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Turn off the auto ISO and the Highlight priority for a start.
theres auto iso, I couldn't find it in manual
where aways to turn it back on?
Turn off the auto ISO and the Highlight priority for a start.
I've not got a 5D Mk II but was curious if anyone uses a 85mm f/1.2 II with it and what they think? Was toying with the idea of trading in some gear for both these pieces of kit.
Turn off the auto ISO and the Highlight priority for a start.
David, press the ISO button and scroll to A, you really are better with it turned off though.....it's sadly lacking in usefulness
Page 58 of the manual deals with it.
Nikon seem to understand how to make the feature worthwhile :bang:
in manual it sits at 400 if I do that
was hoping to be able to control DoF and shutter while the cam makes decisions
This is a camera that I have been toying with buying for a long time. I have a 1ds mk2 and have been very very pleased with it and will keep it as I have done with all my past cameras. A question or two I would like to ask. When you take the camera out of the box, have many of you been happy shooting with "factory" settings? I always shoot RAW so I suppose that allows me to have more fine adjustment in post processing. Finally, although I do not intend to get heavy into video, where can I find a good intro to using the 5dmk2 for absolute beginners?
Hope to stay with you guys for many moons to come!!!
The auto ISO works ok in Av and Tv modes (which are the ones I use 90% of the time) but in M it sadly defaults to 400. It'd be nice if you could set upper and lower limits to the Auto ISO in all shooting modes. It must be an easy firmware fix but for some reason Canon ignores it.
I would question if a 5DII is the right camera for you if you are an absolute beginner to be honest.
Surely the whole point of Manual is that you make the settings yourself. And then they are locked.
How can you control anything if you let the camera make decisions. :shake:
Surely the whole point of Manual is that you make the settings yourself. And then they are locked.
Quite, however I can see benefit from being able to set aperture and shutter speed and let the camera work out the iso within a given range. Ok, it's not Manual but it could have it's uses.
I use it that way a lot when lighting is constant, but indoors in changing light sometimes it'd be handy to have the camera always use f2 and keep the shutter at 1/125 to stop any motion blur then let it cover the exposure. Neither Av or Tv give me the results I want but that mode might (if it existed)
Hi All,
I do mainly gig photography, so low light and lots of extremes. Using a 5D1 and serious thinking of upgrading to a 5DII. I would like the MKII because of the better high ISO perormance and the better screen for mor accurate editing!
I do however find a lot of soft shots where the AF hasn't locked on properly, particularly annoying when I am sure I have nailed the shot. Its definitely a low light issue and the camera seems to focus on something else on the subject or nothing in particular. Sometimes it works just fine.....perhaps I am just expecting too much?
I generally use the camera in portrait, single shot, with just the upper AF point to face focus. I am using a 35mm 1.4L and tend to keep in AV mode.
Is the AF system the same in the 5DII? I wondered if any of you use the II I low light and wha your experiences were.
Ta,
Dunc
Hi Hoppy,Use the centre AF point in difficult situations.
Centre AF point is sensitive to both horizontal and vertical lines, while the other points are either one or the other.
With lenses of f/2.8 and lower, the sensitivity of the centre point is doubled.
I'm assuming that the 5D is the same. See handbook. That should sort it.
the af is unchanged, the sensor itself is lovely and the screen is to die for but it does miss focus a lot
for low light the noise control is astounding but focusing lets it down
Hi Hoppy,
Yes it does but I find being so close even with the 35mm I can't get the full length of the subject in, using the centre point. I try an avoid the focus and recompose method but i will give it a go on my next outing. Thanks for the reply!
Dunc
I see your problem If the outer AF points aren't working reliably for you, it's got to be worth giving the centre point focus-recompose method a go.
It has its drawbacks of course, but TBH they have never been a problem for me and I like the control and reliability it gives, so long as you are aware of the potential pitfalls. I have not had any problem using focus recompose, even in very testing circumstances, and my lenses are only f/4 (Canon L though). I tend to agree with Trixster.
Focus-recompose is a technique that needs a bit of practise. Or maybe it's just a habit I've developed. Basically, if the subject is moving a bit but I need that level of accuracy and control, I will focus-recompose maybe faster than once a second if needs be.
I know that the 5D2's AF is not state of the art but I still find it to be very good indeed. I even used it for some motorsport recently using servo tracking. The circumstances were not very testing but I fully expected it to struggle - it nailed 100%!
In what way does it miss focus a lot? How does the focusing let it down? I'm sorry but I think these concepts are rubbish to be honest - the 5d mk ii has never miss focused for me and it's certainly a lot more reliable than my old 450d which perhaps only hit 70% of the time. Granted, compared to the recent rash of camera bodies the 5dii's focusing system is not cutting edge but for the camera's intended purpose it's absolutely fine. An updated AF in a new iteration would be great but the mark ii's AF is not a problem as it stands. I'd like it to have the AF system of the 7D, indeed I'd like it to have 9 cross-type AF points like the 40d but it doesn't. I'll live with that and I'm perfectly happy to do so!
poor light, low contrast target, shallow DoF any point but center. During the day its brilliant but it starts to fall off a a long way before anything with 1series AF and theres nowt to do about it.
I wouldn't trade the body for anything else in the price range but AF does let it down sometimes.
poor light, low contrast target, shallow DoF any point but center. During the day its brilliant but it starts to fall off a a long way before anything with 1series AF and theres nowt to do about it.
I wouldn't trade the body for anything else in the price range but AF does let it down sometimes.
poor light, low contrast target, shallow DoF any point but center. During the day its brilliant but it starts to fall off a a long way before anything with 1series AF and theres nowt to do about it.
I wouldn't trade the body for anything else in the price range but AF does let it down sometimes.
I do use the center point when either the thing I want is in the center or when I stand a better chance of shooting wide then copping to compose properly
but below f2 focussing and recomposing DOESN'T WORK, works amazingly when you hve the depth of field to take it into account but if I've got enough light to stop down like that then I don't need to use the center point.
I use center point for tracking as its the only focus point that has a hope
The focus-recompose thing is not a problem with f/number directly, it is a problem with very shallow depth of field, which is not necessarily quite the same. It also depends on the distance.
I reckon focus-recompose shifts the focusing distance by around 1cm, so you have to be pretty damn close, and working to an extremely high level of accuracy, for that to make a meaningful difference. Basically close portrait head-shots at f/1.4 - that's going to be tricky