UPDATE 2 Tested another Canon 7Dii today for sports shooting, same issue, very soft focus, MFA was off completely. I am using a 24-70 2.8 v2 that was dead on a few weeks ago during my other Epic Shootout. I have access to some other 24-70's and 2 more 7Dii bodies, but I am afraid to say that the 7Dii might have a serious focusing issue when shooting servo with wider apertures.
UPDATE : I have done a few tests and have learned something very interesting: If you have your MFA (micro focus adjustment) turned on, even if the settings are still "0", it will effect the camera's focusing. MFA is found on the last page of the purple tab, bottom of the page. Make sure it is "Off" before doing this test.
We have been using a few copies of the
Canon 7Dii and yesterday during some extensive testing for sports shooting we noticed one of the 7Dii bodies was consistently missing when shooting at f.2.8 for sports, we took several thousands of shots and were disappointed to discover that the vast majority were out of focus. If you are shooting at smaller apertures, you will not see this as the depth of field is deep enough to compensate for the misalignment.
My advice to new Canon 7Dii owners, do this test
as soon as you open the box .
1. Lay a ruler flat on a table in decent light
2. Use a very wide aperture lens, say 1.2 or 1.4 and take a picture of a specific ruler marking in this case, 18 CM. (Red Arrow)
3. Inspect the image, if the DOF (sharpness) is in the correct focus area, the camera is probably good.
4. If you see something like this image, where the camera is missing its mark (Aqua Arrow) you should return the camera immediately to the place of purchase and ask for an exchange. Show them the image if necessary.
I was very lucky that my friends at
Profeel accommodated me on this, as I had the camera for some time now. Some of this can be corrected using Micro Adjustment in the deep menu, but if you paid $1800 for a camera, it should be working right out of the box.
Just wanted you guys that have that warning, test it as soon as you open the box and make sure you have a good copy.
If you have a Canon 7Dii and are looking for an excellent training video on it, we just published it yesterday:
CLICK HERE Canon 7Dii Tutorial Training Video
