So another photographer was at my soccer game

My only question to his set up is why he would have his focus, especially in one shot, on the shutter and not on the splat (*) button. Then again we all have our ways that work best for us and the situation.

Jack

TV is good if you want to fix your shutter speed with varying light AV is for the 2.8

dmwierz wrote in post #5819648
I think you've got that backwards - the only way to ensure you'll be at f/2.8 is to shoot in Av or Manual, not Tv.

I also shoot Av frequently when the light is variable (from clouds or even at night, when the lighting varies across a playing surface).

I'm trying to imagine what I would ever use P or TV mode for ?

M & AV are the only two modes that I ever use.

Fabian9931 wrote in post #5817825
First he is an idiot to leave his equiptment alone like he did, but I had his back. So I notice that he is on Av (why?) with AI Servo (why?) and his IS lens on 2 not 1 (why?).

Don't judge too quickly. I regularly leave equipment next to field. If there's not much people around it's not that bad. And people are still honest... hopefully
Why AV? I have no idea, shooting manual is only normal way to go when shooting sport.
AI Servo.... only possible way to shoot action. It's too hot for me to feel like explaining how and why, but if you really can't find anywhere what's difference between AI servo and One shot, let me know
IS set to 2. I have this set by default on my 300/2.8 too, but normally IS is turned off. With IS set to 2, IS is working only for up/down movement, not for left/right movement. This enables you to use it for panning, when lens is moved from left to right (or opposite) without IS engaging.

Primo - with all due respect, this simply is not true. Manual isn't the ONLY "normal" way to shoot sports. It's is a GOOD way, for sure, but many, many pro shooters (myself included) choose Av when the light is challenging.

I think not disabling the beep, having the focus still tied into the shutter, focusing 8-12 times on a group shots are all clues that we need to focus on.

He might be a great photog but the 3 things I mentioned would raise a few eyebrows.

Ask yourselves this:

"Would I have the beep enabled, focus 10 times on a group shot, and still have the focus on the shutter button?"

Ok ok It's not THE ONLY way Personally I have way more problems with changing AV settings then changing manual settings, even when light is changing. But that's me

With 1d beep can be enabled by accident. On turn on/off button you have actually 3 options. 1 is off, second is "normal" on, and third is on with beep. So if you accidentally push turn on/off switch too far, you get beep confirmation. But it's also true, that it's annoying thing, which I would turn off right away even if I would accidentally turn it on.

danaitch wrote in post #5818911
Secondly, I can only guess that he's a pi55-poor 'portrait' photographer if he chimps after every 'one shot' image he attempts!!

Or he is a professional who cares about delivering results, and so double-checks to make sure he's gotten what he needs (as opposed to assuming he has)....

V.

Alexajlex wrote in post #5819922
I think not disabling the beep, having the focus still tied into the shutter, focusing 8-12 times on a group shots are all clues that we need to focus on.

He might be a great photog but the 3 things I mentioned would raise a few eyebrows.

Ask yourselves this:

"Would I have the beep enabled, focus 10 times on a group shot, and still have the focus on the shutter button?"

Why would these raise eyebrows? They're all just methods of working. May work for you, may not. Personally, I have the beep turned off, the focus on * just doesn't feel right for me, and I will probably pre-focus several times before taking a portrait.

I think people are ragging on a guy over really petty stuff here.

Alexajlex wrote in post #5819922
"Would I have the beep enabled, focus 10 times on a group shot, and still have the focus on the shutter button?"

With the exception of the beep, YES.

Maybe he was using "All focus points" and was trying to get one certain one lit up... maybe they were focusing on the ground, or the trees or the clouds...lol

....I have a 'bad' copy of the 24-70 f/2.8 so one of the things is does, and I have tested this on a tripod, is that when you AF on a spot and it locks you can release the shutter/af button and then immediately engage it again only to find that it moves. So everytime you push the AF button you can see the lens change the focus ever so slightly, even on a tripod, and even shooting a completely non-moving stable subject. So the trick i have to play is to try and find a spot to focus on that does not keep moving everytime I push the AF button. If I don't I will quite often get a back-focus shot, even when it looks right in the viewfinder. So even though I do not have the beep on, I often times will AF many times before taking the shot due to this issue. It's bad enough that I often choose not to use this lens, or use it at a smaller aperture than I would normally. Yes, I am sending it in to Canon to fix sometime soon. When I originally had this problem I had one camera and this one lens. A call to Canon and they told me to send in the camera, not the lens. Where they adjusted it and sent it back. After a few iterations of doing this and it not fixing things they told me it was probably the lens.... which by this time is not under warantee anymore. So i will be stuck with the bill, live and learn I guess...

GilesGuthrie wrote in post #5820849
Why would these raise eyebrows? They're all just methods of working. May work for you, may not. Personally, I have the beep turned off, the focus on * just doesn't feel right for me, and I will probably pre-focus several times before taking a portrait.

I think people are ragging on a guy over really petty stuff here.

I would understand focusing 4-5 max.

Anything after that is way too much.

The best I can relate to is the fact that: 1) On a group shot you already kind of know your AP setting that you work with (f8+ since large groups tend to be 2 rows, focus on middle row, etc.)

2) When it comes to real life scenarios where the group has to go on and do something else (i.e. play a game, have a team meet with a coach) you only have around 5-10 seconds to get the shot.

Perfect example:

I was at the 2008 Futaba XFC Championships (Model Plane/Heli RC).
You had 3-5 seconds to get a shot of the winners with the check before they moved on.
There was time for one of us (there were 15-20 photogs) to yell "Smile" or "Hold the check up" and a few seconds to grab the frame.

The way it went was like this:
1)Name is announced
2)Person walks in (there were some that walked in from a different side than expected).
3)Had the XTi with the 85 1.8 to snap a few candids of them smiling and walking to the podium.
3)They get the check shake hands, etc.
4)Get the check, yell "hold thec check, yell "smile", yell "everyone now smile" (since there are quite a few people in each frame and you want to get everyone smiling or at least looking at the camera).
5)Quick breath and everything happens again.

Some may say this was different and the soccer team probably was not in a hurry (I'll give them that...but truly everyone is in a hurry).
IMO you can't focus 10-12 times or you may find yourself missing a lot of group shots where speed is the key (award ceremonies, etc.)

Alexajlex wrote in post #5821335
I would understand focusing 4-5 max.

Anything after that is way too much.

The best I can relate to is the fact that: 1) On a group shot you already kind of know your AP setting that you work with (f8+ since large groups tend to be 2 rows, focus on middle row, etc.)

2) When it comes to real life scenarios where the group has to go on and do something else (i.e. play a game, have a team meet with a coach) you only have around 5-10 seconds to get the shot.

Raising your eyebrows at someone else's technique really is nothing more than an exercise in know-it-all wankerism. Every photographer & situation is different.