What on earth is going on? (A bit of an emergency)

I just finished shooting two NCAA Final Four games tonight. The majority of the shots seem soft, even though many were focused correctly.

Additionally, high rate burst speed has been slower than usual. To test that it wasn't the lens pulling focus too slow, I bursted on a static object and burst speed was indeed slower in AF than in MF.

I'm panicking a bit at the moment since I have to go back and shoot the championship Monday.

To test the focus, I bursted on this focusing sheet just now. And to my surprise, a few shots came out green despite that I had set the white balance to a static 4600k.

This is all with a 7D and 70-200 2.8 non-IS feeding a Transcend 16GB 400x card. Is it the body, lens or card?

All feedback appreciated!

Yikes! The settings were the same on all these images? Seems it'd be the body. I would call Canon and use your backup Monday (or rent one).

Yes, these images were shot back to back in high speed burst.

If you've got CFL lighting where you took these test shots, then that would explain the ugly green color. You'd have to shoot at 1/100s or slower (preferably 1/60s and slower) to avoid the CFL cycling.

Were these shot under fluorescent lighting? If so its the lights cycling. Shoot the charts at 1/60th a second or multiples higher than that

Yes under florescent lights. Shooting at 1/60 remedied the issue for the most part. Thank you for the help. I guess I shouldn't test under CFLs.

Now why does burst slow in AF with AI Servo? I got the 7D for its quickness, and its not a useful body to me if I can't burst in high speed to its full capacity.

It might just be multiple objects crossing into my frame all too quickly, I don't know.

Sorry for the frustration. Just undergoing some photographers' stress.

I guess I'm a little confused by your response. How is it the 7D's fault that CFL/fluorescent lights cycle? You can achieve the same crappy green hue with any camera when you shoot at 1/100s or faster. You might get lucky and miss a few cycles here and there, or you may catch it mid-cycle so half the photo is crappy color. The problem is the light source, not the capturing device.

If you're limited to fluorescent light, and you're planning to catch sports/action, then you'll just have to live-n-die by the shutter speed and hope that the frame you want isn't ruined by the crappy light. That or setup off-camera flash(es) and you won't ever have to worry about CFL/FL's.

It's not so much that I'm blaming any of my equipment as it is figuring out solutions to issues I'm experiencing. That's all.

Well, you did type: "I got the 7D for its quickness, and its not a useful body to me if I can't burst in high speed to its full capacity."

So in turn, you can burst in high speed to full capacity. You just won't like the results due to the light source. And to that, you have 2 options:
1) Take whatever the existing light will give you,
2) Bring your own light.

Most gyms use some form of metal halide lighting anyway, and although it also cycles, it's typically not as dreadful as CFL/FL.

Let's move past the lighting/cycling issue because that was not an issue on the court. What was, was slow burst speed. I'd chalk it up to misfocusing/slow to focus as the issue, but I'm not entirely sure.

There is a very well-documented issue with the 7D and I believe it is due to the camera constantly metering between each shot. I believe the work around was to use exposure lock before the burst initiates.

Another thing to check is your Servo settings via the menu. You can set the sensitivity and priority of your tracking, placing more (or less) priority on AF accuracy vs. burst speed.

I'll take a look at the customization menus. Thanks jwc.

yikes that is scary

Just to clarify the colour cast issue, and its solution:
Your success at 1/60 was not strictly because it was a slower speed than the 1/100 that did not work, it was because 1/60 is an integral multiple (in this case twice) of half the mains power period (period = 1/60; half that = 1/120). Since fluorescent lighting of this type flashes twice for every mains cycle, any such shutter speed will ensure that all parts of the frame receive the same illumination; any other speed will not. 1/120 would have worked equally well, despite being quicker that the 1/100 that failed.

Yep the fluro lighting will explain the colour issues.
Do a test with either natural light, or if it's too dark use a DC voltage light source, eg. a flashlight.

Anyway It's also quite normal for your burst speed to drop in AF, especially if the subject is moving and you're in servo mode.