Canon sports shooters...what mode do you shoot in?

I shoot in AI Servo, but the little focus box doesn't follow the motion. What am I doing wrong?

Servo is the focus mode that provides continuous focus so that is the right mode to use for sports shooting. As for the focus point selection, I would say that most of us use single point or single point with the surrounding helpers and learn to follow the action with that point. Letting the camera chose the focus point is not recommended since the camera will not reliably stay on the subject as you want it to.

Also, many of us use a back button on the camera to activate focus instead of tying focus to the shutter button for independent control of the two functions.

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Could you please tell us which camera you are using? . It is difficult to offer help if we have no idea what model of camera you are using.
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anitaw2 wrote in post #18621805
I shoot in AI Servo, but the little focus box doesn't follow the motion. What am I doing wrong?

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You need to hold the button down the whole time to get it to follow focus.

This is true whether you use the shutter button or the back button for focusing duties. . If you are using the shutter button to initiate focus (which I do not recommend), then you need to keep it pressed halfway down in order to run continuous follow focus.


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How far away from the "action" will you be?
Will you need to shoot wide open (shallow dof)?

I am usually far enough away (skiing, car racing, boating) that I set my aperture so that I do not worry about DOF. and depending on the effect, a high shutter speed (I usually am shooting manual).

I will usually pre focus on a point I know the subject will cross, so I do not worry about the camera not focusing fast enough.

I have the Canon 7D, back button focus and single point AF. I was using the canon 35mm 1.4L lens and it wasn't doing anything. I was shooting some wind surfers and the focus point wasn't doing anything on AI servo which I found was very weird. I wasn't near the surfers but with my canon 70-200 f4, the focus point always follows the subjects.

anitaw2 wrote in post #18621983
I have the Canon 7D, back button focus and single point AF.

That set-up is perfect. . Excellent choices!

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anitaw2 wrote in post #18621983
I was using the canon 35mm 1.4L lens and it wasn't doing anything. I was shooting some wind surfers and the focus point wasn't doing anything on AI servo which I found was very weird.

That is very weird.

Can you use this combination in a different area, such as in a room? . Aim the camera all around the room (with your thumb keeping the back button depressed the whole time, of course). . Aim at some things right next to you and then aim at a wall 10 or 12 feet away, to see if it keeps up in that scenario.


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I will try tonight and let you know how I make out.

I shoot with a Canon 7D2 and use manual exposure and auto ISO. This way I can set the f/stop where I want it and also set the shutter speed

I use AI Servo AF and I will have the camera in burst mode.

I set up the camera differently from many other photographers since I have never been able to get used to back button focusing. Instead, I program the AF On Button to be AF Off. That way, if I have to focus and recompose in AI Servo, I can stop the refocusing of the lens when I recompose.

However, I seldom need to focus and recompose with the 7D2 but, need that often when using the 6D2 because of the array is crammed into the center of the frame on that camera. I don't often shoot sports with the 6D2

The 65-point AF system of the EOS 7D Mark II covers a much larger percentage of the picture area than the 61-point AF system of the EOS-1D X and EOS 5D Mark III. This is mostly due to the smaller image sensor of the EOS 7D Mark II, but the net result is that it's possible to autofocus off-center subjects closer to the edges.

I love the 7D2 and the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens for action photography but, if I were shooting professionally, I think that I might select a 70-200mm f/2.8 IS and a 400mm f/2.8 IS as my lens combination on a pair of cameras...

anitaw2 wrote in post #18621983
I have the Canon 7D, back button focus and single point AF. I was using the canon 35mm 1.4L lens and it wasn't doing anything. I was shooting some wind surfers and the focus point wasn't doing anything on AI servo which I found was very weird. I wasn't near the surfers but with my canon 70-200 f4, the focus point always follows the subjects.

Anita, I'm going to suggest something really basic, not to be insulting, but because it happened to me. Did you accidentally bump the auto focus switch on the lens to manual focus? I know it sounds crazy but it happened to me once and it was disorienting for a while before I figured it out. Your comment "It wasn't doing anything" made me think of that. The other suggestions here seem to be spot on.

Phil

Zivnuska wrote in post #18622132
Did you accidentally bump the auto focus switch on the lens to manual focus? I know it sounds crazy but it happened to me once and it was disorienting for a while before I figured it out.

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That happened to me once, too. . Took me weeks to figure out what was wrong.


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Tom Reichner wrote in post #18622142
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That happened to me once, too. . Took me weeks to figure out what was wrong.

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Ha! I'm feeling better about myself already.

im not sure i understand what your camera is not doing and what you expect it to do unless...

you have a LOT (or most or all) of the focus points initiated...

i run AI Servo, Manual mode, and only the single point for focus and put that single point on the athlete i want in focus...

if you have all or most of the focus points initiated and are panning or following the action, then i can see where the point that grabs the focus would not move. youve effectively locked on with one point and it holds focus on your subject...

Ltdave wrote in post #18622186
im not sure i understand what your camera is not doing and what you expect it to do unless...

you have a LOT (or most or all) of the focus points initiated...

i run AI Servo, Manual mode, and only the single point for focus and put that single point on the athlete i want in focus...

if you have all or most of the focus points initiated and are panning or following the action, then i can see where the point that grabs the focus would not move. youve effectively locked on with one point and it holds focus on your subject...

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Anita already addressed focus point selection in a previous post:
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anitaw2 wrote in post #18621983
I have the Canon 7D, back button focus and single point AF.

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ok, I tried it last night and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong; single point AF, AI Servo, back button focus, keeping my finger on the back button. I can hear to motor but the little box isn't tracking any movement, when I put it on zone AF, etc... it works perfectly. Am I missing something?

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when you are in single point focus, that little box will not track. It is where it is. You must track the subject by moving the camera.