Canon 7D II: Will some good natured UHH give me some first-hand pros and cons of the Canon7DII? I know it's a crop...I would like to know if it has pleased you owners, or disappointed...

koosh Loc: NC

Will some good natured UHH give me some first-hand pros and cons of the Canon7DII? I know it's a crop...I would like to know if it has pleased you owners, or disappointed you and why. I'll be using it for mostly wildlife, birding, overcast/low light conditions. Have you had any problems with it and a particular lens?

Bob Boner

I am very happy with mine. I usually use it with one of my long lenses to increase size of subject in the files.

will47 Loc: Indianapolis, IN

Bob Boner wrote:

I am very happy with mine. I usually use it with one of my long lenses to increase size of subject in the files.

It's excellent.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

koosh wrote:

Will some good natured UHH give me some first-hand pros and cons of the Canon7DII? I know it's a crop...I would like to know if it has pleased you owners, or disappointed you and why. I'll be using it for mostly wildlife, birding, overcast/low light conditions. Have you had any problems with it and a particular lens?

The Canon 7D Mark 2 crop sensor camera is highly mentioned on this forum. And I haven't read of any dissatisfaction with it.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

I use mine with an EF 100-400 L II and sometimes with an EF 1.4x III extender. For BIF or sports it is excellent, provided you take the time to learn and understand the auto focus system. For low light or for indoor sports where the lighting is marginal I prefer my 5DIV. On the 7DII the use of either the 1.4x or 2x extender and a lens like the 100-400 you will be limited to f/8 and just the single center point and enhanced center point focus areas. The f/8 restriction could cause you problems in low light. The 7DII was designed for sports and action and has excellent burst speed but in low light you will run into noise issues sooner then you would with the recent full frames. Unless you want to spend big bucks for a 1DX, 1DX II, or the 5D IV (which doesn't have near the frame rate of the 7DII), the 7DII is about the best bang for your buck in the line up, IMO. The 80D comes close, I understand. It doesn't have the heavier build and sealing of the 7DII, but it will do much of what the 7DII will do, and a few things it won't. For less money.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

koosh wrote:

Will some good natured UHH give me some first-hand pros and cons of the Canon7DII? I know it's a crop...I would like to know if it has pleased you owners, or disappointed you and why. I'll be using it for mostly wildlife, birding, overcast/low light conditions. Have you had any problems with it and a particular lens?

I like mine a lot. I use the 10 fps burst mode for BIF shots, and the custom functions are very useful. There's a lot of options for focusing, which does entail a learning curve.

will47 Loc: Indianapolis, IN

LFingar wrote:

I use mine with an EF 100-400 L II and sometimes w... (show quote)

Do you know any good sites to help understand the focusing system? What about a 1.4 extender when using a 70-200 2.8 L lens? A 2x extender with the same lens? Any info would help. Thanks.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

will47 wrote:

Do you know any good sites to help understand the focusing system? What about a 1.4 extender when using a 70-200 2.8 L lens? A 2x extender with the same lens? Any info would help. Thanks.

Maybe here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpFezdEC4d4

I use a 2X converter with a Canon f/2.8 70-200 with pretty good results. That's the only zoom it works well with, though - others tend to be very soft.

will47 Loc: Indianapolis, IN

DWU2 wrote:

Maybe here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpFezdEC4d4

I use a 2X converter with a Canon f/2.8 70-200 with pretty good results. That's the only zoom it works well with, though - others tend to be very soft.

I was thinking about getting just the 1.4. Would that be a good option?

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

will47 wrote:

I was thinking about getting just the 1.4. Would that be a good option?

I'd say so - it'd be more likely to work well with multiple lenses.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

will47 wrote:

Do you know any good sites to help understand the focusing system? What about a 1.4 extender when using a 70-200 2.8 L lens? A 2x extender with the same lens? Any info would help. Thanks.

Canon's own tutorial series: http://learn.usa.canon.com/galleries/galleries/tutorials/eos7dmarkii_tutorials.shtml
Canon has a 50 page pdf book on the AF system: http://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2014/eos7dmk2_afGuidebook.shtml

Tim Boyer's set up for the 7DII for birds, in three parts:
http://www.timboyerphotography.com/2014/11/how-to-set-up-your-canon-7d-mark-ii-for-bird-photography/
http://www.timboyerphotography.com/2014/11/how-to-setup-the-canon-7d-mark-ii-part-ii/
http://www.timboyerphotography.com/2015/01/how-to-set-up-the-canon-eos-7d-mark-ii-part-3-auto-focus-and-flight-photography/
Actually here is a whole page of stuff he did using the 7DII, it includes the three above and a bunch of run downs on shoots he did. http://www.timboyerphotography.com/category/canon-7d-markii/

And Scott Kelby has a well regarded tutorial of 38 minutes on the 7DII: http://kelbyone.com/course/skelby_7dmii/

cmc65

koosh wrote:

Will some good natured UHH give me some first-hand pros and cons of the Canon7DII? I know it's a crop...I would like to know if it has pleased you owners, or disappointed you and why. I'll be using it for mostly wildlife, birding, overcast/low light conditions. Have you had any problems with it and a particular lens?

Not knowing what you are coming from so I'll tell you that I used a Nikon D3100 and the kit lenses that came with it before getting the 7D MK II. I had only shot Auto and had very little knowledge. BUT I knew the limitations considering that I wanted to shoot wildlife and specifically birds. I use the 100_400 L MK II lens with it almost exclusively. The whole thing was a long learning curve and getting used to the weight took some doing. I'm 5'3, 120lbs and 69 years old. But I will not give in.. I carry around this combination on a very sturdy tripod with a gimbal head and love, love, love the whole thing. The delete function is my friend, but each season I see improvement. Will never give it up. Please feel free to click on my posts in Photo Gallery and see what a complete novice has been able to do with the camera. I will tell you that I go out in all kinds of weather and have had no trouble whatsoever. With a little care it has held up well.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

will47 wrote:

Do you know any good sites to help understand the focusing system? What about a 1.4 extender when using a 70-200 2.8 L lens? A 2x extender with the same lens? Any info would help. Thanks.

Others have just posted some sites. Canon also has a pdf guide you can download from this page:
http://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2014/eos7dmk2_afGuidebook.shtml
The 70-200 2.8 with the 1.4 extender will give you all 65 focus points but the center point will not be a high precision diagonal cross type. It will be a standard cross type like all the others. You need a 2.8 or faster lens for the high precision diagonal cross type. The 1.4x extender gives you a maximum aperture of f/4 on the 70-200 f/2.8.

koosh Loc: NC

Thanks to all UHH's who have answered. And many thanks for the links.

Anandnra Loc: Tennessee

will47 wrote:

Do you know any good sites to help understand the focusing system? What about a 1.4 extender when using a 70-200 2.8 L lens? A 2x extender with the same lens? Any info would help. Thanks.

http://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2014/eos7dmk2_afGuidebook.shtml