How do you disable AI Servo?

[PaulyOly]

I don't think anyone is trying to "justify" Canon's actions. We
know they purposely crippled and sabotaged the 300D to prop up
their higher-end cameras. I don't think anyone is disagreeing with
you by saying that the camera is perfect.

Some people here have proposed some work-arounds though.

If anyone here can do this workaround with a moving target...I
would like to know their technique to have enough speed to set all
this and not miss a shot.

It's

not perfect, but I don't think Canon's going to fix the 300D when
they purposely crippled it to begin with. Since we've already
bought into the 300D, we can either choose to work with what we
have or buy a different camera.

If I had known how bad it was working in these situations I would
have got the 10D for sure..now just don't want to loose money on
it. I am not that rich. But if nobody complains, there is no
chance that anythign will be taking care of. they could at least
fix the bahavior so that the evaluative meetering is not that
weighted. it is now too dependant on the focusing point and that
is a major flaw.

You're right in saying that the work arounds aren't as good as
actually Canon fixing the focus, but I'm not holding my breath for
that to happen.

That work around should work well for static flower shot, or
landscape. It is just not possible for me to do this when trying
to capture a flyign bird or a candid shot of a moving person.
Good thing the meetering is reliable in 95% of the case. I only
have problem with it with very contrasty objects.

For the AI servo..I have just simply gave up on it..but I do get
blurry shot because I forget to snap the picture right away and
have the tendency to pre-focus and wait for best moment. It is a
very hard habbit to get rid of.

DaShiv

yeah right....it amaze me how people are tryign to justify this
camera crippling...

Canon is really a good judge of foolishness...they did the right
thing I think..only a fiew of use understand the catch.

(You have a very good eye
for photography, Daniella.
But when technical quest-
ions are discussed here,
you never seem not to list-
en properly. Why is that?)

--
db.

that's exactly what I meant. If I use the 7 points focus and the
camera pick up points that are spread, lets say one on the left and
one of the right, then I get evaluative meetering. If the camera
would pick up onle the point on the right, then I get partial.

But since I am using the manualy selected central focusing point, I
always get exposure that is strongly weithted toward the center. I
don't want to use 7 points focus...it does not focus where I want
it to be, but I would like to be able to get evaluative no matter
what focusing point I use.

My only work around so far is to pay attention to focus right on
the edge of dark/light areas. I must constantly pay attention to
where exactly I focus on a contrasty subject...a pain in the ass!

Atleast not for me and what i shoot, trying to flip that little
tiny, itty, bitty switch on the lens to manual focus and hold the
camera at the same point where you focus locked is not very ideal,
especially considering the rebels very limited depth of field.
Please understand that i don't want more options, i just want to
get rid of this one!

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

I just don't want it at all, i want to completely, totally, disable it, it's of no use to me. I agree with Daniella, if i had known it was so freakin sensitive i would have bought the 10d also, i'm in the same boat, can't sell it now and still get the 10d. I'll send it to canon for warranty work if they ask me to, but i'm sure they will simply say it is working properly, however poorly that may be. If they will disable the feature totally i will ship it tommorrow.

 

[db.]

got it???

that solution is just unpractical and too slow when you need the
speed to capture a moving subject like a flying bird or an animal.
by the time you reach the freaking button, your subject is already
out of the freaking focusing point...

advice as you wish...how do you propose that will work with a
moving subject? most of my subject are moving...until I learn how
to freeze the time..I will have problem with this.

I mentionned the same thing in a different thread. Daniella has
been offered advice by other people on metering. She chose to
dismiss the advice and bash the camera again. Maybe she should
just get a 10D. Then complain about the focus "issues" on that
one.

Maybe some day you will stop your personal attack? this is worse
than bashing but hey...there will always be people like you.. no
matter what.

Then get a 1Ds and find something wrong with that one. Maybe

we should start a survey on how many people have ever used a camera
with manual focus only. Those by the way usually didn't come with
a built-in flash.

maybe some day you will grow up?

Richard

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

--

Richard300

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

--

Richard300

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

--

Richard300

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

--
db.

 

[Eric CAN]

I been reading the entire tread, and now I'm starting to see people saying names to others, let's be adult please.

What I suggest is by going step by step, instead to be like a chicken running with its head cut-off (no offense to anyone), we should try to differentiate which mode triggers AI Servo AF.

