AF AI Servo

Hello guys. I have been thinking on using AI Servo or One Shot AF in a wedding ceremony where the entourage are walking down the aisle. Has anyone any experience in using AI Servo? If so, please help me as to how and should I set up the AF points to a certain point.

Thanks in advance!

ralliart_04 wrote in post #10584897
Hello guys. I have been thinking on using AI Servo or One Shot AF in a wedding ceremony where the entourage are walking down the aisle. Has anyone any experience in using AI Servo? If so, please help me as to how and should I set up the AF points to a certain point.

Thanks in advance!

When I shoot weddings I always shoot the wedding party coming down the aisle in AI Servo. You have to in order to get sharp images since they are moving and due to typical indoor low light you will be shooting fairly slow shutter speeds.

Everything else I shoot in One Shot since I like that focus lock comformation green light. I do know that some wedding shooters shoot the entire event in AI.

So bottom line is this...
AI works great and is a must for moving objects.

Canon's simpler cameras don't have many options for AI Servo. If your signature line is correct, then you don't have many more options than selecting a single AF point that covers one of the people in the pair.

The 5D Mark II does have one setting which may be useful, and that's that you can expand the center point with six invisible points. In case the center point tends to end up between the couple, that may be useful.

My advice is, as always, practicing. Since the ceremony will only be once (?), I suggest you get two persons to model for you. Have them walk towards you like you expect it to happen during the real thing. If illumination can be similar, then even better. Take pictures and check whether a single point or point expansion works best.

AI Servo with an outer AF point is what I use most often on my 30D. Sometimes, doing tight children candids, their movements are so erratic and quick reversing that Servo can't keep tracking fast enough, but in your case it should do fine.

I mostly have good light, though.

Is there a setting that I need to enable in the 5D2 that will activate the six invisible points or are they always enabled?

Thanks for the suggestions.

probably a custom function it is on the 5dc

texaskev wrote in post #10585007
When I shoot weddings I always shoot the wedding party coming down the aisle in AI Servo. You have to in order to get sharp images since they are moving and due to typical indoor low light you will be shooting fairly slow shutter speeds.

Everything else I shoot in One Shot since I like that focus lock comformation green light. I do know that some wedding shooters shoot the entire event in AI.

So bottom line is this...
AI works great and is a must for moving objects.

Sounds good to me.

Hmmm, I guess I am alone in the oneshot camp for the processionals. I almost always use flash to freeze the movement, which allows me to shoot with a narrower aperture (f/5 or 5.6 typically). I'll typically just mash the shutter to AF and shoot at the same time with the AF point where I like it. Using oneshot is more successful for me because the AF assist from the flash doesn't kick in with AI servo but in oneshot it does. What I disklike about AI servo is that I never feel secure in the fact that the camera can actually lock focus - particularly during entrances at the reception where it is usually bathed in "mood darkness"

I appreciate all your responses. They are all very timely as I will be covering the event tomorrow. I will try both and see which has the more success rate.

Thank you all!