10D A/F system Improved Over D60?

[photography By Evangelos]

I just wanted to see if any one of the first new 10D owners thinks that the A/F system is very much improved over the D60? How is the LOW LIGHT A/F performance? Any info is good info. Thanks and have a great day.

[lziering]

Just got it home and out of the box. First pics look good and auto focus appears much better. Camera feels much more solid, controls are better, LCD better, LCD zoom is much better. Only complaints so far are of two battery slots on charger and elimination of the A/C adapter.

One nice thing is that at Samy's here in LA Canon had a promo where they picked up the sales tax. Saved me $123!!! So after selling my D60 on eBay for $1375 I'm into this new 10D for $124. Definately worth it.

Will update after playing/testing more.

[taob]

Huge performance gain going from the D60 to the 10D. I would describe the D60's AF performance as "tolerable but unreliable". The 10D is up to "quick, very useable". Not yet 1V/1D standards, but what do you expect? AF is no longer a glaring weak point of Canon's entry-level digital SLRs. I haven't done any scientific tests, but the 10D AF starts up much faster than the D60 and hunts less in low light. Having 7 AF points may also be a benefit to some (though I stick with just the center point). All in all, the AF experience on a 10D is much better and much less worrisome than on the D30/D60.

[lziering]

Sticking with the center focus point can cause problems with you have backlit, off center subjects. The camera llinks metering with the focus point. So if you focus with the center point and recompose without locking the exposure you will not get a properly exposed shot.

[photography By Evangelos]

This is all good info. How ever is the A/F really better in low light? I am a wedding photographer and have sufferd with the D60 in low light so that is why I am asking. I have 2 on order to replace the D60's so my hopes are this the A/F will work in low light and not hunt and hund and not work at all. Thanks and have a great day.

[Longwatcher]

My initial tests in low lit room indicate far superior AF on 10D then D60, still won't catch it every time, but it has usually got it without hunting if there is some contrast and except against black backdrop have not had it not eventually lock on correct focus. Finshed processing a model shoot from Saturday. I usually use AF since my eyes occasionally defocus and have been known to correct for incorrectly focused optics (too much time staring into poorly calibrated microscopes). On a typical shoot with D-60 in studio, about one in 8 shots will be off slightly in autofocus, with 10D I only had 4 out of 403 mainly because it went for the wrong model of two and depth of field caught me with the 16-35mm wide open.

Just my experience to date with only 3 days under my belt with the 10D