My understanding of the whole issue is this :

The Digital Rebel/300D has all these AF modes :

One-Shot AF
Predictive AI Servo AF,

AI Focus AF (Automatically selects One-Shot AF or AI Servo AF selected according to shooting mode)

Let's start with the modes that runs and only in One-Shot AF :

Portrait
Landscape
Macro
Night Portrait
Flash Off
A-DEP (creative mode)

Now modes that runs exclusively with AI Servo AF :

Sports

Modes that runs in AI Focus AF which is described as :

AI Focus AF switches between One-Shot AF and AI Servo AF when it senses that subjects are starting and stopping. It's perfect for children, pets, wildlife and other unpredictable subjects. My understanding is, in AI Focus AF, if you're moving closer/further from the subject, it is possible the camera will go in AI Servo AF, same for when the subject moves. If the camera doesn't detect any movement, then it will take a picture in One-Shot AF.

The modes that uses this AI Focus AF are :

Full Auto
Program AE - P
Aperture Priority - Av
Shutter-Priority - Tv
Manual - M

Now from what I gathered, its written that either Single or Continuous shot (Drive Mode) can use One-Shot AF, AI Servo AF or AI Focus AF, depending on the modes mentioned above.

Metering modes :

When using M, you have Center-Weighted by default, if you press the AE-lock button, then you're choosing Partial meteting.

In creative modes (P, AV, TV, A-DEP), Evaluative metering is the default mode, if you press the AE-lock button, then you're choosing Partial meteting (9% of the surface of the CMOS sensor)

Any insight ?

--
Eric Cote

More of my photo album found here :

http://community.webshots.com/user/drhangar

 

[reptaman]

I tried every mode composed a shot held down button then moved camera all over aiming and moving and not once did the focus change?
only in sports mode?
am i doing somthing wrong?
Reptiman

I been reading the entire tread, and now I'm starting to see people
saying names to others, let's be adult please.

What I suggest is by going step by step, instead to be like a
chicken running with its head cut-off (no offense to anyone), we
should try to differentiate which mode triggers AI Servo AF.

My understanding of the whole issue is this :

The Digital Rebel/300D has all these AF modes :

One-Shot AF
Predictive AI Servo AF,
AI Focus AF (Automatically selects One-Shot AF or AI Servo AF
selected according to shooting mode)

Let's start with the modes that runs and only in One-Shot AF :

Portrait
Landscape
Macro
Night Portrait
Flash Off
A-DEP (creative mode)

Now modes that runs exclusively with AI Servo AF :

Sports

Modes that runs in AI Focus AF which is described as :

AI Focus AF switches between One-Shot AF and AI Servo AF when it
senses that subjects are starting and stopping. It's perfect for
children, pets, wildlife and other unpredictable subjects. My
understanding is, in AI Focus AF, if you're moving closer/further
from the subject, it is possible the camera will go in AI Servo AF,
same for when the subject moves. If the camera doesn't detect any
movement, then it will take a picture in One-Shot AF.

The modes that uses this AI Focus AF are :

Full Auto
Program AE - P
Aperture Priority - Av
Shutter-Priority - Tv
Manual - M

Now from what I gathered, its written that either Single or
Continuous shot (Drive Mode) can use One-Shot AF, AI Servo AF or AI
Focus AF, depending on the modes mentioned above.

Metering modes :

When using M, you have Center-Weighted by default, if you press the
AE-lock button, then you're choosing Partial meteting.

In creative modes (P, AV, TV, A-DEP), Evaluative metering is the
default mode, if you press the AE-lock button, then you're choosing
Partial meteting (9% of the surface of the CMOS sensor)

Any insight ?

--
Eric Cote

More of my photo album found here :

http://community.webshots.com/user/drhangar

--
ReptiMan!

 

[dcamera]

I think this has already been suggested, but have you tried pushing the "depth-of-field" button after achieving focus lock? If you push and hold the "depth-of-field" button, focus is locked and the AI servo won't kick in. You can then recompose with no problems. I know it means pushing another button, not perfect, but a work around.

I seem to be having the opposite problem that everybody else have.
Last weekend, I went out taking pictures of my girl friend. I
focus on my girlfriend by half-pressing, and then I recompose the
picture.

What I find afterward is that my subject is getting misfocused
because the AI Servo went into action and refocused when I panned
to recompose. What's the trick in keep the camera from refocusing?

--
John from Southern California
http://www.pbase.com/johnrweb/disneyconcerthall
http://www.pbase.com/domdom
F707 and 300D

 

[Daniella68313]

I share the same opinion about you too..so all is well in a perfect world.

