Canon R7 AF issues?

[Tr3v420]

So when the R7 was released, there was some hubbub about shutter shake or something but overall the consensus of the camera was positive. Some said the AF on it was BETTER than the R5 (or maybe im misremembering, on par?) Now im reading that there are AF issues with the new 200-800mm which is similar to issues people are seeing on other lenses. Since when?

I was close to possibly picking up an R7 to shoot along side my R5 for when i need extra reach but now im worried ill be disappointed with the AF going back and forth between the two. I was also looking forward to the R7 so i can get my wife to maybe join along in some photo trips.

What lenses seem to be giving the R7 issues? I currently only have an RF 800mm f11 and RF 100-400 id need to worry about. Are these lenses having issues with the R7 AF as well?

 

[VisuallyOriented]

So when the R7 was released, there was some hubbub about shutter shake or something but overall the consensus of the camera was positive. Some said the AF on it was BETTER than the R5 (or maybe im misremembering, on par?) Now im reading that there are AF issues with the new 200-800mm which is similar to issues people are seeing on other lenses. Since when?

I was close to possibly picking up an R7 to shoot along side my R5 for when i need extra reach but now im worried ill be disappointed with the AF going back and forth between the two. I was also looking forward to the R7 so i can get my wife to maybe join along in some photo trips.

What lenses seem to be giving the R7 issues? I currently only have an RF 800mm f11 and RF 100-400 id need to worry about. Are these lenses having issues with the R7 AF as well?

The R7 can be a great wildlife camera but it does have several cons. Like you my principle camera is a R5. I supplement the R5 by renting a R7 when I go on wildlife trips. The reason I rent a R7 instead of purchase is the R7 imperfections.

The first problem is the shutter options. The mechanical shutter is really rough and loud. The real issue though is the shutter shock it creates. In my test anything below 1/300 is unusable with the mechanical shutter. In fact even with electronic first curtain shutter shock is still a consideration.

That leaves the electronic shutter. The concern with the electronic shutter is that it has a very slow read-out speed. This leads to possible rolling shutter problems. For me it is ok for animals, but a no-go when I shoot aircraft which is one the primary subjects I would shoot with the camera.

The other widely reported problem with the R7 are autofocus issues. I would describe the issue as inconsistency because in some ways the R7 autofocus is better than the R5. For me, as I shoot mostly mammals the R7 autofocus is good enough and produces a good keeper rate.

In this video Duade Paton describes/demonstrates the AF issue with the R7. He also has a video detailing Canon's response to his issues in addition to a lot of other good content.

My other issue with the R7 is the ergonomics. The placement of the rear dial is weird. If you are only shooting with a R7 you would get used to it but switching between the R5 and the R7 is a bit of a challenge for me.

 

[Myer]

So when the R7 was released, there was some hubbub about shutter shake or something but overall the consensus of the camera was positive. Some said the AF on it was BETTER than the R5 (or maybe im misremembering, on par?) Now im reading that there are AF issues with the new 200-800mm which is similar to issues people are seeing on other lenses. Since when?

I was close to possibly picking up an R7 to shoot along side my R5 for when i need extra reach but now im worried ill be disappointed with the AF going back and forth between the two. I was also looking forward to the R7 so i can get my wife to maybe join along in some photo trips.

What lenses seem to be giving the R7 issues? I currently only have an RF 800mm f11 and RF 100-400 id need to worry about. Are these lenses having issues with the R7 AF as well?

The R7 can be a great wildlife camera but it does have several cons. Like you my principle camera is a R5. I supplement the R5 by renting a R7 when I go on wildlife trips. The reason I rent a R7 instead of purchase is the R7 imperfections.

The first problem is the shutter options. The mechanical shutter is really rough and loud. The real issue though is the shutter shock it creates. In my test anything below 1/300 is unusable with the mechanical shutter. In fact even with electronic first curtain shutter shock is still a consideration.

That leaves the electronic shutter. The concern with the electronic shutter is that it has a very slow read-out speed. This leads to possible rolling shutter problems. For me it is ok for animals, but a no-go when I shoot aircraft which is one the primary subjects I would shoot with the camera.

The other widely reported problem with the R7 are autofocus issues. I would describe the issue as inconsistency because in some ways the R7 autofocus is better than the R5. For me, as I shoot mostly mammals the R7 autofocus is good enough and produces a good keeper rate.

