7D Mark II AF Points Lighted??

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I was wondering if Canon has been able to fix the AF point illumination in the 7D to allow the selected points to remain on permanently. This is one of the big weak points in my 5D MK III. The original 7D had fewer AF points, and they were easier to see. Now, with 75 AF points, I'd think that continuous illumination would be a requirement.

Apparently, Canon has been unable to solve the issue, the AF points only flash briefly when you press a button assigned to that function, or when AF has been achieved.

Since I use my 5D MK III in near darkness, its a pain to try and get the focus point on the subject, and often takes a couple of tries.

Below is what I found on a canon web site. I added the red highlight. The AF first just to determine if your focus point is on the subject is a trial and error process, and with 75 points, I'd think it would be difficult to do if a subject is moving.

Viewfinder illumination
Information on the focus screen can be set to illuminate briefly in certain conditions for better viewing in low light. This is actually set in the EOS 7D Mark II’s AF menu: 5th AF menu screen > VF display illumination:
Auto
Red illumination of AF points, Grid Lines, or any other viewfinder info on the focus screen when the camera detects low-light conditions (there’s no way to change the factory-set cut-off point for illuminating vs. not illuminating).

• Enable (ON)
  Red illumination is always active, regardless of ambient light level. Illumination is limited to when AF is actually being activated; it does not simply constantly illuminate.
• Off
  No illumination of viewfinder info that’s over the focus screen, regardless of ambient light level.

An important aspect of viewfinder illumination in the EOS 7D Mark II is that if active, it’ll appear differently in One-Shot AF vs. AI Servo AF. In One-Shot AF, when you press whichever button activates AF, it’ll flash briefly upon completion of AF, so you can visually confirm which point(s) are active and where they fall in the scene. In AI Servo AF, it behaves like the EOS-1D X with version 2.0 or higher firmware installed — during continuous AI Servo focus-tracking, the red illumination flashes on every second or so, briefly, then goes off. Again, there’s no way to have it simply illuminate constantly, regardless of the light level.
What about if you’re using Manual focus? If you’ve got the lens set to MF and press actively on whichever button would have been your AF activation button, you’ll get focus confirmation in the viewfinder when you do achieve sharp focus and the red illumination will flash briefly (as in One-Shot AF) when that happens. But again, it won’t illuminate continuously, even if the menu for illumination is set to ON.

 

[pwp]

That thought has crossed my mind too when checking over the impressive 7D2 specs. In spite of getting used to it, the hard to see black AF points in the 5D3 drive me nuts and genuinely slow things down. Losing track of your selected AF point takes up attention that would be better directed towards your creative flow.

The constantly illuminated red AF point in the 1D4 and just about every Canon DSLR that preceded it are quick and easy to use. I'll miss that particular functionality when I eventually retire the 1D4.

-pw

 

[BozillaNZ]

The 1D series prior to 1D X uses a specifically developed LED projection system (SI-LED) to display red AF points in VF without messing with metering. This set of hardware takes space and cost. And since Canon likes being cheap (like all corporates), they dropped it.

http://www.techques.com/question/12-12200/How-are-the-red-focus-point-indicators-displayed-on-a-dSLR's-focusing-screen

This is a hardware limitation, so unless they change the VF design again to incorporate this SI module, we won't get illuminated AF points any more.

And even if this cost down is acceptable in 5D series, 1D series being "no compromise", drops this feature just makes me sad.

And check out Nikon D3/D4, they shows how can you put together a VF that has trans-missive LCD as well as SI LED system at the same time. Sigh...

 

[can0nfan2379]

The 1D series prior to 1D X uses a specifically developed LED projection system (SI-LED) to display red AF points in VF without messing with metering. This set of hardware takes space and cost. And since Canon likes being cheap (like all corporates), they dropped it.

http://www.techques.com/question/12-12200/How-are-the-red-focus-point-indicators-displayed-on-a-dSLR's-focusing-screen

This is a hardware limitation, so unless they change the VF design again to incorporate this SI module, we won't get illuminated AF points any more.

And even if this cost down is acceptable in 5D series, 1D series being "no compromise", drops this feature just makes me sad.

And check out Nikon D3/D4, they shows how can you put together a VF that has trans-missive LCD as well as SI LED system at the same time. Sigh...

Yup....I hope LED illuminated AF points will make a return. When I look through the viewfinder of my film Elan II and see those crisp BRIGHT red AF points I really wish my 5D3 had that. Not to mention the lack of interchangeable precision focus screens for large aperture manual focusing lenses is unforgivable on the second to top of the line body in the current Canon lineup.

I hope future iterations of the 5D or 1D make a return to being more stills centric as opposed to continuing to improve video features.

 

[Sabaki]

Page 89 of the 7D manual, there's a heading "AF Points Lighting Up In Red"

 

[risc32]

yeah, this is big deal for me also. I remember when the 5dmk3 was announced and they released all these reviews, many from event shooters. Strange how they never complained about not being able to see their AF points while shooting in the dark. of course it's not strange, it's BS. i wonder if they even used a 5dmk3 before writing their "review". it's not something you could miss. I don't know about canon being cheap, they sold a ton of cameras this way. now they can come out with a mk4 and tout the visible AF points, while they sneak another feature away when nobody is looking...

 

[Gino]

I agree with what others have posted....I sure hope the 5D MarkIV & 1DX MarkII have a bright viewfinder with easy to see red autofocus points that light up in all autofocus modes for low light shooting!!!

I've owned the Nikon D4 & D800 and the red lighted autofocus points in Nikon camera's are easier to see in lowlight conditions compared to Canon!

Thanks