Major AF firmware for R and RP (video)

Dec 13, 2010
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There is some discussion of this in the announcement thread. I’m excited, trying not to get my hopes too high. As an Eos R owner that is lukewarm about the camera in general at this point I’m really looking forward to this. Especially for shooting my active 2 year old...
Yeah, I noticed that after I posted this thread, lol.

I can’t wait, I never expect firmwares when I buy a new camera, so I’m always excited for something new.
 
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Not sure what to make of what DPR has said- from the canon USA press release:

“The update will improve three main functions:
  • Eye detection AF
  • AF frame display delay
  • Subject identification
The firmware update aims to add detection of the subject’s eye when the subject is at a distance, improve overall AF frame tracking for moving subjects, as well as improve initial subject recognition and start tracking when subjects are at a distance.”
 
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YuengLinger

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Yeah, I noticed that after I posted this thread, lol.

I can’t wait, I never expect firmwares when I buy a new camera, so I’m always excited for something new.


Viggo, at this point, what is your overall opinion about the R when used for kids running around? Or maybe action shots at various events? (Ok, I'm considering it, even after moaning and groaning about the controls--I just can't stop craving that 50mm 1.2L).
Thanks!
 
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Dec 13, 2010
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Viggo, at this point, what is your overall opinion about the R when used for kids running around? Or maybe action shots at various events? (Ok, I'm considering it, even after moaning and groaning about the controls--I just can't stop craving that 50mm 1.2L).
Thanks!
I can honestly say I’ve never been this happy with a camera before. The absolute freedom of choosing where to focus is a big deal. And for tracking the kids I find it a lot better, at least with the fast primes (haven’t tried with any zoomlens) for tracking anything. Including kids playing, it is seriously good. One thing which is very different from the 1dx2 is that when that misses focus it’s not far off. When the R misses it does a focus hunt/rack that throws it waaay off, but it’s so quick I can have a complete miss and rack and then the next image in a 5fps burst dead on. It’s different, and the miss looks way worse, but it’s so seldom and under extreme conditions of either poor light or very fast action.

But the overall keeper rate is head and shoulders above anything else Canon makes right now. I don’t ever have those “ah, shoot, well it’s almost sharp, I’ll keep it” pictures anymore, they are super sharp where I want.

For the fastest most crazy action I feel the 1dx2 is still better, but I don’t really know if that’s because of the lenses I used , 200 f2, 24-70 and 70-200 are better at focusing than the 1.2 and 1.4 primes I’ve used with the R. But even at 14 fps I never had so many pictures sharp of movement.

I did a, very low light wedding yeaterday, and it performed near flawless, incredible. I was not the official photographer, but they left before the party so I did all of that. And the files are very, very good with extreme latitude. I Shot a lot at f1.2 1/125s at iso 16000, and they turned out very nice. It was so dark that I know that my only option for a lot of the images would have been manual focus with the 1dx2 or One Shot with only center AF point.

So while not 100% for the craziest of stuff and the occasional focus rack miss, it’s not one second regret and missing the 1dx2.
 
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YuengLinger

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I can honestly say I’ve never been this happy with a camera before. The absolute freedom of choosing where to focus is a big deal. And for tracking the kids I find it a lot better...

So while not 100% for the craziest of stuff and the occasional focus rack miss, it’s not one second regret and missing the 1dx2.

Thanks, Viggo. I've long respected your thoughts on gear!

We have a promo back, here in the USA, with the basic adapter included at the already discounted price of the R; plus the 50mm 1.2 is also discounted again.

Now the only decision is whether to order while a hurricane is approaching. :D
 
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Dec 13, 2010
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Thanks, Viggo. I've long respected your thoughts on gear!

We have a promo back, here in the USA, with the basic adapter included at the already discounted price of the R; plus the 50mm 1.2 is also discounted again.

Now the only decision is whether to order while a hurricane is approaching. :D
Thank you!

As they say ; bad weather is great photo weather :)
 
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YuengLinger

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Thank you!

As they say ; bad weather is great photo weather :)
The hurricane stalled, so we've had some time to contemplate here.

How do you deal with the slight lag when taking action shots going sideways--across the frame? I've been watching some youtube demonstrations of the "stutter" effect caused by the EVF displaying the last capture briefly during burst mode.
 
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Dec 13, 2010
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The hurricane stalled, so we've had some time to contemplate here.

How do you deal with the slight lag when taking action shots going sideways--across the frame? I've been watching some youtube demonstrations of the "stutter" effect caused by the EVF displaying the last capture briefly during burst mode.
I don’t really notice it anymore than the mirror flapping up and down 14 times a second.

But I try to know the movement and follow them on the natural path, or use auto-tracking and let it handle it. Both ways works very well, so much so that I don’t really worry about it.
 
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YuengLinger

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Thanks. Sitting here cooped up with a head-cold, fretting about the monster hurricane, I have too much time to keep digging into potential problems with R. Sure, I'd rather wait and get the jack-of-all-trades version that may be released next year, but a solid portrait and product body now will suffice--just so I can start using those lenses sooner rather than later. (Plus we've just decided to go with sealed and painted concrete instead of porcelain tile for our studio, so the big savings is a relief!)

If it weren't for the emergence of the R line, I'd happily get another 5D IV to replace my second-shooter 5D III. I really think the improvements in the IV over the III were amazing in all the little ways photographers work---way, way, way underrated at the time of the IV's release.

Amazon has the IV, directly, not from a 3rd party, for under $2400 right now.
 
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