Update August 2, 2011: There is now a petition to gather signatures for all those who feel affected by a 7D focusing issue: Sign Petition
It has been a little over a year since I had posted some research notes on how to reset the Canon 7D camera. (That article is found here: Answer: Fixing Canon 7D Focus Issue).
Since that time, I had to send my own personal 7D in 4 times and on the 4th, I was delighted to receive a refurbished unit. Refurbished was the best they could do for me, an amateur, I’m hoping a professional would get better options 
Is the 7D ‘fixed’ through all the troubles I had? Yes.
Was it worth the 4 trips to Canon Service? No.
Does my refurbished unit have any other issues? Yes. Silent shutter modes do not work (live view or not) and the ‘depth-of-field’ preview button is broken. And, to add insult to injury, the camera is completely out of warranty now 
I’m writing this article as a follow up to answer the question:
Is the Canon 7D camera a lemon?
I think it is, and this is why:
A typical owner will first reach out to friends for help, if not friends, then maybe a popular photo forum and more often than not, they will simply use Google.com. Who doesn’t?
If you go to Google.com and enter in any number of key words like “canon 7D focus problems”. Chances are you ended up on my post.
If the content of that article doesn’t help you fix the focus issues of your 7D, then you are only left with sending it in for service. And after 1 1/2 years of Canon receiving 7D units for service, you would think that the problems would just go away? Canon should have found what ever issues were causing the problem in the camera or it’s sub-systems, fixed them and delivered a product that doesn’t cause the issue. Right?
Well, take a curious look at the graph below from my analytics package. The post has been in the top 10 results for more than a year, so the amount of traffic is a good representative of how many people are looking for answers to their 7D issues. Here we are 1 1/2 years from release and people are still looking for an answer. People are still buying the product and having issues!
This is the trend of visits for people looking for 7D Focus help.
Why won’t people STOP visiting my site? Seriously, I would rather have just my friends/family here for their daily dose of Andrew (my son) photos and not because they are having equipment issues. I’ve been there, it sucks.
Canon, make it go away! And why can’t a refurbished camera have a 1 year warranty too! Damn it.
The 7D is not a lemon…. YOU are the lemon trying to convince people about this with a ridiculous graph os number of times your page has been viewed. This does not mean people are having issues with their 7D, what it means is that people are curios like me that such a great camera is being threatened by people like you.
Go get something better to do, the Canon 7D is an outstanding machine and does not have consistent focusing issues like your pretend people to believe.
So, I'm confused. What is your argument to support your point of view?
I was asked this question many times, I'm answering it with my own experiences that are built with many discussions with Canon service reps along with what little data I have available. If Canon would be so kind to release data that we all could data mine for figures like 'number of repairs made' and 'issue repaired' on each model of camera they released, boy, that sure would be nice wouldn't it?
But they don't.
They certainly wouldn't want that info out in the public. So, I write this to share my point of view based on what little evidence and data I have. I make no threats, I make no assumptions, I say nothing to the degree of hating or otherwise implying I don't like my camera. I certainly didn't like the experience I had though!
Oh, and please don't forget the simple fact that Canon FIXED the issue. Would they spend the money for 4 repairs if they didn't see the problem? Wouldn't that be odd, to just keep sending me shipping labels at their expense (there and back) 4 times, give me a loaner even. All because they didn't think there was a problem with the camera? To soothe me over?
The difference between you and me is this:
I'm trying to help.
What can you offer to help people understand your point of view? Stating you are curious because people "like me" are threatening a camera. I can't think of any time in my 30 year history of photography that a camera model has had so much going for it but at the same time SEEMS to have such serious issues.
7D is definitelly a lemon! Here is my experience with it.
First body got error 40 on each session, after which, i had to remove battery each time to reset it. Second body: flash didn’t pop up in 50% cases, had to replace it.
Third body, was already 3 times in service for exact AF issue which described on this blog. And now I still thinking what to do with this garbage, which did cost me in total 4-5000$ and almost year wasted on testing and figuring out what is going on whith this camera. I got 4year of extended warranty on camera, but to my surprize, by testing all camera in store, I found actually all of them has this issue out of the box, may be not as extreme as in my specific item, but still same pattern: Manual focus is perfect, life view focus is perfect, single point is ok on new cameras( in my case 1 of the 5 shots is ok and 4 is soft focus), 19 point focus is soft on ALL NEW OUT OF THE BOX CAMERAS!!! I would say just soft, because I cant do a complete test in the store. But I would say that on my item it is terrible, basically focus just doesn’t work, period. I am really happy and jeleous to Jose Luis Garza that his camera is fine, and I would like to love my 7D, besause specs and features packed in it just amazing, but it just doesn’t work! And I am sure Canon knows the issue and just in deniel. I did receive my camera with the note that it was testet and it is withing specification. I requested specification from Canon, they send me back, that is is secret. of couse it should be secret, it is most convinient for them. I encorage you do do a simple test( if you just got the camera or planning to buy it) find a wall with contrast objects on it, like bright picture with details or something similar, just something which shouldn’t had any focusing issue and would be same distance from camera, set max apperture I did 1.4, set 19point AF, shot it from 10m. set in manual focus, shot it, then compare. In my case camera found multi focus points(all points same distance from camera) but my camera front focusing 5m. I did compare other cameras in same environment Nikon D7000 no issue and even Canon 60D was soft but aceptable. I am surpriced that there are no class action against canon yet, cause I did read people complain about same issue in 7D in forums. May be we should start one!
