7D Mark II - Focus Discussions

Luxx wrote in post #17659207
I was asking an honest question.
There are more than 500 7Dii in the canon refurbished store.
Some people seem to have had focus problems with the camera
The price of the refurbished 7Dii after considering tax/shipping etc is the same as the CPW street price for a new camera. Typically I would go for the new camera…and I think it comes with a year of photoshop and kelbyone.
However, if I thought I had less of a chance of getting a lemon with a refurbished camera then I would go for the refurbished camera.

What do you think?

I'm not disputing your numbers, but how do you know its over 500? When I go to the refurbished store I see no indication of the number of units available for sale.

Oh, take a look at canonpricewatch.com and look at refurbished. It gives you stock numbers

Luxx wrote in post #17659372
Oh, take a look at canonpricewatch.com and look at refurbished. It gives you stock numbers

Thanks. I see it now. I notice there is also over 500 6D bodies and another 100 with the a 24-105 attached. That doesn't mean that the 6D has serious problems. There are lots of reasons why people trade in equipment, and since the 7D Mark II seems to be very popular the number of refurbs available may be only a very small fraction of all those sold. I understand why those who are having problems with their copy may be looking at resales. For them it may validate that they weren't just unlucky but that there is an endemic problem with the line. For those nervous about purchasing a 7D II, due to the number of reported problems, the number of refurbs available becomes a sort of measuring stick. Since we don't know how many copies of each product have been manufactured, why they are up for resale, or what percentage of the total they represent I don't think its possible to draw any useful conclusions solely from refurb availability.

I'm thinking of buying one.

My question is am I better off buying a new one or a refurbished one?

Luxx wrote in post #17659465
I'm thinking of buying one.

My question is am I better off buying a new one or a refurbished one?

Well, considering that Canon is selling 7D Mark IIs for $1439, http://shop.usa.canon.​com …-mark-ii-body-refurbished and a brand new body can be had for $1499 direct from Canon, http://shop.usa.canon.​com …ody?searchTerm=​Canon%207D or from B&H, I personally can't understand why anyone would buy even a lightly used refurb just to save $60.

patrol50 wrote in post #17659303
kevin at times i shake all over the place and regularly shoot a burst of 4 or 5 with exp comp of 0.5 or 1 to try and nail one in focus plus not too dark or blown out and without too much movement - and from what i see some of your shots are right up there

not trying to teach you how to suck eggs mate but have you considered taking the monopod with you and yes more to carry but i cant shoot either my tam 150- 600 (way too hard to hand hold for me ) or my 100 - 400 s (and yes i can hand hold it at times ok) but if i have walked for any distance or for awhile then i am often wobbly- fine in africa where i sit in 4wd usually but i still use my monopod shortened up and rested on the floor of the truck

i do use these guys idea when i can and its very helpful i reckon - oh and by the way i reluctantly admit i am 70 and have a bit of dicky heart nowdays

cheers rob

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Thanks for that Rob. I guess I've got too used to shooting street and landscape and a whole new approach is needed for birding. I have a monopod so will use it in future. I actually take it with me but I use it as a walking aid when the calves sieze up (awaiting stents for narrowing arteries) so perhaps I might now use it for it's purpose intended I've also had a quad by-pass whcih is why i tend to walk so much, to keep the cardio fit and try and enlarge those narrowing arteries.

I've just got back from a 12k hike over at Scarborough and then Deception Bay, so I'll process the pics now and see if there's any improvement.........in the pics that is..........ther's none in me, I'm buggered!

mwsilver wrote in post #17659482
Well, considering that Canon is selling 7D Mark IIs for $1439, http://shop.usa.canon.​com …-mark-ii-body-refurbished and a brand new body can be had for $1499 direct from Canon, http://shop.usa.canon.​com …ody?searchTerm=​Canon%207D or from B&H, I personally can't understand why anyone would buy even a lightly used refurb just to save $60.

I agree.

Luxx wrote in post #17659207
I was asking an honest question.
There are more than 500 7Dii in the canon refurbished store.
Some people seem to have had focus problems with the camera
The price of the refurbished 7Dii after considering tax/shipping etc is the same as the CPW street price for a new camera. Typically I would go for the new camera…and I think it comes with a year of photoshop and kelbyone.
However, if I thought I had less of a chance of getting a lemon with a refurbished camera then I would go for the refurbished camera.

What do you think?

