JackM
Veteran Member
Heavy overcast, low contrast. All with 70-200 f/2.8LIS II. Manual exposure, 5600K WB.
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7D Soccer - several images
- Thread starter JackM
- Start date
mmullen
Senior Member
Great job! You have a number of strong compositions there.
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Mike Mullen
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Mike Mullen
JackM
Veteran Member
JackM
Veteran Member
Ha, no, if you look at the exif you'll see the Eastern US Daylight times. The forum gallery is doing something screwy.
JackM
Veteran Member
thanks.
I used center point with expansion on, tracking speed one click faster than slowest. Calling it "tracking speed" is a misnomer though, it should be called sensitivity, IMO.
I think if you are shooting f/2.8 or faster glass, it makes the most sense to use center point with expansion, because the center point switches to high precision mode when you use an f/2.8 or faster lens, as I did. If you're using a slower lens, then all points are equal. I did try moving the point around and still got good results, but I think the keeper rate may have dropped slightly when I did that.
People have reported good results from using all 19 points active but starting with the center point. I think that's more for when your subject is alone in the frame. When two or more players are fighting for the ball, this mode will seek the closest player. I haven't used that mode much though. I just got the camera 2 weeks ago.
Rob Turner184723
Active member
Very nice images! Thanks for sharing.
mmullen
Senior Member
That would have been the placebo effect because the high precision AF sensors are not used in Servo AF mode.
Still, great shots!
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Mike Mullen
Drewbie
Senior Member
Jack - great shots.
You've captured some really nice technique in the kids play, and the facial expressions (soccer8) are fantastic.
I'm guessing the lens is the 70-200mm f2.8?
Well done.
Drew
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Beware the monkey on the button!
You've captured some really nice technique in the kids play, and the facial expressions (soccer8) are fantastic.
I'm guessing the lens is the 70-200mm f2.8?
Well done.
Drew
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Beware the monkey on the button!
JackM
Veteran Member
Really?? I'm still learning this camera, did not know that. Are you positive?
And you said "sensor/s/" - are there more than one high precision f/2.8 sensor?
JackM
Veteran Member
Thanks! Yes, 70-200 f/2.8LIS II.
mmullen
Senior Member
In my extensive Servo AF testing (using approaching large birds and dogs) the center AF point has slightly less capable tracking abilities. I atribute this to the design of the center AF point which incorporates two AF sensors in the same location (one regular precision and one HP).
The proof that the HP sensors are not used in Servo AF is that according to a Canon USA rep (and a Canon white paper that I cannot locate right now) high precision AF is a two step process, the AF system first uses the regular precision AF point and commands the lens to move to the measured focus and then it takes a second look with the HP sensor and "touches up" the focus if necessary. This process is incompatible with the functioning of Servo mode AF. Besides, the relatively small errors due to the predictive nature of Servo AF would dwarf any error caused by the lack of high precision AF sensors.
No, I was referring to high precision sensors in the collective.
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Mike Mullen
JackM
Veteran Member
Thanks. Ironically the d.b. who bought my 1DIIN on e-bay is attempting to return it, claiming the AF doesn't work, and that I didn't disclose the fact that the camera had been rebuilt. I DID disclose that the shutter had been replaced, the buyer simply cannot read. And I have thousands of tack-sharp images from that camera and multiple lenses to prove the AF works just splendidly. We are now in the dispute process, and my money is in limbo. Good times. Not.
The 7D is pulling its weight and working nicely however my ultimate goal is still the 1DIV. Someday. But the 1.6x crop plus the 70-200/2.8II is a really nice combo for youth soccer. Haven't felt the need for a TC, but I haven't shot any teams older than U10 yet either. Having the 18mp for cropping is also a real boon.
I did shoot one game with my 1DIIN and 70-200 before selling that body. It was not quite enough reach. I got some great shots when the players were closer, but missed a lot of opportunities that I can get now with the 7D. Admittedly, the AF keeper ratio with the 7D is subtly but noticeably lower, but it is NOT a deal-breaker for me. It was possible for my 1DIIN to miss focus sometimes too.
A funny thing I have noticed about the 7D is that I don't find the rear lcd to be totally reliable for checking focus. Sure, you can tell if a shot is way off or dead-on focus. But sometimes when zooming way in on a very slightly oof shot, it will look a lot worse on the lcd than it does on the computer. This probably has something to do with the fact that I evaluate focus on my computer at 50% view. If it looks sharp at 50%, then it's sharp enough for printing quite large.
So during the game, it can be nerve-wracking to look at images on the lcd and think "well, maybe that will be fine on the computer... I hope". But then I get home and fire them up and breathe a sigh of relief. I don't know why, but this seems to be a bigger issue on my 7D than on my 5DII. (on the 1DIIN I just knew that lcd was worthless, so I didn't worry about it!)
Furthermore I have also noticed that when viewing 7D files in DPP fitted to the screen, they do not look as sharp. You have to view at 50% AND wait for the high quality preview to finish rendering before passing final judgment on focus. I wonder if some people are not doing this and faulting the camera?
JackM
Veteran Member
Well that makes sense to me. I would like to peep that document if you can find it. "Trust but verify", right?
However this would be good news, as for soccer there can sometimes be not enough detail on the player where the center AF point is (around waist level), especially if the player does not have their shirt tucked in. In several instances, this can just be a swath of plain blue. So for my next game I will move my AF point up one or two, and shoot for either the face, collar, or shirt emblem.This sequence was taken with the AF point moved up to the top, with expansion on:
apologies for my placebo-induced stupor.
mmullen
Senior Member
Yes, but I already looked for it. If anyone else has a link I would appreciate it also.Well that makes sense to me. I would like to peep that document if you can find it. "Trust but verify", right?
However this would be good news, as for soccer there can sometimes be not enough detail on the player where the center AF point is (around waist level), especially if the player does not have their shirt tucked in. In several instances, this can just be a swath of plain blue. So for my next game I will move my AF point up one or two, and shoot for either the face, collar, or shirt emblem.
None needed, I actually appreciated the honest and straight-forward way you presented your experiences:
I did try moving the point around and still got good results, but I think the keeper rate may have dropped slightly when I did that.
Key word is the use of "may" indicating the difference was small enough that you were not sure. I only wish everybody was as precise with language and relating their experiences.
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Mike Mullen
theexample
Active member
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Nice pics. I like your angles. I noticed your shots are mostly under 150mm yet it seems you're right there with the players. Are you shooting less than 50 feet away from action or did you crop? I did shoot some soccer a few weeks ago and was just using 100mm+1.4 TC. I needed to be within 50 feet to get at least 1/4 of the player's body in the frame. I thought the 140mm was way short and right now am busy contemplating on a lens purchase - possibly the 200mm f2.8 prime or one of the 70-200 zooms. Your inputs will be valuable. Thanks!
JackM
Veteran Member
Huh, interesting coincidence that my favorite shots are mostly under 150mm. I have a lot more shots from this season though which are also good. I feel like I am at 200mm a lot while shooting. I walk around the field during the game and am right on the sideline or baseline at all times. Sometimes I have to block a ball!
I haven't tried shooting soccer with a prime, but I can't fathom it. As you can see I am all over the place. I used to have a 100-400L, and I tried locking it at 300mm once during a soccer game and I very quickly wanted to unlock it. Baseball on the other hand, was made for primes. I shot little league this spring with a rented 300/2.8 and it was a dream.
I sold my 100-400 and my 70-200/4LIS to buy the 70-200/2.8LIS II, and I would do it again.
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