Jenz,
You mention soft images with the Canon 100-400mm L first version (push/pull zoom) lens, specifically (though you also say other lenses seem soft, too)...
Do you have a "protection" filter on that lens? If so, try without it. It's a common problem with that particular lens, that it "goes soft" when even a high quality filter is installed. I don't know why, but it just seems to be a common thread. More than a few users of the 100-400L have been stunned how much sharper their lens was, after removing a filter that they though was "protecting" the lens from some boogeyman. Besides, the lens' nice deep hood does an excellent job protecting it.
This doesn't explain the other lenses, though. Other lenses may not have the same aversion to filters as the "push/pull" 100-400mm does. Even so, I'd recommend testing all of them with and without filters, just to be sure. And, whenever using filters, for best/sharpest images, only use high quality, multi-coated filters. (Personally I use my lenses without filters most of the time... I have them on hand, but only install "protection" filters when they might actually be needed.)
I've been using a pair of 7DII for several years now... probably have taken about 100,000 images with them. I use the 100-400L II... handheld more often than not... along with a number of other lenses. I see some missed focus (soft) shots, sure. But it's relatively few... probably less than 1 or 2% on average. And I bet at least half of those are my fault. I mark the images "rejected" in Lightroom, when I note missed focus.... then go back and try to analyze what happened. I just looked at a sporting event I photographed last Sunday and found 21 missed focus out of just over 2400 shots. There may be a few more missed focus shots I overlooked, I haven't double checked yet. (I've been concentrating on getting the "keepers" edited... which turned out to be a little over 1300 in this case.)
IMO, focus performance is dependent upon three primary factors: the camera's AF system, the lens' focus drive and max aperture... and the photographer's setup and skill using the camera.
In addition to the 100-400L II, last weekend I used 70-200mm f/4L IS USM and 24-70mm f/2.8L USM. (Shooting sports, I mostly use USM lenses, which are the fastest focusing. I have a couple lenses that use slower micro motor... but they are an ultrawide and a macro lens, where focus speed is less of a concern and I don't tend to use them for sports.)
Because you are seeing problems with multiple lenses... and because I suspect are new to 7DII (and had success with some prior camera?)... I tend to think it's something in your autofocus setup that you've overlooked or have set incorrectly. The 7DII has a fairly complex and customizable AF system. (Note: There's a 50 page user manual for the AF system alone, a PDF of which can be downloaded from the Canon website... while there, also get the "complete" user manual PDF, which is upwards of 500 pages, a lot more info than the approx. 150 page printed user manual that comes with the camera.)
Here's what works for me:
Most of the time I set my 7DIIs to Single Point AF and use Back Button Focusing (BBF). I.e., I disable AF from the shutter release button and only use the AF On button to control AF. Thank to BBF, I can use AI Servo most of the time (more on this below). This means more work for me... When using Single Point and BBF it comes down to me keeping that point right where I want camera and lens to maintain focus. To facilitate this, I've set my camera so that the joystick has direct access to move the AF point around and so that pressing or "clicking" the joystick causes the AF point to return to the center point. This way I can move the AF point around without first having to press another button and while keeping the camera to my eye, watching tracking active subjects (the down side to using the joystick this way is that sometimes the AF point gets moved accidentally, such as by bumping it while carrying the camera).
I occasionally use other focus patterns that the 7DII offers. I'll use one or the other of the two Zone patterns when I'm shooting really fast moving subjects like birds in flight, provided there's a very distant and.or plain background behind them and little or no obstructions in front... I.e., nothing to "distract" AF when using multiple AF points. I also might use one or the other of the two Expansion Points patterns when shooting a fast moving subject that changes directions frequently, making it hard to keep a single point on them.
The difference between Zone and Expansion is that the Zone patterns allow the camera to decide which of the active AF points to start focus with.... While with Expansion I decide the starting point, but the camera can switch to one of the adjacent points if needed. (Zone Focus is a lot like a scaled down or limited version of All Points/Auto... which I never use. All Points leaves it entirely up to the camera to decide where to focus... and it will often do so on whatever is closest and covered by an active AF point.)
I also use Spot Focus, which is a form of single point with a smaller than usual AF point for greater precision. It's handy, for example, when shooting a bird sitting in a tree in a tangle of branches, where a larger AF point is likely to want to focus in a branch in front of the subject. Spot Focus is a little slower than standard Single Point, though.... So I don't use it all the time (though I have seen folks use it for fast moving subjects like butterflies.)
One of the "problems" with using AI Servo as a primary mode of focus is that there's no "Focus Confirmation". There can't be... Because focus never stops and locks the way it does in One Shot (which should only be used with stationary subjects). Focus Confirmation illuminates a green LED, flashes red in some Canon cameras and gives an audible "beep" when focus is achieved... if the user has the "beep" enabled. Some people don't like the noise and turn off the "beep". In fact, I leave it enabled because it immediately alerts me that I'm in One Shot mode... which is the wrong focus mode to use whenever subjects are moving. It's a very common thing that I hear other peoples' cameras "beeping" when I'm shooting sporting events. And whenever I hear that, I can say for certain that a very high percentage of their shots will be mis-focused. The reason One Shot (Canon's term for it... Nikon and Sony call it AF-S, as opposed to AF-C) is incorrect for moving subjects is pretty simple. It focuses on the subject, then stops and locks (and then gives Focus Confirmation). If the subject and/or photographer move and change the distance, focus will be off unless it's re-focused. When a subject is moving, you'd have to constantly be lifting off the button and re-applying it to cause the camera and lens to re-focus... and even then focus will be incorrect more often than it's right, if the subject is moving at anything faster than a slow walk "snail's pace".
