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Archive 2012 · Please share 1DIII sport settings

  
 
OntheRez
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


I'm moving to the 1DIII (from a 1DIIn) for shooting high school sports in very bad light. Flash is banned. Mostly I shoot at ISO 3200 with primes (50 f/1.4, 85 f/1.8, and 135 f/2.0L). Shooting manual, Av is generally about f/2.2 and Tv is 640 - 500. My best shots are often with the 135 but I have to climb high in the bleachers to get perspective. I keep the "focus on" button pressed.

I'm currently using spot metering, AISERVO, and C. FnIII:2 set one click towards fast. I still regularly get the maddening result of the focus clearly being on the action - in fact often taking up most of the image, but the background (crowd, end wall, etc.) being in sharp focus. Of course this only happens on "my very best shots!"

Any input from experts greatly appreciated.

Robert



Jan 20, 2012 at 12:04 PM
stempsons
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


Not an expert, but I have shot several indoor basketball and cheer events. Here's my setup from the last basketball game I shot, not too many oofs either, ISO 3200, 85.1.8 & 200 1.8 lenses wide open, shutter speed around 400-640. I also shoot using AV (i'm lazy).

I'm surprised you're able to get 640 shutter speed @ f/2.2 with ISO 3200. Most of the gyms I've shot at I have to leave the aperture fixed at 1.8 and average a SS of 500. I don't shoot using spot metering though...

C.FnIII: 2-1 click toward fast
C.FnIII: 9-1
C.FnIII: 14-1

All other C.FnIII's are set to default values.

-seth

Edited on Jan 20, 2012 at 04:17 PM · View previous versions



Jan 20, 2012 at 12:22 PM
Mike Tuomey
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


Les' guide is meant for wildlife shooters but I use his guidance for my sports work:

http://www.wildlifeimagesbyles.net/Technique/1DIII_guide/1diii_guide.html

Works well for me.



Jan 20, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Ed Peters
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


try to google SI.


Jan 20, 2012 at 02:23 PM
OntheRez
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


Ed Peters wrote:
try to google SI.


Ed,

I know that Canon had a "white paper" out there on AISevro and such though I am unable to find it now on their site. By SI do you mean Sports Illustrated? I'll try that.

Robert



Jan 20, 2012 at 04:09 PM
Mike Tuomey
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


Try here:

http://www.pressefotografforbundet.dk/fil/eos1dmk3_af_cfn_guide.pdf



Jan 20, 2012 at 04:29 PM
OntheRez
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


Mike Tuomey wrote:
Try here:

http://www.pressefotografforbundet.dk/fil/eos1dmk3_af_cfn_guide.pdf


Thanks Mike, that's the one I was looking for.

Robert



Jan 21, 2012 at 09:34 AM
dwerther
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


Here's the list that I have compiled - can't guarantee all the links work any more.

Do a Google search for: 1DMarkIII-AF-Setup.zip Unfortunately the rapidshare link is no longer any good - you'll have to find it elsewhere. If you just can't find it then email me and I will email it to you.

Canon 1D III Auto Focus Tweaking Guide info Web Site
http://www.usa.canon.comAlt/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2866&fromTips=1

Canon 1D III camera info Web Site
http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eos1dm3/html/top.html?

Canon 1D III camera Tweak Guide PDF
http://www.usa.canon.com/uploadedimages/FCK/Image/2007/MARK%20III%20Suggested%20Settings%20121207/EOS1D_1DsMark_IIIoptimizingAFsettings_Final.pdf

Wildlife Shooters Guide to Using the Canon 1D Mark III
http://www.wildlifeimagesbyles.net/Technique/1DIII_Guide/1diii_guide.html

Omar´s Nature Photography Camera Advice for the EOS-1D Mark III
http://sydnet.net/omar/equipment.htm

Canon 1D III Custom Functions settings video demo.
http://therighteye.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/canon-1d-mark-iii-custom-function-settings/

Canon EOS-1D Mark III info site/detailed review
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E1DMK3/E1DMK3EXPOSURE_HTPMODE.HTM

Canon EOS-1D Mark III info site/detailed review
http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0903/tech-tips.html

Also, do a search on YouTube “1D III settings”. There are a couple of GREAT videos on there where they walk you through each and every custom setting, and tell you why they did it.

easy preset way to remove noise from iso 3200 photos on the 1D III.
Contents: 1D Mark III "FlexNR" Noise Removal Action
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=680947

The video is 49mins long! But some good things are covered.
http://therighteye.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/canon-1d-mark-iii-custom-function-settings/




Jan 21, 2012 at 09:55 AM
dwerther
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


OntheRez wrote:
I keep the "focus on" button pressed..... and C. FnIII:2 set one click towards fast. I still regularly get the maddening result of the focus clearly being on the action - in fact often taking up most of the image, but the background (crowd, end wall, etc.) being in sharp focus.


