-= 90D owners unite! Discuss and Post Photos

Has anyone worked out a 90d raw route for linux?
I use Darktable with my 77d RAW files and am very happy with the results, but the 90d is a massive improvement with crop options.
Mouse hovering over the buy button on the 90d but I have to be able to work in linux with it.
Anyone using darktable with 90d?

I've had a 90d since December and have had trouble with the autofocus, even after sending it and the 600/4/1.4x tele to Canon for evaluation. Their recommendation was to use OneShot mode and only use AIServo for birds moving toward or away from me. However, most birds are moving in some way, even if slightly, and getting critical head/eye focus with shallow DOF in OneShot mode is a random procedure, not really reliable, but AIServo is a lot worse, often missing critical focus for long series of images of the same bird, in the same spot, with normal head and body movements at shutter speeds that yeilded sharp images when I switched to LiveView focus.

The AF problem is that it does not put critical focus where I've aimed it reliably, most often backfocussing, no matter how many times I do a micro-focus adjustment. Those adjustment settings, too, have varied at times, not related to operating or ambient temperature.

All my images (RAWs) are examined at 100% in LightRoom or DPP4 or other viewing/editing software and I can often see that best focus is either in front of or behind the subject when it isn't right on. In fact, I can often see that the subject is toward the front of the DOF zone that would have yeilded a critically sharp image, if focus was not too far back.

My experience with Canon products goes back about 30 years and I've been doing nothing but bird photography for the last 7 years, almost daily. Before the 90d, I've been using 5ds and 5dsR bodies with the 600 and 300/2.8 lenses for a couple of years and have not had this problem with them. The 5ds bodies have been easy to do an MFA and reliable in use compared to LiveView images on the same subjects.

If Canon thinks this level of AF performance is acceptable, they are wrong, but the 90d has several features that fix problems for me using the 5ds and I'll still try to use it as much as possible with LiveView and switch to the 5dsR for times when I have to use an AF/optical viewfinder.

scdocrick wrote in post #19038246
Has anyone worked out a 90d raw route for linux?
I use Darktable with my 77d RAW files and am very happy with the results, but the 90d is a massive improvement with crop options.
Mouse hovering over the buy button on the 90d but I have to be able to work in linux with it.
Anyone using darktable with 90d?

It's on the way apparently, this from 5 months ago

https://www.libraw.org​/news/libraw-snapshot-201910

I don't know if it's in darktable 3 or not, I'm still at 2.6.

sidknee wrote in post #19038383
It's on the way apparently, this from 5 months ago

https://www.libraw.org​/news/libraw-snapshot-201910

I don't know if it's in darktable 3 or not, I'm still at 2.6.

Thx for the info.
But what editing software uses Libdraw? Libdraw seems to state darktable does not use it (https://www.libraw.org​/contact - "Please do not report darktable problems because current versions of dt does not use LibRaw"
)
I am looking to work out a good route from 90d CR3 to a Linux editor
Does the camera come with any software that would help with the route?

Wow!!! What a bummer. Can they replace the body?

Great Horned Owls: With and without attitude!

scdocrick wrote in post #19038421
Thx for the info.
But what editing software uses Libdraw? Libdraw seems to state darktable does not use it (https://www.libraw.org​/contact - "Please do not report darktable problems because current versions of dt does not use LibRaw"
)
I am looking to work out a good route from 90d CR3 to a Linux editor
Does the camera come with any software that would help with the route?

I don't know much about it either but from a quick google it seems at least gthumb, gwenview and digikam us libraw, and out of the 3 of them I know digikam does raw conversion. I am therefore going to assume that if digikam is using the latest version of libraw you might have some luck. I don't know but I am going to keep an eye on it as any upgrade in canon world for me will contain the same issue. Good luck.

cdmazoff wrote in post #19038562
Great Horned Owls: With and without attitude!

Hosted photo: posted by cdmazoff in
./showthread.php?p=190​38562&i=i193831936
forum: Canon Digital Cameras

Hosted photo: posted by cdmazoff in
./showthread.php?p=190​38562&i=i256099421
forum: Canon Digital Cameras

Nice work!!!

