7D Mark II - Focus Discussions

I'm pleased with what I'm seeing and I think I'm ready for my trip. I found out Westjet has removed carry on overhead weight restrictions so that will be a bonus. One time in BC they noticed I had a think tank roller and weighed it. We would up putting lenses in plastic bags and pockets. That was a lot of fun.

digital paradise wrote in post #17794842
I'm pleased with what I'm seeing and I think I'm ready for my trip. I found out Westjet has removed carry on overhead weight restrictions so that will be a bonus. One time in BC they noticed I had a think tank roller and weighed it. We would up putting lenses in plastic bags and pockets. That was a lot of fun.

Jeff,
Let me summarize my understanding.
1. Upon last return from Canon repair, your 7dii had 1.05 that mostly produced muddy/soft images despite properly placed plane of focus by Servo AF.
2. You reverted firmware to 1.0.4 and adjusted any necessary mfa.
3. With 1.04, you had sharp servo results but inconsistent and mostly muddy distant results.
4. Still on 1.0.4, Resetting/ battery pulling finally has returned the 7dii to original level of detail
5. Your confidence is restored in your 7dii

Did I miss any return trips to Canon or upgrade again to 1.0.5?
If not, what was the magic bullet going from step 3 to 5?

Guy

gschlact wrote in post #17795161
Jeff,
Let me summarize my understanding.
1. Upon last return from Canon repair, your 7dii had 1.05 that mostly produced muddy/soft images despite properly placed plane of focus by Servo AF.
2. You reverted firmware to 1.0.4 and adjusted any necessary mfa.
3. With 1.04, you had sharp servo results but inconsistent and mostly muddy distant results.
4. Still on 1.0.4, Resetting/ battery pulling finally has returned the 7dii to original level of detail
5. Your confidence is restored in your 7dii

Did I miss any return trips to Canon or upgrade again to 1.0.5?
If not, what was the magic bullet going from step 3 to 5?

Guy

My 7D2 always required more sharpening than what I thought was normal, with any FW version. Not that it did not produce decent images but it just did not have that sweet last bit. I never reverted back to 1.0.4 and never noticed any difference going to 1.0.5.

The first time it went in a year ago is because I could not get one decent BIF to post. The same issue several members had as well back then. Static images were fine. After getting it back with no changes to my process (I have being birding for 8 years) it did it's job but I always felt it was missing something in both one shot and AI Servo. My 7D images had much better clarity with less effort. I seen a video from the place bought it and they said the 7D2 needed more sharpening so I lived with it. That push to match the clarity I was seeing others were posting was causing artifacts, etc.

After watching what Jeff went through and others I decided to send it in one more time since a had a few weeks of warranty left. This time I explained the missing clarity and it appears whatever they did seems to have worked. I did not have to push the sharpening as hard to obtain that fine detail I showed in the examples.

MFA settings were exactly the same as before I sent it in.

Yes and No, your understanding is good up until #4 while pulling the battery and 1.0.4 did help, I still find focus inconsistent as you can see by some of the images I have posted. Today I called Canon repair in Toronto and Im sending it back in to them one more time. I hope I can say and do what ever it is that will encourage them to make the right adjustments to make this camera shoot as it once did. It now sit's in the box to be shipped to them tomorrow now I guess. I'm hoping for the best.

Edit: But honestly I'm a shooter not a talker, I think thats kinda will known, so I'm not holding my breath

gschlact wrote in post #17795161
Jeff,
4. Still on 1.0.4, Resetting/ battery pulling finally has returned the 7dii to original level of detail

Since you can't get to the internal battery how would this do a reset?

IT does not do a reset, it simply removes power from the camera and lets everything discharge. Reset is done in the camera menu

So for my own edification, do you have to wait for a certain period of time? I don't see what that would do.

I never use to even turn the camera off let alone pull the battery, now everything comes out and off.

I'm the same. I just looked at mine and it's in the on position. LOL

Pondrader wrote in post #17795273
IT does not do a reset, it simply removes power from the camera and lets everything discharge. Reset is done in the camera menu

I had never noticed the instruction to power down and discharge the camera after a firmware update until the 7D Mk II and then I only noticed when I was switching 1.0.5 to 1.0.4 and back again. My original updates from 1.0.2 to 1.0.4 and 1.0.5 where done as I had always done on my previous EOS bodies. I wonder when Canon added this power down and discharge step? Perhaps I never noticed it in the past.

If I put in an order for #4 and #5 could I have that delivered please

Send it to jamesburg nj canon center. I've had several repairs done in the past, nothing to this magnitude, but have always heard good things about them. They've done fine work for me as well.

Frodge wrote in post #17795477
Send it to jamesburg nj canon center. I've had several repairs done in the past, nothing to this magnitude, but have always heard good things about them. They've done fine work for me as well.

NJ rocks.

RodS57 wrote in post #17792057
I'll bite - mfd issue is my guess.

Rod

First thing I thought of.

lol believe it or not Doc he came from across the Pond playing , jumping over logs, up the bank right to me and sniffed my boot....snorted kind of and moved back about 8 or 10 feet and just studied me for a while lol ..then off he went. you see I wasn't even looking through the camera and I missed my boot in the shot lol

But then he gave me this. I took about 260 images of him and a muskrat and I think I got less than a handful of usable Images,.... So I've had it.....The 7DII is in a box at my feet and they can fix it or keep it at this point I don't care which. Im gona send them anything they ask for and a bit more, I'm done shootin it. The 100-400L II is on the 7D for now.