Is the sensor in my 7D defective? Sample video included

Hi all. New member here.

Purchased a used 7D recently and noticed right away that the video I was shooting was extremely noisy at low ISOs (100-600). From what I've read it seems like some noise is normal in darker, dimly lit areas which is fine but the amount of noise I was seeing even at ISO 200 was unacceptable.

I saw some videos on Youtube and Vimeo where 7D owners did ISO tests with the lens cap on at various settings so I decided to do the same. The creators of the videos did not explain how they adjusted their clips to bring out the noise so I simply applied an auto level effect in Premiere to each ISO. The result was really disappointing. At 100 ISO I have almost 20-30 times more noise than in the other clips at the same setting.

I uploaded the clip to vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/4534​4004

Here's the clip I compared against: https://vimeo.com/1047​3734

FYI, ALO and HTP are both disabled. I'm using the technicolor cinestyle picture style.

Can someone take a look and let me know what you think?

Any idea how much Canon will charge to repair something like this?

Here are two stills from my 60D. First at ISO 100, second at 6400. I find that I can generally take care of a lot of the problems with an image by removing the lens cap before recording said image. I bet doing so will significantly improve your videos, too.

sambarino wrote in post #14683180
Here are two stills from my 60D. First at ISO 100, second at 6400. I find that I can generally take care of a lot of the problems with an image by removing the lens cap before recording said image. I bet doing so will significantly improve your videos, too.

Those look a little back focused to me. Were you using a Sigma lens cap?

crn3371 wrote in post #14683540
Those look a little back focused to me. Were you using a Sigma lens cap?

No it was an original Canon. May have been off of one of my refurbs, though. Or perhaps it is the consumer grade 18-135 lens I wasn't using.

Come on guys. I did mention that I noticed the noise when shooting normally which is why I did the test with the lens cap on. I don't have access to another 7d or else I could've done a one to one comparison.

I'm trying to exhaust all options before sending off to canon. The camera is out of warranty so I'll have to deal with the costs involved for repair.

Is there noise in your video with the lens cap off? If you can't tell with the lens cap off then I wouldn't worry about it. If you can see it without the lens cap on then send it in.

Take Care,
Cheers, Patrick

Yes. Please show us some actual video with the ISO noise unacceptable.

Is this thread real?
Good job it isn't a 5D MkIII with a light leak as well

As already mentioned, some 'real-world' images (with the lens cap off) would be useful and maybe post them in the Digital Video part of the forum.

freejack wrote in post #14683705
Come on guys. I did mention that I noticed the noise when shooting normally which is why I did the test with the lens cap on. I don't have access to another 7d or else I could've done a one to one comparison.

I'm trying to exhaust all options before sending off to canon. The camera is out of warranty so I'll have to deal with the costs involved for repair.

Sorry, Jack. I couldn't resist. I don't do video; it is just a novelty to me. I hope you get some serious answers. Please post a REAL video. I looked at your first links; nasty!

I really wanted to get to the bottom of this once and for all so I borrowed a 7D from a friend and a brand new 5D mark iii from my brother-in-law for the ultimate comparison test.

First thing I want to mention is this: there's nothing wrong with my camera. After all my whining it turns out my 7d was just as good/bad as my friends. Yes, I was a paranoid fool, I admit.

As for the 5d, what I found was pretty interesting (at least to me).

I did the same lens cap test with the 5d and there was significantly more noise (3x) than the 7D. I made sure to disable any setting that might've been automatically adjusting gain or exposure and set everything else the same as my 7d. Shot some real world test footage and found that the 5d performed just as bad as my 7d when it came to noise in shadows at the same ISO and picture style setting. The 5d did have more dynamic range and detail in the shadows.

In the end, I reached the following conclusions:
1) The 5d mk3 would serve me no better than my 7d (for my purposes of course)
2) The lens cap test is not a good determinant for how much noise will actually be in your real world video as the 5d shows.

Thus, my lame camera story comes to an end. Apologies for wasting everyone's time. Hopefully I can contribute something more useful in the future.

freejack wrote in post #14688090
Thus, my lame camera story comes to an end. Apologies for wasting everyone's time. Hopefully I can contribute something more useful in the future.

If they kicked people off of POTN for having a thought, none of us would be here. The free exchange of ideas, thoughts, methods and preferences is what drives these fora. Most information here is good, most questions are valid and important to the questioner. As always, take everything you read with a grain of salt, and verify twice before spending any money. A good idea will be supported by many. A bad idea, not so much. Please, post any other questions you have. We all learn by keeping an open mind. I have read a signature on POTN somewhere that says, "Only a fool never changes his mind." How true.

sambarino wrote in post #14688276
If they kicked people off of POTN for having a thought, none of us would be here. The free exchange of ideas, thoughts, methods and preferences is what drives these fora. Most information here is good, most questions are valid and important to the questioner. As always, take everything you read with a grain of salt, and verify twice before spending any money. A good idea will be supported by many. A bad idea, not so much. Please, post any other questions you have. We all learn by keeping an open mind. I have read a signature on POTN somewhere that says, "Only a fool never changes his mind." How true.

Well said! We really don't mind wasting our time. That's what we're here for.

Yours was a legitimate question. However, we do enjoy a bit of chain-yanking occasionally.

https://photography-on-the.net …ighlight=classi​c+blunders

oldvultureface wrote in post #14689508
Yours was a legitimate question. However, we do enjoy a bit of chain-yanking occasionally.

https://photography-on-the.net …ighlight=classi​c+blunders

LOL some of those posts are hilarious. Wonder if mine is worthy of such a (dis)honor?

Well, before you earn chain-yanking privileges you have to have made posts that include 2 Harry Potter, 2 Douglas Adams, and 1 Star Wars reference. You may choose to substitute a Star Trek reference for the Star Wars reference.