Is the AF really that bad on 5DmkI?

[SageTCR]

I really thought that the 5DmkI was a fantastic camera.. ive been wanting one of those for a very long time...

Not we got 5DmkII and suddenly i read stuff everywhere were people are so dissapointed with the AF system they use in this camera..

Simple question.. is it that bad.. or is it just that everyone was dreaming of "pro" AF preformance in this body?

Best regards
Sage

 

[theatrus]

If you were trying to do sports photography with it, I'm sure you could find plenty of faults. The AF was limited, plus it was clustered around the center. Basically a warmed over 20D AD system.

I don't do sports, and the only gripe I do have with the 5DI is the AF coverage field, but thats not fixed in the 5DII either.

 

[Ludvig]

Some tests I have read about the 50D seems very good regarding the AF, so I would expect the 5DII is in the same class (or better?).

 

[Armand Hirt]

If you were trying to do sports photography with it, I'm sure you
could find plenty of faults. The AF was limited, plus it was
clustered around the center. Basically a warmed over 20D AD system.

I have owned a 20D and I currently own a 5D: the 5D AF is much more reliable, and the number of keepers from that factor alone has gone up significantly with the same lenses.

On the other hand, having all the AF points so close to the center of the frame is really annoying, and it means that I have to focus and recompose in many situation where I would prefer using an off-center AF point and not touch the framing. This can be a problem when there is now way to recompose after focusing, like for instance when on takes pictures of a moving subject.

• Armand

 

[Daniel bucur]

i use the center point in 99% of the cases. 5d AF suites me, but i don't do sports.

before all this rumors BS everybody loved their 5d's and im sure the real photographers still do so, you wouldn't hear anyone whine about AF or anything else for that matter. if you don't do sports, or fast moving action it will do it's job just fine.
--
^^

 

[John_N]

I have a 20D and a 5D, they supposidly share the same AF, but my 5D AF works much better than the 20D. The 5D keeper rate is very high, and I expect the 5D2 to be even better.

--
My gallery- http://www.unnecessarybeauty.com/

 

[Another birder]

Some tests I have read about the 50D seems very good regarding the
AF, so I would expect the 5DII is in the same class (or better?).

Thats the problem - the 5D mk2 actually uses the old AF module of the orginal 5D. They didnt bother updating it. (or felt that the 50D one was not good enough)

--
Canon 40D
FujiFilm F20

http://www.pbase.com/timothyo

 

[AndreyT]

The AF system in the original 5D has absolutely no problems. Nobody calls it bad. It is as good as AF systems ever get at the current state of the art.

You have to learn not to trust everything you read on the Internet, especially when it is written on a major forum. Canon is a publicly traded company (NYSE:CAJ), which means that on a high-profile forum like this one a large number of posters posting negative opinions about the company's new product don't really own any cameras. Moreover, many of them don't even speak English. They post their "opinions" by copy-pasting it from cue cards they receive by email. And they do it for essentially nothing more than a daily bowl of rice. This is how the fairy tales about "falling off mirror in 5D", "dust in 5D", "bad AF in 5D" get born and spread around. This is also where most of the noise about AF problems in 1-series comes from. It is fairly obvious that recently distributed cue cards used the Canon's AF as the major direction for the attack.

This is the reality of the way stock market PR works these days. You have to perceive what you read here more critically, adjusting for the large percentage of paid black PR that you'll inevitably get on forums like this one. DPReview's forum are especially notorious for this problem.

 

[Shepherd Wong]

Wow! Really good post! Makes a lot of sense. After reading it I put on my tinfoil hat and went out and took pictures of ducks!

 

[boels069]

Some tests I have read about the 50D seems very good regarding the
AF, so I would expect the 5DII is in the same class (or better?).

Thats the problem - the 5D mk2 actually uses the old AF module of the
orginal 5D. They didnt bother updating it. (or felt that the 50D one
was not good enough)

Do you own a 5D or ever had the pleasure to hold one?

 

[Leos]

It depends mostly what you are used to I guess.

When the 5D came out , it sort of "bridged in" between the 20D and 1 series. That is people from both camps "upgraded" to this camera and (in general) those who came from the 20D found the AF more reliable. On the hand, people who came from the 1 series (as I did) felt this was a real downgrade.

If you are ok with using center point only and recomposing, then the 5D IMO will perform as good as any modern camera. For still subjects. Tracking never was a discipline the 5D in excelled in , but then , the pedestrian 3 fps and worst-in-class mirror black out time didnt exactly scream "sports cam" in the first place.

The problem with the other AF points were IMO a mix of:
1. Unreliability
2. Layout (poor frame coverage , and not where you usually needs them)
3. Dificulty selecting them with the grip attached

Regarding point 1 it could have been improved / fixed in the 5D II.
Point 2 - same thing as before

Point 3 - probably the same (cant reach joystick when shooting vertical and grip attached)

As for tracking performance , of course it could have been improved too , but the mirror blackout is still the same , so even with the improved framerate the 5D II certainly shouldnt be the first choice for anyone shooting moving subjects , except if they want it recorded on video

 

[Saturoldan]

I have the 20D and with the predictive AF I could take really sharp images from Fernando Alonso driving the R-25 (Ok, it´s true that now it would be easyer).

