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Canon 7DII

Edward
Enthusiast

I got the camera and tested it with the 400 mm f 2.8 MKII versus a 5DIII with the same lens plus a 1.4X MKIII, both at F 4 and ISO 400 mounted in a tripod and manual focus.  The target was a brick wall.  Other than enlarging the image obtained with the 5DIII in the computer to match the size of that obtained with the 7DII, no further image manipulations were done in RAW CC.  The results were that image quality from the 7DII were slightly better than that of the 5DIII. I have done the same test with the 7D and the image of the 5DIII was better.  In other words there is a perceptible gain in image quality.  I kept the 7DII because I still will be able to use the F 2.8 aperture of the lens that will not be possible since the 5DIII + the 1.4X that would be f 4.  Also gain the 10 fms that double that of the 5DIII is great for wildlife photography.

 

The image quality/noise is not a considerable improvement over the previous one.  Otherwise the camera capabilities surpasses in all aspects those of the 7D.  There some small details such as now the frame counter goes to 1999 versus 999 in the old one. When setting the date there is an additional option to change the daylight saving time, a GPS,  etc.  

 

One peculiarity is that the labeling in the LCD panel is the reverse of that on the 5DIII, yet the Main Dial and the Quick Control Dial works as labeled in the 5DIII.  For example, the AF-Drive is labeled as such in the 5DIII but as Drive-AF in the 7DII, yet in both cameras when you press this button to change the AF the Main Dial is used.  Somebody at Canon forgot to match the labeling on the LCD panel to correspond to that of the 5DIII so that the first notation AF indicates use of the Main dial and the second notation Drive indicates the use of the Quick Selection Drive. The Rating Button I still consider a waste; no professional will rate the images based on the LCD monitor and it is not programmed to be changed to a more useful function.  In the 7D I could use the AF-ON and the AF point selection button to magnify the images in the viewfinder that I found easier than the current method of having to push the Magnifying Button and rotating the Main Dial.

 

The autofocus is excellente and I will risk to say better than the one on the 5DIII.  There a new button surrounding the multi-controller that allow for the quick selection the various AUTOFOCUS modes, a great improvement location over the previous M-Fn button (that is still present) but I still have to push the AF selection button to activate it.  Why is that I just cannot have single action button for this function or a way to change the camera's program to do it?

 

Canon is again cutting cost by offering a Basic Camera Manual plus a full manual as a CD.  This is fine for those tha carry a notebook out in the field but I no longer do to save delays in airports as well as cutting weight for carry-ons were restrictions are getting to be less than 18 pounds for some airlines. Overall, this camera has a lot to offer for the money.  

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION


@Edward wrote:

YES, [the 547-page 7D2 manual] will not bigger than the current 5DIII manual that I already carry ...  


Au contraire, the 5D3 manual (which I happen to have up on the adjacent screen) is only 403 pages.

Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

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36 REPLIES 36

None but when I am doing waterfalls, landscapes, etc, I will check the manual for special settings as well as when using flash or control remotes.  When I seat waiting for action I am usually looking around for what is going on...if I get distracted reading something I will miss the action...and this happens ocasionally anyway.

The short answer is error codes and functions which are useful but I don't use frequently enough to have committed to memory.  I try to depend on electronic devices as little as possible so no kindle, no iphone, and nor desire to carry my laptop into the somewhat dangerous (for electronic devices) environments in which I frequently shoot.   I mean really, there are at least two threads on this forum bemoaning the battery drain caused when one forgets to turn off the GPS feature on cameras.    

And yes, sometimes I do read some in my blinds, although only in very short spurts.

You're free to carry around any literature you choose.  I won't fault you on that.  I'm just surprised to find that there are people that actually carry around the manuals in anticipation of a (hopefully) infrequent error code or if they get a sudden itch to explore a new feature.  But I suppose I'm not in a position to judge, I doubt I've looked at more than a dozen pages in any of the manuals I've owned.

