6D autofocus capabilites: let's bust some myths about it

[Dylan777]

Have you tried it on kids? It couldn't keep up with mine...

I have no problem with any critter moving towards me or away. I use center point AI servo.

Like the 5DII before it, it does a decent job at tracking subjects moving across the frame, like the bighorns in your excellent image. Where the 5DII and 6D fail are when a subject is moving toward or away from the camera (away is worse). I just processed a burst sequence taken with my 1D X and 70-200/2.8L IS II of a gymnast running straight at me and vaulting from springboard onto the pad (which I was standing behind). All 26 shots in the burst are in crisp focus (lighting was pretty poor, shots were at 1/800 s, f/3.2, ISO 12800). The 7D would have gotten many of the shots in focus (but they'd have been unusable due to the ISO noise or the motion blur with a slower shutter speed. The noise from the 6D would have been acceptable, but after the first couple of frames, most of the shots would have been backfocused (and I'd have had far fewer shots, of course).

The 7D was the worst Canon DSLR I have owned. It was widely regarded as a "wildlife" lens, yet most big wildlife is crepuscular in nature, a time when the 7D falls flat. I used my 7D and the 6D in that bighorn series, and the 7D failed. Many, many out of focus shots riddled with noise. Something about even light just played haywire with the copy I had when combined with telephotos.

I'm not surprised at the 1DX results. Awesome camera.

While not the best photos, here are a couple examples of my 6D with a 300 prime and quick animals (much quicker than children). Very low sunset light, too. I've also attached the corresponding 100% crops.

Everything is do able, little challenging that all. I used mirrorless to shoot my kids jump toward me.

This reminded me how egyptian pyramids were built : times and efforts : : :

 

[Roo]

I've never tried a 6D but a few weeks ago I saw some photos posted in the sports section and said if anyone questioned the 6D's capabilities I'd refer to them to that thread...

The 6D shots start after the women's volleyball pics (if you can get past them lol).

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=18490.0

 

[Marsu42]

I've never tried a 6D but a few weeks ago I saw some photos posted in the sports section and said if anyone questioned the 6D's capabilities I'd refer to them to that thread...

It's not about getting *some* shots right, it's about reliability and the keeper rate. The 6d's tracking is medicore, though as written above it depends on the movement type and it's easier with large targets in bright light so you can use all af points (as there's only the choice between 1 and 11).

I've got top-notch running horses shots from the 6d, and I could say they're taken with a 5d3 or 1dx and everyone would believe it. That's why posting some nice sports shots doesn't mean anything unless he/she states how many shots were missed. For some sports, this should be ok as the scenes get repeated so if the 6d misses you can just try again. But for mission-critical work like tracking a "once in a lifetime" wedding ceremony - no, I'd rather use one shot mode thank you very much :-o

 

[MichaelHodges]

I've never tried a 6D but a few weeks ago I saw some photos posted in the sports section and said if anyone questioned the 6D's capabilities I'd refer to them to that thread...

Nice shots. However, I don't feel sports shots are a good metric for determining focus quality. Even the cheapest cell phone cameras focus well on brightly colored clothing.

Now, start talking to me about brown grizzly bears feeding on a brown slope on a drab rainy day, and then you've got my attention.

 

[Loswr]

I've never tried a 6D but a few weeks ago I saw some photos posted in the sports section and said if anyone questioned the 6D's capabilities I'd refer to them to that thread...

It's not about getting *some* shots right, it's about reliability and the keeper rate. The 6d's tracking is medicore, though as written above it depends on the movement type and it's easier with large targets in bright light so you can use all af points (as there's only the choice between 1 and 11).

I've got top-notch running horses shots from the 6d, and I could say they're taken with a 5d3 or 1dx and everyone would believe it. That's why posting some nice sports shots doesn't mean anything unless he/she states how many shots were missed. For some sports, this should be ok as the scenes get repeated so if the 6d misses you can just try again. But for mission-critical work like tracking a "once in a lifetime" wedding ceremony - no, I'd rather use one shot mode thank you very much :-o

Exactly. As I've said before, I and many others shot sports in the days when focus wasn't auto and your burst rate was limited by how fast your thumb could push the film advance lever...and I got good shots – but the keeper rate was very low. Getting what amounts to a full 'roll' of exposures of an action sequence with every frame in focus is a real joy.