I would go refurbished. They are thoroughly checked out by techs vs random testing off the manufacturing line,

I wouldn't for $60.

this getting older sucks mate - joining the stents club well we are a growing breed - doing bloody well for a quad bypass and your putting me to shame, i walk almost every day with my 3 dogs but only about 4 -5 kms - and yep agree another useful use for a monopod is as a hiking aid but without it i cant get a decent steady shot out of my 7 d and the tam 150-600

cheers rob

ps give up the salt , the sugar and all major fats in the diet if you can and that really helps as it peeled 10 kgs off me in 3 months - food all tastes like absolute crap though - the big glass of margaret river boutique wineries red wine that i quaff each night sort of compensates though and it is reputedly good for the heart and thats good enough for me

mwsilver wrote in post #17659482
Well, considering that Canon is selling 7D Mark IIs for $1439, http://shop.usa.canon.​com …-mark-ii-body-refurbished and a brand new body can be had for $1499 direct from Canon, http://shop.usa.canon.​com …ody?searchTerm=​Canon%207D or from B&H, I personally can't understand why anyone would buy even a lightly used refurb just to save $60.

your kidding - a 60 dollar saving if buy a refurb over new - no wonder there is 500 available , they have to be dreaming !!

Many of them may be demos or loaners (Canon put a lot of 7D2 units in pro hands to shoot some major sports events last winter/spring). These might require replacement of the rubber grip surfaces, buttons, etc. depending on how they were handled. Or they might be store displays and never turned on.

I have a 7D and a 5D3 too, and can not treat the three cameras as identical when it comes to setup and use. I transferred the 5D3 settings to my 7D2 and while it worked well for initial testing, I found that it was even better when I experimented with some AF case settings.

Beware that using advanced AF settings before being familiarized with the camera is just asking for trouble. I could just as easily have moved one setting in the wrong direction, and from experience that would have wrecked my keeper rate. Now that I know that detail, I'm in good shape. Someone else's settings may be totally wrong for you, or they might be close enough as a starting point. It's my feeling that while Canon's descriptions of the case settings is technically correct, you still have to understand how they apply to your style before you can confidently make a change and predict the result.

Example: they imply that setting tracking sensitivity higher will allow the camera to track foreground subjects better rather than getting caught on the background. True, but apparently I shoot in conditions where the background is sometimes more contrasty than the subject. Unless I set tracking sensitivity to the lowest, my camera locks on the background far too often. No doubt I'm letting the AF point drift too far away for too long, but regardless, this fixes it. Would this work for someone else? Maybe not. It took me several weeks to find the perfect combination of AF point, case settings and my shooting style.

Ultimately you have to set the camera up for your style, or spend a long time figuring out what it expects and adapting your style to it. I think this is the core problem for some people who jump right in to the case settings and make assumptions. Even though I am quite comfortable with my 5D3, this is not the same camera. There are some differences between AF on them even with the same lens attached.

bidkev wrote in post #17659487
Thanks for that Rob. I guess I've got too used to shooting street and landscape and a whole new approach is needed for birding. I have a monopod so will use it in future. I actually take it with me but I use it as a walking aid when the calves sieze up (awaiting stents for narrowing arteries) so perhaps I might now use it for it's purpose intended

Maybe think about a quick release plate for the monopod to make switching from walking stick to lens support stick easier and quicker.

smythie wrote in post #17659634
Maybe think about a quick release plate for the monopod to make switching from walking stick to lens support stick easier and quicker.

I use Really Right Stuff for that application.

mwsilver wrote in post #17658889
Unfortunately there were many copies with real issues out there and as a result everyone one who is struggling with this professional grade camera assumes they also have a bad copy. I know I was worried about that on several occasions in the first couple of weeks until I started to understand how to use it effectively. I'm still learning. Mastering AF for every situation on the 7D2 is a lot of time consuming trial and error. i came from a 60D which is much more straightforward to operate by comparison.

I agree here wholeheartedly. I finally shipped mine back. I was still not 100% sure if it was me or the camera, but I do know my keeper rate was much better on the old 7D.

Turns out they said it was front focusing at times and made electronic adjustments. They also added that if the problem persists to send it back again. AARGH! I guess it's my own fault for not making enough time to shoot, but it's been a busy summer. Hopefully between now and November (my 1 year warranty date) I'll get a better feel for what the camera is capable of and whether it's me or it.

I did lose all my MFA adjustments, but most of my lenses had minimal changes. I did save the settings, but imagine since changes were made to the AF system the adjustments may be out of date now. Interestingly enough, the Tammy 150-600 had to be adjusted +23 to bring it in line, which seems excessive to me and might have been part of the reason I'm still torn between it and the 100-400.