What would be the R replacement for 7D MKII?

[Dragonspeed]

I have been shooting with the 7D MKII for quite a while now... I shoot mostly indoor judo and birds/wildlife (high fps)... I think it might be time to consider moving to an R body (yes I'd need an adapter for my current lenses)

My current lenses are the EF70-200 f/2.8 EF ;EF100-400MKI; EF24-105mm f/4L IS II USM and the EFSSigma 8-16mm

I would appreciate your opinions and insight.

 

[West Coast Birder]

I have been shooting with the 7D MKII for quite a while now... I shoot mostly indoor judo and birds/wildlife (high fps)... I think it might be time to consider moving to an R body (yes I'd need an adapter for my current lenses)

My current lenses are the EF70-200 f/2.8 EF ;EF100-400MKI; EF24-105mm f/4L IS II USM and the EFSSigma 8-16mm

I would appreciate your opinions and insight.

I went from the 7D Mark II to the R7. With the R7, you gain AF improvements (eye detect, automobile detect, etc.) while the body isn't quite the tank that the 7D Mark II is. I have found it to be a more than adequate replacement for my needs, as I am not a pro and having the robust body of the 7D Mark II is nice but not essential to me. There have been rumors of an R7 Mark II coming out later this year, but this rumor has been active for a while, so who knows when/if it will actually show up.

 

[Dragonspeed]

I went from the 7D Mark II to the R7. With the R7, you gain AF improvements (eye detect, automobile detect, etc.) while the body isn't quite the tank that the 7D Mark II is. I have found it to be a more than adequate replacement for my needs, as I am not a pro and having the robust body of the 7D Mark II is nice but not essential to me. There have been rumors of an R7 Mark II coming out later this year, but this rumor has been active for a while, so who knows when/if it will actually show up.

When you say "robust body" - do you find that the R7 body seems (or is) more delicate? I am not particularly kind to cameras. (I don't go out of my way to harm them but....)

 

[West Coast Birder]

When you say "robust body" - do you find that the R7 body seems (or is) more delicate? I am not particularly kind to cameras. (I don't go out of my way to harm them but....)

It's fine. I think the body robustness thing is overblown. It doesn't have the magnesium alloy body or whatever that the 5D and 7D series have. But is is just fine. I don't think you should worry too much about it. I have not heard of any issues from anyone regarding the body robustness. The only issue I have heard is that it has a significant rolling shutter effect, but I don't shoot a lot of action, sports, etc. and it has never bothered me.

 

[flowrider]

It's also missing the info top LCD panel.

Lou

 

[Anton Largiader]

If you want to stick with APS-C the R7 is it. If you're shooting fast action, you'll want to use mechanical shutter which is louder/harsher than the shutter on the 7D2. But it's fast. AF is good, but there are a lot of possible settings and you need to learn how to make the best use of the various AF areas and so forth. The 7D2 has some of that but the R7 adds tracking... which is really crazy and fun.

The R7 is small. Good and/or bad, depending on you. I like its smallness when I'm being a tourist. With a small RF lens it will practically fit into a pocket.

My R7 DOES NOT like my EF300/2.8. I don't know what it is. Images are always soft. It rocks with the EF70-200/2.8ii though.

 

[Dragonspeed]

It's also missing the info top LCD panel.

Lou

Oh. That's all jammed into some screen now?

 

[Dragonspeed]

If you want to stick with APS-C the R7 is it. If you're shooting fast action, you'll want to use mechanical shutter which is louder/harsher than the shutter on the 7D2. But it's fast. AF is good, but there are a lot of possible settings and you need to learn how to make the best use of the various AF areas and so forth. The 7D2 has some of that but the R7 adds tracking... which is really crazy and fun.

The R7 is small. Good and/or bad, depending on you. I like its smallness when I'm being a tourist. With a small RF lens it will practically fit into a pocket.

My R7 DOES NOT like my EF300/2.8. I don't know what it is. Images are always soft. It rocks with the EF70-200/2.8ii though.

That's one of my concerns...the smallness. I am not a small person. The 7DII has a bit of heft to it. It "self-stabilizes" with its weight in my hands.

I think the mechanical shutter will be fine, unless it sounds like a gunshot. The fps will still be very good. I am excited about the AF capabilities, for sure... Could be a game changer.

 

[Anton Largiader]

I really liked my 7D2. It felt great in my hands, too. Good images. Soft shutter sound. I sold it to a student when I figured I was destined to get an R3, which in turn is of course an absolutely amazing camera. The R7 gets a lot less use these days, but I do sometimes carry it as a second body or put it on a tripod for video while I'm shooting stills with the R3.

 

[Lester Wareham]

I have been shooting with the 7D MKII for quite a while now... I shoot mostly indoor judo and birds/wildlife (high fps)... I think it might be time to consider moving to an R body (yes I'd need an adapter for my current lenses)

My current lenses are the EF70-200 f/2.8 EF ;EF100-400MKI; EF24-105mm f/4L IS II USM and the EFSSigma 8-16mm

I would appreciate your opinions and insight.

I went 7DII to R7 also.

The R7 is the obvious choice, big improvement in AF, frame rate, ISO modest improvement, viewfinder histogram option etc.

The pre-buffer works but I have only used it a few times; only issue with this is keeping the shutter button depressed waiting for action is hard on the arthritic hands!

I am using the 100-500 for birds, often with the R1.4x. Backwards comparability with EF lenses is good to excellent.

