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if only the 50D had better AF....

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eric77 said:
yes....i do. it's more accurate. i've used some 1 series bodies at
length and they're always a lot more accurate.

i guess i'm also saying the 40D is a great camera and other than
being able to adjust for back/front focusing (though not across the
total range, as others have pointed out) i don't see much more that's
very useful.

just a few more bells and whistles, but i think phil said it best
when he called the 50D a sister-model to the 40D and not a
replacement.
Click to expand...
The 1 series AF is more accurate for a number of reasons. It has more AF points, but is also has dual processors, one of which is dedicated to the AF system. Also, while I like the AF on my 1DMK2, there are times when my 5D does a better job on moving objects.

--
jerryk.smugmug.com
 
I have a 1DS-mk3, I use center point only for action, and some outer points sometimes for landscapes. But I moslty MF for landscapes so this is optional.

All I want in an AF is high accuarcy of the center point. Rapid aquisition is another important feature, as is low light accuracy. They can keep the extra AF points.

The most important new addition on the 50D is Micro adjust, because the factory tolerance for focus is not tight enough for critical focus wide open.

I used to think that having AF up to f8 was important so I could use a 2X on my 500f4. Now that I have used it, I am going to sell it. It probably works ok on an f2.8 lens, but not an f4.

--
http://www.pbase.com/roserus/root

Ben
 
I'm kinda' leading towards the 5DMII myself. The only reason I am waiting for the 5D replacement is the cleaning system...for whatever reason I've always had dust problems. I guess when I look at the AF system in the D300 I am kind of wondering what Canon is thinking.
santa said:
Lack of better and more AF points was exactly why I'm not buying one.
I still use my MKII because of the superior focusing and the
availability of more AF points. I do in fact use the added points
when shooting some sports and other things. It allows me to have a
focus point properly set while composing best for the image. Even if
the AF wasn't improved and the 50D simply had more AF points I would
have sold my 40D and purchased a 50D. It would have been just the
tipping point for me. For some folks it's not important. For others
it's important. I don't need a 50D in spite of the better high ISO,
but when the 5D comes out, I'll be buying two of them because in a FF
model, I'm looking for using it for weddings and night photography
and don't care about the AF points with that. I'll have two on order
or pre-order as soon as I can. At some point I'll get a MKIV,
skipping over the MKIII entirely but that will be a bit down the
line. People talk as if more or less AF points, or better or worse AF
itself has any meaning. It only has meaning in the context of what a
person is shooting and how they shoot which is why people have
multiple bodies and why some prefer one brand over another. 50D looks
like a great camera. Too bad about the low number of AF points. Some
don't care, others actually would make use of more AF points (like
me), but nothing to get in a twitter about.
Click to expand...
--
Signature With Full List Of Stuff I Own
 
I shoot portraits and use every one of the 51 points with my D300. When shooting with my 40D I make due with the 9 pionts. It's not that big of deal. The real problem I see with the 50D is the AF sensitivity. It has the same specs as my 40D so I fear it is not very good in low-light. I wish Canon would have held back the additional pixels and ISO and just gave us 1 series AF. I can imagine the pattern noinse (banding) is going to be terrible at ISO 6400 and up even with the reduced resolution from binning.

Still I'm excited. I can't wait to get my hands on one. I can image it will be a great portrait camera but maybe not the best wedding camera.

Where is the 5D replacement? I thought is was due before the 50D?
Fletch147 said:
I shoot with a nikon d300, 51 focus points.

I only ever use 1 point!! even for motorsport, the centre one.

I could certainly cope with 9 ;-)

--



Cheers, FletchUK/Fletch147
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30649408@N00/
Click to expand...
 
umm... I won't say more pts would make it more accurate but more pts in a more spread out pattern means less recomposing. In my work of fashion and portrait it means better overall results.
ljfinger said:
eric77 said:
i'm not being a troll when i say that comparable other dslrs have
better AF systems (more points).
Click to expand...
Why do you think more points = better AF?

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
Click to expand...
--

 
Amazingly, this entire forum is judging the camera before any performance indicators or reviews have been posted.

http://www.let 'salljumptoconclusionsbasedonzerofactualevidence.com

50D
Better image quality? How do you know?

Better ISO quality? Again, how do you know? Because a Canon rep told you? See: "Fanboy"

Worse or same AF performance judging only on the number of AF points?
You guys must be psychic.

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jl_smith
 
santa said:
Lack of better and more AF points was exactly why I'm not buying one.
I still use my MKII because of the superior focusing and the
availability of more AF points. I do in fact use the added points
when shooting some sports and other things. It allows me to have a
focus point properly set while composing best for the image. Even if
the AF wasn't improved and the 50D simply had more AF points I would
have sold my 40D and purchased a 50D. It would have been just the
tipping point for me. For some folks it's not important. For others
it's important. I don't need a 50D in spite of the better high ISO,
but when the 5D comes out, I'll be buying two of them because in a FF
model, I'm looking for using it for weddings and night photography
and don't care about the AF points with that. I'll have two on order
or pre-order as soon as I can. At some point I'll get a MKIV,
skipping over the MKIII entirely but that will be a bit down the
line. People talk as if more or less AF points, or better or worse AF
itself has any meaning. It only has meaning in the context of what a
person is shooting and how they shoot which is why people have
multiple bodies and why some prefer one brand over another. 50D looks
like a great camera. Too bad about the low number of AF points. Some
don't care, others actually would make use of more AF points (like
me), but nothing to get in a twitter about.
Click to expand...
Why not at least give it a try...or wait for this site (or Rob Galbraith's) take on the subject? We've already head from one photographer (who never before used a semi-pro Canon (20D, 30D 40D...) who found that the AF on the 50D was not only better than his 1DMKIII and also better than all of his previous pro models. Surely, there's more to it than the number of points...
 