In addition, I did send pictures(a lot of them, to demonstrate focus issue, all photografers, and salespeople in store, 100 agree on issue) when camera was second time in service, and another bunch of pictures when it was third time in service, still no responce on actual issue and no even explanation from Canon!
Update on my case. Send my camera to service 5th time i guess (I lost count) with 17-55mm 2.8 lens and miracle happened. They did something and it works fine with that particular lens now, ok not 100% and not in all modes 19point still sucks, but I can feel 19point actually litle better then before. But the most important at least I can use one point AF with my favorite lens with 80%keepers and sometimes pretty sharp pictures. other lens Canon 50mm 1.4 still sucks, microadjustment doesnt help. (probably would need to send it again with that lens, or all canon lenses)The most interesting that all previose services they kept camera for 10 days, this time they kept it for 20days and didn’t say that they replace or fix anything, just comprehensive hole testing, and cleaning as usuall.
goodness, was not expecting a user to make that comment. Micheal, may I say your article has been the most helpful in a long several month search to find and get to the bottom of a real issue with the 7D. Thank you for providing me and us with all this data.
The 7D is a lemon and a lime and any other metaphor you can think up to describe a piece of equipment that has never lived up to its hype and is totally lacking in dependability. I love the feel of this camera but functionally it is very near worthless for a professional still photographer. The only reason I have kept mine is because it does function well for video. Sadly, the ancient focusing system of the 5D Mark II is much more accurate than that of the 7D. So much so that I have actually begun using it for sports action despite the 5D's lack of burst speed. Canon should go through all necessary extremes in testing their successor to the 7D and make sure that they have solved these focus and noise problems. If I have these types of problems with another Canon camera I may very well be looking at a new system despite my heavy investment in Canon equipment. Oh, and the article from Michael was most excellent.
Actually, I've very troubling problems on the HD video end. It says its recording but then you get an "ERR 2" and the five minute take you just finished is not readable. It happens with lots of different SANdisks, so it's not the cards either.
Riley,
The "ERR 2" issue has been addressed in the latest 7D firmware update, v1.2.5, which was released in late April 2011. For more info and the official download, go to this page: http://www.canon.co.uk/Support/Consumer_Products/…
Also don't forget that the limit for a video clip is around 5 minutes, better to end before the limit. I'm sure you know this, but just want to emphasis, there is a tendency to overheat while shooting video….
Actually I didn't know a video clip is limited to 5 minutes. I think we've had quite a few 20 minute takes. How would a wedding videographer use the camera? I just installed the firmware upgrade and I'll be testing this week. When I described the problem to Canon USA they said to take it in.
Sorry, I made a mistake, I got mixed up. There is a 4GIG file size limit which works out to around 12 minutes of recording time. These are stated via the 7D manual. Last I researched (last year) the word going around was the more video you do, the more the internals heat up. The more heat, the less time you can record as it will start to 'error code' and shut down for overheating.
Food for thought: Canon has always taken the stand point that the camera's video option was first developed for photo journalists in the field and not for cinema, family or wedding videos. That has been their stance on all the 'negative' feedback on 'lack of abilities' (like mono audio for instance).
I also read an article that stated Canon was 'blow away' by the amount of interest from the 'cinema' industry, they said they truly never expected the interest to go past photo-journalists (in regards to video on camera).
My 2 cents, but I believe they would be working on better options (stereo, gain control, recording length, etc) for future product releases… As for competition, Nikon's new D3100 allows constant focus for shooting video (although reports say the video is much more grainy because of this).
We are definitely on the film/media end. Our pilot episode comes out the end of June. http://www.colonybay.net for the trailer. It was shot mostly on the 7d 5d and the Sony EX1.
I wonder if a work around would be to swap cards every 3 takes? The strange thing is, for us, it didn't really happen until about 3 months of ownership. We had lots of long, reliable, data-safe takes early on in its use.
Riley,
Michael's info regarding overheating is correct, and common knowledge in the "indie" and "art" film world regarding use of dSLRs for video. The 5D, for example, cuts off after about 15minutes of constant shooting. Continuously shooting 15minute clips, back to back, without letting the camera properly cool, can cause permanent damage to the sensor (which is sensitive to overheating).
A dSLR should not be considered as a replacement for a full-blown HD video camera – and Canon stands by this argument. A dSLR can work in certain situations, but it is best suited for planned takes, such as in film and television productions, where breaks in action can allow for proper sensor cooling. Even then, having a 2nd and 3rd body on hand to swap out is good practice to allow for a proper cool down cycle. Constant video, like that found in family/wedding videography is definitely not a place for a dSLR.
A damaged sensor from over heating is a very bad thing, and may not be covered by the manufacturer warranty.
Kind of like the focus system. The fixes have it working fine, but then after a few weeks goes back to the same issues (my experience along with many others).
