3/29/2015 – The GPS function has been an invaluable tool in helping me identify towns, areas, restaurants and attractions that I have been to. When the metadata of each picture is combined with Lightroom 5 ‘Map Mode’, tracking down locations is a joy to find places that I may have forgotten about along my journeys. Within the last two months, I travelled to a few international locations and I did not realize how fast and accurate the GPS can be when pictures are downloaded to Lightroom 5.------3//29/2015 – In my original post, I made a comment about the strength of the 7D Mark II ISO that I have to make a correction to help other customers get the most accurate information. Originally, I stated “Honestly, this camera can shoot excellent shots even at 6,400 and above, and in order to see noise, you would have to blow up the picture on a computer or a very large print by zooming in at every single detail. Compared to most DSLRs on the market except the 1D-X (or Mark Five for those counting), the ISO performance on this camera is first class.” After over 1500 shots later, my experience is telling me that the high ISO function of 16,000 is a ‘strength’ to help the 7D Mark II shoot in low light situations much easier than a DSLR that can only typically produce 6,400, but it does not really improve the noise issue. When I made my original post, I was using the Canon’s ‘Digital Photo Professional’ (DPP) software which I believe masks a lot of the noise by default settings, but now that I upgraded to Lightroom 5 (LR5), I can see much more detail (noise) with the same pictures in RAW. There were shots that I have taken at 320 or 800 ISO now in daylight or slightly indoor settings that had significant noise issues, which are much lower than 6,400. While the higher ISO in the 7D Mark II helps the photographer take shots in low light situations with ease, I think the high ISO of 16,000 is considered an ‘overcompensation factor’ probably needed to help the APS-C sensor shoot pictures on 7D Mark II easier than say a full frame 5D Mark III or 6D DSLR. I have actually seen other photography videos run test on this sensor and ISO issue, and I believe that there is truth to this issue. The 7D Mark II is a great all around fast and powerful camera for the money. (My favorite at the moment) While every camera has noise issues, don’t expect this model to have the best sensor and noise functions compared to full-frame cameras. Regardless, with Lightroom 5, you can clean it up anyway, problem solved!-------Update 2/1/2015 - One negative thing I noticed about the 7D Mark II is the GPS function. I love it, but I have been observing for the past few weeks how if you enable the GPS, and turn off the camera, the GPS is still on and drains the batteries fairly quickly in a matter of days. Canon should have made this function turn off when the camera is turned off, not the same as camera on, but in sleep mode. Ever since, I disabled the GPS with the camera turned off, the batteries maintains its energy. Strange that this GPS function can be still use power even when you shut off the camera.Update 1/19/2015 - Just learned that the 7D Mark comes with a built in intervalometer for long term continuous shooting for photography like star trailing. This camera is getting better by the day.---------My review and proud new owner of the Canon 7D Mark II. I graduated from the Rebel T5 and I must say up front that this camera is by far quite possibly the fastest and most advanced APS-C 1.6x (60% more zoom with any lens) crop factor body on the market! This camera is already becoming the envy from other photographers and my review will be updated periodically to provide deeper insights of this valuable piece of technology. One of the main inspirations for purchasing the 7D Mark II is because I kept coming across features that I wanted to use, but could not on my lower end model such as built in transmitter for wireless flash, IR sensor for wireless shutter, GPS for location stats for pictures taken and a slew of other internal functions. I wanted a camera that I did not have to worry about lacking features that only the top tier Canon body lineup had for the next 5 years, so I made the jump. With that said, the 7D Mark II has an astronomical and dizzying amount of awesome features, so my review is based on a hands on experience and focused on the major highlights. So here goes something!1) The first observation I immediately noticed is how heavy and solidly built the 7D Mark II is. At 820 grams or 1.80 lbs., this camera weighs like a beefy beast. This body contains magnesium alloy and you can tell immediately. My other cameras feel like a feather weight compared to this. This weight does not count adding a pro standard or telephoto lens, flash and battery grip. In the end, it may add up to be nearly 4 - 10 lbs. depending on your setup. All the buttons are placed in the right spots, the LCD screen is surprisingly smaller at 3 inches instead of the standard 3.2 inches like my Rebel T5 and other DSLR bodies. I could not reuse my extra screen protectors. You notice a cool eight way directional `joystick' with a lever right above the `Q' button