Adelino said:
It's hard or impossible to compare reviews from different times especially eight years apart. Could anyone who has used both the original 7D and the 6DII compare autofocus performance for me. The 7D was stellar 8 years ago and some reviews have been disappointed in the 6DII autofocus performance but what would it mean for me directly coming from an original 7D. Any help is appreciated!
I've only shot the original 7D in passing. However I've owned the 70D which has basically the same 19 point focus system. It had 2 less modes (point and expanded) and therefore less flexibility, however I believe most felt it performed better, due to the faster processor and refined focus algorithms/firmware, both that come with a newer model camera.
So my initial impressions so far of Ai Servo of the 6D have been that it just works. I've used the following lenses all wide open and have been very happy with the results. Sigma 35mm Art, Canon 135mm f/2L, Canon 70-200 f/2.8L.
The Sigma has surprised me the most. For starters, I was already worried about the "outside focus points not working accurately on 3rd party lenses" issue, one shot or ai servo. But so far the outside focus points seem to focus great. And the tracking has worked well too. With the 35mm the tracking has been left to just continuing to lock in the narrow DOF on those semi static subjects that might be moving, laughing, leaning on you and it has done well.
The 135mm I've commented on briefly before and I used it to chase my daughter around at a park, playground, swing, etc. and it just seemed to consistently hit.
Most recently I used the 70-200 from a boat at 200mm trying to keep the frame on a tuber. The biggest challenge was trying to just keep the subject within the frame, let alone the focus area (I used full 45 point spread with initial lock to center point). I have yet to completely pixel peek these latest photos but initial impressions are that it worked well. I don't know for a fact, but my gut tells me that the iRGB metering sensor put a preference on the "skin tones" of the subject and helped push focus on those parts of the frame and not the tube or the water splashing up in front or the rope, AND helped re-acquire the subject as the boat would bounce and the camera would lose the subject temporarily.
Again, these are just a handful of initial impressions I've had with the camera and the tracking of it. If I start to run into some real limitations, disappointments I will certainly comeback and share. Yes, being full frame the AF spread is a bit clustered (roughly to rule of thirds in both directions). However I've been happy with it's performance and feel is has performed every bit as good (better?) as the 70D I once owned and that camera's AF tracking never let me down.