This sounds like up your ally: http://notesonvideo.blogspot.com/2009/10/canon-7d…
This is interesting. I have no problem with focusing with 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, 24-105mm, 17-40mm, etc. None whatsoever.
Now, I have a serious problem with this copy of 24mm f/1.4. It’s a gross, H-U-G-E front focus error. Everything focuses way in front of the object at the AF sensor. Center AF, single point, nothing helped. Camera hard reset, firmware flash, hard reset again. Didn’t change a thing. So, you think this is a lens problem, right?
Take this copy of 24mm f/1.4 and put it on a 5D. You know what? The AF works perfectly. Precisely. No consistent error.
You might guess there might be something wrong with the lens mount contacts. Nope. Checked, cleaned just in case, and tried again.
Contacted Canon service in NJ. They didn’t have any info to offer, other than send them all in for check up. Yeah, I use these equipment for business every day. So I had to return 24mm and be done with this thing.
However, this issue made me very nervous to buy any large aperture wide angle lens in the future. I want a 35mm f/1.4L II when it gets released soon, but what if it doesn’t work perfectly with 7D? This makes me think I should get rid of all my Canon gear and move on to Pentax 645D.
I have been saving money to buy this unit. I was a D90 NIkon User but have been dreaming of buying this 7D. I believe 7d is the best upgrade option. I am troubled with this fousing issues i read on different sites,posted way back 2009. Can anyone advice me please if I should still buy 7D. I dont want to waste my money, especially that Im not rich. So please help. Shall i buy the 7d or better the nikon D7000. Please help… I just wish CANON has a firmware fix for this..
Two thoughts, one is you could rent a 7D and a lens and see first hand if it what you really want. Second, I would think that a new version would be out sometime in 2012, so maybe waiting would be best.
If you do buy, be sure to work with a retailer that will allow exchanges if the unit turns out bad. And in that 30 day period with exchanges, test test test test!
I never used Nikon and can’t give an informed opinion on which route to go…..
I got my 7D in June 2009, it’s already out of warranty, but it’s gone back to Canon 3 times, so it’s still under repair warranty. I’m so sick of it now, I haven’t actually tested it yet since I got it back a couple of weeks ago for the 3rd time. Do not buy a 7D, it’s the worst piece of sh*t I’ve ever purchased. I think I’m switching to Nikon though I have already spent thousands in Canon gear.
Christopher, I would say NO! Don’t risk your money on the 7D; I have had problems with mine since I bought it back in October of 2009. The original was in for servicing 5 times I then received a refurbished camera from Canon which went in for servicing 3 times both cameras were in for out of focus issues and metering issues, I then contacted Rick Berk at the corporate office in Lake Success NY he sent me a loaner 7D that worked good but I couldn’t keep that, he sent me another camera after finding major issues with the one I sent in and again the new camera has the same issues it’s been in for servicing twice and they have had it since March 24 2011, I actually feel better not having the 7D in my camera bag and am now using my Nikon equipment and have been using my film cameras lately, it is junk. I will sign any lemon petition and Jose Luis Garza just because your 7D may work does not mean they all do or could it be you just don’t know what a good camera is?
If AF is a problem, why not just switch to manual?
Chris, you can do that if you want to but the camera isn’t being sold as a manual focus camera in fact Canon is pushing their all new 19 point AF system as one of the reasons to buy the 7D. If I would want to shoot in Manual focus all the time I would use my Minolta XD-11 but that’s not the point the camera is an auto focus camera and you should be able to use it that way and trust that it will work when you use it, it would be like saying the camera has a full automatic mode so why not just use that instead of Program, Shutter, Aperture, Manual or Bulb mode or any of the custom user settings, you use them because they are there and if they are there they should work.
Thanks for this info. I am saving for a new DSLR anf the choices are down to D7000, Canon 7D, and whatever new replacement for D300 comes out by Nikon Aug 24.
I am not tied to any system, have to buy lenses so can choose freely.
Just a few days ago I saw Canon’s list of lenses and decided that it was a good alternate to the Nikon, particularly as the 7D is a solid & sealed body like I want, but D7000 is partly plastic, in front.
Well, after reading about these problems above, I guess I’ll stick to Nikon, either D7000 or the Aug 24 issue.
Thanks for the warning.
Should I buy one 7D to replace my T3i? Nope!!! After reading a lot of reviews and messages about 7D’s AF issue, I wrote to Canon’s customer service. I explained my purchase intention and mentioned all Google’s material about the AF problem. To my surprise and disappointment, I got a very simple answer (from Michael): “7D’s AF is new and great”. Period.
As an owner of a Canon product and as a marketing professional, I just wonder why Canon has not stepped up to solve this AF problem or to say that there’s nothing wrong with it.
I have the 7D since the last year. It has problems focusing at wide with any lens. Confirms focus, but potprocess i notice a lot of oof pictures. I have tested it many times on tripod, with center focus point on some black lines on white surface. Took also some photos with autofocus in live mode as a reference. Last week i have tested my lens on another 7D and it was PERFECT. Each shoot is perfect in focus.
Now my camera is at Canon for service.
Problem solved! 7D’s AF is new and great
Glad to hear that!
