DPReview.com is closing April 10th - Find out more

M50, improved

Started Nov 14, 2021 | User reviews thread
Larry Rexley Senior Member • Posts: 1,238
Re: M50, improved
1

R2D2 wrote:

RLight wrote:

If AF is a concern, you should have a hard look at the M6 Mark II

+1 Using Spot AF with Servo (doing the tracking myself), I’m confident that I could shoot anything on the planet with an M6ii. The (Spot) AF is lightning fast to acquire, and sticks like glue. Here’s a previous thread that details some of what it’s capable of…

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/64108171

IMHO RLight’s evaluation is right on the money.

R2

I've found a case where the spot focus isn't as effective as the 'Tracking' focus mode - Amtrak trains moving at 70 mph, especially in lighting close to sunset. They really fly and you have just a fraction of a second to the get the best shot as they whiz by in a roar of sound and dust, using either slow or high speed drive mode.

Both the M6ii and the M50ii can't track the train using spot focus --- the shutter won't even fire and I've lost the whole shot for that day several times, as you only get one chance.

Setting to 'Tracking mode' works just fine, except the tendency for both cameras to focus on blades of grass or tree branches that might happen to be in the frame closer than the train. 'Zone AF' focusing seems to work the best and I still use spot focus on the slower moving freights, so I can pick the spot with optimal focus with my thumb on the screen as I shoot in single-shot or low-speed drive mode.

I'd guess that the problem is that the details of the train are both moving laterally, at the same time the features are scaling 'larger' very rapidly -- and the AF can't deal with that. When in tracking mode it must use some sort of optimization algorithm that can find an 'edge' or contrasty feature in a larger area it can lock onto, and its best guess is good enough.

Amtrak 17 & 513 (vintage Dash-8 loco), Canon M50ii, EF-M 11-22mm IS STM, 21mm, f5.6, 1/1000s, ISO 160, high-speed continuous tracking mode, Tracking AF

 Larry Rexley's gear list:Larry Rexley's gear list
Canon EOS M6 II Canon EOS M200 Canon EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 STM Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM +21 more
Post (hide subjects) Posted by
MAC
MAC
MAC
MAC
MAC
MAC
MAC
MAC
MAC
MAC
Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum PPrevious NNext WNext unread UUpvote SSubscribe RReply QQuote BBookmark MMy threads
Color scheme? Blue / Yellow