7D Mark II (another focus thread)

At 5pm the service rep called and said they would get the final of three needed signatures tomorrow and my new sealed in box camera would be shipped next day to me. He said pending weather, I'll have it wednesday, Thursday at the latest.

ScPhotoMom wrote in post #17434936
At 5pm the service rep called and said they would get the final of three needed signatures tomorrow and my new sealed in box camera would be shipped next day to me. He said pending weather, I'll have it wednesday, Thursday at the latest.

Wow.

I really hope this camera is spot on for you!

Which Canon Service Center have you been dealing with? If you don't mind.

I live in SC and have been dealing with the one in Newport news Virginia. I'm honestly not sure what call center the customer service rep was in but I know he wasn't in same location because he said otherwise he would just go over to lab and take the pictures himself.

Thank you

You are welcome

ScPhotoMom wrote in post #17435276
I live in SC and have been dealing with the one in Newport news Virginia. I'm honestly not sure what call center the customer service rep was in but I know he wasn't in same location because he said otherwise he would just go over to lab and take the pictures himself.

The call center is in Chesapeake, the service center in Newport News. They are about an hour apart.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #17405768
The 40D didn't give the consumer the ability to fine-tune AF adjustments for up to 20 lenses at both ends of the zoom range, etc. However there were indeed 40Ds with issues with certain lenses.

My EF 50 mm f/1.4 USM works fine on my 7D cameras as well as on the 1DX. But not on the 40D. It requires MFA in the range of 8 to 12 on the cameras where that's possible, but is always out of focus when used with my 40D.

huntersdad wrote in post #17434070
Arriving late, but better late, than never.

OP, it took me four bodies before I got one that worked - 1st was exchanged, 2nd returned, 3rd to Canon/returned unfixed/exchanged, 4th appears to be a winner. That said, don't give up.

Couple things I've noticed that I'll suggest. You absolutely have to increase your shutter speed or use flash. 1/100 is too slow. Also, I noticed that several of your shots are in One Shot AF mode. That mode isn't meant for anything that could potentially move, like kids. While they do their best to hold still, a shift in their head of a small amount would render your pictures OOF. Remember with One Shot, the second you hit the shutter/AF-On button, you have locked focus at a distance. If your subject moves a 1/4 inch, your camera doesn't adjust focus. I do not shoot in One Shot.

While some of your shots look like they are reasonable distances, there are others where I think you might be expecting a little much. The shot of the school where you focused on the light pole and the wall murals come to mind. Those 2 shots looked good to my eyes and are probably as good as it gets given your focusing on something several yards away. The AF system is focusing on what it get the most of, so they appear to focused correctly.

When your camera returns, lock it down on a tripod and use Dot Tune to see if you need any AF adjustment. Here's an easy to follow write up I did: https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=17426870 . Feel free to PM me with questions.

Don't give either. It's a very solid body with lots of potential and extremely capable of making high quality images. You just have to get a good one and then learn it.

I agree with the testing tips outlined above. You must make sure your test situations are such that you eliminate any kind of movement from the equation. That means making sure you have enough light, your shutter speeds are more than adequate for stopping action, and that you have AI servo on if you are not testing with a tripod on a static subject. Also never let the camera choose AF points for you, always set the center or near-center AF point you want to use when doing the test.

Over the years, we have seen entirely too many situations where people used "test methods" that left too many things in the air as to what the issue really was. Eliminate movement of any kind first and foremost through shutter speeds and AI servo, or use a tripod with a static test subject that has enough contrast under the AF point you use to do your test.

Following these tips will make for a more repeatable test situation and provide you with concrete evidence to send with your camera when you send it in for Canon to fix. You want to do the tests, document the tests, and supply those results along with your camera, you don't want Canon to do their tests, because invariably, they won't find an issue since they are shooting in a different manner than you. You want to show them your specific issues and evidence, so that they can address those, and not whatever they find in a lab setup. They will probably do the lab testing anyways, but at least they have more info to work with this way.

I used test methods given to me by both members of this community and Canon. Some times the images I posted did not reflect that, but I cannot tell you the amount of frustration I had felt over the last three months. In the end, Canon could not produce images any better than the ones I was, and it forced them to dig a little deeper into the focus issue, ultimately proving that it was the camera and not the user. Last time I checked fedex, my package was sitting in the Tennessee fed ex center waiting on the weather to let it out. Hopefully the next camera I pull out of box will be perfect. Im also ordering the 85mm 1.8 so I have a nice prime lens with it since I have heard that the 17-55 struggled on the 7D's.

Sure hope that it works out for you this time.

Me too!!

best of luck!

Here are my test shots after getting my 85mm in the mail today, checking for focusing issues and adjusting because there was a slight back focus.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/rjTJ​CG

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/r5Ba​iy

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/qqbZ​VC

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/qqpe​VM

Your latest photos look pretty good to me. 160th as the slowest shutter speed that you can use getting decent photos is kind of ridiculous to me at least. It basically forces you to use high iso or wide open indoors, and still be underexposing without a flash. Heck, my M can shoot at 1/30th and get decent results. Are you happy?