My 7D Mark II was delivered

[marcfs]

Hi Bob,

I received my 7D Mark II this week and had time today to set it up today.  I’m planning to shoot with it tomorrow.

There are a series of 7D videos by Rudy Winston, Canon Digital Learning Center Technical Adviser, at

http://learn.usa.canon.com/galleries/galleries/tutorials/eos7dmarkii_tutorials.shtml

The video topics are as follows:

•   Taking advantage of the Broad AF Coverage in the EOS 7D Mark II
•   Utilize the intelligent viewfinder functions
•   Controlling AI Servo AF to track your moving subjects
•   Using the new Full HD video features in real life situations
•   Controlling the look of your images with exposure control functions
•   Fine tuning custom controls

Rudy’s video’s bring the 7D Mark II capabilities to life!!

IMHO the capabilities/technical advances in this camera are pretty incredible, especially at its price.
The JPEG and raw images shared by many professionals on the internet have been impressive.
From all of this information it seems to me that the 7D Mark II is a real game changer.

My plan is to use it in Bird Photography and as a backup for my 5D Mark III.

Marc

[marcfs]

Hi Bob,

I used my 7D Mark II yesterday to capture images of birds and also took a few landscape shots.   I was able to capture a variety of water birds, a great blue heron, a great egret and a second or third year bald eagle, as well as an assortment of birds in flight.  I shot with two lenses:   the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens and the Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM Lens. 

I am very pleased with the results from using the new camera.  Images were pleasing, contained lots of details, and noise was very acceptable relative to my 5D Mark III.  I used my car as a blind and shot the images from the driver side window, using a bean bag to stabilize the camera and lens.  The sky was overcast and I was shooting during the latter part of the day.  I also used my 5D Mark III with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens for capturing some landscape images and a weak sunset.

Observations
•   Focusing was quick and accurate
•   Auto ISO was effective and offered a benefit I had not used in previous cameras – through lots of customization
•   AF options were easy and convenient to access, although I want to read the EOS 7D Mark II AF-Setting Guidebook
•   10 fps was a real plus; however I worked at managing my images so I would not be overwhelmed when I downloaded to the computer
•    I liked the capability of customizing the camera settings to shoot fewer fps too.  However the 10 fps came in handy when  ducks were catching/eating fish and when they were rising up and flapping their wings

Conclusion
Overall I am delighted with the camera.  It was a joy to use.   I had to invest a fair amount of time to understand and set-up the 7D, although owning a 5D Mark III made this somewhat easier because there are lots of similarities between the two cameras.  As I gain more experience with the 7D Mark II, and read/understand more of the camera’s capabilities and customizations I will be making adjustments to its settings.

Marc Schoenholz
http://www.marcschoenholz.com/

[Bob Atkins]

Thanks for the report Marc. I still haven't gotten my hands on one myself, but I'm hoping to soon!