 

[Daniella68313]

same thing here..it is of no use to me either. It does not work when I want it and kick when I don't want it. I would rather not have it at all. it is just an anoyance.

I just don't want it at all, i want to completely, totally, disable
it, it's of no use to me. I agree with Daniella, if i had known it
was so freakin sensitive i would have bought the 10d also, i'm in
the same boat, can't sell it now and still get the 10d. I'll send
it to canon for warranty work if they ask me to, but i'm sure they
will simply say it is working properly, however poorly that may be.
If they will disable the feature totally i will ship it tommorrow.

Mine is at Canon now for 2 weeks...shutter broke after 4000 pics, and I also asked them to check this. I wonder when I'll get it back but I am pretty sure they will say that this is working fine.

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

 

[Daniella68313]

Now from what I gathered, its written that either Single or
Continuous shot (Drive Mode) can use One-Shot AF, AI Servo AF or AI
Focus AF, depending on the modes mentioned above.

According to the manual, the AI focus will change from single to continiuous depending on the object status...which status is very vague.

In theory that is what it is supposed to do..in practice, people get mixed and unexpected results.

Metering modes :

When using M, you have Center-Weighted by default, if you press the
AE-lock button, then you're choosing Partial meteting.

In creative modes (P, AV, TV, A-DEP), Evaluative metering is the
default mode, if you press the AE-lock button, then you're choosing
Partial meteting (9% of the surface of the CMOS sensor)

Have you tried to use the evaluative? just try the evaluative and compare it to the partial...you will see that there is not much difference.

Also try to use the evaluative with the 7 focusing points and try it with the central focusing point. big difference here. From what I can see, when you use central focusing point, there is no evaluative..there is only partial and partial.

Any insight ?

--
Eric Cote

More of my photo album found here :

http://community.webshots.com/user/drhangar

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

 

[Daniella68313]

I think this has already been suggested, but have you tried pushing
the "depth-of-field" button after achieving focus lock? If you
push and hold the "depth-of-field" button, focus is locked and the
AI servo won't kick in. You can then recompose with no problems.
I know it means pushing another button, not perfect, but a work
around.

yes that's a workaround for stopping the AI servo. It is hard to hand held steady at 300mm and hold that button and still get a sharp shot though...I tried it and it does work but you need very fast shutter speeds to freeze the camera shake if you push that button. It's not a very convenient position to hold a lens steady.

Now I wish there was such work around for the meetering. swithing to manual focus is even more hassle and you need to pet around the lens to find that switch when you're trying to take the photo at the same time. This woudl be really convenient if one could freeze the time.

I seem to be having the opposite problem that everybody else have.
Last weekend, I went out taking pictures of my girl friend. I
focus on my girlfriend by half-pressing, and then I recompose the
picture.

What I find afterward is that my subject is getting misfocused
because the AI Servo went into action and refocused when I panned
to recompose. What's the trick in keep the camera from refocusing?

--
John from Southern California
http://www.pbase.com/johnrweb/disneyconcerthall
http://www.pbase.com/domdom
F707 and 300D

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

 

[dcamera]

I agree it is not a fix, but a lame work around. The best would be a menu option to turn off the AI servo, and a option to set the desired metering.

This would make a great camera even better.

yes that's a workaround for stopping the AI servo. It is hard to
hand held steady at 300mm and hold that button and still get a
sharp shot though...I tried it and it does work but you need very
fast shutter speeds to freeze the camera shake if you push that
button. It's not a very convenient position to hold a lens steady.

Now I wish there was such work around for the meetering. swithing
to manual focus is even more hassle and you need to pet around the
lens to find that switch when you're trying to take the photo at
the same time. This woudl be really convenient if one could freeze
the time.

 

[Dave Lewis]

I seem to be having the opposite problem that everybody else have.
Last weekend, I went out taking pictures of my girl friend. I
focus on my girlfriend by half-pressing, and then I recompose the
picture.

What I find afterward is that my subject is getting misfocused
because the AI Servo went into action and refocused when I panned
to recompose. What's the trick in keep the camera from refocusing?

It is frequently a problem when you move from a close subject to the background and back again. I find Al servo will kick in most every time when moving from far to near. You just have to be careful about noting where you are placing the center focusing point. Don't move around a lot while half pressed, or just plain hurry up and beat the switch.--
Dave Lewis

 

[johnrweb]

Dave,

I'm only focusing on a close subject and then recomposing to get more background in the picture. I'm not doing anything complicated or moving around, I'm just panning the camera to get better composition.