In this video Duade Paton describes/demonstrates the AF issue with the R7. He also has a video detailing Canon's response to his issues in addition to a lot of other good content.

My other issue with the R7 is the ergonomics. The placement of the rear dial is weird. If you are only shooting with a R7 you would get used to it but switching between the R5 and the R7 is a bit of a challenge for me.

The problems appear to be mostly in Servo mode which unfortunately is the way most action (birds in flight, etc) is shot.

 

[Tr3v420]

So when the R7 was released, there was some hubbub about shutter shake or something but overall the consensus of the camera was positive. Some said the AF on it was BETTER than the R5 (or maybe im misremembering, on par?) Now im reading that there are AF issues with the new 200-800mm which is similar to issues people are seeing on other lenses. Since when?

I was close to possibly picking up an R7 to shoot along side my R5 for when i need extra reach but now im worried ill be disappointed with the AF going back and forth between the two. I was also looking forward to the R7 so i can get my wife to maybe join along in some photo trips.

What lenses seem to be giving the R7 issues? I currently only have an RF 800mm f11 and RF 100-400 id need to worry about. Are these lenses having issues with the R7 AF as well?

The R7 can be a great wildlife camera but it does have several cons. Like you my principle camera is a R5. I supplement the R5 by renting a R7 when I go on wildlife trips. The reason I rent a R7 instead of purchase is the R7 imperfections.

The first problem is the shutter options. The mechanical shutter is really rough and loud. The real issue though is the shutter shock it creates. In my test anything below 1/300 is unusable with the mechanical shutter. In fact even with electronic first curtain shutter shock is still a consideration.

That leaves the electronic shutter. The concern with the electronic shutter is that it has a very slow read-out speed. This leads to possible rolling shutter problems. For me it is ok for animals, but a no-go when I shoot aircraft which is one the primary subjects I would shoot with the camera.

The other widely reported problem with the R7 are autofocus issues. I would describe the issue as inconsistency because in some ways the R7 autofocus is better than the R5. For me, as I shoot mostly mammals the R7 autofocus is good enough and produces a good keeper rate.

In this video Duade Paton describes/demonstrates the AF issue with the R7. He also has a video detailing Canon's response to his issues in addition to a lot of other good content.

My other issue with the R7 is the ergonomics. The placement of the rear dial is weird. If you are only shooting with a R7 you would get used to it but switching between the R5 and the R7 is a bit of a challenge for me.

Thanks for the reply!

With the shutter shake, i plan to be shooting birds mostly with it and usually keep my shutter speeds nice and high. With that said, if i need anything below 1/300, wouldnt electronic shutter be sufficient enough since anything worth shooting under 1/300 shouldnt be moving too fast anyways? (besides maybe aircraft propellers kinda thing maybe).

Since the AF problem seems to be paired with the term 'with certain lenses', i was curious what lenses exhibits the AF flaws or is it ALL lenses?

 

[BirdShooter7]

I am taking this R7 AF issue talk with a big pinch of salt. For starters, the R7 has a tougher task than other cameras because of the pixel density. The images are going to be a little softer to because the image is being magnified more. Also I get slightly OOF shots and AF excursions from the R5, R6, R7, R8 and R10. They all do it. It depends a lot more on shooting conditions and subject than it does on camera body in my experience. I’d love it if there was a controlled and systematic AF test to really test this AF issues talk out but so far it’s all gut feelings.

 

[BirdShooter7]

So when the R7 was released, there was some hubbub about shutter shake or something but overall the consensus of the camera was positive. Some said the AF on it was BETTER than the R5 (or maybe im misremembering, on par?) Now im reading that there are AF issues with the new 200-800mm which is similar to issues people are seeing on other lenses. Since when?

I was close to possibly picking up an R7 to shoot along side my R5 for when i need extra reach but now im worried ill be disappointed with the AF going back and forth between the two. I was also looking forward to the R7 so i can get my wife to maybe join along in some photo trips.

What lenses seem to be giving the R7 issues? I currently only have an RF 800mm f11 and RF 100-400 id need to worry about. Are these lenses having issues with the R7 AF as well?

The R7 can be a great wildlife camera but it does have several cons. Like you my principle camera is a R5. I supplement the R5 by renting a R7 when I go on wildlife trips. The reason I rent a R7 instead of purchase is the R7 imperfections.

The first problem is the shutter options. The mechanical shutter is really rough and loud. The real issue though is the shutter shock it creates. In my test anything below 1/300 is unusable with the mechanical shutter. In fact even with electronic first curtain shutter shock is still a consideration.