A short story and a coupel or three addendums:  Several years ago I was doing a one day workshop on nature photography for some middle schoolers.  There were two other pros on the property at the time.  After a brief introduction the first question I asked was "show of hands, who has their manuals with them?".  I held up my hand as did the other two pros (who were watching before heading out on their own) and maybe three or four of the kids held up theirs.  Now, the three of us who use our cameras all the time thought it was smart to carry the manuals, but the kids who probably only pick up the camera a few days a month didn't.  I can't tell you how many people I know who were unaware that their cameras had dioptric adjustments, and i even ran into one person at a workshop I was attending who didn't  realize that the plastic thing surrounding the front of her lens could be twisted, removed, turned around, and used as a LENS SHADE.  Also had a friend shooting with me who couldn't understand why my camera (30D) had a faster burst rate than his (50D).  I had to show him how to set it on "high".  The majority of the folks I see out and about have no idea what proper camera technique is and yet, at least in the full manuals, there are graphics showing the proper way to hold a camera and so on.  The one piece of advice I always give is "read your manual, carry it in the gadget bag for quick reference."  

Ironic that digital photographers desire the print that their cameras were meant to replace.

 

I like print too. Spent the better part of my professional career creating print for my clients only to see the demand for printing dry up as digital media became its replacement. Software publishing is a growth industry in today's economy, as is internet publishing, broadcasting and search. Among industries that were hardest hit by the recession last economic downturn is commercial printing and those jobs will probably never come back.

 

You could blame Canon for being "too cheap" but the truth of the matter is that printers have gone out of business in droves and the remaining printers face less competition and that constrains pricing. In addition, there are fewer print jobs to go around, which increases the cost of producing that work. (Paper pricing, ink, bindery services, and other materials and related services are priced, in part, on demand.) So, where you see a company that is cutting corners unfairly, I see a company that is backed into a corner by fundamental changes in media.

 

Frankly, anyone that argues that they have room for a manual but not  a "reader" of some sort, is shouting foul into the blare of modern trends. The argument against printed manual has always been that it is difficult to separate what you need from what you have to carry, especially true when you physically carry to the info. No one needs everything printed in the manual "all the time," just those pages that are pertinent to the inquiry. As such, manuals are regularly left behind. IMHO, it would be wiser to "put" the manual where it is most readily available and therefore most like to be used rather than try to "train" photographers' to rely on printed manuals.

 

I am convinced that no one cares about such stuff as a "book" per se. Except those suffering from nostalgia or are wickedly inflexibe.

Amazing that the manual has become the big issue of this post. It is a personal choice of carrying or not of a printed manual.  What about going back to discuss the +/-s technical aspects of the new camera?

You brought it up. Just saying...

"Amazing that the manual has become the big issue of this post. It is a personal choice of carrying or not of a printed manual. What about going back to discuss the +/-s technical aspects of the new camera?"

 

 

Actually, a big part of this discussion was that one actually doesn't have the option of carrying a true printed manual

anymore unless one wishes to print it onesself since Canon no longer makes a full printed version (not even for purchase).  Can be hard to judge the attributes of a piece of equipment unless one is thoroughly familiar with those attributes. 😉

 

"Ironic that digital photographers desire the print that their cameras were meant to replace."

 

Although I do enjoy some of the aspects of digital image capture, I changed to digital not because it was something I wished to do, but rather because of the pressure of the marketplace.  Oh, and I carried the manuals to my film cameras also.


@HPL wrote:

 

Actually, a big part of this discussion was that one actually doesn't have the option of carrying a true printed manual

anymore unless one wishes to print it onesself since Canon no longer makes a full printed version (not even for purchase).


That’s correct, and I agree, it would be nice if Canon made it an option. However, from the business end, implementation is never as easy as people imagine. There would be a significant (99.9%?) decrease in the amount printed, and therefore the price of maufacturing them would go up substantially. Most likely the cost to get a manual to someone, even at cost, would be more than people would be willing to pay. Which, I’m going to guess, is why they don’t offer them.

As a CPS member I can always call the hotline if I have a question and since I have been deprived of easy access to a manual (I neither have nor wish to have a smart phone) they will be hearing more from me in the future (have already spoken to them six or eight times in the last ten days since I recieved my 7D MkII).  Problem is I  don't always have good reception and sometimes I would prefer a quietier solution.

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