Murray Marsh, Sturgeon County, AB, Canada.

Mixed flock of Greater White-fronted and Canada Geese.

Tags:   Greater White-fronted Canada Geese Anser albifrons Branta canadensis BIF Flight Flying Landing Birds Animals Wildlife Nature Outdoor Avian Photography Photographer Fall Autumn Black and White Monochrome Silhouette Canon EOS 7D Mark II Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM YEG Edmonton Alberta Canada

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Hermitage Park, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
7D2 and 300/2.8L + 2x | 1/30 sec., f/11, ISO 100; handheld.

Enjoy!

Tags:   Flight Landing Blur Abstract Canada Goose Canada Geese Branta canadensis Birds Waterfowls Animals Wildlife Nature Spring Weather Outdoor Avian Photography Photographer Canon EOS 7D Mark II Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM Hermitage Park YEG Edmonton Alberta Canada

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Beaver County, AB, Canada.
7D2 and 300/2.8L + 2x | 1/1600 sec., f/7.1, ISO 640; handheld.

Have a great week! Enjoy!

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Tags:   Flight BIF Flying Northern Pintail Anas acuta Ducks Waterfowls Birds Wildlife Nature Spring Avian Photography Photographer Canon EOS 7D Mark II Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM Beaverhill Lake Beaver County Tofield Edmonton Alberta Canada

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Gold Bar Park, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
7D2 | 300/2.8L + 2x | 1/2000 sec., f/7.1, ISO ?; handheld.

Rather than posting ISO comparisons of indoor photos, I decided to post photos of real world shooting. All of these photos were shot in various ISOs in crappy lighting. Feel free to take a guess at each of them! Please see images in the first comment box below, and each can be viewed in large at 1024 px long. Hint: I used either 1600, 3200, 6400, 10000, 12800, or 16000.

Overall, the 7D2 is quite an improvement from the previous 7D. Here's what I observe so far:

Likes:
- Responsive and fast autofocus.
- Focus system tracks the subject well (depends on how you customize the AI Servo Cases and Priorities, and whether or not the EOS iTR AF is activated), but then I never had issues with tracking actions in the old 7D's system.
- 65 focus points and wide AF areas. I actually use all 65 points, not 20 and not 9.
- Shutter lag is less than the 7D...again, very responsive!
- 10 fps to capture very fast action. However, many redundant frames for fast to moderate action.
- ISO improves by 1 stop.
- Very customizable: menu, buttons, autofocus, etc.
- Can lock the mode dial to prevent accidentally shooting in other modes such as Bulb mode, for example.
- AF selection lever to switch to other AF areas (i.e., spot, center, expansion, zone, all 65 pts, etc).
- Ability to focus when the widest aperture is f/8 (i.e., 7D2 with 400//5.6L + 1.4x TC)
- Silent shooting.
- Intervalometer (to allow me to diverse into other areas of photography).
- Decent focusing speed in Live View.
- Supports both CF and SD cards.

Dislikes:
- A battery hog (even when GPS is disabled).
- AF selection lever can only go one direction.
- Exposure indicator on the side rather than at the bottom in Manual mode.
- Previewing photos require pressing the Playback button, then Magnify button, then use the main dial to zoom in/out. I prefer the old system better!
- In low light indoor setting, AF drives the focus motor on my 300/2.8L with 1.4x TC II very slowly. In contrast, 7D with the same setup was fast. Without the 1.4x TC II, the 300/2.8L on the 7D2 is fast.
- Lack of touch screen for live view and video usage.
- Lack of built-in Wi-Fi. They could have added the module where the GPS system is sitting.

Future improvements:
- More buffer. Currently, it's about 20 RAW frames, but with 10 fps burst, you could use up the buffer in about 2-4 secs (depending on the speed of the memory card).
- 10 fps is nice but can produce many redundant frames, and you could only select other burst options giving you 3 or 4 fps. I wish there is a way to customize it (i.e., 10, 8, 6, 4 fps). [Update: You can customize the High Speed FPS, Low Speed FPS, and Silent Shooting FPS.]
- There is room for improvement in noise. The noise is coarse compare to what I see from a full frame sensor. Even other camera brands' APS-C sensors produce files with very good noise level.

Tags:   BIF Flight Flying Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Ducks Waterfowls Birds Animals Wildlife Nature Avian Photography Photographer Canon EOS 7D Mark II Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM Gold Bar Park North Saskatchewan River Edmonton Alberta Canada

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Murray Marsh, Sturgeon County, AB, Canada.
7D | 300/2.8L + 2x | 1/640 sec., f/7.1, ISO 800; on tripod.

Tags:   BIF Flight Flying Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus Waterfowls Birds Wildlife Birdscape Landscape Nature Avian Fall Autumn Photography Photographer Canon EOS 7D Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM Murray Marsh Sturgeon County St. Albert Edmonton Alberta Canada

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