The 7d is a lemon and canon has been struggling with focus issues for some time now. Professional photographers all remember the 1D Mark III debacle where there was a “sub mirror fix”. There are those who, for whatever reason, (as though they are being paid by canon) are quick to attribute the units shortcomings to USER ERROR. Granted photography in itself can be tricky given the lighting conditions, controlled tests however should and HAS confirmed that the AF is indeed faulty.
In my case was NO USER ERROR. My 7D had focus prolbems. Now is PERFECT.
Yes i too have just brought a new 7d . I have been shotting birds with a 5dm2 but wanted to get a little closer using the 7d’s cropped senser. Been using a 100-400 lens but on the 7d it is dreadful.. noisey, muddy out of focus results . Spent a week reading forums ,tips , trying all the adjustment and the reset number and still can’t seem to get any decent results..there is undoubtly a percentage of these cameras that are faulty . I posted mine back to where it came from today and have been thankfully offered a full refund. i might take a chance on another one further on down the track as i think they would be a pretty slick camera if working properly .
Mark, Have you elected to replace your 7d? It sounds like you shoot similar subject matter to me. I’m in the warranty period and can easily switch back to my Nikon. Just want to know if it’s worth it to try a 2nd 7d… Thanks!
Well I will add my 2cents to this convo as well. I upgraded from the 40D to the 7D and have been truly disappointed by the lack of sharpness in my photos. Thought at first it was me due to the low light in some photos but even in bright sunlight where I can’t be ‘unfocused’ when taking a picture I’m still disappointed. I thought maybe it was my lens 24-105 l Lens because other photographers keep telling me that lens has a soft focus issue , but I’ve seen tested the lens on my 40d and the focus is sharper. I believe it’s the 7D which is truly disappointing. The 7D in my case does not give me clear, sharp pictures, the 40D does a better job. I too have errors coming up at times on my camera though unsure why, I pull out the battery, memory card , reload them and it’s fine for a bit. I personally would not recommend anyone upgrading to the 7D from the 40D. Thank god I kept the 40 !
My 7D is till at Canon. With 5 prior trips to their local office (Irvine), this is the 6th times and the camera has been in New york since November! They did confirm that the camera has a problem and may give me a new replacement, but has not yet made a final decision. I have to call them daily, they never called back. I think this camera is a lemon and will avoid Canon like plague.
Eeekkkk.. I’ve only just read these forums AFTER purchasing my 7d for Xmas! So far I can’t really tell if its the camera or me (still learning). Some of my pictures are sharp as but some are a bit blurry (moving baby is hard to capture inside a house that is not so bright).
I’ll have to test later today and confirm.
I’m starting to think the 7D is a lemon. Prior to purchasing this camera I owned and still own a 30D and a 5D. Never had any problems with both those cameras. The 7D was suppose to be the camera of my dreams. Rugged, fast, weather sealed, improved AF etc. but it turned out to be much less than a dream, closer to a nightmare. Out of the box the camera semmed to work fine. I took it through the stages and could not find any issues.
Until I started using flash and strobes. That’s when I noticed that the battery(LP-E6) was depleting very quickly. I was getting maybe 150 shots per charge while the manual said I should get at least 500 shots per charge with flash. This was much worse than my 30D and 5D. So I sent the camera in while it was still under warranty. I sent the camera in on wednesday an got it back on Friday. Canon said they could not find anything wrong with it, so all they did was to upgrade the software and perform some minor changes and cleaning.
Again I tried to use flash and strobes, but when I did, I would get no more than 200 shots per charge this time. A little better but kind of weak considering all the hoopla about this camera. My colleagues with the 5D II and Rebel cameras were running rings around my 7D.
A few weeks ago I started getting an Error 30 and the camera would freeze up. I followed the instructions and removed then reinserted the battery. That worked for a while but the problem increased to the point where I was getting 10 Error 30′s per day. This was unnaceptable, so I called Canon again and they told me to try a new battery. After purchasing a new battery everything seemed fine, until I started using flash, that’s when I began getting an error 40 on top of the err 30.
I got 2 of these with the last one shutting down my camera for good. The camera is on it’s way to the canon repair facility with 3 issues err 30 , err 40 and Quick depletion of the battery. I’m sure these are all related but unfortunately my warranty has run out and I need this camera to do my job.
There is def a problem with the 7D. I took to canon to check focusing. I shoot lots of stage shows and portraits/fashion. I was getting really angry that all my shots were coming out soft. (not Blurry) I decided to take it to canon for a check up, $209 later they tell me the focusing Mechanism was off/not working properly. I take to a wedding I was shooting in SF January 15 and guess what my images are soft even in plain daylight. I really want to throw this camera against the wall. It just plain sucks. I’ve been a working professional for the past 15years and let me tell you is not user error! My old 50d out performs this camera in low light and focusing speed/accuracy. I just called canon again to complain and they will email me with a shipping label to have it sent back again. (less than a month later)
overall really disappointing! I feel cheated/robbed. Paid $$$ for equipment to have images soft. I guess time dust up my old F3 or my 6×7 and scan film again.
fuck!!!
Will post here when I have update on repair status and any more performance issues.
