EOS 7D user,information sharing thread.

[twinrongs]

Hi all,

I just bought the 7D and to put my heart to reassurance, I did a test on the focusing system based on the Focusing Chart and follow the instruction religiously.

Using my 24-105 lens, my setting were set to AI Focus, Spot AF and test the combination range of 24mm, 50mm, 105mm and all the f-stop ranges. Indeed, the focusing is spot-on to where I want it to be (ie. centre of the chart).

HOWEVER, what bugs me is that the lines are sharp behind the focusing point till the 50mm-60mm lines WHEREAS the front of the focusing point is only sharp till the chart's 20mm-30mm lines (and consistently same result).

Pardon my ignorance but should this be normal (cos' I tested on my 500D and the resulting blur is at the same distant). If it's not normal, do you reckon the micro-adjustment will work or there are other fixes to it ?

Thanks in advance !

Make sure you have a vertical target to focus on the chart and your camera need to be parallel to the vertical target. If you've done that, then your camera seems to be back focusing with 24-105. You could choose to AF Microadjust for the attached lens (refer to 7D manual pg211).

 

[defn]

Give this article a read regarding the sharpness issue in the 7D:

http://www.prophotohome.com/news/2009/11/19/canon-7d-worse-than-canon-rebel-xsi/

 

[ridney]

my 7D again had a problem when i turned it on this morning. i could no longer take a shot and the aperture says 00 on the lcd panel. took the battery out and placed it in, still the same. when i took a shot, it freezed and am error message displayed that it had an error communicating with the lens and that it might had a bad contact point. so i took out the lens and put it back again and then walah... i started shooting again. anybody experienced this problem? i guess i'm having a lot of troubles with my 7D and thinking of sending this unit to the service center. btw, it has 1.1.0 firmware

 

[Sailor73]

I am not sure if it's miracle or just the silly-me....:dunno:

I've decided to try on the focusing test again... all same settings except that instead of room lighting (last night), I shifted the test to living room with ambient lighting (this afternoon). VOILA and all the supposedly "back-focusing" is gone except in the 105mm focal length. Even then, the "back-focusing" at 105mm is so minute and is only 10-20mm difference. In the end, I just settle for -5 on the AF Micro-adjustment for this particular lens. My 50mm f1.4 has no issue after hours of testing on its AF.

Bottomline, it's either I don't understand the mechanics behind all this 7D's AF mambo-jumbo or miracle just happened.... LOL ;p

Question - Is AF Micro-adjustment just another normal process of owning a DSLR or am I one-in-a-million (maybe thousand) ?

Make sure you have a vertical target to focus on the chart and your camera need to be parallel to the vertical target. If you've done that, then your camera seems to be back focusing with 24-105. You could choose to AF Microadjust for the attached lens (refer to 7D manual pg211).

 

[biglobe]

my 7D again had a problem when i turned it on this morning. i could no longer take a shot and the aperture says 00 on the lcd panel. took the battery out and placed it in, still the same. when i took a shot, it freezed and am error message displayed that it had an error communicating with the lens and that it might had a bad contact point. so i took out the lens and put it back again and then walah... i started shooting again. anybody experienced this problem? i guess i'm having a lot of troubles with my 7D and thinking of sending this unit to the service center. btw, it has 1.1.0 firmware

are you using a kit lens that came with ur 7D or a 2nd hand lens?

when u mention that aperture reads 00, first thing that came to mind was a bad contact. after which u said the camera displayed the error message which implies bad connection with lens confirmed the suspicion.

go clean ur contact points properly and monitor the situation. anyway if i were u, having paid that price, i would have already went to the service center. better to bring along both ur lens and camera. ur lens may be the one causing problem too.

 

[ridney]

are you using a kit lens that came with ur 7D or a 2nd hand lens?

when u mention that aperture reads 00, first thing that came to mind was a bad contact. after which u said the camera displayed the error message which implies bad connection with lens confirmed the suspicion.

go clean ur contact points properly and monitor the situation. anyway if i were u, having paid that price, i would have already went to the service center. better to bring along both ur lens and camera. ur lens may be the one causing problem too.

i am using a 17-55 i just bought a week ago and it's brand new. never had this problem with another lens though and i hope it's not the 17-55 that is giving me a problem. anyways, i'll take a closer look at this and perhaps go to the service center when this same problem come up.

