7D II Reviews and Comments from those who now own it

[HDNitehawk]

I was going to say EOS M but thought I would wait till they released the EOS -M II

Todays Squirrel

Reading Bryan's review today I noticed he mentioned that the 7D II has more in camera sharpening. This was one of my complaints with the 7D.
I noticed this with the first days pictures, and again today. In DPP it just doesn't take much sharpening and there is not far less PP headroom than the 7D had.
This is not a bad thing it just means that the camera is putting out pictures that take less finishing similar to the 1D IV, and probably the 1D X.

The first pic is a Cropped Squirrel pic from today, processed and sharpened in DPP.
The second is straight out of the camera.
Third is the JPG straight out of the camera.
Please note I am shooting RAW + JPEG

RAW

Squirrel Test by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

JPEG

Squirrel 2 by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

No Crop

Squirrel 3 by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

I think the camera version looks better than my feeble attempt at PP in DPP.

[HDNitehawk]

I was also concerned about some of the threads I read about the 7D II being soft.
Judge for yourself but I think with the 70-200mm it held up as well as most on the squirrels.

[HDNitehawk]

Second Set, Squirrel looking for Nuts.
This pic is cropped like the previous.
First pic is DPP converted and I cranked up the sharpness to 9.
Second is straight out of the camera.

RAW
Squirrel 5 by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

JPEG

Squirrel 7 by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

EDIT: this one is sharpened to 4, 1 over the default sharpening.
Looking at all the results I do not think I would go any more than that with DPP

Squirrel Sharpened to 4 by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

[jamsus]

I didn't have the 7DMkII, and i'm not interested but i can say that image quality is pretty about 70D (and it is a compliment, not a criticism) and the high ISO quality maybe like a 70D or a 1\3 stop better in some situations, but what really rocks on this camera (i tried it by a photographer friend) are the other functions of the camera...

[Kayaker72]

Jpg right out of the camera are doing pretty well on sharpness. And if those are 100% crops, that is a very good amount of detail.

I am sure you are still getting used to it. Are you liking it? Is it going to replace the 1DIV in your lineup or is it destined to be a gift for your brother?

[HDNitehawk]

It has all the features but my first perception is that it handled the 500mm AF similar to the 7D original. That could be a deal breaker.

Pictures out of the camera so far are finished out, no or little headroom. That is similar to the 1D IV.
I like the colors out of the camera, in DPP so far everything I have done feels destructive. I wish LR would get in gear and do an update.

This is the weekend that I decide if it has a place in the bag. Trail cameras at my place have picked up an 11 point buck visiting the feeders. Only archery season is open so there will not be a half dozen grandkids and kids hunting. I will have the place to myself. The rut has started and maybe I will get lucky.

[Sean Setters]

I used the 7D Mark II to photograph a college basketball game last night. I was blown away with how well it nailed focus. And 10 fps made capturing optimal, fleeting moments all the easier. Auto ISO performed relatively well, too.

There are a few things about the camera that I'm not happy about, but most of those have to do with movie recording. There are a few limitations I wasn't aware of until yesterday. I'm making a list for Bryan to include in his review.

But overall, I was really happy with how the camera performed. I'm hoping to photograph a college football game on Saturday (already have my media pass - but I can't stay for the whole thing).

[DavidEccleston]

re: movie recording pet peeve... why is Movie Servo AF enable/disable not in the movie mode's quick options? Or, if it has to remain in the menu, it should have a third option to enable only for STM lenses.

[HDNitehawk]

All pics and comparisons are direct out of the camera JPG's.

No big boy tonight bud did get a a 6 point;

1/1000 f/4.5 ISO 1200

CQ2A0882 by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

Dusk Does, testing the ISO out on them. Maybe not to bad for a small pic on the computer but it wouldn't hold up;
1/60 F/4.0 ISO 6400

CQ2A0915 by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

I did several field resolution comparisons, couldn't figure out how to do a close up 10x in live view so I made do. These are typical. Top is 1D IV about a 100% crop. Bottom is the 7D II taken with a mid morning sun at the same settings. 1/1000 F/5.6 ISO400

1D IV II by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

7D II II by hdnitehawk01, on Flickr

These crops were typical of the results. The 7D II is slightly better than the 1D IV cropped any improvement would be fractional. I can improve the 1D IV in PP, so I still reserve my final opinion until LR gets up to date.

The opinion I am starting to lean toward is that the 7D II is definitely a great camera for someone who doesn't PP. Out of the camera pics are great.

I couldn't figure out how to do a 10x Zoom in live view. I read up on the 5D III and 1D x and couldn't find similar settings. I even downloaded the book and read it in the blind. If any one knows let me know.

[HDNitehawk]

One other note; the 7D II is metering about 1/3 to 2/3 stops darker than the 1D IV on equal settings. I experimented with this tonight and it was consistent in various situations. Anyone else notice this?