S
I use this with-
50mm
85mm
24-70
70-200
20mm
Purchased camera in September 2009. Focus problems from start. The dealer was absolutely no help. Camera to California, not fixed. Camera to New Jersey, not fixed. Test photos to New Jersey – was told photos were fine and it was all in my head when you could see very plainly they were out of focus. Strange thing tho – a couple of months later a brand new battery shows up from New Jersey. I just gave up. Canon has shot themselves in the foot on this one and from reading forums all over the place, wonder how many camera sales they have lost to their competitors. Too bad too.
I still have the focus problems. On the last shooting i used only live view focus mode for good focus. But the fast (and precise
) AF is not reliable.
Just wanted to say that I was only looking into buying the 7D because I don’t want to shell out the money for the 5D, and when I looked at video clips online (I plan to use it for film), each of the films I watched was barely in focus. It would be in focus for about 2 seconds if the subject was completely still, and then completely blurry again. That’s what prompted me to look up if the 7D had focusing issues. You don’t even have to read this to be convinced-just go look up some footage on Youtube and you will see! Now I’m not sure what to do…
Even if you consider it wasn’t for artistic effect, I have to humbly disagree with you on this. With any current DSLR camera, there is no auto-focus mechanism. So the going in and out of focus is purely at fault of the camera operator. You will see this time and time again because an aspiring film maker has all of a sudden been given a very low cost mechanism (camera and lenses) to shoot at very low aperture which makes for VERY thin depth of field.
This was never an issue with a standard video camera as it will auto-focus.
Another often forgotten part of working with pull focus systems is that both the camera operator AND actor/person need to work together. If you are great at pull focus but the person you are ‘shooting’ doesn’t understand it, you have problems. Meaning that an actor’s movements need to be constrained to the range of the depth of field.
Ever notice the stage markings at a studio, you notice them more on the old sets of Johnny Carson. Actors knew that they needed to walk to that mark and not move from it. That is how the camera operators and lighting people kept everything working well.
This is a large subject to cover, and I’m trying to nutshell it. What it boils down to is this:
If you think buying a DSLR is going to save you money or make you a better videographer (aka, instead of buying that 1,000 handy cam video camera), you really need to research and think about it hard. It is a whole new ballgame! And if you intend on shooting kids with video on a DSLR….good luck! They move way to much for you to ever get anything in focus outside of setting your aperture to 16 on a bright sunny day….and guess what! You then need to learn about shutter speed in relation to frames per second….and the list goes on and on and on and on…..
…and I want to add also that the blurriness was not for the sake of artistic or dramatic effect.
The problem manifests only when you’re not focusing with the cmos sensor. In the movie mode camera focuses with cmos and is very precise but slow.
Just to clarify though, once you start recording you can no longer (auto) focus. Right?
I’ve had my 7D since Christmas of 2010 and suddenly there’s a problem with the pop-up flash not working. Sent the unit into the support center to be told that is was a couple of days beyond a two month, warranty grace period. The code ’05′ comes up and suggests turning the unit off. Did not correct the problem. Then by taking the battery out for about ten minutes corrected the problem. The situation re-occurred a month later, repeated the corrective action. Finally it happened and no correction occurred. Canon is telling me I have to pay $247 to correct their problem. Has anyone else experienced this situation?
Ron,
not sure if you got the problem rectified but the hot-shoe contacts for some strange reason gets depressed, probably from a speedlight being attached to it. This causes the camera to think that there is a speedlight still on the unit which results in the pop-up flash not being able to open. Here is a link to the problem with the possible fix.
http://photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00Vcs8
This camera has a lot of issues other than the pop-up flash.
i also got the lemon 7d .
inconsistant af , back/front focusing . i guess most users dont even know the problem exists because they use slow kit lens .
Lost total confidence with the 7D. Just checked firmware upgrades last week, and installed 1.2.5. from 1.2.2. Now all my cards are unreadable, including Lexar pro 600X (2 off), Sandisk Extreme 3 and a Kingston 133X. all 8Gig. Reformatted on imac, tried reformat on PC. Camera says change card or reformat, then it wont reformat the card and tells me to change it.
Now unusable 7D.
All cards work in my Sisters Canon 40D perfectly!!!!! COME ON CANON – Not good enough for a £1200 body!!!! Neither is the 5 day response to complaints.
Just got a refurbished 7D from Canon, and nervously tested the AF this morning. Still subjects focus marvelously and look incredibly crisp. I used a US dollar bill to test, and at 100% crop I can see the little printer errors from the US mint and the grains on the bill itself very clearly.
While searching around the web about this before mine came, the trend seems to be that refurb models don’t exhibit the problem as much? I got this at $1087 US through the Canon Loyalty program – maybe prospective buyers should try the same? They have a 14 day return policy so you can try it out and return it if the model exhibits the problem.
I hope to test the AI servo in more detail soon.
Well !!!!
I’m about to upgrade my elderly 30D. As I can’t justify, interms of cost, the new 5D MkIII I was considering the 7D. Now I’m not so sure. Perhaps I’ll play safe and go for a 5D MkII instead. I’ve always admired that model.
I’ve had my 7D for a year now and it’s a LEMON. I sent in my 17-55MM lens to canon as it’s so soft. My 50 1.8 is sharper and it’s a cheap lens but so many shots just do not come come out at all.
