How’s that for a convoluted, seemingly disjointed title? I’ll try to pull it all together as you proceed through the post.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This Short-eared Owl, photographed last month during my camping trip to Montana and Idaho, was one of my early indicators that I was having intermittent focusing problems with my Canon 7D Mark II. A few of my images of this bird were very sharp, as this one is. But then I’d get a bunch of shots of the same bird that were moderately soft and they shouldn’t have been. So this is one of the birds that began my long and frustrating journey to try to figure out what was going on. I think that journey is finally over – more about that later. But first I noticed something interesting in this image besides the bird.
In previous posts about owls and pronghorn caught in barbed wire my readers and I have had conversations about the evils of barbed wire, including the possibility of somehow making wire fences less dangerous to wildlife. One of those discussions involved the potential of making barbed wire with fewer barbs. It was those conversations that made me pay more attention to the wire in this photo – notice that it is almost barb-free. In about 2′ of wire I see only two double barbs, seemingly randomly placed. Most of the barbed wire I see has barbs every 4″ or so.
An uncropped version of the same image reveals much more of the wire and still there’s only those two double barbs. I don’t recall ever seeing barbed wire with so few barbs so I do wonder what’s going on here. Could this be a type of barbed wire deliberately manufactured to inflict less trauma on wildlife? And I’m surprised that the barb placement seems so random. I reach no conclusions here but for me it’s food for thought.
Ok, back to my camera dilemma. Yesterday, after yet another extended stay in the shop (11 days this time) I got the camera back. A quick trip to Antelope Island revealed that my focusing problems still were not solved. Long story short – on my way home from the island I stopped at a local camera shop and purchased a new 7D Mark II – yes, I was that frustrated!
I’ll probably send the old one in to Canon (I probably should have done that in the first place) and see if they can repair it. If they can I’ll then have to decide whether to keep it as a backup or sell it. This story is much more involved than I can go into here but many of my readers are photographers and have been interested in the entire process so I thought I’d summarize it here.
Hopefully that’s the end of the story…
Ron
I know nothing about this but had problems with soft focus. My eyes are not what they used to be and a friend suggested I adjust the dioptric dial,and that worked. I also checked my SD card( did I need a new one?) and my battery was getting old.When I changed those things my camera focused better. I think you would know this but if it helps someone out there, here it is.Enjoy the new camera.
Love the owl. And the very almost barbless wire.
Sigh on the camera front, but I do so understand your need for action which works. Damnit.
Ron, unfortunately your camera problem is not confined to Canon. I have had the same issue with a Nikon D7100 for 2 years now. Some shots are sharp, then several soft, then another sharp, etc. It’s been to Nikon 3 times and they still haven’t fixed it. It took awhile to determine if it was camera or lens problems but I finally determined that it was the camera. I’m not going to spend any more money on repairs and have quit using it. Intermittent camera failures can drive you crazy. I think if the manufacturer cannot fix the problem, they should offer to replace it if it’s under warranty or offer another at a greatly reduced price if not. I’ve had the same issues with lenses that they fix and are no longer sharp when returned. They won’t fix those problems either. Until you had problems, I was ready to sell all of my Nikon gear and switch to Canon! I’d just buy a new one like you did but I’m not sure that I trust Nikon anymore. Sure takes a lot of the fun out of photography dealing with this crap!
“Intermittent camera failures can drive you crazy”
Understatement of the year, Larry! Same way with vehicles.
Gee, that made me think of the time in the 70’s took my truck camper to Minnesota to pick up my son from camp thinking it would be a neat time. It was, BUT we had to fix the universal joint in the dodge truck three times before getting back home! Can’t get under the hood like we used to!!
Interesting! Barbed wire generally has barbs much more closely spaced – perhaps you’re correct as to a newer type that is more wildlife friendly! 🙂 The camera thing may be “interesting”, but more like infuriating to me! I can understand the frustration leading to a new one – hopefully it doesn’t develop the same type of problems – the vagaries of electronic anything! 🙁
“the vagaries of electronic anything! ”
Boy, isn’t that the truth, Judy. I’d put my desktop computer on that list too…
Ron, as a 7DII camera user who has experienced some of the same focus issues, I hope you will share with us the results of sending the older camera back to Canon. I know I contribute to some of my own problems but it would be nice to know if Canon does have a solution to this. Thanks for all that you share with us through your blog.
Doc Hansen
I’ll report back when I know, Doc.
Thanks for the “green light” re the wire…would sure like to see the end of the damned stuff (barbed wire)…some of the worst of ot is discarded wire…just left to trap unsuspecting critters and entangle them. There should be HUGE fines for not removing old wire!!! Sorry your camera wasn’t fixed…some items are just “lemons” and never do seem fixable, no matter how many times they go to the shop. ..This really must shake your confidence, especially during what should quick reaction times—with minimum, not maximum, distraction. There’s enough to consider in split seconds without having to worry about the reliability of your equipment!!!
