1D MK IV: AF Tracking and Skiing.

[Richard Lane]

Thanks Rick!


I think your 5D would probably be better for Video, due it

[Richard Lane]

Football Tracking All with the 7D:


You may see the same photo with version 2 next to it, which is just a mild crop.


If you take a look at these shots, #4982 the runner was running slow and then he took off, I missed the shot in #4982, so the camera missed the next frame which was #4983 (I was right on the runner, so he must of out ran the sensor [:P])and was a little OOF, but then the 7D locked in again and the next ones were are all good.


In #4987 we have an obstruction (blue jersey #81) and then a soft shot #4988, and then the camera recovers and everything is sharp again.


In #4994 as the players were falling to the ground and the ball handler was being tackled, I was a little slow and the sensor was aimed in between the 2 blue jerseys, but then on the next shot #4995, I was able to lower my aim and hit my target and everything was sharp again.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/53022431@N03/5617408381/in/set-72157626368860853/lightbox/





Here's another example:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/53022431@N03/5617421477/in/set-72157626368820155/lightbox/





The running back takes the handoff and then gets lost behind the blockers #4928 and then he comes out the other side #4929 you could see his hand poking through but white jersey #1 is an obstruction and then the 7D picks him up again in #4930.


Then #4931 is OOF due to an obstruction that comprised 3 frames, so the runner was lost and then #4931 was OOF. A fast or fixed obstruction is usually no problem, however white jersey #1 was running along side the subject as an obstruction for 3 frames. The tracking sensitivity could be tweaked to be slower, but I find that it works in most cases, where I have it which is in the middle.


The 7D recovers in #4932 and then locks focus again and all of the rest of the shot s were good, until the Ref got in my way at the end or his end got in my way.





Here's one more that you could check out if you want. I think these are a little soft, but his determination is not.


I'll tell ya' that this dude was one determined runner, check out his facial expressions!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/53022431@N03/5618020128/in/set-72157626368838175/lightbox/





I hope you enjoyed it!





Rich

[HDNitehawk]

Rich


There was a tutorial on the canon website a while back, it may still be there. There was a wedding shooter that did video and he used the 7d over the 5d. He would pair it with the 14mm F2.8L II and he would get a very deep depth of field at a really wide open aperture. Which means easy to keep in focus. He also used the 24mm F2.4L II as well.


I guess the real reason I haven

[Richard Lane]

I guess if you want a deep DOF, then that would work, but I told my friend who wanted to buy one of my 7D's to make Videos, that he should get a used 5DII because it has a larger sensor, thinner DOF, better low light AF, and less noise. More like TV network cameras.


Rich

[Kayaker72]

Rich,


Thanks for the detailed response. BTW, love all of the sequences, in particular, 4932. Great football shot with the two defenders converging on the runner. But I am really impressed that the 7D held onto the runner as well as it did as he made his way through the pack.


Thanks again,


Brant

[Richard Lane]

Thanks Brant!





http://www.flickr.com/photos/53022431@N03/5617421477/in/set-72157626368820155/lightbox/[/b]


You can take a look at one more concept, in #4921 the quaterbacks "back" and #4922 quaterbacks "left arm& ball" are in focus, then the runner emerges, #4923 and is soft because it takes the camera 0.5 sec to re-lock onto the runner and let go of the quarterback (you can sometimes do this faster by letting go of the Af-On button and re-lock the runner, or wait for the camera to do it automatically if the sensitivity is not set "too slow" , then once it does that, the next runner shots #4924 will start to be very sharp.


Some people will look at these and say, wow the 7D missed #4923 or the 7D is soft, when in actuality the camera did exactly what I have it set-up to do. If I wanted #4923 to be very sharp, then I would need to increase the AF tracking sensitivity to faster, this way the camera would let go of the quaterback sooner and lock onto the runner in #4923 faster and then it would be sharper, however then everytime a blocker or referee gets in the way of the subject (very common in football) that your tracking, then AF would move to the new subject and you would loose the main subject (not good in my opinion).


Since the MK IV has a higher burst rate I probably would of had 2 shots with the runner getting the ball and then I could discard the 1st one.


I just wanted to point out that the camera is doing what it is supposed to do.


Different sports will require different tracking sensitivities.





Rich

[Kayaker72]

Rich,


Nice sequence. The grass does a great job showing the focal plane. #4923 the runner is just on the very edge of the focal plane while the QB is still in the middle.But as far as I am concerned, the 7D did a great job.

Different sports will require different tracking sensitivities.

This is something I haven't played with yet.Maybe I'll find some hawks and see how much influence the tracking sensitivity has on BIF.


Brant

[Richard Lane]

Thanks Brant!


Just keep in mind that the "tracking sensitivity" will hold onto the subject longer with the slower setting (to ignore obstructions or if you lose your target for a couple of seconds) or it will let go of your current subject faster to lock onto the new subject, if you set the sensitivity to faster.


Also note that the "slow setting won't make the camera focus slower", it will focus just as fast no matter which sensitivity you select. If the sensitivity was set too slow and you would like to focus on a new target quicker, then you can take your finger off the focus button and re-focus on your new target.


Rich