I say the 7D has both both focus and exposure issues. I’m sending in my 7d now but don’t expect much from Canon as other have had to send in their 7D’s 3-4 times and they still don’t work.
What a piece of garbage.
I wonder how and or when someone starts a class action. With all the lenses, filters, and other stuff… Canon has taken loyal customers to the cleaners.
Canon should replace the focus and exposure guts of the 7D for free for EVERY 7D owner. They know there are issues, yet they do nothing but send back broken equipment? Is there no consumer protection?
Well if even the in camera tool “moire fringing” isn’t fixing Canon’s 7D soft focus issue (they actually can’t work it out themselves) something is obviously the matter.
I am to buy a 7D as a 500D upgrade but now doubt that seriously by reading about it this issue all over the web.
The 7D most certainly has issues. Mine worked great for about 3 months and I took some really good photos with it. The features on this body simply rock such as the levels that are both available in the viewfinder and live view screen, the fact that you can customize the crap out of it etc. Once portrait season started to kick in and my primes started to come back out of the closet, soft OOF photos issues started coming up when shooting wide open (1.4-2.8). I started to send in some lenses to Canon to have this fixed but they always came back saying nothing was wrong. The soft OOF photos were getting worse on my end and my frustration level spiked since Canon was not really communicating with me the way it should have. Not being able to get an answer from Canon, I began to post angry messages on their Facebook page and would always get a reply back from someone at Canon Facebook. After many more days of frustration, I was assigned a person at the highest Customer Service support that Canon has. There is a lot of detail that is being left out here but I am frankly tired of writing about it, tired of Canon, the 7D and what this company considers Customer Service. I will include a portion of the e-mails here and if you have time to read them you will note the lack of replies from Joy on certain issues (more ignoring) and you may also find her tone changing as the emails went on. My 7D most certainly has an AF issue and now I have proof! Note that she admitted to the fact that the camera NOW takes sharp photos and that it was fixed.and yes, e-mails such as this will go a long way in getting me what I want later on:) I will get my camera and a few of my lenses back next week and I actually hope it won’t work so I can nail these bastards up against the wall:)
And being a CPS member means nothing to them…well, it shows you are deeply invested in Canon and they are sure you will stick around even if they make crap bodies.
OK, here you go. A small! portion of e-mails. Does anyone here consider a post it note from a billion $ company professional?
I removed my last name and CS number only, rest is the same. The emails are not in sequence but that is how gmail does it.
_______________________________________________________
Canon Customer Relations / Rudy [#380013]
Inbox
x
Canon Support CareCenter@cits.canon.com
Jun 6 (10 days ago)
to me
Dear Mr. xxxxxxx
Thanks for your communication. Let me respond in kind.
(1) The courtesy shipping label I sent is from our UPS account and will be our responsibility along with UPS should something happen with your equipment. Please use the label.
(2) An RN case number will not be created until the equipment is logged in at the facility. However, if it makes you more comfortable, feel free to go through the ‘Request a Repair’ process online. I believe it will provide you with a repair number towards the end.
(3) The Post-it note was intended to be a quick communication on what items you were to send in based on the conversation you had with Ron. I apologize if it was still unclear to you. When we spoke of you being contacted between 11 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. it was about a callback from a Technical Support Rep, fortunately, I was able to get someone to call the same day.
(4) Thank you for letting me know you won’t be sending in the 50mm 1.4.
(5) I will inform the manager who I will be conferring with about your equipment know that the card in the camera will have RAW images available for review.
(6) Communicating via email is fine with me. However, please feel free to call me if you change your mind.
(7) I will be sending information over to a manager at the facility who will provide information in regard to the evaluation of your equipment before sending it back. We will determine the best course of action at that time.
(8) I’m not sure what you’re referring to in regard to “unreasonable expectations” but I certainly will maintain honest communication with you throughout this process.
Mr. xxxxxxxx, please let me know when you plan to ship your items so that I can make sure that my contact at the facility knows when the items are on the way. If you create a repair number online then it would be helpful if you can provide that to me along with your CPS number. I look forward to providing a resolution in this matter. Have a good day sir!
Regards,
Joy
Executive Response Representative
Canon Customer Relations
Re: Canon Customer Relations / Rudy [#369681]
Joy,
received a shipping label today with a Post-it note. There are several things that need to be addressed;
(1) the shipping label does not cover the value of gear I am to send in.
(2) I would appreciate a case number, RN (etc) to be created so there is some documented proof of what I am to send in.(so accessories, serial number, quantity etc. can be written down) Something similar to what can be found here http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer?pageKeyCode=requestRepair (the Post-it note does not cover it).
(3) it would have been nice to have been contacted today between 11-1245 as per our conversation Friday or to have received an e-mail letting me know what exactly was going on.The conversation with Ron left me with a good idea but a formal statement with clear communication would have been preferred (again, Post-it note does not cover it)
(4) I am not sending in the brand new 50mm f1.4 and will instead send it back to the vendor.
(5)Pictures taken with the 50mm f1.4 will be included instead, in RAW format and will be on the card in camera
(6)Would prefer all communication to follow be via e-mail so I don’t wait for phone calls.