 

[biglobe]

i am using a 17-55 i just bought a week ago and it's brand new. never had this problem with another lens though and i hope it's not the 17-55 that is giving me a problem. anyways, i'll take a closer look at this and perhaps go to the service center when this same problem come up.

good luck!

 

[KHC]

i am using a 17-55 i just bought a week ago and it's brand new. never had this problem with another lens though and i hope it's not the 17-55 that is giving me a problem. anyways, i'll take a closer look at this and perhaps go to the service center when this same problem come up.

ridney, Better get a exchange lens with the camera shop you brought from.
This lens has some issue on the error contact. It quite known on this issue.
If the Contacts at the lens and cam has clean,still happen touch wood mate.
It happen to my friend having 17-55 F2.8 IS lens on his 40D cam.
Since it a new lens.Better exchange it still within 14 Days exchange period.

It happen on my 24-105 F4 lens , kena change third element unit . mean the IS unit module
Heart pain mate. S$240 something.:cry:

You may search on the canon thread on this issue.

 

[ridney]

ridney, Better get a exchange lens with the camera shop you brought from.
This lens has some issue on the error contact. It quite known on this issue.
If the Contacts at the lens and cam has clean,still happen touch wood mate.
It happen to my friend having 17-55 F2.8 IS lens on his 40D cam.
Since it a new lens.Better exchange it still within 14 Days exchange period.

It happen on my 24-105 F4 lens , kena change third element unit . mean the IS unit module
Heart pain mate. S$240 something.:cry:

You may search on the canon thread on this issue.

Thanks for the information KHC. Trying to get an exchange with the shop might be a problem since 17-55 is out of stock lately. I guess i can always make an exchange with the service center right?

 

[twinrongs]

I am not sure if it's miracle or just the silly-me....:dunno:

I've decided to try on the focusing test again... all same settings except that instead of room lighting (last night), I shifted the test to living room with ambient lighting (this afternoon). VOILA and all the supposedly "back-focusing" is gone except in the 105mm focal length. Even then, the "back-focusing" at 105mm is so minute and is only 10-20mm difference. In the end, I just settle for -5 on the AF Micro-adjustment for this particular lens. My 50mm f1.4 has no issue after hours of testing on its AF.

Bottomline, it's either I don't understand the mechanics behind all this 7D's AF mambo-jumbo or miracle just happened.... LOL ;p

Question - Is AF Micro-adjustment just another normal process of owning a DSLR or am I one-in-a-million (maybe thousand) ?

My Sigma 50mm F1.4 was still back-focusing with -20 AF Micro-adjustment :sweat: No choice, sent to Sigma for calibration. Came back with perfect focusing :thumbsup:

I think the AF-Micro-adjustment is a good feature to have on DSLR. Only mid-high end DSLR has it.

 

[raymansg]

Just applied the LCD protector (2 pieces). To share.
Generic brand but sized almost perfect but clarity is decent. HKD25 per piece

Capdase, sizing not so accurate but clarity is very good. HKD45 per piece

In the end, using Capdase.
Excuse the pics, taken with my HTC phone.

 

[w3iw3n]

just got my hands on 7D yesterdae and took her out for a shoot with my sigma 30mm.
Image seems soft. Not too sure whether is it a user, lens or body problem.
I have definately taken sharper pix with my sigma 30mm + 450D
so could the problem lies with the camera body?

All pix taken with M-Raw and converted to Jpeg in PS (quality 12). Sharpness is left at default 3 in Canon DPP program.

Pix1
F1.4 1/8000

F2.0 1/8000

 

[Pinoy]

just got my hands on 7D yesterdae and took her out for a shoot with my sigma 30mm.
Image seems soft. Not too sure whether is it a user, lens or body problem.
I have definately taken sharper pix with my sigma 30mm + 450D
so could the problem lies with the camera body?

Have you tried Canon lenses on it? If so, what's the result?

Some sigma units may have focusing issues from one body to another. My sigma 30mm initially back-focuses on my 40D and it happens only if the subject is about 3m from the camera. After bringing it to Sigma for calibration (along with the body for their testing), the lens focusing was spot on. I have a colleague who faced similar issue with his sigma on his Nikon cam.