It is frequently a problem when you move from a close subject to
the background and back again. I find Al servo will kick in most
every time when moving from far to near. You just have to be
careful about noting where you are placing the center focusing
point. Don't move around a lot while half pressed, or just plain
hurry up and beat the switch.--

--
John from Southern California
http://www.pbase.com/johnrweb/disneyconcerthall
http://www.pbase.com/domdom
F707 and 300D

 

[digital100]

I just ordered the camera it will be here in two days and it will be a back up camera and only used for wide shots and for some low light zoom shots with a 70-200 F4 lens.

This is not a sports camera its not a pro camera its a digital slr toy that takes good photos.

It can be used for pro use yes but if you want a camera that is a pro camera or has better features then pay the extra and buy one.. you get what you pay for.

I am looking at it as a cheep backup that can be fun to use around town for non paying fun.

Can somone please post an email address we can send complaints to
Canon on this?

Thanks

https://www.usa.canon.com/cgi-bin/ots4b.pl

this should take you to a general tech suppost email form, i
couldn't get the product specific pages to load.

--
D100 user for now

 

[johnrweb]

digital100,

I expect a $900 camera to focus. I expect my $50 camera to focus. I expect my disposable $3 camera to Focus.

Perhaps that's an unreasonable expectation, but it is my expectation.

It can be used for pro use yes but if you want a camera that is a
pro camera or has better features then pay the extra and buy one..
you get what you pay for.

--
John from Southern California
http://www.pbase.com/johnrweb/disneyconcerthall
http://www.pbase.com/domdom
F707 and 300D

 

[Tommy_T]

Sometimes it looks good when your subject is not in the center of the shot. In fact, when the subject is about 1/3 from the side is the best.

Now having said that, you can focus on that subject by either:

1. Selecting all focusing points and repeatedly half-pressing the shutter until the camera focuses on the subject. The disadvantage of this method is that sometimes it is hard to see in that little viewfinder if the subject is in focus.

2. Placing one of the focusing squares on the subject and selecting that focusing point manually. This is pain even for portraits.

3. Keeping the center focus, focus on the subject is then recompose the shot so that the subject is where you want it to be. This is how everyone does it. In 300D, however, AI Focus mode can kick in as you recompose and you will get that gas station sharp and your gf OOF.

Having said this, your 300D will determine itself when it wants to turn the AI Servo mode in, because it will need to DETERMINE the movement, which not necessarily means that the subject is actually moving.

And trust me on this one (or if you dont trust, go do some recomposing outside yourself), this non-switchable AI Focus thing is a pain. In addition, it is not fast enough to actually track moving subjects unless its a snail or something.

But hey I've just returned from a 4 day trip interstate during which I've shot abotu 400 pix and some of them are soooo cool and I would never done it with my ole film SLR (film $) and I would never buy a pro DSLR (camera $).

Tom

I admit it was not easy and for me it's almost impossible to do it
with simple "pan and recompose". So it seems that my camera only
switches to AI servo when it detects movement in towards the
subject or in the opposite direction. If, on the contrary, I pan
and recompose, the camera keeps the focus locked (i tried to pan
even 180 degrees and make the camera point to subjects at a
complete different distance than the original focus locked).

As far as I understand this should be the desirable behaviour,
correct?

Regards,
xvrbx

I've had my DRebel for a month now and have never seen the AI Servo
kick in. What mode does the camera have to be in?? I always shoot
in "P" mode with center point selected and in single shot mode. I
was even out at the RC Air field the other day and took about 50
pictures of a fast moving plane and the AI servo didn't kick in. Do
you have to be in burst mode??

OK - do you have the kit lens? Put the camera in P mode, stand
about 6 feet from something with plenty of contrast and half-press
until focus locks on. As soon as it does, start moving towards the
subject. You'll hear the auto-focus motor stuttering. That's the AI
servo kicking in.

--
David Barker

 

[takitimu]

Hi Daniella,

Which version of the bios in the camera are you running ?, I'm @ 1.0.2 from memory & I am wondering if the update to 1.1.1 fixed this.

This problem is annoying to me also, though the metering I am not so unhappy about, I've getting more adept at compensation calculation in my head .

Nigel

I think this has already been suggested, but have you tried pushing
the "depth-of-field" button after achieving focus lock? If you
push and hold the "depth-of-field" button, focus is locked and the
AI servo won't kick in. You can then recompose with no problems.
I know it means pushing another button, not perfect, but a work
around.

yes that's a workaround for stopping the AI servo. It is hard to
hand held steady at 300mm and hold that button and still get a
sharp shot though...I tried it and it does work but you need very
fast shutter speeds to freeze the camera shake if you push that
button. It's not a very convenient position to hold a lens steady.