AI Servo, on the other hand, is continuous focus. The camera and lens are constantly updating focus... Some number of times per second, far more frequently than a photographer can release and re-apply pressure to a button to update focus. But with AI Servo you have to learn to trust yourself and the camera & lens, that AF is working... because there's no Focus Confirmation. It might help that the 7DII can be set to display various things on the focus screen... such as a little "AF" icon in the corner to indicate whenever AF is running. (Some lenses you also can hear AF and/or IS running, if ambient noise levels allow).
There's a third AF mode on your camera... AI Focus. That's actually not a focus mode at all. It's sort of "point 'n' shoot" style automation IMO, where the camera is supposed to decide whether or not the subject is moving, then switch to use the correct mode: AI Servo or One Shot. Frankly, I've avoided using AI Focus for many years. When I experimented with it on earlier models I found too high an error rate... too often the camera chose wrong or seemed to have a delay while it was "thinking about it" or didn't switch modes when a subject started or stopped moving. I saw a big drop in missed focus shots, soon as I stopped using it. (It also might be a clue... Canon's most pro-oriented 1D-series cameras don't even have AI Focus mode... they only have AI Servo and One Shot.) Maybe newer models do better with AI Focus... I wouldn't know because I prefer to make my own decisions!
I mention using AI Servo most of the time. That mode can get you "into trouble" when using certain techniques, if not also using Back Button Focusing (BBF). For example, if you use a "focus, then recompose" while in AI Servo mode, the camera will often want to re-focus away from the subject, to wherever you moved the active AF point(s). But using BBF allows me to start and stop AF any time I wish. It quickly becomes second nature to do so, with just a little practice.
Another thing that this helps.... Quite a few of today's zoom lenses are "varifocal" designs. These don't maintain focus when zoomed to a different focal length ("parfocal" zooms do). When using One Shot with a varifocal zoom, you have to consciously re-focus when using One Shot. But if using AI Servo, the camera automatically and instantly corrects focus without any effort on the part of the photographer.
There are some other things that might help...
There are autofocus "cases", as Canon calls them. These are 6 different sets of "tweaks" to the AF system that someone designing the camera felt were appropriate for different types of subjects. Personally I don't use any of these "presets". I just leave my cameras set to Case 1 and instead go into the settings to configure the AF system as I see fit. But I've been using 7D-series cameras for about eight years now and have figured out what works for me. Someone new to the camera might want to study and try the Cases to see if they work for them.
In the first AF menu tab on 7DII, you can set priority of shutter release versus focus accuracy, while using AI Servo mode. There are two settings for this: 1st image and 2nd image. In both I choose to set focus accuracy to the maximum because missed focus shots are of little use to me. A photojournalist might set the opposite, needing to get the shot at precisely the right moment and willing to accept slightly missed focus. Setting high priority to focus accuracy may cause short delays occasionally, if the camera needs to prevent shutter release until focus has been achieved.... But with fast focusing lenses (such as most Canon USM) and reasonable lighting conditions, the 7DII focuses so quickly I hardly ever notice a delay. The difference between the two settings is that 1st image governs how the camera treats this with the initial shot in any burst (or any single shot if not using a continuous shooting "drive" mode). 2nd image decides how the camera will treat the next shot in the series... as well as all subsequent shots. In other words, if you have the camera set to 10 frames per second drive mode and hold the shutter button down for, say, 6 consecutive shots... the 1st setting effects the very first image.... while all the other five in the burst are effected by the 2nd setting.
There are another couple settings you might find helpful, but can be a little confusing. These only effect AI Servo (no function in One Shot mode) and are within whatever Case you choose (I leave my cameras set to Case 1 and modify it).
The first is Tracking Sensitivity. Initially you might want to dial this down to the minus side. This doesn't effect focus speed. It effects how quickly the AF will "jump" to a different object, if something comes between you and your primary subject... setting this to low prevents it from switching the point of focus. The down side to this is that the AF will be a little less responsive to subjects that change direction. If using and comfortable with BBF, you can instead use it to "dodge" momentary obstructions when your moving subject passes behind them... by lifting off the button briefly, temporarily stopping AF until past the obstruction, then reapplying pressure to the button and reacquiring AF once the subject is again in the clear. Once you've learned to do that, you might want to dial this setting up to the plus side.
Accel/Decel Tracking is similar, but governs how the camera handles focus on subjects changing speed coming toward or going away from you. I generally keep this set to +1. For me, that works in most situations.
The third parameter you can set (or that's varied depending upon the Case you choose), is for multi-point modes (Zone and Expansion focus patterns), which I don't use a lot and therefore don't change this setting.
7DII have a pretty sophisticated and high AF system. Like the top of the line 1D-series cameras, 7D-series feature a discrete chip running the AF system (in addition to dual image processors to support a high frame rate and rapid metering). Most other Canon models have a single processor to handle everything... focus, metering, images, etc.
Because of it's greater complexity, it can take a while to learn to use the 7DII's AF system really well in various situations. And what works for me might not be ideal for you (I like to keep it simple... K.I.S.S!... with that single AF point most of the time, AI Servo and BBF). Just don't get frustrated and give up.... study the manual, experiment a bit with the different possibilities, try one setting or tweak at a time to learn how each works, etc. Hopefully this info will help!
Jenz, br br You mention soft images with the Can... (
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