:Later,

 

[hobbit6003]

I dunno if anyone notices the same thing as I did:

The pic appears sharp and detailed on the LCD, but when the image is transferred into DPP, some details like the little pimple on the face appears smudged, although the image still remained very sharp. It is not the sharpness that is in question, but small tiny little details like the pimples and pores looked smudged and processed in DPP.

I shoot in RAW with ISO400, EFS 17-55mm f2.8, with the Extreme Pro CF 32gb.

Does DPP do any processing on their own? Cos, not only this, but I find that images processed look abit 'digital'.

I've always used Appple's Apperture, but unfortunately, there's no RAW converter out for the 7D yet.

 

[sh1ng0]

I dunno if anyone notices the same thing as I did:

The pic appears sharp and detailed on the LCD, but when the image is transferred into DPP, some details like the little pimple on the face appears smudged, although the image still remained very sharp. It is not the sharpness that is in question, but small tiny little details like the pimples and pores looked smudged and processed in DPP.

I shoot in RAW with ISO400, EFS 17-55mm f2.8, with the Extreme Pro CF 32gb.

Does DPP do any processing on their own? Cos, not only this, but I find that images processed look abit 'digital'.

I've always used Appple's Apperture, but unfortunately, there's no RAW converter out for the 7D yet.

adobe camera raw 5.6 release candidate (beta)

http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Camera_Raw_5.6

 

[kikiaw]

Send it back for calibration, dunno urs had calibrated b4 anot... but my 30mm was calibrated on my old camera body, when use it on my 7D it b'come soft like urs... after re-calibrated on my 7D, my sharpness is back.

just got my hands on 7D yesterdae and took her out for a shoot with my sigma 30mm.
Image seems soft. Not too sure whether is it a user, lens or body problem.
I have definately taken sharper pix with my sigma 30mm + 450D
so could the problem lies with the camera body?

All pix taken with M-Raw and converted to Jpeg in PS (quality 12). Sharpness is left at default 3 in Canon DPP program.

 

[w3iw3n]

Send it back for calibration, dunno urs had calibrated b4 anot... but my 30mm was calibrated on my old camera body, when use it on my 7D it b'come soft like urs... after re-calibrated on my 7D, my sharpness is back.

Do u mean calibration of the lens? Now abit worried abt taking the plunge to get 17552.8. Later image is soft again frm the so call best efs lens.

 

[viperDSLR]

just got my hands on 7D yesterdae and took her out for a shoot with my sigma 30mm.
Image seems soft. Not too sure whether is it a user, lens or body problem.
I have definately taken sharper pix with my sigma 30mm + 450D
so could the problem lies with the camera body?

All pix taken with M-Raw and converted to Jpeg in PS (quality 12). Sharpness is left at default 3 in Canon DPP program.

Pix1
F1.4 1/8000


F2.0 1/8000

hi, i'm just curious... may i know what is the s/n nos of your camera... and did u upgrade the firmware to 1.1.0

One of the other fren bought a 7D last week, last four digit of the s/n x68x was having this softness issue. Later got it swapped out and finally gotten a 7XXX and with the same shots, the sharpness is there for the later s/n. Not sure if becos of the first few batch issue? QC ?

And 2nd fren we got a 7D, straight away upgrade the firmware to 1.1.10 now hv softness issue. his s/n: is 10xx.

Now not sure...why... comments pls.

 

[w3iw3n]

hi, i'm just curious... may i know what is the s/n nos of your camera... and did u upgrade the firmware to 1.1.0

One of the other fren bought a 7D last week, last four digit of the s/n x68x was having this softness issue. Later got it swapped out and finally gotten a 7XXX and with the same shots, the sharpness is there for the later s/n. Not sure if becos of the first few batch issue? QC ?

And 2nd fren we got a 7D, straight away upgrade the firmware to 1.1.10 now hv softness issue. his s/n: is 10xx.

Now not sure...why... comments pls.

mine was 6XXX last 4 digit. it has 1.1.0 out of box.

 

[viperDSLR]

mine was 6XXX last 4 digit. it has 1.1.0 out of box.

ok. becos i think i read somewhere that any s/nos below 2000, may hv the QC problem.

So from your s/nos, with 1.1.0 ...not sure if the QC problem is still there...

Did u try spot AF to take the picture with a canon lens? it may improve. See the tutorial for this Canon 7D in the Canon website.