That leaves the electronic shutter. The concern with the electronic shutter is that it has a very slow read-out speed. This leads to possible rolling shutter problems. For me it is ok for animals, but a no-go when I shoot aircraft which is one the primary subjects I would shoot with the camera.

Do you do a lot of aircraft photography with shutter speeds below 1/300s? Is there something about EFCS that is a problem for aircraft photography? I’m not the world’s expert but I was thrilled with the R7’s performance at the airshows I have been to.

The other widely reported problem with the R7 are autofocus issues. I would describe the issue as inconsistency because in some ways the R7 autofocus is better than the R5. For me, as I shoot mostly mammals the R7 autofocus is good enough and produces a good keeper rate.

Have you personally experienced the AF inconsistency? If so would you mind describing what you experienced?

In this video Duade Paton describes/demonstrates the AF issue with the R7. He also has a video detailing Canon's response to his issues in addition to a lot of other good content.

That response from Canon was pretty lame to be honest.

My other issue with the R7 is the ergonomics. The placement of the rear dial is weird. If you are only shooting with a R7 you would get used to it but switching between the R5 and the R7 is a bit of a challenge for me.

right with you on this. Going back and forth between the R5 and R7 is a pain.

 

[Alastair Norcross]

My R7 performs very well with my RF 100-400 and 800. I never use full mechanical, only EFCS and e-shutter. No shutter shock at all in EFCS. The supposed problem only occurred in high speed burst mode at certain speeds, and a firmware update prevented the full 15fps at those speeds (below about 1/1000). If you shoot EFCS at 1/250, you might be limited to a ‘mere’ 11fps (I recently verified this for myself). Almost all the complaints are either overblown, nit-picking, or based on second and third hand rumors.

 

[CompleteUtterNonsense]

My R7 performs very well with my RF 100-400 and 800. I never use full mechanical, only EFCS and e-shutter. No shutter shock at all in EFCS. The supposed problem only occurred in high speed burst mode at certain speeds, and a firmware update prevented the full 15fps at those speeds (below about 1/1000). If you shoot EFCS at 1/250, you might be limited to a ‘mere’ 11fps (I recently verified this for myself). Almost all the complaints are either overblown, nit-picking, or based on second and third hand rumors.

Did not know that. Noted. I guess I need to update the firmware then.

 

[Tr3v420]

I love the additional replies gentlemen, thank you.

 

[Chris Wolfgram]

I love the additional replies gentlemen, thank you.

Where are you from ? If anywhere in the USA, you could always rent an R7 and see for yourself. In my personal experience, this inconsistency issue, is very hit and miss. It’s not too bad in good light, at a reasonable distance. But it’s worse in low light, or when your subject is too close…. The 800 F11 does a lot better from 21 or 22 ft, than it does from 19.6 to 20ft.

 

[KevinRA]

So when the R7 was released, there was some hubbub about shutter shake or something but overall the consensus of the camera was positive. Some said the AF on it was BETTER than the R5 (or maybe im misremembering, on par?) Now im reading that there are AF issues with the new 200-800mm which is similar to issues people are seeing on other lenses. Since when?

As a R5 and R7 user - (I don't own the R3) - I find generally the AF on the 2 bodies similar in hit rate on average - as one poster said the challenge with long telephotos is the extra pixel density of the R7 whilst being desirable from a "reach" perspective does make the R7 more sensitive to very slight AF inaccuracy when pixel peeping ;-)

I've slowed down the AF on the R7 lately in case settings - and I've noticed sometimes the 100-500 seems a little reluctant occasionally to lock on at the long f/7.1 500mm end but generally not had the "jumping off" issue at all with any of my lenses - albeit these are mostly EF lenses adapted and mostly f/4 or f/2.8. I've also now generally shoot the R7 on H not H+ frame rate, following Duade Paton's video. 90% of the time vert happy with AF accuracy.

I was close to possibly picking up an R7 to shoot along side my R5 for when i need extra reach but now im worried ill be disappointed with the AF going back and forth between the two.

In good light and with good noise reduction by modern programs and AI sharpening - the reach and pictures from the R7 is amazing. Just shoot some extra pictures and plenty should be pin sharp.

What lenses seem to be giving the R7 issues? I currently only have an RF 800mm f11 I was close to possibly picking up an R7 to shoot along side my R5 for when i need extra reach but now im worried ill be disappointed with the AF going back and forth between the two.

