300rd - how good is the AF in real world on 5D II?

Schwany wrote:

Nice images

The 5DII focuses well with a good lens on it. 300f/2.8L II is a pretty good lens.

I'm going to be doing about the same thing some time this week. Although I'm going to a organized bicycle race event on purpose, not driving by. I like photographing the downhill racers.

I've considered taking my 300f/2.8, but probably won't. I've got to walk up too many hills to make carrying it around very enjoyable. I might take the 300f/4 for some 300mm stuff. That's a big might though. I like the 70-200/f2.8 for bicycles. I can get in a little closer with the zoom.

This time around I'm going to try a 40mm pancake on a FF. Plan is to stick my head and camera under the bikes at the jumps. Kinda crazy, dirty and dusty, but should make for the occasional interesting photo. I may post some action photo results with that pancake on the 5DII. Then again, may not. They might all stink if it turns out to be too long a focal length for my delusions of grandeur.

Oops forgot. If you want a good auto focus and personal challenge for the 300mm lens and camera try doing the bicycles again, but at 1/250th. The bad part about that is you won't be able to shoot them wide open. You'll have to stop the lens down, and you may have to frame a little tighter to keep the background less focused like you can wide open.

Please excuse my going beyond nice images with the babble.

you could of course only put the Camera under the cyclers and fire the Camera with hyper focal setting with the IR remote control.

Less dust in your eyes and more control over the right moment (seeing it coming from some feet distance)

On the 1/250 second I am not so sure if I would get sharp images - normally I follow the path of the moving object and then the bicycle might be just blurred because it moved while panning the camera - surely a nice effect - will have to test that as well.

Photographed in the past also moving motorcycles - that's also a really nice suet (old 300 f/2.8 rented)