I think it´s not bad at all. The AF of the 5D was even better, and the new one I am sure it exceed the old version.

For me, 5 FPS would be the minimum, but what I really can´t explain is the shutter lag (I mean the black hole time it opens in front of you when you deppress the shutter release).
--
...With the birds I'll Share This Lonely View...

 

[bronxbombers]

It depends mostly what you are used to I guess.
When the 5D came out , it sort of "bridged in" between the 20D and 1
series. That is people from both camps "upgraded" to this camera and
(in general) those who came from the 20D found the AF more reliable.
On the hand, people who came from the 1 series (as I did) felt this
was a real downgrade.

If you are ok with using center point only and recomposing, then the
5D IMO will perform as good as any modern camera. For still subjects.
Tracking never was a discipline the 5D in excelled in , but then ,
the pedestrian 3 fps and worst-in-class mirror black out time didnt
exactly scream "sports cam" in the first place.

The problem with the other AF points were IMO a mix of:
1. Unreliability
2. Layout (poor frame coverage , and not where you usually needs them)
3. Dificulty selecting them with the grip attached

Regarding point 1 it could have been improved / fixed in the 5D II.
Point 2 - same thing as before
Point 3 - probably the same (cant reach joystick when shooting
vertical and grip attached)

As for tracking performance , of course it could have been improved
too , but the mirror blackout is still the same , so even with the
improved framerate the 5D II certainly shouldnt be the first choice
for anyone shooting moving subjects , except if they want it recorded
on video

hmm i just realize maybe the mirror blackout is what hurts the ai servo so much?
simply doesn;t enough looks during a sequence if you re firing way a few shots?

 

[David Nicole]

It's an AF module with roots before 2003.
Too bad. After at least 5 years they sell it like new.
--
Looking through aperture.

 

[gustabod]

it's very good, mine AF's in practically all conditions, surprisingly even in very dark studio conditions, so it's actually very good.

I think most expected 1D3 AF points, with 8fps, and no noise to ISO 12800. In other words the world's perfect studio, portrait, wedding, formula 1, football, all weather camera. It just doesn't happen for $2699. But Canon COULD have tried to be a bit more flexible, one solution fits all, rather than just push a MPX advantage at the expense of all else.

Basically if they marketed a D700 with Canon logo everyone would have been much happier!

--
gustavo

http://www.pbase.com/gustabod

 

[Saturoldan]

You said all Canon needs to know.
--
...With the birds I'll Share This Lonely View...

 

[IRC]

Couldn't find a rabbit with a pancake on its head?

 

[Malcolm_Stewart]

Simple question.. is it that bad.. or is it just that everyone was
dreaming of "pro" AF performance in this body?

Best regards
Sage

Over the last 3 years and 0000s of exposures, I've found the AF on my 5D to be reliable even on sports, where I've used it occasionally. I also have a 1D MkIII which has a much more configurable AF (so I get to set it wrongly more often because I'm not a pro!) and a much higher fps, which can seem very impressive.

Now that the 5D MkII has AF Microadjust like my 1D MkIII, it now has the feature for which I bought the 1D MkIII, but it also has a higher pixel density which may limit which lenses have enough resolution for best results.

--
Malcolm Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK

 

[allnak]

This quote from over at FredMiranda:

"Just got home from a meeting where three Canon Tech reps discussed, showed and let us play with a pre-pro 5DMII.

One guy had just flown in from NY with the camera and also had a Video that someone made over the weekend with a Pre-pro 5DMII. There was a lot of production value, it was a finished video clip, however, the really impressive thing was it was all shot on a 5DMII with EF lenses. If no one had said anything everyone would have presumed it was an HD video done with production quality equipment.

When answering a question about HD video frame quality, they said that it would be good enough for newspaper reproduction. In fact they claimed that was a design criteria based on discussions they had with PJs.

They described the AF as being 9 points of cross sensors with the center sensor having another cross at 45 degrees so it has 8 arms.

In hand it felt just like my 5Ds and since it was a pre-pro camera I could not put a card in to make any sample images. Not sure if that was technical or policy.

the sRAW files are made by the DigiIV after the RAW file leaves the sensor buffer so for burst shooting it is always capturing a full file, it is only the saving process that reduces file size. Sounds like an incamera version of the option to import a smaller file than camera native resolution into Photoshop.

The weather sealing is on the battery door, back of camera around the screen and the buttons on top.

It's on my shopping list. Calumet Photo said they expect units for delivery in November, and were happy to take a pre-order. "

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/688320/32

 

[Leos]

hmm i just realize maybe the mirror blackout is what hurts the ai
servo so much?
simply doesn;t enough looks during a sequence if you re firing way a
few shots?

It's not just that but it will certainly not improve things with 4 vs 3 fps. But even if you dont shoot , just let the camera track something, e.g. pan it along a fence or something and compare the sound from the lens AF motor, you will hear a rapid tac-tac-tac from a 1 series while its more like occasional "moaning" from the 5D.