Canon 7D mkii shooters: I recently upgraded to the 7D MKii which I bought gently used, and have noticed something during photo review that is really bothering me. I am hoping this is...

bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX

I recently upgraded to the 7D MKii which I bought gently used, and have noticed something during photo review that is really bothering me. I am hoping this is intentional on Canon's part. White areas flash Black when I review the photo after shooting. Is this just Canon's way of telling me these areas are overexposed or is something wrong with my camera? Thank you in advance for taking time to read and reply.

RichardSM Loc: Back in Texas

bigtex2000 wrote:

I recently upgraded to the 7D MKii which I bought gently used, and have noticed something during photo review that is really bothering me. I am hoping this is intentional on Canon's part. White areas flash Black when I review the photo after shooting. Is this just Canon's way of telling me these areas are overexposed or is something wrong with my camera? Thank you in advance for taking time to read and reply.

Yes,, you see more in the shadows. Nothing wrong with the camera.

DGStinner Loc: New Jersey

That's the highlight warning, aka blinkies. You can go into the settings and turn it off. I choose to leave it on as it gives me an indication of where I may be clipping highlights.

bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX

RichardSM wrote:

Yes,, you see more in the shadows. Nothing wrong with the camera.

Thank you Richard....feel better all ready.

bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX

DGStinner wrote:

That's the highlight warning, aka blinkies. You can go into the settings and turn it off. I choose to leave it on as it gives me an indication of where I may be clipping highlights.

Thank you DG....I looked it up after you identified it for me, understand what I am seeing, and as always the UHH has come through again. Now I can shoot with no worries.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You should have got a manual too where this camera feature is documented ... More importantly, research online what those blinkies are telling you about your exposure and the actions you should be making to correct the over-exposure issue.

bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX

CHG_CANON wrote:

You should have got a manual too where this camera feature is documented ... More importantly, research online what those blinkies are telling you about your exposure and the actions you should be making to correct the over-exposure issue.

Oh I have the manual, but at over 500 pages it is a bit daunting to find something your not sure of what it is your looking for. After getting an explanation here of what it was I was seeing, I asked Mr Google, and that dude hooked me up with the answers I needed.....thank you sir.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Hi David, I know RTFM is a little snotty, but the highlight alert is a distinguishing feature of shooting with most digital cameras as compared to film. I'm less concerned about whether you read the manual than I am that you know what this information is telling you about your images. Of course, what to do is not part of the manual ... Below is a bit long but might be helpful. Paul

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/tips-and-solutions/how-read-your-cameras-histogram

bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX

Thanks Chg Canon....my problem was I did not know what it was...wasn't sure if my card was corrupted or what was going on as I had never experienced that highlight alert on the previous Canon cameras I have owned (T3i and T5i). I love the 7d MKii, but it has features I have no experience with. So many great people on here that are willing to share their knowledge, and it didn't take long for someone to tell me what it was, and now all is good....until the next thing I don't understand...LOL....thanks for your help...great link and explanation!!

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Hi David,

I have the 7D MII. I downloaded the Kindle edition of Doug Klosterman's 7D MII Experience and found it more readable and helpful than the manual. This is quoted from the Kindle edition: "Highlight Alert, enabled for image playback to see where the image has been overexposed. Left: In this screenshot of the rear LCD Monitor during image playback of a daytime scene, you can see that the bright sky has been overexposed and is blinking (seen here mid-blink, in black), indicating that these areas are overexposed and without any detail. Right: This is also seen in the Histogram view, where the brightness histogram data has spiked at the right side of the top graph. Both Highlight Alert and the following item AF Point Display can also be enabled during image playback, by pressing the [Q] Button and accessing these options (see Figure 104). This is a handy way to quickly enable or disable these features, rather than finding them in the menus."

Hoping this may help.
Mark

bigtex2000 wrote:

I recently upgraded to the 7D MKii which I bought gently used, and have noticed something during photo review that is really bothering me. I am hoping this is intentional on Canon's part. White areas flash Black when I review the photo after shooting. Is this just Canon's way of telling me these areas are overexposed or is something wrong with my camera? Thank you in advance for taking time to read and reply.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

This may be too much for a new person that doesn't know anything about raw images to comprehend, but the highlight alert and histogram is pretty much useless if shooting raw. The LCD on your camera, the highlight alert and the histogram are all getting the information from the jpg thumbnail version of the image and not the raw image which has way more dynamic range than a jpg image. So the blinkies and the histogram are not necessarily giving you correct information to base your exposure on unless all you shoot is jpg.

leftj Loc: Texas

bigtex2000 wrote:

Oh I have the manual, but at over 500 pages it is a bit daunting to find something your not sure of what it is your looking for. After getting an explanation here of what it was I was seeing, I asked Mr Google, and that dude hooked me up with the answers I needed.....thank you sir.

The Canon Manual is too small in dimension with very small print and the index in the back is only partial. Download the pdf manual from Canon and you will then have the convenience of finding what you are looking for by entering a key word. You can also adjust the print size to whatever is comfortable for you.

bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX

jeep_daddy wrote:

This may be too much for a new person that doesn't... (show quote)

Thanks Jeep......in my case all I shoot right now are jpg, so I guess that is why I am getting the blinkies. I do appreciate your input sir and thank you.

bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX

leftj wrote:

The Canon Manual is too small in dimension with very small print and the index in the back is only partial. Download the pdf manual from Canon and you will then have the convenience of finding what you are looking for by entering a key word. You can also adjust the print size to whatever is comfortable for you.

Thanks leftj....I have downloaded the pdf manual and man it makes all the difference.....I appreciate it.

bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX

markngolf wrote:

Hi David, br br I have the 7D MII. I downloaded t... (show quote)

Man that is some great stuff Mark........I really appreciate it sir...I am going to download that and get busy....very good explanation...Thank you.