(7)Will someone at Canon communicate with me once the 7D,50mm f1.8 and 85mm f1.8 have been looked at? I don’t want something “adjusted” where something needs to be replaced instead.
(8)Let me know if my requests above fall into the category of “unreasonable expectations”. I recall this being an issue during our phone call on Friday.
Sincerely (but still not blown away by Canon Customer Service or communication)
Rudy
Canon Support CareCenter@cits.canon.com
2:48 PM (21 hours ago)
to me
Dear Mr. Conrad,
Thank you for allowing me to assist you. I did receive an update today. The repair and calibration of your units are complete, the gear has been double checked and everything is performing properly. In regard to the images, they were found to be out of focus and the camera was evaluated extensively with both of your lenses and with our lenses. The camera is producing sharp images. Everything is going through a final quality check and we may be able to ship it out this afternoon. I will update you again when I know if the items can definitely be shipped today. Have a nice day!
Rudy Conrad
3:33 PM (20 hours ago)
to CareCenter
Joy,
while I appreciate your reply, it does lack specifics and I do realize that maybe because they did not give you this information. What was broken since a repair took place? If I bring my car to the shop for repair, under warranty, I am told what was wrong and what was done. Will this information be inlcuded in the box, via e-mail?
this was the e-mail saying they “repaired” it. Can’t wait to see how “sharp” the photos are next week.
I was about to replace my T3i with Canon’s 7D last year. After reading your comments I decided not to. Lucky me. I hope this note will be helpful. Even among top notch brands is not rare to find products with problems. Nobody is perfect! What can not be forginven is Canon´s reaction. The worst: it will not change unless something really impactful happens. Why don’t you unhappy customers get together and get important media’s attention? Or even better, do it AND find one government’s consumer-oriented agency that will force Canon to REPLACE all of your products? Of course you may try before doing it to show Canon what you all are about to do. Good luck guys. Let me know what happened before I definitely switch to Nikon.
My 7D came back from repair and I was told that it produced sharp photos. Only a few photos were sharp unless the live view screen was used. (Tripod was used, 1/1000 shutter at ISO 100) I tried ALL the AF functions except 19 point and none of them worked. I told Canon that I want a new 7D or credit towards a 5D Mark III! I also mentioned legal action…we all need to get together on this. This camera rocked for the first 4 months!…looks like a long road ahead:(
They informed me today that my camera was fixed and that if I disagree, they will need to continue to look into the problem to make sure I did not OVERLOOK anything. Guess shooting a tree from a tripod requires skill. That company just does not care about its customers:(
I visited your site because someone posted a link on a photography site saying that you had proof that the 7D has a systemic auto focus issue.
I HAVE HAD NOT ISSUES WITH MY 7D.
I come here and find your proof is that people, many like me have visited your site. Sorry, you had a lemon, mine isn’t, don’t consider my visit to your site, as more proof that the 7D has issues.
Did I say I had proof? Or, do I have my own opinion. I’m glad you have a camera that works, thanks for the note.
I am glad too. 7D is wonderful when it works. And there is never such a thing as proof. Only lots of data and evidence pointing in a specific direction and we can either accept it or not. Hi Michael, my 7D is going in again next week. The Senior Tech Support agent agreed that the AF system on my camera is still not working. There is a good chance I might beat your record in a few weeks. Next time you log into 500px, glance at a new “STORIES” entry I posted. Don’t read it all unless you are very bored but much will seem familiar to you as you skim through it. Again, thanks for creating this blog entry as it is one of the many ways those that have a faulty 7D can go to to be heard.
Michael,
I want to thank you for everything you’ve done so far. I was about to buy a 7D at the Future Shop Liquidation Center at a great price, 1100$. Thanks to you I just saved 1100$.
I’m now thinking of 60D or maybe NIKON…
Thanks, hang on for the 60D update (70D?) if you can… Canon really needs to improve the Apc sensor, maybe the 70D will have it?
Love the spike in late November 2010. It’s like 100 people all looked at their Thanksgiving pix and finally had enough of the OOF images and went Googling.
Of course the post might have just been linked on another page and that drove the traffic spike. The former possibility tickles me more. Oh, and boo, Canon.
I would like to share my experience with 20D from a few years back. Found out it was making some pictures soft/out of focus. I took extensive tests to check the problem. At first I couldn’t make any logic about the behavior, it was working correctly 40-60% of the time. It took me long enough to determine the true cause correctly, but I was persistent.
As it was out of the warranty (got it second-hand), I didn’t want to send it to Canon because they explained that their initial test, which are simple focus with their lenses in front of a graph or something, will cost an arm and a leg and if they don’t find the problem they will go to the second stage analysis, and so on… EVEN THOUGH I EXPLAINED THE EXACT PROBLEM… which was…
The AF sensor was horizontally DISPLACED. In the following tests I imagined the focus point being slightly to the side on the viewfinder, and all the photos came out crystal sharp. I realized that due to the size of the sensor’s area of sensitivity being significantly larger than the square on the viewfinder, and also the area itself actually being cross-shaped, my initial test were very inconsistent and it took a few days to find this very reason.