So does anyone know what exactly changed with AF from the 70d to 80d to 90d? 70d and 80d have worked wonders for me. Reading this about the 90d makes me wonder if one matched all of the settings from an 80d to the 90d, why would the 90d not operate the same?

FrankKolwicz wrote in post #19038359
I've had a 90d since December and have had trouble with the autofocus, even after sending it and the 600/4/1.4x tele to Canon for evaluation. Their recommendation was to use OneShot mode and only use AIServo for birds moving toward or away from me. However, most birds are moving in some way, even if slightly, and getting critical head/eye focus with shallow DOF in OneShot mode is a random procedure, not really reliable, but AIServo is a lot worse, often missing critical focus for long series of images of the same bird, in the same spot, with normal head and body movements at shutter speeds that yeilded sharp images when I switched to LiveView focus.

The AF problem is that it does not put critical focus where I've aimed it reliably, most often backfocussing, no matter how many times I do a micro-focus adjustment. Those adjustment settings, too, have varied at times, not related to operating or ambient temperature.

All my images (RAWs) are examined at 100% in LightRoom or DPP4 or other viewing/editing software and I can often see that best focus is either in front of or behind the subject when it isn't right on. In fact, I can often see that the subject is toward the front of the DOF zone that would have yeilded a critically sharp image, if focus was not too far back.

My experience with Canon products goes back about 30 years and I've been doing nothing but bird photography for the last 7 years, almost daily. Before the 90d, I've been using 5ds and 5dsR bodies with the 600 and 300/2.8 lenses for a couple of years and have not had this problem with them. The 5ds bodies have been easy to do an MFA and reliable in use compared to LiveView images on the same subjects.

If Canon thinks this level of AF performance is acceptable, they are wrong, but the 90d has several features that fix problems for me using the 5ds and I'll still try to use it as much as possible with LiveView and switch to the 5dsR for times when I have to use an AF/optical viewfinder.

When I first noticed this problem and tried and failed to find my own possible errors, I sent the 90d along with the lens and telextender to Canon Pro Services. They found nothing wrong and only told me to use OneShot instead of AIservo. The phone tech said that AIservo doesn't work well when a bird isn't moving (!?). Which is funny, because AIservo worked fine on my 5ds, 5dsR, 7dii, 5dIV, etc. So, no, Canon won't do anything about it. Or they just put a crappy AF system in the camera because it isn't pro-grade and expect me to suck it up.

What I suspect is that my use is too uncommon for them to care. I use a 600/4 with a 1.4 or 2x teleconverter almost all the time. On the 90d that gives an effective focal length of 1344mm or 1920mm. At those focal lengths, even at f/11, DOF is minuscule and small changes are easily visible. I'm sure a lot of bird photogs use similar focal lengths, but probably not all the time, like I do (it's quite rare for me to be able to use anything as "short" as 600mm).

The 90d likely would "work wonders" for you, if you're not pushing it as much as I do with my long focal lengths, but, it may be that it aslo depends on other factors.

Looking at the 2 GHOwl photo in a previous message, check out the branches behind the birds - the needle leaves on those branches are just about as sharp as the birds themselves. There's a lot of DOF there and that will easily mask a missed critical focus that would show up with my lens setup. Perhaps, examining that image at 100% in the original file would show where critical focus is, but not in a low res shot like this.

Ah.. but you see I critically misfocused... to get everything to work. hahahahaha... Shoot at f9 .. focus in between the birds. For the single bird, focus on the chest which is slightly sticking out.. The DOF will cover the rest... But.. I'm quite far away... These guys are way up there...

FrankKolwicz wrote in post #19039160
When I first noticed this problem and tried and failed to find my own possible errors, I sent the 90d along with the lens and telextender to Canon Pro Services. They found nothing wrong and only told me to use OneShot instead of AIservo. The phone tech said that AIservo doesn't work well when a bird isn't moving (!?). Which is funny, because AIservo worked fine on my 5ds, 5dsR, 7dii, 5dIV, etc. So, no, Canon won't do anything about it. Or they just put a crappy AF system in the camera because it isn't pro-grade and expect me to suck it up.

