5D Mk II - AutoFocus vs. 50D

I had a shoot at a sunset yesterday. We took photos of a model on a beach.

I used my 50D with Canon 85mm lense attached all of the time. At one time I didn't have enough space between me and the model so I switched to 5D Mk II because it's a FF camera without crop so I was able to come closer to my model.

What I noticed was that 5D Mk II was unable to focus even when I used the central AF point, but 50D focused without any problem using any AF point available. It looks like 50D has a far superior AF comparing to the 5D Mk II.

Does anyone else has the same impression about that?

I’m asking because I was thinking of buying the 5D but it looks like it would be better to wait for the next generation 5D.

I have the original 5d and had a 5d2 for a period and I found the AF to be very similar. I also had a 40d which has the same AF as the 50d.

I found the 40d AF was better than the 5d/5d2 and much better under low light.

PeterK70 said:

I had a shoot at a sunset yesterday. We took photos of a model on a beach.

I used my 50D with Canon 85mm lense attached all of the time. At one time I didn't have enough space between me and the model so I switched to 5D Mk II because it's a FF camera without crop so I was able to come closer to my model.

What I noticed was that 5D Mk II was unable to focus even when I used the central AF point, but 50D focused without any problem using any AF point available. It looks like 50D has a far superior AF comparing to the 5D Mk II.

Does anyone else has the same impression about that?

I’m asking because I was thinking of buying the 5D but it looks like it would be better to wait for the next generation 5D.

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--
Slainte (cheers)

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. :- Samuel Langhorne Clemens

You were using all points or just center focus? I am just curious to know. I own a 50D but like reading on other cameras.
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Darkness is the monster and your shutter is your sword, aperture your shield and iso your armor. Strike fast with your sword and defend well with your shield and hope your armor holds up.

Rakumi said:

You were using all points or just center focus? I am just curious to know. I own a 50D but like reading on other cameras.
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Oh no. I always do everything manually except focussing. I set every focus point manually.

sorry , you are wrong the 5D2 has better and more sensitive aF than the 50D , I have both +7D and I know the 5D2 low light AF is the best of these 3.

but the 7D tracks a bit better but not more accurately.

if you need really relaible sure AF , then get a 1D4 or Nikon D700(D3s has some reported issues).

but the 5D2 is much better than the 50D or 40D in AI-servo mode.

I had all of them so I am 100 percent positive, the 50D may be a bit faster to acquire AF lock on but much less accurate and reliable than the 5D2 when both are used AI-servo center point only mode, with 5D2's 6 hidden points activated.

the 50D outer AF points are a bit better than the 5D2 outer AF points but not that much.

I actually think the 5D3 will have the same AF ,with a bit improved CPU because the 5D3 is not an action camera.

impossible.

I'm not talking of AI-servo or any tracking. It's not useful for my type of shooting. I'm talking about manually setting of a focusing point and how to lock the focus. In my case 50D did that with any AF point I selected and very quickly, but 5D MK II never did even I selected the central AF point. I don’t remember I would have any such problems for long long time.

But as far as I remember the first tests of the 50D about 2 years ago 50D AF was even more reliable than 1D MKIII.

We had a swimwear shooting on a beach late ar the evening. As you can see you need no tracking here because the model is not movig at all.

May be NSFW for someone.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterkremzar/4636428601/

I own a 50D and occasionally use a 7D and 5DII. I've been thinking of selling my 50D for the 5DII but never really compared the two.

Focus is a very big issue for me because I hate touching manual focus.

To me the 50D feels more snappy and is much better with teleconverters. Unfortunately now that I want to buy the 5DII I haven't been able to have access to it. If anyone wants to comment on the two I'd love to hear as many opinions as possible. I always carry my 50D for "opportunity" shots and I've never used the 5DII for this purpose, but I'd hate to have a camera which can't take a quick high quality picture of something at a moment's notice.

because of the different frame rate you feel the 50D faster or as you said snappier but in reality, the 5D2 AF is better not faster but more accurate and tracks better as well.

also, in extreme low light the 5D2 can AF without silly flash assistance but 50D cannot.

the 7D AF is a bit better in tracking or something moving erratic but in real low light , again , the 5D2 AF more surely.

that said , I am very impressed with the spot AF of the 7D.

so, I wont sell my 7D for now.

fast frame rate and fast AF acquistion time are very different , 2 very different things.

Interesting and surprising. I recall reading something from RG on the 5D MkII center AF, stating how well it performed in low light, even compared to the 1D MkIII.

Used to own a 5D (original), and did play with a 5 MkII for a week or so. My take was very little difference between the two AF wise. Also owned a MkIII and 50D. From what I can recall, nothing about the 50D or either 5 stood out in my mind on AF other than the outer AF's hunted in low light on low contrast subjects. Center AF points seemed the same to me, and fine even in low light.

I always found the MkIII noticeably faster, outer and center, but of course it would be.

