all you may ever need. Canon pulled that video too. May have been dated video but Cases 1 to 4 have not changed since Canon introduced them. Except dropping the 3rd parameter - AF Auto point switching.