wer224 Loc: Bergen county NewJersey

Hi all I have a canon 7d m2 .since buying this camera I have been shooting in manual my frustration comes when I change the ISO, the exposure graph in the viewfinder disappears. I have to half press the shutter to bring back the graph, its a back and forth game to get exposure right. when adjusting aperture or speed the graph stay's visible. Shouldn't the three parts of the exposure triangle always be visible for correct exposure? Am I just missing a setting somewhere or am I just missing something about the manual thing ? Thanks for any help or clarifying any misunderstanding I have about why the ISO disappears

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

That sounds strange to me, it does not disappear in my viewfinder if I change the ISO (5D MII & 5D MIII).That's the nice thing about not having to take the eye of your viewfinder, you look at the changes in the finder while you change your settings!

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Not familiar with the camera, but this doesn't sound so out of whack. It seems that the only thing that will cause the exposure meter to appear is a half-press on the shutter release. The knob/button used to set ISO doesn't cause it to appear.

The ability to change ISO from one shot to another only came about with digital cameras, so what you describe isn't too far out of whack. I did check my Nikon, and when I press the ISO button, the exposure meter becomes visible, which seems to be what you are expecting.

Have you checked your manual? Is the exposure meter supposed to be visible when adjusting ISO?

I did a quick search, and here's what I found:

"Page 222 of the full online user manual appears to indicate that this "problem" is intentional. I still don't understand WHY Canon chose to omit the bottom exposure level scale when in Manual mode. The one on the right side is dim, hard to see, and can even disappear from view completely if you shift your gaze while looking through the viewfinder.

One of my joys of upgrading from the 7D to the 7DM2 was that the external controls match my 5DM3. No more mental gymnastics as I switch between cameras while shooting. But now there's a difference inside the viewfinder! Arg."

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

You've run into a 7D2 quirk that confused all of us until we understood how this camera works. The "issue" as you've noted is when you use manual mode and select a specific ISO rather than auto, the exposure meter on the bottom of the viewfinder disappears. If you have not noticed it, it also disappears from the top LCD. This is normal. You need to use the exposure meter on the right side of the viewfinder, which is sometimes difficult to see. Or if you're using a tripod, the exposure meter on the rear LCD is available. The 7D Mark II is one of the few cameras to support EC (exposure compensation) in manual mode. When you are in manual mode WITH auto ISO the "exposure meter" at the bottom of the viewfinder is used for setting EC. Its is not actually a true exposure meter. For instance, if you keep reducing the shutter speed with auto ISO the ISO will eventually reach 100. If you continue reducing the shutter speed the pointer on the bottom meter will still remain in the center as if you had a good exposure, but your images may be several stops overexposed. If you look at the meter on the right of the viewfinder you will see the actual metering of the exposure. It is an odd and sometimes annoying quirk, but you will get used to this idiosyncrasy. No one seem to be quite sure why it was designed this way.

I personally shoot in manual most of the time and use this cameras very capable auto ISO. The ISO can then be adjusted up or down using EC. In the custom controls you can modify which button, or even the new lever, controls EC. Many people use the Set button for that purpose. If set up that way, pushing the Set button and using the top wheel when in Manual with Auto ISO will adjust the ISO up and down to the desired value.

Having said all that, I'm not sure why half pressing the shutter button should display the meter on the bottom of the viewfinder at all when in manual mode with a specific ISO chosen, as you indicated. It should not work that way. The meter is always visible in shutter priority (Tv) and aperture priority (Av) modes. But in those modes the camera can be set so the aperture number or shutter speed number blinks when attaining a good exposure is not possible.

wer224 Loc: Bergen county NewJersey

Hi mesilver I'm definitely looking at the graph in the viewfinder on the right .after setting app and shutter I press the ISO button on top of camera this is when the graph disappears and this is definitely not a miss alignment of my eye in view finder. I need to half press shutter to bring it back I'm thinking I have to contact canon maybe this can be a firmware issue to correct

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

You are supposed to see it on the right hand side. That's not an error. You just won't see it on the bottom of the viewfinder. And yes if your talking about the meter on the right it will only appear when the shutter is half pressed. By default, metering is controlled by the shutter button. It doesn't meter until you depress it.

MTG44 Loc: Corryton, Tennessee

Thank you mwsilvers for that well explained response . I have been trying to figure that problem since I got my7Dmll. Going to bookmark it.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

A lot of people have been confused by that behavior in manual mode. Even in Av and TV the bottom meter is more geared to EC.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

This is normal. Mine does it too. If you know how exposure works, then it's a simple matter of giving your shutter a half press to see the exposure meter, then press the ISO button with your right index finger, turn the wheel with same, and then give it another half press. This should put you close to where you want and then just do it again and count the clicks as you turn the wheel.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

It is not a "glitch" in the camera.

The only "glitch" is users not understanding the purpose of the two displays.

The "meter" or "graph" display at the bottom of the viewfinder in 7DII shows Exposure Compensation (also AE bracketing and Flash EC). When using the camera manually (M, w/o Auto ISO), there is no EC. EC is only possible in an auto exposure modes (Av, Tv, P and M w/Auto ISO enabled). EC's sole purpose is to override auto settings... So when there is nothing being done automatically, there's nothing to override.... and hence no EC to display.

The 7DII display on the RH side of the viewfinder shows real time exposure info in either auto or manual mode.

The 7DII has inherited this readout from the higher-end and more pro-oriented 1D-series cameras. The original 7D and mid-grade Canon cameras (70D/60D/etc., 5D-series, 6D, T6s, etc.) utilize a single scale at the bottom of the viewfinder for both EC in AE modes and for completely manual exposure "match needle" metering. The function of the display changes, depending upon which exposure mode you are using.

Which is more confusing? Two separate scales that show two different functions... or a single one that switches back and forth between them, depending upon the exposure mode being chosen. IMO, the latter is more difficult and less informative because you have to mentally shift how you're interpreting the scale, that looks very much the same in either the AE or fully manual modes.

The scale shown on the LCD screen located on the camera's RH shoulder switches back and forth between an auto/EC scale and a manual/exposure match needle, same as the scale at the bottom of the viewfinder of the less pro-oriented models. This is the same on all models with an LCD screen on the RH shoulder (it's on the rear of lower-end models.... same screen as used for image playback and menu access).

wer224 Loc: Bergen county NewJersey

Hi all first of all thank-you all for the in depth answers, my question was was referring to the graph on the right side of view finder Only!! I do know the bottom is for fc. I realize now that the half press of shutter measures exposure at the settings you have set and if it's still not right you have to repeat the ISO setting ,half press shutter all over again aghhhh.so to avoid that a light meter will be on my next to buy list or use auto ISO thanks again

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

I'm still not sure I understand why you're having a problem with this. This is normal behavior for any Canon DSLR. I think perhaps you may need to develop a better understanding of how your camera works. Other than the second meter to the right in the viewfinder, and the lack of exposure compensation in manual mode, my other 3 cannon bodies work in almost exactly the same way as the 7D2

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Okay...

So are you using the menu or the Q button to access and change the ISO?

If so, you are taking the camera out of shooting mode and putting it into setup mode (rear LCD showing the menu or the Q screen)... in which case the viewfinder display should blank out until you go back into the shooting mode. A half press on the shutter release or pressing the AF On button would cycle the camera back into the shooting mode and the viewfinder display should come back on.

If, instead, you are using the ISO button, that's also a setup mode, but part of the viewfinder display remains on and you should be able to see the selected ISO and any changes you make to it. The meter readout will not be active again until you return the camera to the shooting mode.