what does explanation sign mean on 7D

[Juana2teddy]

Notice on my camera it has a explanation mark on the right bottom side on the screen. and i have notice that it wont focus on the subject? What do i need to do to fix it?

[HPL]

Do you mean "exclamation mark"  like this " ! " ?

[HPL]

How about a bit more info?  Are you shooting stills or video?  About which screen are you speaking (in the viewfinder, LCD screen on top of camera, view screen on back of camera)?  If shooting stills, AV, TV, M, Auto, ...? 

[HPL]

OK, here's the straight dope.  Although the printed manual that comes with the camera doesn't explain it, if you go into the FULL manual (either on the Canon site or on the disk that comes with the camera) you will find an explanation on page 441 (I think).  Basically it doesn't mean that the camera is about to explode or anything, but rather is alerting you that your camera is setup to shoot in a way that you MAY not intend (black and white for instance), so, if you see that warning sign, you better double or even triple check ALL your settings (ISO, color balance, metering pattern, picture style, etc.) or you might have a bit of a nasty surprise when you download your images 😉 .

[RobertTheFat]

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@HPL wrote:

OK, here's the straight dope.  Although the printed manual that comes with the camera doesn't explain it, if you go into the FULL manual (either on the Canon site or on the disk that comes with the camera) you will find an explanation on page 441 (I think).  Basically it doesn't mean that the camera is about to explode or anything, but rather is alerting you that your camera is setup to shoot in a way that you MAY not intend (black and white for instance), so, if you see that warning sign, you better double or even triple check ALL your settings (ISO, color balance, metering pattern, picture style, etc.) or you might have a bit of a nasty surprise when you download your images 😉 .

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Where on the Canon site did you find a 7D manual with 441 pages? The only one I can find has only 290, and I believe it's identical to the one that came with the camera, except for the fact that it's a newer (June 2012) edition.

[HPL]

Actually, I called Canon Prof. Serv. and the fellow there said that it was on page 441.  I haven't gone to the full manual which is supposed to be on the CD that came with the camera and which the tech rep at CPS said was also available online.

HPL

[HPL]

Addittional info:  I went to the 7D MkII instruction CD and indeed, there is a 500+ page instruction manual and the information about the " ! " warning sign is on page 441.  It would be nice if the printed manual was a bit more comprehensive, but we should probably just be glad that there is a printed manual as many cameras no longer include them.

HPL

[KeithR]

The 7D's full manual is 290 pages long.

The 7D Mk II's full manual is 547 pages long.

Different cameras.

[RobertTheFat]

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@HPL wrote:

Addittional info:  I went to the 7D MkII instruction CD and indeed, there is a 500+ page instruction manual and the information about the " ! " warning sign is on page 441.  It would be nice if the printed manual was a bit more comprehensive, but we should probably just be glad that there is a printed manual as many cameras no longer include them.

HPL

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Well, this is the first mention of the Mark II; the OP's question appeared to refer to to the Mark I. The 7D (Mk 1) manual posted on the Canon site is identical to the one delivered with the camera; a later version of about the same size is also available. Apparently the Mk II manual is much larger.

I think the primary value of the printed manuals supplied by Canon is that they're small enough to carry around in one's camera bag. I'm not sure I'd want to carry a manual around if it were 500 pages long. So if for the 7D2, Canon is providing an abbreviated manual to carry around and the full one on-line to be printed and stored in a letter-size binder, that seems sensible to me.

[KeithR]

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@RobertTheFat wrote:

Apparently the Mk II manual is much larger. 

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Post directly above yours, Robert...