So I dont own the 800mm f/11 - but this is one lens where likely the extra reach of the R7 may not make as much difference - it's a nice lens but not the sharpest and is into "diffraction" territory on the R7 and will need good light to avoid high ISO. I suspect you wont get massive extra detail in most real life use with the R7 vs R5 with the 800 f/11.

(With my best lenses I can see the centre subject resolution gain very clearly R7 vs R5 - with others or with TC's less so).

I was also looking forward to the R7 so i can get my wife to maybe join along in some photo trips.and RF 100-400 id need to worry about. Are these lenses having issues with the R7 AF as well?

Duade Paton did report issues also with the R10 and with the RF 100-400 with 1.4X TC - and the Sigma 150-600C is reported to have issues. I'm sure you would get plenty keepers too though.

Overall the R7 is a great camera for the money. If I was asked about 2 things I wanted to improve, AF accuracy would not be one of them - I'd ask instead for less rolling shutter and control dials like the R5 or R6.

 

[CompleteUtterNonsense]

...

Overall the R7 is a great camera for the money. If I was asked about 2 things I wanted to improve, AF accuracy would not be one of them - I'd ask instead for less rolling shutter and control dials like the R5 or R6.

For the money. I think this often gets lost in the conversation. Same probably applies to the 200-800. It's not an L lens and does not carry an L price tag. Trade offs.

 

[KevinRA]

...

Overall the R7 is a great camera for the money. If I was asked about 2 things I wanted to improve, AF accuracy would not be one of them - I'd ask instead for less rolling shutter and control dials like the R5 or R6.

For the money. I think this often gets lost in the conversation. Same probably applies to the 200-800. It's not an L lens and does not carry an L price tag. Trade offs.

Agree - what I'm saying is the R7 is good for me inc the AF.....

Rolling shutter yes would cost more to control - dials though would not - even my M6II is better than the R7 re dials.

 

[Alastair Norcross]

My R7 performs very well with my RF 100-400 and 800. I never use full mechanical, only EFCS and e-shutter. No shutter shock at all in EFCS. The supposed problem only occurred in high speed burst mode at certain speeds, and a firmware update prevented the full 15fps at those speeds (below about 1/1000). If you shoot EFCS at 1/250, you might be limited to a ‘mere’ 11fps (I recently verified this for myself). Almost all the complaints are either overblown, nit-picking, or based on second and third hand rumors.

Did not know that. Noted. I guess I need to update the firmware then.

I think the fix was introduced with 1.3. It's definitely there in 1.4, which is what I tested the burst slowdown in. I posted about it here, in response to a question about it. About a week ago, I think.

 

[BirdShooter7]

My R7 performs very well with my RF 100-400 and 800. I never use full mechanical, only EFCS and e-shutter. No shutter shock at all in EFCS. The supposed problem only occurred in high speed burst mode at certain speeds, and a firmware update prevented the full 15fps at those speeds (below about 1/1000). If you shoot EFCS at 1/250, you might be limited to a ‘mere’ 11fps (I recently verified this for myself). Almost all the complaints are either overblown, nit-picking, or based on second and third hand rumors.

Did not know that. Noted. I guess I need to update the firmware then.

I think the fix was introduced with 1.3. It's definitely there in 1.4, which is what I tested the burst slowdown in. I posted about it here, in response to a question about it. About a week ago, I think.

 

[birdbrain]

So when the R7 was released, there was some hubbub about shutter shake or something but overall the consensus of the camera was positive. Some said the AF on it was BETTER than the R5 (or maybe im misremembering, on par?) Now im reading that there are AF issues with the new 200-800mm which is similar to issues people are seeing on other lenses. Since when?

I was close to possibly picking up an R7 to shoot along side my R5 for when i need extra reach but now im worried ill be disappointed with the AF going back and forth between the two. I was also looking forward to the R7 so i can get my wife to maybe join along in some photo trips.

What lenses seem to be giving the R7 issues? I currently only have an RF 800mm f11 and RF 100-400 id need to worry about. Are these lenses having issues with the R7 AF as well?

All OK here with RF 100-500 and RF 600.

As others have mentioned the shutter shock was addressed in a firmware update by throttling the burst rate back a bit.

I have found the AF performance to be extremely good.

Reading your post reminded me of when I got my EOS 7D. After the first few shots I thought ‘what’s going on here.’ As I was underwhelmed by its performance.