Once the sensor was moved to the correct place, everything worked just fine. I did it myself because Canon’s procedure apparently doesn’t recognize this as a potential problem without taking your money for the trivial tests.
Maybe some of the issues here are due to the same problem. The sensor is not that easy to move as screws are glued in. It is hard to even unscrew them without risk of damaging screws.
Hi Michael,
found this on the Nikon D800. if you read through the original post, you will find that Nikon mirrors the Canon 7D experience…to the Tee. And I would agree with your Canon 5D Mark III assessment…it does indeed deliver.
here is the link
http://mansurovs.com/anatomy-of-a-nikon-d800-fix?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mansurovs+%28The+Mansurovs+-+Photography%29
Yikes! Wonder how much of some folk’s issues deals around the increased megapixels. Once thing that comes to mind in my research was that the 7D sensor wasn’t rated that well due to Canon just packing more pixels into the same sensor design.
The same could be said with the D800. Specifically when you start cropping. Crop to much and you lose your definition which in turn could be seen as ‘soft focus’…
Interesting read though, sounds like they (D800 users) have a lot better chance of seeing a fix from Nikon
I’ve been a proud owner of the 7D since 2010, but to tell everyone to stay away from it is kinda harsh. Granted that you have had problems and others have had problems with the camera, but that doesn’t mean that they will. I still think the 7D is a pretty good camera with a solid foundation. I use 2 7D bodies when i go out to shoot and both have never failed me. But I do agree with the fact that if its an on going issue with half the camera bodies they Canon should do something about it.
It looks like nowadays it is difficult to find products or brands without some issues. But what distinguish good company from bad how they deal with those problems. Some good companies do recalls and proactively fix issues and some cheap companies trying to hide and deny. Apparently Canon is became second one! Have to stick with it for now, unfortunately.
I got one as soon as it came out. I thought that was a mistake. Now I have a feeling that the 7D came out with half cooked AF. The units that are working as they should are Great!
It is an awesome camera after all – if it works.
Let me say this first: The AF on the 7D is not as difficult to gasp as many would love to show. These are probably people with limited photography/tech background. It’s hard to believe that with a little effort a one can’t oversee the whole thing – including practicing – in hours. Especially if this is not the first slr/dslr you handle. Yet many want to idolize a piece of equipment while insulting users being unable to understand that just because of your car is working Joe’s can have a faulty part.
.
AFMA wasn’t new to me and I shoot a while ago. I think I was about 6 when I used my father’s Praktica and Zenit the 1st time
As many I immediately had AF and ISO issues. My 100ISO looked like 800/1600 should look like. First service trip acknowledged the issues and fixed the ISO problems but made the AF only barely better.. I sent it back again. When it came back it had an invoice explaining all the work on the AF assembly unit but I still had problems with it and MA didn’t help either.
I just had enough. At one point you have to make a decision. Does it worth the time, the money, the effort, the lost shoots.. ? For me it did not. So I sold it, got a 60D and couldn’t be happier. I got it for half price what I paid for the 7D and spent the rest on lenses. I still have my 5D2 for portraits and the 60D with its lcd paired with the 60mm EFS for macro and with the Sigma 8-16mm for wide is just awesome.
I received my camera back from Canon Newport News, VA this morning with this note from the technicians “your product has been examined abd it was found that thet adjustment if the AF assembly was incorrect and causing the focus to operate improperly and the circuit board had shorted causing an error to be displayed. Electrical adjustments were carried out on the AF assembly. The bottom board was replaced. Product functions were confirmed. Shutter count 20006.”
I am just going to test it thsi evening and selling the camera and my EFS 17-55 2.8 IS to help fund 5D MK 111. I hope to regain my mojo with the new camera!
I’m sorry you guys have had so many problems–the 7D is showing it’s age and a successor is due, but it’s still a terrific camera, IMHO. Yes, I’ve experienced the overheat problems on long video shoots, but you work with the limitations and deal with it. I have 2 7D’s (one bought new and one bought used) and I personally have never had focusing or error message problems–they have been solid workhorses for me–
Here again updating my 7D Issues.. Got RID OF IT. Never been Happy.
Canon wont Acknowledge that their is a problem with Focusing with 7D. I was so frustrated I thought about moving back to Nikon. Instead, I upgraded to full frame. I hear through forums that the 1DS MKIII also has focusing issues.
Looking back through my Lightroom Catalog you can clearly see the difference in my shoots (7D Era) It goes from nice crisp images to half ass/focus shots. Its so aggravating!
I would suggest just getting rid of your camera or upgrading. Don’t deal with the headache.
best of luck guys,
S
I have been a “Canon” person for over 30 years. I am no where near pro status, but I am not new to the hobby. As I’ve gotten older, I have had rely the auto focus, auto this, auto that. In the recent years I’ve moved from a 30D, to a 40D, now a 7D.
Because of focus issues, soft focus, inconsistant focus, I am going to buy a Nikon camera and 2) lenses and do my own comparison. I’m thinking I will have a 7D and some really nice lenses for sale.
hey Steve,
it took Canon a few times to fix my 7D but now it works. I still use it as a “backup” camera but will eventually need to part with it. If you decide to stay with canon, get the 5D MK III, you won’t regret it. It is simply the best.