Fletch147 said:
I shoot with a nikon d300, 51 focus points.

I only ever use 1 point!! even for motorsport, the centre one.

I could certainly cope with 9 ;-)

--



Cheers, FletchUK/Fletch147
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30649408@N00/
Click to expand...
I am w/ Fletch. On my 1D3, I only use the center focus point w/ assist from the inner ring of 9. I could see how having more points might be useful very occasionally if you wanted to select one other than the center for a special composition.
The big Q here is how well does the Digi 4 chip handle AI focus.

I am guessing that since it came out so soon, that there are some major improvements.
--
Mark
http://markm.zenfolio.com/
 
Ben_Egbert said:
I have a 1DS-mk3, I use center point only for action, and some outer
points sometimes for landscapes. But I moslty MF for landscapes so
this is optional.
Click to expand...
Me too. I use center point 90% of the time
Ben_Egbert said:
All I want in an AF is high accuarcy of the center point. Rapid
aquisition is another important feature, as is low light accuracy.
They can keep the extra AF points.
Click to expand...
I agree with this as well and that fellow in Sweden with the hands of review states the 50D has faster aquisistion than the mk3 and thats as fast as it gets currently.
Ben_Egbert said:
The most important new addition on the 50D is Micro adjust, because
the factory tolerance for focus is not tight enough for critical
focus wide open.
Click to expand...
Very important for me as well. Love it on my mk3 and I have a problem with my 40D backfocusing with my 600mmF4 with the 1.4x. I should be able to correct this with a 50D
Ben_Egbert said:
I used to think that having AF up to f8 was important so I could use
a 2X on my 500f4. Now that I have used it, I am going to sell it. It
probably works ok on an f2.8 lens, but not an f4.

--
http://www.pbase.com/roserus/root

Ben
Click to expand...
--
D. Robert Franz
http://www.franzfoto.com
http://www.franzfoto.com/battling_bighorn.htm
 
jl_smith said:
Amazingly, this entire forum is judging the camera before any
performance indicators or reviews have been posted.

http://www.let 'salljumptoconclusionsbasedonzerofactualevidence.com

50D
Better image quality? How do you know?

Better ISO quality? Again, how do you know? Because a Canon rep
told you? See: "Fanboy"

Worse or same AF performance judging only on the number of AF points?
You guys must be psychic.
Click to expand...
jl_smith said:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jl_smith
Click to expand...
I just knew you were going to say that!!.............:-P



Cheers, FletchUK/Fletch147
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30649408@N00/
 
love_them_all said:
umm... I won't say more pts would make it more accurate but more pts
in a more spread out pattern means less recomposing. In my work of
fashion and portrait it means better overall results.
Click to expand...
I'm with you. As a primary nature/sports amateur, I enjoy the crop bodies but I'm going to hold onto my 30D for a while and see what the eventual 5d successor looks like. Focus/recompose is great and easy in one-shot mode for a static subject (although who really wants an extra step?) but doesn't work for quickly moving subjects. Also, in portrait orientation, I really have one focusing point to choose from (left or right) if my subject is not in the center...and that point is oriented vertically in the very center.

Pardon my graphics - (the editor messes up the spacing) but instead of this:
X
X X
X X X
X X
X

...these 4 additional outside points look so much more useful:
X X X
X X
X X X
X X
X X X

Much more rule-of-thirds friendly without recomposing or editing.
 
Operative phrase was "very fast"... my 40D in 1 shot mode is very good for what I do. Tracking fast running dogs on other hand is a challenge though it may just be me needing to get better. Having:

(a) more points that can be clustered similar to the 1 series or the D300/700/3 would be useful, and

(b) the ability to set the tracking sensitivity would also be very welcome but based upon the custom function total this seems very unlikely in the 50D. Again, a Canon-ism. While the D300 has this setting Canon reserves it for the flagship only.
(c) No AF assist light.. the Canon strobe light is worthless in my opinion.

(d) NO F8 AF ability. Still taping pins and hoping. Again the D300 I believe has the ability to AF with an F8 lens.. so does the 1 series

I can understand Canon not giivng the XXD body ALL of the 1 series features but some of these items are not really that huge ( the 5D had some invisible AF sensors.. even that might have helped ).

IQ is where Canon excels and based upon that they seem to hold their own. Whereas Nikon is offering a $1700USD body with all of the above features, for $300-400 less Canon removes them.

Now if there is a 2 stop high ISO gain over the 40D, at least that will be a great improvement. But, unless the new AF is significantly faster and more able to track, it will be exactly what i expected and will mean at least another 12-18 month wait before Canon will do more to improve the AF. Time will tell.. way to early yet!
richard plumb said:
JDavis37 said:
I'm going to wait this one out.. perhaps the center AF is a very fast
1/3 DOF sensor. Not what I wanted but perhaps an improvement
nonetheless. Time will tell. On the surface though, I'm not surprised
at all but still sghaking my head, especially at the $1400 pric
epoint as the D300 isn'[t that much more.
--
Please forgive the typos! A great speller I am, a great typist I am not!
Click to expand...
40D already has a center 1/3 DOF sensor.
Click to expand...
--
Please forgive the typos! A great speller I am, a great typist I am not!
 
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