AF Point Color on the 5D Mark III & 1D X Update [CR2]

[TrumpetPower!]

Add me to the chorus, please.

I'd even be happy with an option (as in, something that can be turned on and off) that sacrificed metering accuracy for various levels of viewfinder illumination.

...not that Canon is even aware that I exist as anything other than a blip in B&H's sales figures....

b&

[Drizzt321]

Add me to the chorus, please.

I'd even be happy with an option (as in, something that can be turned on and off) that sacrificed metering accuracy for various levels of viewfinder illumination.

...not that Canon is even aware that I exist as anything other than a blip in B&H's sales figures....

b&

If it can be tied to the DoF Preview/M.Fn button that'd be awesome! A button that's easy to hit to switch it back and forth.

[kevl]

Add me too.

I am finding it hard to ensure critical focus in darker situations because it is hard to tell if I am on the correct point or not.

[risc32]

I'm using my mk3 at a paid wedding job tomorrow and i'm a bit nervous about the AF points.

[swampler]

I use a 5D and a 20D, and I always use them in AI-servo.  I shoot from weddings to airshows.  The unlit points have never even crossed my mind.  Is there something about the cameras in question that makes this an issue on them where it's not on my 5D and 20D?

It's that the currently selected one is not even shown in red, even if it switches in AI Server or even in One Shot. It'll be black, focus confirm blinks it red then back to black, and then stays black.

Isn't that what my 5D and 20D do as well?  I'm trying to figure out why this bothers anyone when I've shot >100,000 shots with mine with never a thought.  Do the points look different when unlit on these newer cameras than they do on mine?

Yes, it's the same behavior. I do fairly well with the black AF point, but I do lose it sometimes when shooting HS football, which is always in the dark. Of course, that was center AF point only. With the multiple, usable AF points of the 5D3, that just adds difficulty to keeping the correct point on the subject.

[trowski]

Perhaps an acceptable solution would be to just blink red when you first push the shutter or AF-On button so you can see which points are currently selected. This really wouldn't work if you had it displaying all the points, but honestly why would you want to have all those points displayed all the time? If there was enough ambient light, it wouldn't have to blink.

I used my 7D for a couple years and never noticed this problem, and it doesn't bother me much on the 5DIII... but I did notice it. Maybe it's because I usually only used the 7D outside?

[Lee Jay]

Perhaps an acceptable solution would be to just blink red when you first push the shutter or AF-On button so you can see which points are currently selected.

That seems like what my 5D and 20D do.  Don't the new cameras do even that?  Maybe that's why it's never bothered me.

[bdunbar79]

I'm using my mk3 at a paid wedding job tomorrow and i'm a bit nervous about the AF points.

Use the single shot blink red option, and you don't need to worry.  You don't need to worry anyways, I've shot a ton in very low light and using center point AF I've never had a problem.  Good luck!

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I use a 5D and a 20D, and I always use them in AI-servo.  I shoot from weddings to airshows.  The unlit points have never even crossed my mind.  Is there something about the cameras in question that makes this an issue on them where it's not on my 5D and 20D?

Yes!  The 61 AF points are tiny and have thin lines around them.  Those lines identifying the AF point are near invisible in low light.  The 7D has a similar setup, but with fewer and larger AF points and thick lines they are much more visible. Itd even easier to see the points on my 5D MK II, only nine of them, and they light up nicely upon focus.  You can even see them light up in the daylight, but not with the 5D MK III.
I returned mine, and am waiting for a fix.  Meanwhile, I keep using my 5D MK II and 1D MK IV

[Richard8971]

Ah, another reason to buy the 5D2 and the 7D! But honestly, I hope Canon is able to provide a good fix for this problem. I can't imagine that in the prototypes out there that at least one person didn't go, "um, this 'black dot' thing isn't going to work..."

D

[Mt Spokane Photography]

*chimes in* If AI Servo gets to have black focus points I'd be happy, always a red confirmation would be even better.

AI servo shoots whether in focus or not.  Thats why it doesn't light.  USE AI Servo when you will be happy with near focus shots, or maybe totally out of focus shots if you force it to fire.  On the 5D MK III and 1 DX, you can select in focus priority for only the first shot, or for all shots, it depends on the subject.

[awinphoto]

This really isn't a problem...   I just shot a wedding this last weekend and had no problems. Half the reception was only lit by ugly neon lights with no overhead lights. I shoot Ai focus personally, best of both worlds, but with the controller set for 1 touch af point select. No prob, but it comes down to how you shoot

[Richard8971]

The 5D Mark III by itself is a much, much more powerful tool than the 5D Mark II and 7D combined.  If you know how to use it (which most critics do NOT) you would know this.  If you are complaining about a black AF point, you really have problems to begin with in your photography anyways, so the differences between these cameras would be a non-issue.

Ah, another person who doesn't understand the meaning of 'sarcasm'. Sorry, was just poking some light-hearted humor at the "problem" at hand. (sigh) I guess that I don't know how to use my equipment so I should just keep my posts to myself.

Or better yet... maybe some 5D3 owners out there, some of them happen to be "REAL photographiers", who are having a REAL issue with this. Or maybe this is kind of like those who compalined of a "soft focus" issue with the 7D. Plenty of people scoffed at the "problem" and said it wasn't real and that it was a user issue and not a hardware issue. Google it and see how many people had the same "problem".  My own 7D had the same issue until I sent it in for an adjustment (under warranty), and now it works fine. Or maybe I just happened to "learn" how to take a photo in the week they had my Camera. (sigh again)

How about spreading some of your "wisdom" and help those who are having this issue instead of telling them that their skills "suck"? (my words)

Hmmmm. 

D

[SandyP]

For whatever reason, I've been shooting weddings with this every weekend now, and haven't really noticed it being too much of a problem at all... would be nice if they fixed it, but seriously, it hasn't really hurt my shooting.

[pwp]

I'm another voice waiting for a solution to the black AF points.

While I value and love the power and flexibility of the 5D3 AF, I'm amazed Canon gutted its functionality with the black AF points. I almost sent mine back too for precisely this reason.

PW