In fact it wasn’t the camera it was me. I had to really step my game up! Once I did the camera performed much better.

There is and old adage, ‘a bad workman blames his tools.’ Something we all need to remember even today.

 

[boldcolors]

The other widely reported problem with the R7 are autofocus issues. I would describe the issue as inconsistency because in some ways the R7 autofocus is better than the R5. For me, as I shoot mostly mammals the R7 autofocus is good enough and produces a good keeper rate.

In this video Duade Paton describes/demonstrates the AF issue with the R7. He also has a video detailing Canon's response to his issues in addition to a lot of other good content.

To me - and this is just a huge guess based on...guessing . Canon seems to have a problem with AF performance on their APS-C sensors. Again, I have no scientific facts other than own experience.

I have been using a LOT of Canon cameras throughout the years. Almost every single FF since the original 5D and some APS-C based as well.

The only models that have given me weird and inconsistent results are cameras with cropped sensors (yes, the original 5D and 5D2 were slow but at least they were consistent once they locked). The 7D MK II had massive problems for me. Even if AF nailed and confirmed the target the entire frame could be out of focus. Sometimes it would work like a charm and sometimes not. So it was not a matter of calibration either. Just for the sake of it I had Canon calibrate it. No difference.

Same thing with the 70D. Hopeless. It would work fine in some scenes and then just go haywire with weird results where nothing is truly in focus.

From what I am hearing and reading SOME of the R7 units seem to suffer from the same problems. Which is weird since mirrorless should be so much more consistent and "failsafe"

I don't know if there is a problem with smaller sensor readout or if the quality control is much worse in this segment.

 

[CompleteUtterNonsense]

The other widely reported problem with the R7 are autofocus issues. I would describe the issue as inconsistency because in some ways the R7 autofocus is better than the R5. For me, as I shoot mostly mammals the R7 autofocus is good enough and produces a good keeper rate.

In this video Duade Paton describes/demonstrates the AF issue with the R7. He also has a video detailing Canon's response to his issues in addition to a lot of other good content.

To me - and this is just a huge guess based on...guessing . Canon seems to have a problem with AF performance on their APS-C sensors. Again, I have no scientific facts other than own experience.

Well, Canon already told us where the issue lies, sensor readout speed can't keep up with the AF. There may be other underlying issues such as processor size or memory/buffers dedicated to AF, but the AF is hardware limited.

Name me another camera at that price point that has the same level of autofocus. The Sony A6700 is there, but it was just released, so up to that point was there any other camera even close?

If you want better autofocus, you need to pony up more.

 

[BirdShooter7]

The other widely reported problem with the R7 are autofocus issues. I would describe the issue as inconsistency because in some ways the R7 autofocus is better than the R5. For me, as I shoot mostly mammals the R7 autofocus is good enough and produces a good keeper rate.

In this video Duade Paton describes/demonstrates the AF issue with the R7. He also has a video detailing Canon's response to his issues in addition to a lot of other good content.

To me - and this is just a huge guess based on...guessing . Canon seems to have a problem with AF performance on their APS-C sensors. Again, I have no scientific facts other than own experience.

Well, Canon already told us where the issue lies, sensor readout speed can't keep up with the AF.

I would take that email with a huge grain of salt. I think it was more that someone at Canon Australia just wanted these questions to go away and this email was the most expedient way to make it happen.

There may be other underlying issues such as processor size or memory/buffers dedicated to AF, but the AF is hardware limited.

Name me another camera at that price point that has the same level of autofocus. The Sony A6700 is there, but it was just released, so up to that point was there any other camera even close?

If you want better autofocus, you need to pony up more.

And even if you do it’s really not a whole lot different.

 

[phenix jc]

The R7 is a very good AF camera, especially for BIF. Especially also for the price point.

I dropped my trusty D500 for this camera!

Now there is some AF inconsistency for BIF. The main problem is when the camera try to refocus, the subject being perfectly sharp. You can see that in a burst, or already in the viewfinder when you're ready to fire and continuously hitting the AF button.

Nonetheless you'll get many sharp images in that scenario, and the camera despite not being perfect, is great.

It seems the R5/6/8 don't have this issue, with more consistency once they catch the AF.

I'm tempted by a used R5, but I'll miss the goodies of the R7/6ii/8 and of course, the "reach"/crop-ability. And I prefer to invest the money in lens. The 200-800 for example. (Hélas, my lovely 100-500!)