question about the usefullness of 45 focus points....

[jeffery_pool]

I'm sorry if this question has been answered but I'm soon to be a new Canon

user coming from Minolta and am a bit bewildered by all these crazy features

that the newer Canon bodies have. I'm looking at the Eos-1v(hs) compared to

some of the older bodies like the 1 and 1n. The 1V(hs) has 45 focussing

points. On my Minolta cameras I've had as little as 1 and as many as 6. I've

never really used anything but the centre one because all I do is focus using

the centre point, recompose and shoot. (I realize that this means that I'm not

getting optimal focus in many situations because I'm moving the camera but

it's not something I've ever noticed). When I did allow Maxxum to choose from

any one of the 6 sensors automatically, I found more often than not, that it

would focus on anything BUT the subject.

 

Money is an object as I'm probably buying used (a $1600 1V new sells for $700

in EX+ at KEH!) but I can see the value of spending another $200-$400 on a

body that will be better to use. Can anyone here comment on the usefullness of

the 45point AF sensor. I'm starting to get more into wildlife photography and

it might be useful for moving subjects.

[radu_diaconu]

Jeffery,

 

I just received my Canon 1D Mark II a few weeks ago and have a few thoughts about the 45 point autofocus.

 

On normal subjects that are not moving and that are not to crowed with other surrounding objects, the 45 points do well (accurately and fast) to choose the subject.

 

On the other hand, the selected focus point - center or any other of the 45 points, will always give the results you are looking for, that is to have the subject which you require to be sharp.

 

Second, on moving subjects and in Ai Servo (continous tracking), the 45 points overall do well, but sometimes, the center does better, this depends on the subject matter.

 

I have covered sports, dancing competitions, night club shots, track and field, swimming, diving, volleybal, handball..,etc and I have been very pleased the Canon's autofocus system, but sometimes you have to know which point to choose in order to achieve the best possible focus.

 

Heres is a link that could help you: http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/EOS_Digital.pdf

 

Good luck,

 

I'm attaching a pic to give you the idea of what the Mark II can do (Canon 1V also, I imagine).

 

Regards,

 

Radu D.

[radu_diaconu]

file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Radu%20Diaconu/Desktop/_Z5E0127.JPG

[radu_diaconu]

Sorry,

 

I can't seem to post a picture.

 

Once sec.

[radu_diaconu]

try that: http://www.photo.net/photo/4769114

[j.kivekas]

I've got the 1D MkII and the autofocus is awesome. This is the first bodywith me where autofocus really works. 45 points - you won't be disappointed. Especially for sports the Ai Servo and its logic is simply damn good.

[namurray]

I too am thinking of upgrading from a Canon 20D to a Canon 1D MKII N. So I am very pleased to read your comments Radu and Juha. I shoot mainly sports and birds in AI Servo and have found that in many situations the 20D is not up to the job. Someone in another thread also told me that the 1D MKII is the best for fast moving sports action. Price is a bit of an obstacle for me though.

[pbizarro]

Sure they are useful. Do I use them all? No, because I do not shoot sports or fast moving subjects.

 

So I keep my number of AF points at 11 in the 1V.

[yakim_peled1]

CF 13 allows you to choose the number of AF points you wish to use. Personally I find that 11 works best for me.

 

Happy shooting,

Yakim.

[gary_ferguson1]

Features on a modern camera are like meals on a menu, you're not expected to want them all!

 

Canon's 45 focus points are invaluable if the camera is tripod mounted, or used in the close range, or the exposure from the centre-point isn't optimum, or for wide-aperture portraiture where you need to focus precisely on the closest eye but still have a pleasing composition, or...

[lad_lueck]

I think Canon developed the 45 point AF so that when the camera is tracking a fast-moving object, one that is very hard to keep the center focus point on, that the AF computer can track the object as it moves ANYWHERE within those 45 points. With other cameras that only have a few, widely-spaced points, focus could be easily lost.

 

As an example, I like to 'shoot' birds in my back yard - AS THEY FLY FROM BEHIND ME. I get at most 2 seconds to:

a: see the bird

b: lift the camera to my eye

c: find the bird in the viewfinder

d: press the focus button

e: vait for tracking to start

f: press the shutter to take the pic

 

Out of hundreds of shots, AF missed just a few times-usually when the bird flew into trees lining the lotline.

 

I'm impressed!

[doug_r1]

You have to be sure and calibrate your eye to the camera. Do it a bunch at first. It has calibrations for every ev of light. This means that if you calibrate it on a sunny day it won't work as good in the shade, until you calibrate it for the shade.

[lovcom_photo]

Doug R, are you talking about eye-control? Because the 1D series does not have this feature (yet), so there is nothing to calibrate.

 

The 45 points are not just for AI focus, nor just for sports, birds, etc....the 45 points are great for portraits and still lifes, for slow moving subjects, or standing still subjects because it allows one to pick and select the best focus point from which to perform selective focus, and selective metering too. With 45 focus points there is little excuse for doing the lock-focus-recompose dance. I never allow the camera to select what it thinks is the best focus point....why treat your 1D like a point & shoot? You pick it yourself...you're the artist....you control the camera, not the other way around. I love the 45 points, and my only gripe with it is that the points are not spread wider along the horizontal and vertical.