Canon 300d AI Servo

[buntonn]

Hi I am currently reading Digital SLR MasterClass by Andy Rouse and he has spoken about AI Servo, is this built into the 300D and does it work?

The reason I ask is I am sure I have seen a thread somewhere about someone saying they wished Canon would fix it in a firmware fix.

Thanks

Nick

[Johnnynf]

With the current firmware, the AI Servo is only available on the "Sports" mode on the 300D. There is a new hacked firmware that is supposed to make it available on all modes, but I don't think the bugs have been worked out yet. If you want more info on the hack, do a search of the forum. There have been many recent threads on it.

[buntonn]

Thanks for your resoponce, I guess this is where I would mainly require it anyway for Motor Sport.

By the way how do you find the flashgun you have?

[drisley]

When in creative modes, the 300D uses AI AutoFocus.
The camera decides weather or not to use One Shot Autofocus, or AI Servo.
SOmetimes (often) you are focusing on a moving object waiting for AI Servo to kick in, and by the time it does... too late!

For a while, I blamed my 70-200mm F4L lens for improper focusing on shots I was taking. Later, I realized the problem was that AI Servo wasnt kicking in when I wanted.
This alone almost makes me want to get a 10D so I can select AI Servo in the creative modes. The russian hacked firmware ALMOST allows this feature, however in order to take a picture, you have to lift the shutter button for a fraction of a second and the depress it again. Close, but no cigar.

[Cadwell]

OK... this may be complete drivel (I don't have a 300D/dRebel) but a guy I met at a race track one day shooting with a 300D told me about this trick for forcing permanent AI Servo mode. I didn't pay a huge amount of attention (other than nodding politely) since I have a 10D but he had what looked like a stereo 3.5mm jack plug inserted in one of the slots on the left hand side of the camera...

Apparently whilst this plug was in, the camera would run in AI servo mode full time.

[drisley]

Cadwell,

Yes, I read about that somewhere on the web. I might have to have a look for that again. I cant remember if there where any drawbacks. Maybe just battery drain which is normal for AI Servo.
Thanks for reminding me!

300D owners sure seem to be a creative bunch :lol:

[dphoto]

OK, that's all fine, but is there a hack to force the 300D into "one shot" mode while in a creative mode? :D

If so, that's a hack I would seriously consider. Until then, I'll continue to switch my lens into manual focus as needed. :D

Thanks,
-Deva

[drisley]

Yes, actually the latest hacked firmware lets you select any of the modes, One Shot, AI Autofocus, AI Servo.

It's just that that the AI Servo isnt quite perfect (as you have to lift and depress the shutter to fire a shot).

One Shot works perfectly though.

[dphoto]

Oh man... now I have to worry about messing with my virgin firmware. Grrr... has anyone out there accidentally converted their camera into a paperweight by hacking their firmware? :D

Thanks Drisley,
-Deva

[roanjohn]

Oh man... now I have to worry about messing with my virgin firmware. Grrr... has anyone out there accidentally converted their camera into a paperweight by hacking their firmware? :D

Thanks Drisley,
-Deva

I haven't heard of any such case.

The hack is just great great great!!

Ro1

[drisley]

The hack is just great great great!!
Ro1
:lol: :lol:
I have to admit, I havent tried the hack yet. As soon as AI Servo becomes fully functional, I will!

[dphoto]

Hehe... ahh, this should be fun. OK, so I know I can go out there and read about the hacks and how to install them, etc. But I have to know... does it cause the camera to behave funny in any other way? In other words, do buttons no longer work like they used to since they were remapped to do something else, etc. I'm just beginning to feel comfortable with my camera as it is. :D

Thanks,
-Deva

[Stapler123]

I just installed it the other day, and usualy being the sort that turns things into a paper weights, this turned out just fine. It is also super easy, atleast compared to flashing the bios on a computer.

As far as I could tell (i didn't read the instructions) The only remapped buttons were not of use in the shooting mode anyway, Jump and the left d pad button.

[drisley]

Thanks Stapler.
I've been wondering about this too.
I flash the bios on my computer all the time, so I think I may actually have to give the hack a try.

[dphoto]

Hey Stapler,

Glad to hear that your firmware upgrade worked out OK for you. Wow, well if it's only remapping buttons that aren't used anyhow, I think that sounds pretty safe. OK, now I've got one more thing I need to go look into. :D

-Deva

[dtrayers]

When I had the 300D I used an earlier version of the hacked firmware with no ill effects. Before I sold it I flashed it back to the factory firmware.

