7D2 exposures different than 7D?

I picked up a 7D2 a couple of days ago and have been busy trying it out. I've been using the 7D for the last 4 years and love it. I have noticed that my 7D2 images are exposed about a stop lighter than my 7D images taken under exactly the same conditions and with the same settings. I shoot aperture priority and the result has been 7D2 shutter speeds that are about half as fast as the 7D shutter speeds. This has happened using both spot and evaluative metering. I prefer the 7D exposures, as the 7D2 images seem a bit washed out. Anyone else noticed this and/or have an explanation?

Thanks.

Do you still have your 7D? If so, put both cameras into MANUAL (with NO auto ISO or any other auto anything) and see if the same settings provide the same exposure levels when shooting the exact same scene from the exact same place at as close to the same time as possible.

If both cameras produce the same image exposure in the test above, then you probably have a simple meter (one or both of the metering circuits built into the cameras) calibration issue. It's also possible that the auto metering modes you're using in the two cameras have a little different software which reacts a little differently to what you're shooting.

Can you post an example of each, with full EXIF intact?

Make sure you Exposure Compensation is zero on both cameras. I have found my 7D at +1 and didn't remember putting it there.

ALO?

Aswald wrote in post #17358330
ALO?

What does that mean, please?

Auto Lighting Optimizer.

The metering systems are different. Try both at center weighted average and see if the difference remains.
OK, did a bit more reading and found that Skip already mentioned this.

Thanks for all the responses. I'll be doing more testing today and will post further developments. FYI, no exposure compensation on either body. I do still have my 7D and so will be able to do "apples to apples2" comparisons.

SteveHS wrote in post #17358196
...taken under exactly the same conditions and with the same settings.

I see by your profile you are located by the New England coast. Make sure in testing that you attempt to have a situation of fairly constant lighting. Shooting just an hour apart in the afternoon can surprisingly cause a stop difference in light level in these northern latitudes, especially at this time of year. Your eyes are not aware of the difference because their dynamic range, if healthy, far exceeds that of the sensor.

When you say 'exposes different', it might be meter calibration, it might be a fundamental difference in sensor sensitivity...for example, in the early days of Canon dSLR there were articles mentioning that Canon had not strictly adhered to the definition of ISO 100 sensitivity in one camera's behavior, that it was about ISO 125 in its behavior. Then, on a later model, Canon addressed that so that ISO 100 setting resulted in ISO 100 sensitivity!

So a test should look at

1. exposure...set 7D and 7DII to fully Manual -- with identical shutter speed, f/stop, and ISO -- and see if the tonal density is similar (or different)
   
2. metering...with identical ISO, do both meters provide the same reading when reading the same surface
   

• f/stop of lens is not identical (we have seen in the past that even from one manufacturer f/4 might be truly f/3.9 on one lens and f/4.1 on the other...so test same lens mounted on both bodies
  
• shutter speed of cameras are not identical...one might be a fraction fast while the other is a fraction slow
  
• ISO...as mentioned, is ISO100 setting truly ISO100 behavior?!
  

Hi again. Here are three pairs of images that illustrate the difference in exposure between the 7D2 and 7D. I used the same lens on each shot (my 100-400mm at 400mm). I switched the lens from one body to the other within a minute for each pair. I used settings that I usually use in my bird photography (Aperture priority, single point expanded, AI servo, ISO 400). I was shooting hand-held, with may affect detail in some shots, but for most the shutter speed was high and detail wasn't the purpose, anyway.

I draw two conclusions from these and several other shots I took. First, the 7D2 shots are all lighter than the 7D shots, though by varying amounts. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as it moves the histogram to the right, though some appear somewhat washed out.

Second, the 7D shots are warmer that the 7D2 shots. This together with the first point makes most of the 7D images more pleasing "out of the box".

I have been a Canon shooter for years, starting with the 10D, then the T2i and finally the 7D for the past four years. I can probably live with these results, but I must say it is disappointing to pay so much for a new camera and not see a noticeable improvement in image quality.

I'd be interested in hearing from others who have switched from the 7D to the 7D2 about their experience and level of satisfaction.

Thanks.

(It looks like I can only upload 2 images at a time, so I'll attach the others to additional messages. Hopefully the metadata came through for those interested. Not sure if I need to do anything special to accomplish that.)

Another pair.

And the last pair.

so the ONLY thing you have proved with the second and third pair of shots was that METERING of a scene -- which is not perfectly framed identically from shot to shot -- is not 'the same' between the two cameras.

see again Post 11 for my comments about controlled tests which can help you to prove what is going on

BTW, are the test shots RAW, or are they JPEG? If JPEG, you assume that both cameras are identically set up by Canon for a given Picture Style...may not be the case.