Canon 7D possible problem

Hey guys, I've noticed something, and I've probably only noticed it because i'm anal, about a lot of things. But I've been testing my sigma 30mm focusing, and it seems to be good, because my kit lens focuses the same, so that seems in order. The problem I run into, is the difference of what I see in live view, and the actual picture taken. In live view, when I focus in on a certain point (on a focus chart) everything is crisp and clear, when I go to the review the picture, the letters aren't as crisp as I saw them in live view. Is this common to all cameras? I tested this out with two lenses, and at high shutter speeds to make sure it wasn't camera shake, but no matter how crisp something looks in live view, when the actual picture is taken, it doesn't look the same. Your input on this would be appreciated!

When the camera displays the live view image, it applies exessive sharpening, to make it easier to focus manually by looking at the screen.
I don't know your settings for the final image, but the probability is high that you have applied quite a bit less sharpening, since the magnitude applied by the live view function is a bit over-sharpening.

Where can I look for this sharpening setting?

in your manual in the section for picture styles, pages 64-69

(second menu tab, picture styles)

I would suggest using a tripod for all focusing attempts and remote release or timer function if you want the best (sharpest results). The above posts if also true, none of the default picture styles is set to upper end sharpness settings.

When you review the image after the fact, is that on the camera's LCD or on a computer?

If it's on the LCD, well it's not the greatest tool to use. If it's on your computer, it could be your computer monitor, but also 7D files tend to need a lot more post processing sharpening.... If you are getting JPEGs right out of the camera, try increasing the sharpening in the camera. If you are working with RAW files, increase the sharpening when converting those. With 7D I probably just about doubled the strength of sharpening I do, compared to what I did with 30D images. It's more than I use with 50D or 5D II images, too.

If on your computer, it also might depend upon what software you are using and how you are using it. The previews some softwares provide tend to be soft. I notice, too, for example that when in the cropping mode, Lightroom 3 renders a softer image. And, if you are brand new to 7D, coming from a much lower resolution camera, are you viewing the images at 100%? If so, you are much more zoomed in than you were at 100% with your lower rez camera, and are being a lot more critical of the image's point of focus. Back off to about 50% or 33% for a more realistic view.

Thanks everyone, for your replies. Mr. Myers, what I'm doing is focusing in on text, on a focus chart. In live view, I zoom in on the text, and when I determine that I've achieved manual focus, I take the picture. When comparing what I see in live view, and what I actually see in the picture when I zoom into the text, the results aren't as sharp. I'm using a default picture style, and I've got the camera set to take jpegs. I'm also set up on a tripod, with high shutter speeds. I will try a ten second timer, and see what results I get there, and I will try to increase the sharpness in the picture style. I will get back to you guys with the results.