Live view AF

Hi

I have a 400mm f5.6L lens which I used on my 7dII before I sold it. I have very recently (yesterday) acquired a 5Ds and will be using this lens with it and I believe the AF will work well with it. My question is whether it will work with a 1.4 extender in live view. Obviously it would make it an f8 lens and normal AF wouldn't work but it would be great if I could get one and have live view working. Is this possible?

Thank you

It will but slow, not good for moving subjects.

Sort of related question, when should Live View be used? I am not really clear as to what situations it is best for/should be used?

Thank you for your help pcs. That’s what I though.

I have an R6 on order and I believe it will AF right up to f22 so I will have the extender for use on that.

The 5Ds is obviously a slower, very high resolution camera for landscape and some nature (not BIF) so good to know I can use it on that for its purpose too.

A 5DS will AF at ƒ/8 using the normal phase detect AF through the optical viewfinder. Should work well with the 400 and a Canon 1.4× extender.

Alan

BigAl007 wrote in post #19114466
A 5DS will AF at ƒ/8 using the normal phase detect AF through the optical viewfinder. Should work well with the 400 and a Canon 1.4× extender.

Alan

Tricked into focusing (non-reporting TC, tape, or Kenko DGX), or officially supported with a reporting converter?

If the Kenko DGX TCs play well with the 5Ds, that can get you all AF points active at f/8. The DGX TCs seem to only work well with older cameras that can only officially AF at f/5.6 even in center-point. The DGX Pro 300 1.4 works great on my 7D and 6D, but crashes the 7D2 and 90D.

John Sheehy wrote in post #19114505
Tricked into focusing (non-reporting TC, tape, or Kenko DGX), or officially supported with a reporting converter?

If the Kenko DGX TCs play well with the 5Ds, that can get you all AF points active at f/8. The DGX TCs seem to only work well with older cameras that can only officially AF at f/5.6 even in center-point. The DGX Pro 300 1.4 works great on my 7D and 6D, but crashes the 7D2 and 90D.

From the Canon UK website, the specs for the 5Ds AF system:

AF System/ Points
61 Point / 41 f/4 cross-type AF points inc 5 dual cross type at f/2.8 and 1 cross-type at f/8[11] The number of cross-type AF points will differ depending on the lens.

So the center AF point works at ƒ/8, the note 11 is that the number of cross type points depends on the lens.

Alan

John Sheehy wrote in post #19114505
The DGX Pro 300 1.4 works great on my 7D and 6D, but crashes the 7D2 and 90D.

Also works very well on my 6D2, but crashes it.......if any MFA is dialed in for the lens (inc MFA with just bare lens monuted). So try turning the MFA off, assuming it's not so far out that you truly need it.

Kenko DGX 1.4x works much better than my Canon 1.4x III. The Canon allows only AF for the centre-point, slows the AF right down, and struggles to get a lock.

phreeky wrote in post #19116206
Also works very well on my 6D2, but crashes it.......if any MFA is dialed in for the lens (inc MFA with just bare lens monuted). So try turning the MFA off, assuming it's not so far out that you truly need it.

Kenko DGX 1.4x works much better than my Canon 1.4x III. The Canon allows only AF for the centre-point, slows the AF right down, and struggles to get a lock.

I thought I looked into that a while back, but maybe I didn't. That's not going to help, of course, if MFA is actually needed. At least if MFA is at the crux of the issue, maybe there is no issue with mirror-less. It would be sweet if I could use the DGX 1.4 and the Canon 2xIII stacked on the R5 and get the correct 2.8x EXIF values.

The 5Ds and 5DsR basically have the same AF capability as the 1DX, provided the 1DX isn't an early one that hasn't been updated..

duckster wrote in post #19112901
Sort of related question, when should Live View be used? I am not really clear as to what situations it is best for/should be used?

I use it when the camera is mounted to a tripod, especially with a long lens; helps wih focusing. I also use it when shooting with a low vantage point. That sometimes save getting down on the ground.

Thank you!

duckster wrote in post #19112901
Sort of related question, when should Live View be used? I am not really clear as to what situations it is best for/should be used?

If you have a flipout screen, it adds to the live view mode:

o If you are doing low to the ground photography, like at a water's edge, or low ground macros
o If you are shooting above your head, over a crowd, or wanting to come down onto a scene
o If you have the camera mounted for portraits or scene photography on a tripod
o If you want to get critical focus, and your camera isn't a mirrorless, you have some extra tools available with live view you don't have in the viewfinder, like 5x or 10x digital loupe, or simulated exposure to test settings, or seeing a histogram before the shot, or using focus peaking. If your camera is a mirrorless with an EVF, you can use those same tools via the EVF instead of rear screen.
o Taking videos is sometimes easier using rear screen

duckster wrote in post #19112901
Sort of related question, when should Live View be used? I am not really clear as to what situations it is best for/should be used?

Pretty much need to be on a tripod or else you are holding the camera out from your body to see the screen, and likely won't be as steady. One other thing to add to what John and Teamspeed said is that when in Live View the mirror is already up, so that gets rid of any vibration that could be caused by the mirror flipping up when you snap a picture, equivalent to mirror lockup. Depending on settings, I think, you can also tap the screen and the camera will put the focus point where you touched the screen. There is also a setting where when you touch the screen it will take the picture, I turned that off, I kept taking a picture when I didn't mean to.

Thanks for all the information