I know what you mean about discarded barbed wire, Patty. I’ve seen it wreak havoc more than once.
Interesting observation on the barbed wire Ron. I have not seen this sparsely barbed wire before. I will now keep an eye out for it. My latest pet peeve is why some ranchers have a very low strand of wire, about 10 inches off the ground, or less. Pronghorn do not jump fences normally (ever?), instead they crawl under it. They have trouble getting under the wire. I guess one reason the ranchers do this is to keep the pronghorn out…
I hope your new 7D2 works better and does have this problem that others have seem to have experienced. I wish that when problems like this occur, showing an obvious problem with a batch of cameras, that they would do the right thing, own up to it, and fix them, including admitting there was a problem. Instead, nowadays it seems like the “ethics” are to deny everything, cover it up, and ignore the customer. Hopefully they prove me wrong here and come back with a “there was a problem with ‘X’, we did ‘this’ to fix this problem…” Yes, I know, I am a “naive idealist”… 🙂
If it were me, and long-eared owls were waiting for the pictures to be taken, I would have done the same thing!
oops… short-eared owls 🙂
I’ve often wondered if that low strand is meant to keep very young calves in, Ed.
Love your owl pictures. Will come next year just so I can see them too. So many birds here yet never seen a seo. Nor this strange barbwire. Please let me know how your new camera works?? Will it have to be sent in also?? I had to exchange mine before I got one that was calibrated for my lens. Hate absolutely hate camera issues.plus let me know what canon finds wrong with your camera and it should be fixable I would think.
I’ll let you know, Marina.
Hopefully, Canon will recognize that the problem with your Canon camera and the unsuccessful repairs should be something they should take care of. But, as much as I like Canon products I am not that optimistic for you. However, I hope you will be more successful with your new camera. I came very close to buying one until you had your problems, whereby I withdrew my hand from my wallet!! G!
I think this county is past the original necessity for barbed wire. It strikes me that that type of fencing is behind the times for what is required today. In my opinion there needs to be a conservative wildlife element that can get the message out to cattle country how important wildlife is to their economy and to their livelihood. Unfortunately slim chance in my thinking.
Thanks for sharing.
Dick, I was very happy with the Mark II for about a year before this happened.
Your solution sounds a lot like my own when I get frustrated. Glad you got another one and I hope Canon can fix the other.
Thanks, Arwen. Time will tell…
Those “pushy” cows are usually reaching for tantalizing fresh grasses that a fence prevents them from getting at…this often happens when the grazing that is available is grazed down and they’re hungry…They push agaist the wire, desperately trying to teach the fresh, new grass just beyond their reach….how horrible of them!!!
I’m glad to see some barbless wire out there. The barbs have never made much sense to me, because at least as far as I know, cows aren’t jumpers, so why would they need barbs to keep them in? If your old 7D were mine and Canon did fix it, I’d probably choose to sell it, because I would have a hard time trusting it. You’ve been through too much with it.
Cows “push” on the wire until it and posts come down……….:)
Judy’s right, Susan. When a cow wants to go somewhere they can be very pushy to get there. And yearlings are even worse – they can be quite destructive. Some folks think of them as the juvenile delinquents of the bovine world.
Wow! That is a repair solution that had not occurred to me. I understand your frustration and am glad that you have a functioning camera again.
My “solution” might be overkill, Dave, but it’s done and I’m relieved.
Great shot Ron! Camera problems can be extremely frustrating. I solved mine several years ago the same way. I kept the original as a backup and also use it (mostly) for macro.
Charlotte Norton
I’m not sure yet what I’m going to do with mine, Charlotte.
Hello Ron; I do believe your seeing twin strand “Barbless Wire” that was spliced to a section of “Barbed Wire” (note the knot just left of the “Barb”) Twin strand Barbless Wire is at times used by those that do have an understanding and compassion for Wildlife that do impact the top wire of barrier fences—especially Ungulates that jump and at times do not totally clear the top strand; and birds in low flight, especially Sage Grouse. Search Sage Grouse Initiative for some of these well documented dire consequences. There is a continuing trend to use twin strand Barbless Wire for both the bottom and top strand for range barrier fence–that we hope continues. Don (www.femnce-flag.com)
Thanks for the info on barbless wire, Donald.
Ron, sorry you had to purchase another camera. If I recall, the camera you were having problems with wasn’t that old. Maybe Canon will help you out in some way. Curious about the barbed wire fence. No matter how many barbs there are they are still barbaric to me. In all these years it is hard to believe that there isn’t a better solution to keeping animals on the right side of the fence. A barbed wire fence no matter how few barbs is going to hurt animals but maybe it is a step in the right direction. Good luck with your new camera.
You’re right, Debbie – it’s a fairly new camera – that’s part of my frustration.