I have a D700 now ... I find the center AF's better than either 5's or the 50 center AF point, but just a little slower than the MkIII. Outer AF's are much better than either 5 or the 50, but not very close to the MkIII. The 700 seems more accurate and tracks better however once locked.

Just MHO of course.

This whole concept of an "action" camera is nonsense. No one expects the 5D-type camera to bang out 10 frames a second like a 1D. But we do expect the damn camera to be able to focus with the peripheral AF points, and to be able to do regular documentary, travel, event and reportage type photography. That will of course involve subjects that aren't stationary all the time.

Not even Canon advertises the 5D2 as a "still life and landscape" camera. They would be laughed at if they did.

Nikon has shown, with the D700, that it's possible to sell a good all-around camera for the price of a 5D2. This is 2010. One decent AF point, smack-dab in the middle of the frame, is not competitive anymore. If Canon release a 5D3 with the same crippled AF system, without also offering a D700-type camera at around the same price point, the company will deserve to lose major market share. Not many people are going to spend $8000 on a 1Ds body to get the sort of camera that Nikon sells for $2500. Most of us need high-quality AF more than we need 30mp.

pandalee said:

sorry , you are wrong the 5D2 has better and more sensitive aF than the 50D , I have both +7D and I know the 5D2 low light AF is the best of these 3.

but the 7D tracks a bit better but not more accurately.

if you need really relaible sure AF , then get a 1D4 or Nikon D700(D3s has some reported issues).

but the 5D2 is much better than the 50D or 40D in AI-servo mode.

I had all of them so I am 100 percent positive, the 50D may be a bit faster to acquire AF lock on but much less accurate and reliable than the 5D2 when both are used AI-servo center point only mode, with 5D2's 6 hidden points activated.

the 50D outer AF points are a bit better than the 5D2 outer AF points but not that much.

I actually think the 5D3 will have the same AF ,with a bit improved CPU because the 5D3 is not an action camera.

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you need to wake up , to see the reality , the Nikon D700 is not faster in terms of AF aquisition speed, as I said many times , its frame rate is only a bit faster without the silly grip, though.

I think the D700 low ISO shadow quality is quite amazing its metering system is much better than any Canon, and its auto ISO is amazingly useful, so I still use it some times but 12mp is really dated..............

And its AF is not that amazing at least not as good as those Nikon fanatics make it out to be , it is slow,indeed..

And the initial AF aquisition speed is very much depending on lens AF motor, and Nikon does not have many super fast real ring AFS lenses , so in real life, the D700+ AFD lenses (at least) is not any faster than the 5D2 + cheap Canon lenses , in fact , Canon's best ring USM is usually faster than Nikon's best SWM.

If you search in Nikon forums , you will find a lot of complaining threads about the D700 outer AF sensors (accuracy), I think it is not that good , at least not as good as you or many Canon-only shooters believe it to be.

I have both D700 and 5D2 (and debating long time which to get rid of).

Actually , I bought the D700 because of its raved high ISO and amazing metering system, but to be very honest ,I dont really get impressed with the D700 high ISO nor with its AF speed...........................it tracks a bit better and meters much better but that is all.

I dont know if you are a Nikon user or Canon-only user but do not make up some real crazy stories , the 5D2 cannot AF in low light or its AF is much slower than the D700............or even worse than the 50d? I dont think so.

And there are many Nikon users compalining about the D3s banding(sensor blooming) and AF issue too.

You just dont know it cause you dont go there or you simply misinformed by extreme Nikon fanatics or fanboys typcially seen here.

Jim Levitt said:

This whole concept of an "action" camera is nonsense.

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Of course. This is the excuse for fanboys to avoid the disappointment feeling from the AF performance. Sports camera! Wedding camera! That was really laughable. I sometimes asked if there's also pet camera, kid camera, flower camera or some other camera. That sounded pretty silly to them, just like their "wedding camera" to me.

Jim Levitt said:

No one expects the 5D-type camera to bang out 10 frames a second like a 1D. But we do expect the damn camera to be able to focus with the peripheral AF points, and to be able to do regular documentary, travel, event and reportage type photography. That will of course involve subjects that aren't stationary all the time.

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Yep. If I can mount a fast glass that requires accurate AF on that camera, that camera should have an AF system which can focus that lens accurately. Heck, in the past, one needed $x000 camera to focus $100 50/1.8 reliably.

Jim Levitt said:

Not even Canon advertises the 5D2 as a "still life and landscape" camera. They would be laughed at if they did.

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Agreed.

Jim Levitt said:

Nikon has shown, with the D700, that it's possible to sell a good all-around camera for the price of a 5D2. This is 2010. One decent AF point, smack-dab in the middle of the frame, is not competitive anymore.

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And it looks hardly attractive especially when one recalls EOS-3. 10 years after EOS-3 comes the 5D2 with ye olde autofocuse that looks like coming straight from early 1990s, spiced up a bit with one high precision focus point (at least in one-shot mode).

Jim Levitt said:

If Canon release a 5D3 with the same crippled AF system, without also offering a D700-type camera at around the same price point, the company will deserve to lose major market share. Not many people are going to spend $8000 on a 1Ds body to get the sort of camera that Nikon sells for $2500. Most of us need high-quality AF more than we need 30mp.

