Canon 7D AF tracking

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GRECIAN

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Liam.
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I have moved from Nikon D300s to Canon 7D mainly bcause i love Canon lenses.

i use to love watching the AF points on my D300s track across the screen when a flock of birds flew past and i felt assured if i hit the shutter button i would get a nice shot of a BIF totally in focus.

Since buying my 7D i have only had 2 chances to try a BIF both shoots were of a single Hawk flying over the Estuary, i had the camera set to single point tracking and i was happy to see the AF point seem to track the Hawk, however not one of the shots were actually in focus and most had the water below the bird in focus.

I am fully aware the problem is me but would certainly be interested to know if anyone else has had the same problem and also would love to know if anyone has found the best way to get this feature working on the 7D
 
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I've just got a 7D and have no idea what yo're talking about, but it sounds interesting.
Does the camera have the ability to track/focus moving objects across the screen?
 
Hi,

I use the 7D and for subjects like this, Canon recommends, "AI Servo AF" mode

In this mode the AF system is set to detect a moving subject, focus on it, and maintain focus as you release the shutter. This mode is ideal for subjects moving in three-dimensional space; that is, toward or away from the camera.

I use the centre AF point, although you are able to be more selective and choose alternative points - What I found is that you need to "lock the focus on the target" (my camera does not show me any red lights to say this has occurred) and then track the object, as I have read it needs a short while to be able to predict the objects movement - if you do not track the object sufficiently to enable the camera to predict the objects movement then it has been reported that the first shot can be blurred.

You also need to practice a smooth panning technique and do not stop moving the camera when you press the shutter button.

Also you need lots of practice!

Regards

ps - Canon (USA) do a great series of online videos to follow on a wide variety of subjects - click here and watch Video 1 as it does include examples on tracking subjects.
 
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lostsoulal2 said:
Hi,

I use the 7D and for subjects like this, Canon recommends, "AI Servo AF" mode

In this mode the AF system is set to detect a moving subject, focus on it, and maintain focus as you release the shutter. This mode is ideal for subjects moving in three-dimensional space; that is, toward or away from the camera.

I use the centre AF point, although you are able to be more selective and choose alternative points - What I found is that you need to "lock the focus on the target" (my camera does not show me any red lights to say this has occurred) and then track the object, as I have read it needs a short while to be able to predict the objects movement - if you do not track the object sufficiently to enable the camera to predict the objects movement then it has been reported that the first shot can be blurred.

You also need to practice a smooth panning technique and do not stop moving the camera when you press the shutter button.

Also you need lots of practice!

Regards

ps - Canon (USA) do a great series of online videos to follow on a wide variety of subjects - click here and watch Video 1 as it does include examples on tracking subjects.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply and info, I think it is my technique that is to blame however I can see the AF system is a lot better than the Nikons but I guess the trade off is that it is a lot more fiddly to get right until you are use to it.
 
-Rob- said:
You should have stuck with the D300s!!! I have used the 3D tracking feature on the D300 many times and it just works and it works almost flawlessly.
Click to expand...

Hi Susan lol, you are right the AF tracking is good on the Nikon, however i think that Canon L lenses while more affordable than Nikon for myself on my budget are also far superior in IQ and the new 7d AF system as a whole i have found to be amazing in so many different situations.

That is only MHO and what do i know, each to our own i guess.
 
GRECIAN said:
I have moved from Nikon D300s to Canon 7D mainly bcause i love Canon lenses.

i use to love watching the AF points on my D300s track across the screen when a flock of birds flew past and i felt assured if i hit the shutter button i would get a nice shot of a BIF totally in focus.

Since buying my 7D i have only had 2 chances to try a BIF both shoots were of a single Hawk flying over the Estuary, i had the camera set to single point tracking and i was happy to see the AF point seem to track the Hawk, however not one of the shots were actually in focus and most had the water below the bird in focus.

I am fully aware the problem is me but would certainly be interested to know if anyone else has had the same problem and also would love to know if anyone has found the best way to get this feature working on the 7D
Click to expand...
Best way I have found when tracking birds with the 7D is to enable single point expansion and set tracking sensitivity to Slow - setting the sensitivity to slow helps a lot as you have time to recover the bird if you lose it, whereas if you have the sensitivity set on fast (or even medium) the moment you lose the bird it will latch on to something in the BG.
 
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