Now I wish there was such work around for the meetering. swithing
to manual focus is even more hassle and you need to pet around the
lens to find that switch when you're trying to take the photo at
the same time. This woudl be really convenient if one could freeze
the time.

I seem to be having the opposite problem that everybody else have.
Last weekend, I went out taking pictures of my girl friend. I
focus on my girlfriend by half-pressing, and then I recompose the
picture.

What I find afterward is that my subject is getting misfocused
because the AI Servo went into action and refocused when I panned
to recompose. What's the trick in keep the camera from refocusing?

--
John from Southern California
http://www.pbase.com/johnrweb/disneyconcerthall
http://www.pbase.com/domdom
F707 and 300D

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

 

[Daniella68313]

1.1.1 and it does not change anything. Canon deliberatly crippled that camera. It was a bad decision as it impair the camera founctionality...I hope they will realize it and give us a much needed fix.

Which version of the bios in the camera are you running ?, I'm @
1.0.2 from memory & I am wondering if the update to 1.1.1 fixed
this.

This problem is annoying to me also, though the metering I am not
so unhappy about, I've getting more adept at compensation
calculation in my head .

Nigel

I think this has already been suggested, but have you tried pushing
the "depth-of-field" button after achieving focus lock? If you
push and hold the "depth-of-field" button, focus is locked and the
AI servo won't kick in. You can then recompose with no problems.
I know it means pushing another button, not perfect, but a work
around.

yes that's a workaround for stopping the AI servo. It is hard to
hand held steady at 300mm and hold that button and still get a
sharp shot though...I tried it and it does work but you need very
fast shutter speeds to freeze the camera shake if you push that
button. It's not a very convenient position to hold a lens steady.

Now I wish there was such work around for the meetering. swithing
to manual focus is even more hassle and you need to pet around the
lens to find that switch when you're trying to take the photo at
the same time. This woudl be really convenient if one could freeze
the time.

I seem to be having the opposite problem that everybody else have.
Last weekend, I went out taking pictures of my girl friend. I
focus on my girlfriend by half-pressing, and then I recompose the
picture.

What I find afterward is that my subject is getting misfocused
because the AI Servo went into action and refocused when I panned
to recompose. What's the trick in keep the camera from refocusing?

--
John from Southern California
http://www.pbase.com/johnrweb/disneyconcerthall
http://www.pbase.com/domdom
F707 and 300D

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

--
I am not an English native speaker!
http://www.pbase.com/zylen
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=26918

 

[Stephen Miller2]

I haven't tried locking focus with the depth of field button yet. My question is wouldn't it also have an impact on locking metering? The depth of field button actually stops the aperature down to what has been metered so that you can what the chip will when shutter is fired. Your aperature doesn't actually stop down until you take the shot. So I would think in addition to focus may also be locking the aperature. Now if the recomposed metereing has a larger aperature, then it may reset, but if it smaller will it go past the aperature you held it at?

2nd part. This will not apply to objects passing once, but classic motoracing photography technique is to focus on a spot on the road through which a car will pass. In av you select an aperature that gives you a depth of field adequate to cover any variation in distance to the car and also ensure at least 1/250 shutter speed to prevent shake. You can get the same place in TV as well. Then you switch to manual focus. WHen the car comes by the next time you meter as it passes, timing you shutter release to the point you focussed on.

This techniques has been working for 30 years.

I tried on the rebel with street cars in AV & TV but did not notice AI kicking in when I did with AF on. I can't recall what happened with sportsmode other than the AI focus on the rebel seemed much faster than on my EOS 650.

Stephen

 

[anthonyc]

There's been a couple of workarounds posted (neither the DOF preview or switching to MF is ideal, but are workarounds). I think it would be helpful to figure out what causes AI Servo to trigger so we know when to expect to need these tricks.

It's been suggested somewhere in this thread that if you hold at your focus point and half-press to focus (holding still until the beep), and then recomposing, AI Servo will not kick in. I have found that this is not the case. You CAN get it to kick in even after the beep and focus dot lights up if certain conditions exist (see below). At least that's what happens on my camera (kit lens and 50mm 1.8, firmware 1.0.2).

