Canon AF Issue

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<p>I have heard and read in the forums and mags a lot of criticism about inferior AF system in Canon 5D Mk II. However 5D as well as 5D Mk II remains a runaway success for Canon. Is it possible that an artist spending 3000 USD would put up with a problematic AF? Or, on the other hand, , is that system really that bad?</p>

 

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<p>Ah dunno, mah 5DII nails AF most of the time. In fact it rarely misses. It certainly works better than my MF and my old 20D or Elan 7E. Of course I don't use it for sports or bald baby foreheads.</p>

<p>In my personal experience, even the old EOS 5D has a way better autofocus than the 20D and 40D.</p>

<p>You are confused. Your statement is too broad a brush! The 5D's focus system is perfectly fine for its intended use - portrait, landscape, still life, etc. What you read and "heard" is from people who want to make the 5D into an action camera - like the 7D for example. Center point focus on the 5D is excellent - and that's how most people use it.</p>

<p>My 5DII AF is fine if used correctly - I think a lot of issues are either expectations that the 5DII would have an AF system closer to that of the 7D which is clearly superior or user error. My 5DII AF is probably better than the AF on my old 1NRS (which was Canon's pro sports camera abouut 10 years ago). If you have fast lenses, USM motors and use the center AF point you should have no major AF issues. Even when I shoot ice hockey in low light (EV 7-9) the 5DII performs fine getting 90%+ shots in focus. My 1DIIN or 7D will perform better but will still miss focus on some shots. If you make a living from pro sports then get a 1D. You may note that the UK society of wedding pros voted it their camera of the year so it cannot be that bad.</p>

<p>The AF works just fine for its intended purposes, especially if you know how to use it to make the most of it. You really don't need 45 focus points for most operations, after all.</p>

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<p>The only issues I have is when trying to use an outer focus point in low light. I do mean light low enough I couldn't manually focus if I had to. It struggles to lock on. When selecting the center point only, it takes it a moment longer to lock on (compared to shooting in good light), but does a rather good job when it does. As the others have said, when used within its intended purpose, it works great. And thats after well over 10,000 shots in about ever lighting condition you can think of. Its simply not a fast action camera.</p>

<p>Jason</p>

<p>From my experience, it depends on which Canon EF lens you are mating with the 5D. I am referring to:</p>

<p>- back or front focus issues with particular lenses<br>

- lenses slower than f/2.8</p>

<p>The 1D MkIV and 7D are Canons latest cameras and both are marketed toward action photogrphers (sports or pictures of rapidly moving subjects). Canon has made improvements to the AF system on these cameras to make them better able to trake moving subjects (more sensors and better firmware). The 5D has a much slower frame rate and its most popular use is for photographing still subjects (landscapes, weddings, etc) you don't need to trake moving sujects. So many of the Bells and Whisles of the 1D and 7D are not needed on the 5D most of the time.</p>

<p>If you set at 1D or 7D and set it up for single shot and compared it to the 5D set up similarraly I doubt you would see any difference in the AF performance. In my experience the AF system on the 5D focuses correcly most of the time In short if I can see it I can generally get the AT to focus on it and most of my lenses are have a max aperture of F4. </p>

<p>In my opinion if the 5D cannot focus it is because of user error or because condsions are shuch that any camera would have difficulty in autofocusing. </p>

<p>I totally agree with Steven F.</p>

<p>Sure, the sports cameras have better AF for sports and fast moving wildlife. If you want a 5D then sports/wildlife will not be high on the list of priorities.</p>

<p>The weakness in the 5D2 AF only really shows up when you're trying to track a bird in flight against certain backgrounds or a deer in the woods amongst a lot of brush. The 7D is a better tool for this, yet both work well enough if you're in the right AF mode and your aim is good and steady. Still, if you're going to shoot birds in flight, get the 7D, but don't worry about it for almost all other subjects.</p>