What I suspect is that my use is too uncommon for them to care. I use a 600/4 with a 1.4 or 2x teleconverter almost all the time. On the 90d that gives an effective focal length of 1344mm or 1920mm. At those focal lengths, even at f/11, DOF is minuscule and small changes are easily visible. I'm sure a lot of bird photogs use similar focal lengths, but probably not all the time, like I do (it's quite rare for me to be able to use anything as "short" as 600mm).

I have no doubt you are having AF problems, and that you know your gear, but I don't understand the problem you are having exactly.

From Dofmaster, the depth of field with the bare 600mm lens at f/11 and at a distance of 8 meters is 7 cm (3"). That is not a lot but should be OK for a typical passerine.

With the 2X on the 600, you would back up to 16 meters for the same framing. The new DOF at f/11 is also 7 cm.

So the DOF seems to be adequate. I ran a calculation to see if maybe there is an issue with the depth of focus (at the sensor plane), but that doesn't seem to be critical. Maybe the 90D firmware is not up to calculating the placement of the focus elements at these focal lengths.

Hi Frank.. I have struggled with AF on the 90D as well. These are the steps I have taken. I shoot with the 100-400 ii and the 1.4 ex III always attached.

I shoot birds only.

1) Do you shake? I shake. I now use a monopod and also try to brace myself on a tree or post. I use the OVF
2) Do you use single point or 9 point? I use both. 9 point for BIF
3) Do you use BBF? Makes all the difference in the world to me because the extra "gripping" helps to stabilize the camera
4) Have you turned off iTR AF Tracking? That is: turn off face tracking and tracking sensitivity. Are your shutters set to focus priority?
5) I use Continuous focus All the time and 10 fps. Remember if you use BBF and you take your thumb off the BB you are now in One-Shot and also can use the Manual Override Focus on the lens if needed.
6) Because I have really poor health, I always shoot in lousy afternoon light!!!! haahahah.. I am trying to learn to make allowances for glare and more glare. Lousy glary light will ruin a shot quicker than anything.
7) I am set at f9 always (unless there is a lot of light and I have plenty of time to fiddle)
8) I shoot manual on Auto ISO. If the light is good I'm shooting as fast as I can for BIF
9) My focus seems to be getting better.. but I'm thinking a lot of it has to do with light and stability
10) Oh I set my acceleration to + 1 and it seems to help

Good luck

FrankKolwicz wrote in post #19038359
I've had a 90d since December and have had trouble with the autofocus, even after sending it and the 600/4/1.4x tele to Canon for evaluation. Their recommendation was to use OneShot mode and only use AIServo for birds moving toward or away from me. However, most birds are moving in some way, even if slightly, and getting critical head/eye focus with shallow DOF in OneShot mode is a random procedure, not really reliable, but AIServo is a lot worse, often missing critical focus for long series of images of the same bird, in the same spot, with normal head and body movements at shutter speeds that yeilded sharp images when I switched to LiveView focus.

The AF problem is that it does not put critical focus where I've aimed it reliably, most often backfocussing, no matter how many times I do a micro-focus adjustment. Those adjustment settings, too, have varied at times, not related to operating or ambient temperature.

All my images (RAWs) are examined at 100% in LightRoom or DPP4 or other viewing/editing software and I can often see that best focus is either in front of or behind the subject when it isn't right on. In fact, I can often see that the subject is toward the front of the DOF zone that would have yeilded a critically sharp image, if focus was not too far back.

My experience with Canon products goes back about 30 years and I've been doing nothing but bird photography for the last 7 years, almost daily. Before the 90d, I've been using 5ds and 5dsR bodies with the 600 and 300/2.8 lenses for a couple of years and have not had this problem with them. The 5ds bodies have been easy to do an MFA and reliable in use compared to LiveView images on the same subjects.

If Canon thinks this level of AF performance is acceptable, they are wrong, but the 90d has several features that fix problems for me using the 5ds and I'll still try to use it as much as possible with LiveView and switch to the 5dsR for times when I have to use an AF/optical viewfinder.