New to Canon 7D, not entirely happy with quality.

Then I get something like this taken with AI Servo, AF Auto Point Expansion

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Welcome to the forum, Lightseeker, and welcome to Canon....and welcome to the 7D!

First off, some good comments coming in already, and I'll add that jumping from Pentax to a 7D is a big leap when it comes to familiarising yourself with the camera; when to switch modes/functions; how to adjust the focusing; etc., etc., etc.!!!

It'll take more than 4 months to master this baby!!!!

Next, some more solid advice from me:

Get out of AI, and into single spot. The 7D has two spot modes! I mostly use the one which results in a box in the viewfinder. The other mode gives you a tiny spot within the box! It's VERY accurate, but only covers a small area, so missing focus is all too easy.

Next, I'd recommend moving the focus to the rear *-button, and using the shutter release to start the AE mode, and of course, to take the shot. This set-up takes some getting used to, too. But gives you more control, IMO (and in the opinion of many others in here).

Next, ISO. I don't go to 100. I use 160 as my "bottom" setting. This is due to the artificial ISO digital cameras now use, and for me, "160" is better than "100". At the top end, if you fill the frame with your subject (as much as possible) and slightly overexpose (1/3~2/3 of a stop), ISO3200 is no problem whatsoever.

As to lenses. They can all "go off" in time. Or even from new! So try the micro adjust to check that your 24-105 is OK. And as said before, IS takes a moment or two to be up to speed.

That's plenty for now, but PLEASE don't give up on the 7D....it's a great piece of kit!

Cheers for now,
Simon

I've noticed the noise issue when an image is slightly underexposed and you lift the exposure in post to compensate.

Regarding the sharpness, the 7D has a pretty aggressive anti-aliasing filter compared to other models. This is for good reason. Take a look at this article on aliasing and moire.
http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Aliasing

The anti-aliasing filter on the sensor softens the image a bit. To compensate, a slight amount of sharpening must be applied in post to get the best images out of it. Check out the various threads here on sharpening techniques. Proper sharpening applied in post on the 7D and slight luminance noise reduction on your RAW files should make a world of difference and will get you the images you were expecting when you bought it.

Also, as suggested above, change your focus to the back button, use one-shot with a single focus point. Don't use the spot focus unless you are doing macro work. While very useful, us humans are lousy tripods and it will only make it harder to nail your focus.

Hi all, thanks for the all the responses and advice so far. I am glad I spent the time re-visiting my registration for this site (what is up with those captchas?) It's nice to be able to draw on the experience of all you folks.
I am using the AI modes, because my kids don't tend to stay still for any length of time, and reading up on the blurb in the manual for the 7D and books like 'Canon 7D from snapshots to great shots' these modes seem best to fit the moving child at the last moment situation, otherwise what would be the point of having these features and not using them?

I have tried AF single, and AF single point expansion and had the same issues. I have also tried micro adjustments of the lens, however not to any defined process, just shooting and checking etc. I will apply the advice already given and come back with some more in a few days if that is ok.

i'd still stick with AI servo for moving kids...so there's no filter on the lens, right?

yep, no filter on the lens

could be your 7D acting up, it's not unheard of that the 7D misbehave. if possible try your lens on your friend's camera to see where the culprit is. Another route you may consider is to send in all your lens along with 7D to Canon for inspection and calibration.

It is possible to adjust the 7D sharpness in camera from the default setting. Press the picture style selection button (the one above the INFO button) then you'll see a prompt for 'INFO Detail set' so press the INFO button. You can then adjust the sharpness etc as you see fit. I've found that for any given picture style an increase in sharpness of one or possibly two clicks produced better results. All subjective of course.

Agree, get out of AI focusing. AI servo is for moving objects that are constantly moving in distance. From my experience with my 7D, at lower ISOs it is noisy, but at mid range ISO it is good. Also it is sensitive to worng exposure and that will show noise on the pictures. If your shooting RAW also, the adjustments you make such as sharpness and etc on-cam will not do anything to the photo. RAW format will always make it set to default from what i was told. The settings you change will only show if its shot as JPEG

kfreels link is spot on. 7D is a good camera but needs to be reviewed before buying it. And Canon need to make a bit of improvements to it also cos images from it do need processing after if your fussy like me

Thanks, I am shooting RAW. Yes I normally sharpen and do some NR in post. However I expected more out the camera with this combination of body and lens. I will give it some more time, and try some of the suggestions certainly

Had a 7D for a long time and would recommend the following

Leave in ai servo and change to back button focusing. You can then use it for moving or still subjects easily without having to change focusing modes

For statIonary and slow moving subjects, choose single point af.

Typically you should adjust exposure compensation to + 2/3. Reduce exposure in post processing if needed as a way to minimize noise.

Set the camera for full iso stops. Don't waste time with intermediate iso as they are just pushing or pulling down exposure.

Sharpening in Lightroom. Should typically be 40+ and use the sharpening masking tool. It will vary by picture though. Don't get in a habit of viewing at 100% to judge the image because it is a high density sensor so won't look great at 100%. Don't jack the detail up and maybe lower a bit. High detail tends to cause more artifacts in the image.

Because of the sensor density, you might have to shoot higher shutter speeds than you would normally. Higher density sensors are more prone to show camera shake than lower density sensors.

Set tracking sensitivity to slow or medium slow in the custom functions.

From the last picture I would say the shoulder is sharper than the face, did you adjust your AF micro adjust? Noise is never good with the 7D so spot exposure is better IMO.

2slo wrote in post #13553218
It is possible to adjust the 7D sharpness in camera from the default setting. Press the picture style selection button (the one above the INFO button) then you'll see a prompt for 'INFO Detail set' so press the INFO button. You can then adjust the sharpness etc as you see fit. I've found that for any given picture style an increase in sharpness of one or possibly two clicks produced better results. All subjective of course.

Yes, this is my suggestion as well, and it's an easy one to adjust. Set your Picture Style to one of your free User defined settings and bump your Sharpness to 7 as an exercise. You'll see a dramatic difference in sharpness. You can change the other settings (Contrast, Saturation, etc.) as well to see how your images come out. The 7D is a great general purpose camera, and your manual can help you answer your specific questions (not trying to be flippant).

jase1125 wrote in post #13553871
Don't get in a habit of viewing at 100% to judge the image because it is a high density sensor so won't look great at 100%.

Just curious about the logic behind this.
I often tried to save time in my workflow by not viewing each photo at 100% when I applied my capture sharpening and NR. After a while I realized that many of my images looked really nice and sharp when viewed adjusted to the screen, but were in reality horribly noisy and oversharpened when viewed at 100%. Now I make a point of viewing each image at 100% to evaluate the sharpness and noise level. You are suggesting not to do that? What's the alternative?