I also tried the 3.5mm phono plug trick to force AF-Servo. You plug it into the cable release jack and it has to be a mono-style plug. It essentially emulates a half pressed shutter release button. Once the plug is in place, you try to get the camera to go into AF-Servo mode by quickly panning the lens, or if you have a FTM lens you can move the focus ring quickly and the camera will go into AF-S mode. It worked great.

HOWEVER, I found that the camera doesn't write to the CF card while the shutter is half pressed, or when the plug is in place. My 10D behaves the same.

You can do this without the plug. Take a shot but don't fully release the shutter button. Take another shot. You won't see any CF activity. Release the shutter button and the red CF light starts blinking. Half press while it's writing to the CF card and the light goes out. Release and the light starts again.

It may be still writing to the card while half pressed, but if so it's a LOT slower.

So I found that the quick focus advantage of the phono plug was offset by constantly filling the buffer and having to pull out the plug to write to the CF card. Then put the plug back and force the camera into AF-S mode again.

It was more trouble than it was worth.

[randyk]

this experience where AF-Servo doesn't kick in fast enuff, is this a consistent problem experienced by the majority of 300D sports shooters?

[roanjohn]

The hack is just great great great!!
Ro1
:lol: :lol:
I have to admit, I havent tried the hack yet. As soon as AI Servo becomes fully functional, I will!

:shock: :shock: HUH??

he he................I was skeptical at first too...........but Single Focus and FEC are just too good to pass up.

Ro1

[drisley]

or if you have a FTM lens you can move the focus ring quickly and the camera will go into AF-S mode.

hmmm, I wonder if doing this will enable Servo even if you dont have the plug in the side... I might try!

addendum: sometimes it will kick in, other times not. I'm charging batteries now and will flash later. Then I will update the firmware after that. :lol: :lol:

[dtrayers]

hmmm, I wonder if doing this will enable Servo even if you dont have the plug in the side... I might try!


Yes, with the shutter half pressed. This is ultimately the method I used. Worked fine with the 85mm which is a USM lens. Didn't work at all with the 50mm MkI as that doesn't have the USM. With that lens I had to point the camera to a close object and quickly move it to a distant object to 'trick' it into AF-Servo.

[drisley]

Wohoo!
I FINALLY tried the latest hacked firmware and IT IS AWESOME!
Right off the bat I was able to increase my maximum allowed RAW pictures on a 512mb card from 66 images to 79 images by making the embedded jpg smaller.

I tried ISO3200, and it is really nice.

But my absolute favourite is the AI Servo! Awesome! Yes, you have to lift your finger and then depress the shutter button to take the shot, but it works instantly and is very easy to do. I expected more of a delay or trouble getting it right, but it is really super and almost seamless!

I was so happy I went to Wasia's webpage to give a donation, but his donation page is in Russian, and has no Paypal option. I definately would give him money for his efforts.

[mttmrphy]

I have installed his latest firmware. Everything works great but I wish I didnt have to lift my finger to use aiservo. Have any of you heard if this is going to be able to be fixed?

[arumdevil]

I hope so.

In the mean time the only other thing to watch out for is not to change the language from english as the camera will lock up. when I accidentally did this, removing the batter restored normal operation in english.

[drisley]

Lifting the finger slightly for a millisecond is no big deal to me. Seems very natural. And I now use AIServo all the time!
It doesnt seem like any more work than continuing to press down the shutter after holding the half press. And I no longer miss shots because AI Autofocus didnt switch to Servo when I wanted.

I too accidentally changed the language and it froze. All you have to do is turn the camera off, and wait for about 2 minutes. It will slowly shut down. No biggie!

[RichardtheSane]

Hi I am currently reading Digital SLR MasterClass by Andy Rouse and he has spoken about AI Servo, is this built into the 300D and does it work?

The reason I ask is I am sure I have seen a thread somewhere about someone saying they wished Canon would fix it in a firmware fix.

Thanks

Nick

Well written book isn't it?

Pity it lacks the character he put in his other books ;)

[buntonn]

Richard yes I thought Andy's book was a really good read, I haven't read any of his other books to comment.

This thread has gained some good interest and comments on AI Servo, thanks to everyone for their input here :D