I liked the R experience so much I also switched the D6 for the R6II.

The different way the AF works can take some mental adjustment but is 90% of the time faultless with subject and eye detect.

Down side is some rolling shutter on electronic shutter. I find the issue small enough to use ES rather than first curtain and keep the shutter life high.

I use the EF24-105mm f/4L IS II USM mostly on my R6II but tests showed it was fine on the R7 too.

I can't comment on the Sigma but I think issues are less likely with non-telephoto 3rd party lenses.

EF100-400MKI Probably ok, I know folks with the MkII were getting good results.

Only point is the R7 feels small light and less robust than the R7, but it does the job.

 

[Lester Wareham]

It's also missing the info top LCD panel.

Lou

Yes that put me off at first but it is on the VF and monitor.

A slight R annoyance is if carrying on a shoulder strap and on with screen timeout one's movement shadows the VF light sensor waking the camera and wasting battery; not an issue if sitting in a hide.

 

[paddler4]

It's worth separating the things that are different with mirrorless regardless of body and specific differences between the 7D and R7.

I was looking to replace my 7D I, which I use for field macro, but was disappointed in the R7 and held off. Don't recall the issues now. A lot of people are waiting for the R7 II, hoping it will be closer to the mirrorless replacement for the 7D II

 

[Bobtographer]

I have been shooting with the 7D MKII for quite a while now... I shoot mostly indoor judo and birds/wildlife (high fps)... I think it might be time to consider moving to an R body (yes I'd need an adapter for my current lenses)

My current lenses are the EF70-200 f/2.8 EF ;EF100-400MKI; EF24-105mm f/4L IS II USM and the EFSSigma 8-16mm

I would appreciate your opinions and insight.

I switched to Fujfilm. Started with the T4 with a grip (R7 wasn't out yet), but after a year I found the grip caused a lot of problems (shooting upto 14 hours a day in portrait orientation and the disliking my fingers don't all fit on the camera without a grip) - I switched to the H2S using a Fringer adapter for my EF EF/S lenses, and haven't been happier
Stacked sensor on the H2S means I can shoot electronic shutter 98% of the time, it's only when I use Flash or need slow SS outside that I swap to mechanical shutter

 

[Lester Wareham]

It's worth separating the things that are different with mirrorless regardless of body and specific differences between the 7D and R7.

I was looking to replace my 7D I, which I use for field macro, but was disappointed in the R7 and held off. Don't recall the issues now. A lot of people are waiting for the R7 II, hoping it will be closer to the mirrorless replacement for the 7D II

What was your issue with the R7 for macro?

I use mine fine for macro, mostly at the moment with traditional methods and the MP-E on an electronic rail at 5x.

Also used it with the 100 macro classic and 180L using focus bracketing.

You can't use an angle finder with it but the articulated monitor is probably a better solution.

The only other constraint is you can't use flash with ES to you have to use first curtain. I tend to revert to the 7DII on the rare occasions I use flash.

Of course you can only focus bracket in ES, not sure why.

 

[Dragonspeed]

Yes that put me off at first but it is on the VF and monitor.

A slight R annoyance is if carrying on a shoulder strap and on with screen timeout one's movement shadows the VF light sensor waking the camera and wasting battery; not an issue if sitting in a hide.

Hmmm - interesting point.

 

[paddler4]

What was your issue with the R7 for macro?

I use mine fine for macro, mostly at the moment with traditional methods and the MP-E on an electronic rail at 5x.

Also used it with the 100 macro classic and 180L using focus bracketing.

You can't use an angle finder with it but the articulated monitor is probably a better solution.

The only other constraint is you can't use flash with ES to you have to use first curtain. I tend to revert to the 7DII on the rare occasions I use flash.

Of course you can only focus bracket in ES, not sure why.

It wasn't an issue for macro per se, but rather for other uses I would put the camera to. I didn't like the single control wheel layout, for example. And at that point, there were zero good lenses for APS-C R-mount bodies.

 

[Optiq]

You might want to hold off until the R7 Mark 2 comes out. The rumor is it will be more like the 7D Mark 2 in size and maybe even weather sealing along with other improvements. I did hear they might drop the mechanical shutter though. Either way, you should hang on to your 7Dmk2 for a while just to be sure. That and it was their flagship APS-C model and might be a good one to hang onto if you're into that.

 

[West Coast Birder]

There have been rumors about the R7 Mark II for years now. Not sure how much stock to put in the latest version which has it coming out this year.

 

[Dragonspeed]

There have been rumors about the R7 Mark II for years now. Not sure how much stock to put in the latest version which has it coming out this year.

It's a struggle, isn't it? Get the benefits of the existing upgrade, NOW, or live the Duke Nukem life - and keep holding off with the hope of the "soon to be released" next version.

 

[Lester Wareham]

You might want to hold off until the R7 Mark 2 comes out. The rumor is it will be more like the 7D Mark 2 in size and maybe even weather sealing along with other improvements. I did hear they might drop the mechanical shutter though. Either way, you should hang on to your 7Dmk2 for a while just to be sure. That and it was their flagship APS-C model and might be a good one to hang onto if you're into that.

"might drop the mechanical shutter"

That would imply a big improvement in ES technology, perhaps an all pixel second curtain end sample and hold. The only way to support flash and arguably high speed action.

I would be unhappy without some sort of mechanical shutter to protect the sensor when off and during lens change.