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I had my share of problems with 30D AF, and that was the only real problem I had with 30D. I solved it by buying a special 30D, in big brick body and vastly better AF, that was called 1D Mk2 N. Now I get 8MP pictures too, but focused much, much more reliably. With the same lens I used on real 30D.

Now my 50/1.8 is really useful. Too bad the offer from Canon required me to buy such a high-grade camera to use such a budget lens reliably.

Jim Levitt said:

pandalee said:

sorry , you are wrong the 5D2 has better and more sensitive aF than the 50D , I have both +7D and I know the 5D2 low light AF is the best of these 3.

but the 7D tracks a bit better but not more accurately.

if you need really relaible sure AF , then get a 1D4 or Nikon D700(D3s has some reported issues).

but the 5D2 is much better than the 50D or 40D in AI-servo mode.

I had all of them so I am 100 percent positive, the 50D may be a bit faster to acquire AF lock on but much less accurate and reliable than the 5D2 when both are used AI-servo center point only mode, with 5D2's 6 hidden points activated.

the 50D outer AF points are a bit better than the 5D2 outer AF points but not that much.

I actually think the 5D3 will have the same AF ,with a bit improved CPU because the 5D3 is not an action camera.

Click to expand...

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Cheers,
Martin

I had a 40D that has the same AF than 50D (9 cross type sensors)
The AF of 5D and 5D2 is completely different with a dedicated RISC processor
Regrettably the non cen,tral sensors are not cross type

But the central one is excellent especially when fitted with the 6 assist hidden points

The assist points are six with 2.8 lenses or wider aperture and only for between 5.6 and 2.8

The tracking is excellent fast and accurate with the central sensor much better than 40D

BUT

sometimes on bery bright nearly white subjects with rather low contrasts the sensor is hunting and inaccurate These are situations but still it's a drawback

So IMHO the central AF sensor is excellent in 98% of shots

Outer sensors are really poor in low light Anyway 9 sensors are not sufficient for traking

An interesting poll could be : who is regularly using more than one (central) AF sensor??

Robert

I use Central AF only on the 5Dii but I find accuracy is not that great either, not to 98% for sure. LOL

baobob said:

I had a 40D that has the same AF than 50D (9 cross type sensors)
The AF of 5D and 5D2 is completely different with a dedicated RISC processor
Regrettably the non cen,tral sensors are not cross type

But the central one is excellent especially when fitted with the 6 assist hidden points

The assist points are six with 2.8 lenses or wider aperture and only for between 5.6 and 2.8

The tracking is excellent fast and accurate with the central sensor much better than 40D

BUT

sometimes on bery bright nearly white subjects with rather low contrasts the sensor is hunting and inaccurate These are situations but still it's a drawback

So IMHO the central AF sensor is excellent in 98% of shots

Outer sensors are really poor in low light Anyway 9 sensors are not sufficient for traking

An interesting poll could be : who is regularly using more than one (central) AF sensor??

Robert

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--
Regards,
Felix

Canon 5D Mark2, 35L, 85L, 580XII
My Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyeport/
My Blog: http://www.creationheart.com

I currently have both camera's and the 50D is more accurate especially using the outer focus points manually.

Both camera using just the center focus point has a cross type sensor that benefits from 2.8 or faster lens. The 5D II fails on the outer points with no cross type just 5.6 while the 50D is all cross type.

Example one night I was playing around with my strobes with one modelling lamp on and with the 5D II and my 24-105 F4 lens it could not lock focus. I put the lens on the 50D and it was able to lock focus using only the center focus points manually.

When I turn on both modelling lamp the 5D II was able to lock focus or if I had a additional light on in the room.

By the way the additional 6 assist point on the 5D II only works in AI Servo mode and I do find tracks motion very well.

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Canon 5D II, 50D, & Fuji 31fd

neroangelo said:

I found the 40d AF was better than the 5d/5d2 and much better under low light.

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That hasn't been my experience, except for the ability of the 40D to lock in reduced light. What I've found is that the 40D locks faster, but it often misfocusses slightly. The 5D is slower to lock, but gets it right 100% of the time. Bear in mind that I'm referring only to the center focus point (all I ever use) and stationary subjects.

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http://jackandkelly.zenfolio.com/

The 40D is much faster to lock focus in dim light than the 5D2 with center point only. With the outer points the 40D can work and I don't use the 5D2 outer points usually, as the 5D2 is really poor with the outer points. I was also disappointed with the Nikon D3 outer points and found those didn't work in dim light where a 40D locked quickly.

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-Bill

PeterK70 said:

I always do everything manually except focussing. I set every focus point manually.

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I went from a 40D to a 5DII. I've found the center point on the 5DII to be at least as good and often better than the 40D was. However the outer points on the 5DII are a joke. This can be a problem when shooting in portrait orientation and choosing an outer focus point to minimize focus-recompose.