Problems with my af points and red flashing light in viewfinder

[mikkidk]

Just bought the canon 7d mark II. Before I had a Canon 40D.

Right from the start I have some annoying issues about the viewfinder. Every time I press half to adjust the AF points there's a red flash showing up in the whole viewfinder.

I don't want this red flash and can't see the idea with this, if It should be some new "smart" feature from Canon.

But there must be a way to turn this off. Or is my camera broken?

Please see my little video where I show this issue.

[ebiggs1]

I don't have the new 7D Mk II yet so I am only going by how my 1 series cameras operate.  You guys did read this reply from the OP?

"I only got one AF point activated.

Yes, It features the gridline. I don't use It"

I would be surprised if a single focus square made that much red flashes.  Maybe so but not likely.

[mikkidk]

Bob, I know I can disable the illumination, but I like the red focus points.

[TCampbell]

You're getting the 'warning' icon in the corner.

See page 441 of your manual on "Warnings (!) in viewfinder".

It looks like you have custom functions that you can set to choose whether you want the warnings displayed or not.  

[mikkidk]

Tcambell, no, I have unselected the warning icon and It still flash red in the viewfinder.

I have shown It to my local Canon serviceguy and he showed me another 7dmarkII which had the same red flash in the viewfinder. I asked him what the point was about this red flash and he couldn't tell me.

So I can now conclude that Canon has made a very "smart" feature that flashes red in the viewfinder with no purpose at all. That's just great!

The serviceman told me, that I could turn of the light in the AF-points, but I like my red AF-points. But maybe I turn them off. I don't know. Maybe I'm getting used to the red flash.

[TCampbell]

Were any of the conditiions that Canon documents as the reasons for the attention flash true at the time you were using the camera.  For example... one condition is that it would flash if you set your camera to perform "spot" metering -- since spot metering is typically used for select reasons and it wouldn't be a good idea to use spot metering at all times... hence if you've enabled it, but forgot you enabled it, then flash the "attention" symbol to let you know that you're shooting with an atypical metering setting.  

Canon lists a handful of reasons why they flash it.

[mikkidk]

I can't find any documentation from canon regarding this flash. It's not described.

[RobertTheFat]

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@mikkidk wrote:

I can't find any documentation from canon regarding this flash. It's not described.

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The 7D2 is one of those recent cameras that has two instruction manuals, one abbreviated ("Basic") and the other complete. I believe that they provide a printed copy of the basic manual only and that you have to find the other one on the CD-ROM. (I've downloaded both manuals, so I know they both exist.) So be sure you're reading the complete manual before you give up on finding an explanation of the red light.

[TCampbell]

Page 441 of the full-version instruction manual. If you go to the Canon 7D II page you can find it in the document section. Check the download sizes... you want the larger download to get the full manual.

[mikkidk]

The manual page 441 all describe the warning icon showing in viewfinder. I have de-selected this warning icon, so It's NOT the warning icon which flash my viewfinder with red light.