Canon 7D Mark II video experience

I'm starting this thread to share my experience with the 7D2 for video and in the hope that others will share theirs.

I recently upgraded from the 7D to the 7D2. I use the camera for both stills and video and overall so far I'm pleased with the upgrade. Wildlife and sports photographers seem to be thrilled but many DSLR video sites have greeted the camera with distain based on its specs, unhappy that it doesn't shoot 4K, have focus peaking, etc.

I don't share this distain – indeed I'm finding a lot to like on the video side: dual-pixel autofocus, better low-light performance, cleaner noise that is easier to deal with, audio-out for monitoring, better options for HDMI out, no moire, etc. It probably helps that I'm shooting for the web and don't feel the need for the extra overhead that 4K involves.

The biggest downside so far has been that the output, straight from the camera, is a bit soft. Fortunately Alex's unsharp mask plugin does a great job of bringing out the clarity in a graceful way. I'm finding I don't need much: Radius = 2.5; Amount = 1.

If you have the 7D2 and are finding out how to get the best out of it, please share your discoveries here.

There was a review this week on "The Slanted Lens", starts around 52 minutes in. At first it didn't even seem like they knew it could autofocus in live mode, but if you keep watching they go and test it and end up seeming pretty pleased:

Seems to be the pattern with this camera that people are disappointed in the specs (no 4K, etc.) but once they use it, they like it.

A few more recent reviews that fit this pattern are by the Camera Store



and Learning Cameras (video discussion starts at 5:34)



In this one the reviewer even declares the 7D2 as the best Canon DSLR for video.

The main complaint about image quality is softness, which is why I'm so pleased that Alex's unsharp mask does well with bringing out the crispness.

I'm sure it's perfectly fine, but once you go C100, Full-frame (Mk III), or 4K (e.g. GH4) there's just no going back to the Canon crop sensor lineup for video...

Everything has its trade-off, but in any case my intention with this thread is not to debate the relative merits of the 7D2 verses other bodies – sorry if my last comment shift things in that direction.

Rather, the intention is: IF one has a 7D2, how do you get the best video results out of it? I'd love to hear from people who have the camera .

A couple of things:

1) I'm getting good results using Cinestyle and Hawaiki AutoGrade (with its built-in s-curve preset) as a way to get good dynamic range and easily refine white balance and tone in FCPX. So I've added AutoGrade to Alex's unsharp mask as my standard effects stack.

2) Frank Rohmer has posted a video-oriented review of the 7D2 . As a small video production shop he finds a lot to like in the 7D2, especially the dual-pixel autofocus. I suspect that event videographers and similar small shops will be a major user-group for this camera. I look forward to learning best practices from them.

Sorry to revive an old thread...

I got a couple of 7D II bodies as a gift for Christmas. I'm really trying to get the best out these, they're nice - but limited on the video side. I've asked around on other forums but thought I would also ask here: Is anybody using an external video recorder, like an Atomos or BMD Video Assist with their 7D Mark II? If so, does the 5x crop mode in Live View work? Can you record that crop mode?

Also, about some detail recovery? Man, it's clean but reeeeeaaallly soft. I'm using a Sigma 17-50 2.8, Tamron 70-200 2.8 and a Canon 50 1.8. Was thinking of getting a 24-70L thinking that might help with detail but not sure I want to fork out for this camera. I also have a Panasonic GH4, and of course that's very detailed. That probably makes it difficult for me to look at this 7D Mark II footage.

EDIT: Also, hoping for Magic Lantern development. That would be a game changer for this camera.


Thanks for reading all this and any help would be greatly appreciated.

We've been using original 7D's for years, love them, no need for anything but good glass.

Although I found 5D mark II and the original soft sometimes, it was also partly operator error.

The advantage of turning off in-camera sharpening is that the built-in software is a trade off. It has to work on the CPUs in the camera in real time. The algorithm and the speed you get in Final Cut is always going to be better.

Thanks for linking to my free plugin - blog.alex4d.com/2012/02/12/blurs-7-free-fcpx-effects/

Also check out the plugin I created to fix problems caused by the amateur camera operator I was forced to work with (me). This one relies on the fact that sharpness is relative. In order to make a slightly soft shot seem less bad, the trick is to sharpen the subject a little and blur the area around the subject. Those are the default settings of my Inside-Oustide plugin: alex4d.com/10-alex4d-inside-outside-effect

@Alex4D

Thanks Ben and Alex. Maybe I'll grab that 24-70L after all. I'll have to try that Inside/Outside plugin too, Alex. I made my own Unsharp Mask in Motion and it helps, but as you probably already know, we try to keep pushing forward as much as we can.

daviddelreal wrote: ....Maybe I'll grab that 24-70L after all...I made my own Unsharp Mask in Motion and it helps....

That is a good lens but on an APS-C sensor camera it may not be wide enough. The 7D2 crop factor is 1.6x, so on the wide end that lens is equivalent to 38.5mm.

The equivalent to 24-70 f/2.8 often used on APS-C cameras is the 17-55 f/2.8. Both Canon and Nikon make these; the Nikon is very good but I don't have first-hand experience with the Canon.

Whatever lenses you use should ideally be optically stabilized. This is more important for video than for stills, unless you only shoot video on a tripod. In my documentary group we tried using the unstabilized Nikon 24-70 2.8 and finally gave up; it was just too shaky on hand-held shots.

The Canon 28-70 f/2.8 II is stabilized but it's very expensive. If you don't mind the 24mm (38.5 mm at 1.6x crop) the Canon 24-105 f/4 is still quite good and much less expensive.

For interviews and longer range shots the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 is very good but also quite expensive. IMO it is worth every penny and it's one of my most frequently-used lenses. The 70-200 f/4 is still pretty good and a lot less expensive.

If you trust the video AF that's OK but I haven't yet seen a video AF system I trust 100% on a shallow DOF shot. It can be hard to nail the focus manually, so on DSLRs we use the Zacuto EVF Pro. It has high-quality focus peaking, and good optics: store.zacuto.com/z-finder-evf-pro/ The 3rd point of contact formed by the large eye cup helps stabilize hand-held shots. The downside is it requires an HDMI connection, which entails various issues.

Re sharpening, there are various sharpening algorithms; I don't know which one FCP X or Alex4D uses. The Premiere Pro sharpen effect uses deconvolution, whereas the unsharp mask uses contrast edge enhancement.

A good explanation of the difference was once posted on Topaz Labs' web site: "Deconvolution is the process of approximately reversing the process that caused an image to be blurred. While unsharp masking increases the perceived sharpness of an image, deconvolution increases the actual sharpness based on information which describes some of the likely origins of the distortions when capturing the image. With deconvolution, lost image detail may be approximately recovered."

Pixel Film Studios has an advanced sharpening plugin for FCP X. I have never used it: store.pixelfilmstudios.com/plugin/tool-prosharpen

Likewise Digital Film Tools also has one: www.digitalfilmtools.com/refine/

DaVinci Resolve is free and has sharpening and tracking. I don't know what sharpening algorithm Resolve uses: www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve

Well, I just discovered something. I'm sure I'm not the only one but I thought I'd post this anyway. I know there will be naysayers because it may seem counterintuitive but believe it or not, I tried upscaling the 1080p off the 7D2 up to 4k using After Effects. I used Detail Preserving upscale, added 65 sharpening. I set the effect from Bicubic to Detail Preserving. The results are actually very noticeable (playing the upscaled 4K on 1080p timeline and exporting at 1080p). Much more crisp and sharp, definitely looks much better than the soft footage that comes straight off the camera. A bit more steps in the workflow but worth it in my opinion.