I find that, for my camera, AI Servo kicks in if it senses gradual forward or backward movement. I can move the focus point around after getting a focus lock and AI Servo usually does not kick in. ONLY if I point it at something (anything, whether in focus or not), and that something is moving towards or away from the camera, AI Servo fires up. Occasionally, when I'm recomposing and I move the focus point across a surface that slants away from or towards the camera, AI Servo kicks in. That is the thing that annoys me the most and makes me wish that I could disable in via the menu.

However, unlike what Dave or John said, I cannot get it to kick in simply by moving the focusing point to the background. Only if AI Servo starts up via a gradual change in object distance at the focus point as I described above (or what it perceives as a gradual change in object distance) before moving the focus point will it focus on it.

Could somebody please confirm this or add their experience on when AI Servo kicks in?

Thanks,
Anthony

I'm only focusing on a close subject and then recomposing to get
more background in the picture. I'm not doing anything complicated
or moving around, I'm just panning the camera to get better
composition.

It is frequently a problem when you move from a close subject to
the background and back again. I find Al servo will kick in most
every time when moving from far to near. You just have to be
careful about noting where you are placing the center focusing
point. Don't move around a lot while half pressed, or just plain
hurry up and beat the switch.--

--
John from Southern California
http://www.pbase.com/johnrweb/disneyconcerthall
http://www.pbase.com/domdom
F707 and 300D

 

[anthonyc]

Good post Eric CAN. I just posted the same thing elsewhere on this thread... let's stop calling each other names and do something productive (there's been lots of good discussion though).

Anyway, Reptiman, have you tried to lock focus, point it at something with a bit of contrast (doesn't have to be in focus) and walk towards it? That kicks my camera into AI Servo every time, no matter how long the focus has been locked and me pointing the camera everywhere (I'm testing in Av mode).

You can also point it at a contrasty surface that's slanted away from you and move the focus point down that surface, away from you.

My point is that I believe the camera kicks into AI Servo when it senses a gradual change in object distance or what it perceives as a gradual change in distance (or perhap a gradual change in contrast). You can point the locked focus point all over the place and AI Servo might not kick in, because most changes in distance and contrast when panning are quite abrupt. However, when the object is moving towards or away from the camera, or when you're panning the focus point on a surface that's slanted away from or towards the camera, AI Servo kicks in (for me).

I'm using kit lens and 50mm 1.8, firmware 1.0.2. This is easier to trigger with the 50mm or kit lens at full zoom (make sense, because there's less DOF and more likely there's a contrast change at different distances).

Anyway, please try it and let us know if AI Servo kicks in for you too.

Thanks,
Anthony

I been reading the entire tread, and now I'm starting to see people
saying names to others, let's be adult please.

What I suggest is by going step by step, instead to be like a
chicken running with its head cut-off (no offense to anyone), we
should try to differentiate which mode triggers AI Servo AF.

My understanding of the whole issue is this :

The Digital Rebel/300D has all these AF modes :

One-Shot AF
Predictive AI Servo AF,
AI Focus AF (Automatically selects One-Shot AF or AI Servo AF
selected according to shooting mode)

Let's start with the modes that runs and only in One-Shot AF :

Portrait
Landscape
Macro
Night Portrait
Flash Off
A-DEP (creative mode)

Now modes that runs exclusively with AI Servo AF :

Sports

Modes that runs in AI Focus AF which is described as :

AI Focus AF switches between One-Shot AF and AI Servo AF when it
senses that subjects are starting and stopping. It's perfect for
children, pets, wildlife and other unpredictable subjects. My
understanding is, in AI Focus AF, if you're moving closer/further
from the subject, it is possible the camera will go in AI Servo AF,
same for when the subject moves. If the camera doesn't detect any
movement, then it will take a picture in One-Shot AF.

The modes that uses this AI Focus AF are :

Full Auto
Program AE - P
Aperture Priority - Av
Shutter-Priority - Tv
Manual - M

Now from what I gathered, its written that either Single or
Continuous shot (Drive Mode) can use One-Shot AF, AI Servo AF or AI
Focus AF, depending on the modes mentioned above.

Metering modes :

When using M, you have Center-Weighted by default, if you press the
AE-lock button, then you're choosing Partial meteting.

In creative modes (P, AV, TV, A-DEP), Evaluative metering is the
default mode, if you press the AE-lock button, then you're choosing
Partial meteting (9% of the surface of the CMOS sensor)

Any insight ?

--
Eric Cote

More of my photo album found here :

http://community.webshots.com/user/drhangar

--
ReptiMan!