to operate on board controls such as the highly anticipated 65 AF All Cross Point System , which will be discussed later.2) Second, at 10 FPS High Continuous shutter speed, the 7D Mark II is a rapid fire beast! Let me explain, on most cameras, you can hear the shutter close and release making a sound like `Chit...Cher'. (Sounds like Transformers, Don't laugh, lol) On the 7D Mark II, you just hear "Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick". The sound of the shutter is so fast, it literally moves faster than the blink of an eye, a heartbeat, or maybe close to the speed of light. (No exaggeration). Although you can use this camera for any type of photography, this body is most certainly made for sports, wildlife and anything that moves fast. I even love how you can set the shutter to shoot photos from ranges such as 1/1,000 to 1/8,000 of a second, preventing the camera from falling below a certain shutter threshold if the subject moves very fast. Also, you can decrease shutter speeds in High Mode from 5 to 10 FPS, Low Mode from 1-9 FPS and even switch to a Silent Mode from 1-4 FPS. Interestingly, many other high speed shutter functions on other camera sound like rockets at war, whereas the 7D Mark II sounds fairly quiet even in High Mode at 10 FPS. (No joke) The buffer on the camera also does a great job loading the multitude of all the recently taken pictures very quickly to the SD or CF cards, which you have the option of adding both at the same time and changing which one you want to use for pictures and video (I only use SD Cards for now)3) The 65 All Cross Point AF is a masterpiece of the smartest Canon technology. The ability to switch on the AF Points while looking through the viewfinder and A) Increase the size of the AF Points, B) Move the AF Points to different subjects in the view, C) See clearly with a red lit VF Display, and D) Allow the AI Servo Mode to perform an extra six `Cases' to track your subjects with the AF mode.....insane computer camera technology! My words cannot do justice for the function alone, I hear that this mode alone surpasses anything on the market right now. I will admit that the 65 All Cross Point works like 99 % of the time for that tact sharpness of your intended subject demanded by the most professional photographers. I would prefer 100% of the time, because of the cost and value of this product along with an expensive Canon lens. In addition, the Viewfinder is so intelligent that it allows the user to add or remove certain icons to be displayed through the viewfinder itself such as AF Mode, Shoot Mode, White Balance, Drive Mode, Metering, Image Quality and even Anti-Flicker Mode. Amazing! Other than that, the 65 All Cross Point system works excellently.4) ISO, ISO, ISO. Concerning ISO, if you use a 7D Mark II, you really do not need to worry about noise and grain on most shots. Even in low lit environments, the 7D Mark II performs exceedingly well with a healthy range of 23 ISO increments from 100 - 16,000. If you want more, you can go to 25,600 or the max 51,200. Honestly, this camera can shoot excellent shots even at 6,400 and above, and in order to see noise, you would have to blow up the picture on a computer or a very large print by zooming in at every single detail. Compared to most DSLRs on the market except the 1D-X (or Mark Five for those counting), the ISO performance on this camera is first class.5) Another function that I thought I should add to my review is on exposure. This may seem insignificant to some, but I thought this was awesome. On my older models including the Rebel T5, I had trouble in Shutter and Aperture Priority Modes where the use of a Speedlite Flash would cause over exposure. (I tried adjusting my settings to no avail) However, on the 7D Mark II, there is a function that allows the user to command the computer to correct and over and under exposure specifically in those modes mentioned prior. Now when I use my Speedlite Flash in Shutter and Aperture Priority, I don't have that over exposure problem anymore.The only negative thing I noticed about the 7D Mark II is the battery life. I don't think it is the battery itself, but I believe this body juices so much battery power with the high speed 10 FPS. The shutter speed is absolutely insane and the camera by design encourages you to switch from One Shot Mode to High Speed Continuous Mode; it is that addictive to shoot shots so fast during live action events that you do not want to miss a beat.So there you have it, I really wish I could write more because there really is a lot to talk about this particular camera. It is a first class DSLR that outshines some of the many other Canon and other competitor cameras on the market. When you compare the specs and hands on experience, the 7D Mark is (IMO) the 1D-X's `little BIG brother" for much lower, but still price tag. Believe me, I did thought about getting the 5D Mark III, but I extremely satisfied and overwhelmed with prideful ownership for the 7D Mark II because it is really a stellar DSLR camera. I strongly believe this camera will retain of its value for photography professionals and enthusiast for years to come.
