30D and action comming towards you ?

[loebas]

Last week I tried to shoot some action photo's of skiing people.
I used AI Servo all focus points on and the CF 4-3 option.
Allthough I got some good shots most of them where OOF.
Especially if the action is comming towards you it is difficult to get the focus right.
1) I wonder if there are any tips to get the focus locked on subjects moving towards you ?

2) If the action stops and the athlete is standing still, do you use the AI servo mode too ?

3) Is it possible to swicht very vast from AI servo to one shot mode ?

Looking forward to you reply

[nitsch]

I've never tried shooting skiers but I can tell you that if I try shooting birds which are flying directly towards me, my keeper rate is pityfully low. I think these types of shots push the 30D's AF to the limit.

2) Either mode, I've got good results using AI Servo on static subjects too.

3) Depends how fast you can move those fingers!!! AF button, one click with the wheel and AF button again, practice it again and again so you can do it without looking up from the viewfinder. FWIW I'm not very speedy! :)

[loebas]

I've never tried shooting skiers but I can tell you that if I try shooting birds which are flying directly towards me, my keeper rate is pityfully low. I think these types of shots push the 30D's AF to the limit.

2) Either mode, I've got good results using AI Servo on static subjects too.

3) Depends how fast you can move those fingers!!! AF button, one click with the wheel and AF button again, practice it again and again so you can do it without looking up from the viewfinder. FWIW I'm not very speedy! :)


Thank you for your reply!.
When in AI SERVO, do you use all AF POINTS or ?

[PacAce]

Last week I tried to shoot some action photo's of skiing people.
I used AI Servo all focus points on and the CF 4-3 option.
Allthough I got some good shots most of them where OOF.
Especially if the action is comming towards you it is difficult to get the focus right.
1) I wonder if there are any tips to get the focus locked on subjects moving towards you ?

2) If the action stops and the athlete is standing still, do you use the AI servo mode too ?

3) Is it possible to swicht very vast from AI servo to one shot mode ?

Looking forward to you reply

Were you keeping your thumb on the "*" button the whole time you were tracking the skiier? If you were and you started with the center AF point right on the skiier, the camera should have been able to track the skiier approaching you unless he was too far away to fill at least two AF points in the viewfinder (if he strayed away from the center AF point).

Switching from AI servr to one shot mode? Simple. Just jab the "*" button to focus and then get your thumb off to lock the focus. :)

[samnz]

IMO using CF 4-3 is very much like using one shot only there won't be focus confirmation.

I read an article in Digital Camera World on a pro ski photog Mike Truelove (www.pikephotography.co.uk) and he had some real interesting tips. Nothing on AI servo as such but still a good read.

Perhaps you could email him and pick his brains if ski-photography is a possible avenue for you. Was shooting with 1D MKII - Maybe he's somewhere here on the Forum :) Sorry to name-drop :o

[nitsch]

Thank you for your reply!.
When in AI SERVO, do you use all AF POINTS or ?

I tend to only use the centre point.

[Psychic1]

The 1D has difficulty focusing on an incomming object, all AF systems do, because the distance is constantly changing at a rate faster than the computer can compensate.

The 1D gets the shot because of FPS and LUCK.

[PacAce]

The 1D has difficulty focusing on an incomming object, all AF systems do, because the distance is constantly changing at a rate faster than the computer can compensate.

The 1D gets the shot because of FPS and LUCK.

I wouldn't know about the 1D since I don't have that camera but I'm sure that doesn't apply to the 1DmkII and newer 1D series cameras.

[ironbelle]

I tend to only use the centre point.

X2. My mentor taught me to only use the center point and get rid of the other 8 because they tend to focus things that are around the actual subject.

[PacAce]

Thank you for your reply!.
When in AI SERVO, do you use all AF POINTS or ?
If you are shooting skiers where the background is mostly white snow (i.e. there's nothing in the background that the AF system can lock in on), automatic focus point selection will probably work better in tracking the skier than just using the center AF point unless you can keep the center AF point over the skier the entire time you are tracking him.

[Psychic1]

I wouldn't know about the 1D since I don't have that camera but I'm sure that doesn't apply to the 1DmkII and newer 1D series cameras.

That information came from a Canon exec while I was at the local shop, a few miles from Canon HQ in Lake Success.

I shoot hockey from the penalty box and I asked why it was so difficult to get shots of the kids as they returned to the bench, and that was his answer.

[PacAce]

That information came from a Canon exec while I was at the local shop, a few miles from Canon HQ in Lake Success.

I shoot hockey from the penalty box and I asked why it was so difficult to get shots of the kids as they returned to the bench, and that was his answer.
OK, that makes sense if the kids were within 10 feet of you. The predictive focusing doesn't seem to be effective if the subject distance is closer than 10 feet from the camera according to doc written by Chuch Westfall called "Getting the Most from your EOS-1 Class Digital SRL, Tips and Techniques: Camera Handling & Maximum Image Quality" (http://photoworkshop.com/canon/EOS_Digital.pdf), page 7.

But that doesn't necessarily mean that the same applies to a skier coming down a slope as the skier will most likely be farther away than 10 feet from the photographer.

[Psychic1]

I keep telling my wife I'm not as stupid as I look" and she keeps nodding her head and saying "Oh yes you are.":D

[Chad McCan]

I have the same problem with my 30d's. I was shooting FMX a couple weeks ago and that was the exact problem I had. If the action was coming towards me, I had a ton of OOF. I don't know if there is anything that can be done other than upgrading.

[fritz1]

If you are shooting skiers where the background is mostly white snow (i.e. there's nothing in the background that the AF system can lock in on), automatic focus point selection will probably work better in tracking the skier than just using the center AF point unless you can keep the center AF point over the skier the entire time you are tracking him.

In this case you are right I also think the same when shooting birds against the sky, the AF tends to hunt against a bright blue sky and trying to keep the center AF on a bird far away is like near impossible I found that out trying to shoot this Hawk I PPed it to death to try to sharpen it you can see the noise at 1600 & 400 iso respectively

[Skippy29]

I actually prefer "one shot" AF when the subject is coming towards me.

This was from today with my 30D.
http://www.themxzone.com/images/chop.jpg

[Lightchaser]

I actually prefer "one shot" AF when the subject is coming towards me.

So you just constantly re-focus using the one-shot until you're ready to shoot?

[Chad McCan]

The problem with one shot is that if the camera doesn't think it's in focus, then you can't pull the trigger.