No Finalized 5D Mark III Yet [CR2]

[Edwin Herdman]

I haven't used an eye tracking EOS camera yet, but what I've read is that it tracks your eye to select an AF point.  For the EOS 3, 11 of the 45 points can be selected.  So in that sense it's really no different from using a control pad, stick, or wheel to manually select a point.  Depending on how you have the AF mode set you also should be able to consciously lock the AF point with a shutter half press.

I guess all those years playing FPS games on PC means that I have better peripheral vision than some people; I don't need to look at things directly to tell if the whole frame is decent.  When I'm shooting wildlife I am looking directly at them for any sign of movement or anything that could be interesting.  None of this really precludes people who work differently from using their cameras in the more basic fashion.

I'll grant that I don't think the eye tracking would work quite as well in AI Servo mode or when shooting sports.  In that case yes, you don't really want the AF point selection going haywire; nobody stares at just one point forever.

I'm not really swayed by a liability argument, and I'm not swayed by a "it has to be perfect or else it can't be used' argument either.  I think Canon just wants to save money on a feature that could easily just be disabled so it is no problem for folks who won't use it.  They were apparently making big strides from the EOS 5 to the EOS 3, and with some years of development I wonder if it could have gone further (and perhaps it has, in Canon's labs).  Really, if it is a problem to use it in AI Servo, I think it would be fairly simple to allow a custom function to have it enabled or disabled in that mode.

[awinphoto]

I'm not really swayed by a liability argument, and I'm not swayed by a "it has to be perfect or else it can't be used' argument either.  I think Canon just wants to save money on a feature that could easily just be disabled so it is no problem for folks who won't use it.  They were apparently making big strides from the EOS 5 to the EOS 3, and with some years of development I wonder if it could have gone further (and perhaps it has, in Canon's labs).  Really, if it is a problem to use it in AI Servo, I think it would be fairly simple to allow a custom function to have it enabled or disabled in that mode.

Fair enough, but by liability, i'm getting at it could be a bad PR hence liability in regards to corporate image and so on and so forth.  It has to be nearly perfect because, lets face it, on the film cameras, the highest most pro's were willing to print on 35mm film was 8x10.  11x14 if using ISO 100 film or under because of grain and the picture really started falling apart and clients wouldn't buy it.  Pro's knew if they really wanted 11x14 or bigger, medium format was a must.  Focus on an 8x10 has to be good, but focus on a 11x14 or even 16x20 which the 5d mark II can pump out natively without interpolation (almost) ANY mistake in focus will be magnified let alone those pixel peepers who would tear apart the focusing system on the internet.  You remember all the noise when the 7D first came out with the 19pt focus system... people complaining how it wasn't as good as advertised on fast action... Those complaints quietly died away but to come out with this system which undoubtedly would be dubbed as Canon's best/fastest/most accurate/throw-in-adjective AF Ever, they would have to get it perfect on the flagships in order to keep good PR... Let anyone forget what happened to what was it, the 1d 3 focus system that was shakey and needed to be fixed post release.  That brought Canon bad PR and they dont want a repeat by hastily releasing this.

Kinda like apple who claims they wont release a product unless it's "perfect" or "done right", Canon wouldn't/shouldn't release this system until they know beyond a shadow of a doubt it is nearly perfect.