I think what you are trying to say is that the visual focus of your shot is supposed to be the action, but the camera often focuses on the background. Right?

I think the problem here is the combination of what I highlighted above. By setting the Tracking Sensitivity to +1 fast and holding down the focus button continuously you are telling the camera re refocus to the active AF point almost as quickly as possible. So all it takes is one moment of moving the active AF point off the subject and it will go to whatever you point it to - usually the crowd/background.

If you slowed the tracking sensitivity down the camera is not as quick to try to refocus if you accidentally move the AF point off the subject. And by only pressing the AF button when you need to reconfirm focus rather than holding it down continuously you will not be inadvertently moving the focus point to the BG if you happen to move the point off the subject.

I think the 1DIII requires very careful thought (and a ton of trial and error) about the interaction of the Tracking Sensitivity setting, AF Point Selection, Assist points, and tracking vs AF point priority. That's why there are so many different scenarios listed on that Canon AF/cFn white paper. What they DON'T MENTION however is the need to "pulse" the AF ON button rather than hold it down continuously.

If you read the sports action scenarios carefully they casually mention that the camera is not very fast at picking up the subject after it changes focus (looses the subject to the background). In my opinion the camera recaptures the subject much faster if you release and repress the AF button than if you just ride it and wait. There is a ton of technique involved.

A lot of the pros might tell you that all this above is wrong and they don't have any problem. Well, that might be true in the great light of a NFL stadium or DIV 1 basketball arena. But as a HS shooter on poorly lit football fields and dark gyms with about 12,000 sports images on my web site I can tell you the combination of settings is not as cut and dried as the white papers suggest, and that there is some real AF spot tracking and shutter manipulation technique required.You almost have to set the camera to your technique, while at the same time refining your technique to converge towards what Canon and other shooters have proven works.

I hope that makes some kind of sense. Good luck and keep shooting!

David



Jan 21, 2012 at 10:20 AM
lwrnclightner
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


Hey Robert, if after you have it tweaked to your liking and you still get (some) back focused shots I would not be dismayed. At first I thought I was having issues but if your body is working as it should, then I had to come to realize that it takes a split of a split second for this baby to focus on what it sees, meaning if your subject moves out of the focus pt area in the least then she grabs what is now filling it (the background), and if that happens to be when you depress the shutter, then you guessed it....... Now it took me a min to realize it, but this thing works faster than my eyes do so I don't see it happening often when at the games, you won't notice it until you get em on the big screen. I don't know if this makes sense, but it is what it is.

Also, and I didn't realize this until last night after shooting a wrestling match..it was my first attempt at stobing so I had the luxury of a low iso, 640 to be exact, and when I looked at my results on screen, it was like a breath of fresh air.. Till now I was under the impression that the mkIII files are just not as sharp and crisp as other bods I have owned, not fully understanding that when shooting 3200-6400 iso all the time that image quality is going to be comprimised by noise. My images are very crisp and detailed, and I shoot raw, so imagine when minimal sharpening is applied..

Please excuse me if my crazy deranged mumbling comes off as a mkIII fanboy, these are just my observances.

Just read Mr. Werthers post above, exactly what I was trying to say, he just said it more eloquently



Jan 21, 2012 at 10:43 AM
Mike Tuomey
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


dwerther wrote:
In my opinion the camera recaptures the subject much faster if you release and repress the AF button than if you just ride it and wait. There is a ton of technique involved.

David

Exactly right, and true of every 1-series camera I've owned/used. Which is also why it's useful to switch AF control to the back button and develop a quick thumb And if you train yourself to release/repress and pause oh-so-slightly before hitting the shutter button, you'll get a higher in-focus rate in my experience.



Jan 21, 2012 at 12:11 PM
ESeidle
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


Mike Tuomey wrote:
Try here:

http://www.pressefotografforbundet.dk/fil/eos1dmk3_af_cfn_guide.pdf


nice find



Jan 21, 2012 at 11:54 PM
mark fadely
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


Hopefully the OP is experiencing some AF issues because of technique and not due to a faulty AF on the MKIII. I remember many of these same white paper discussions when the MKIII first was released. People were trying gazillions of AF setting combinations only to later find out their cameras were just not focusing correctly. From what is written in this thread the problem appears to be technique related but it might be prudent to have another experienced person give this MKIII a shakedown to avert a frustrating scenario that has been repeated so many times before.


Jan 22, 2012 at 12:14 AM
corndog
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


Factory default was pretty darn good for me.


Jan 22, 2012 at 12:39 AM
OntheRez
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Please share 1DIII sport settings


First, thanks for all who have replied. Lots of very useful information here.

Specific responses.

Mark: It's a "blue dot" model which indicates all the fixes were done.

Stempson: There is a 1.5 - 2 stop variation in light along the length of the gym! I am not exaggerating. The east basket (which by traditional is always home in the second half) has the best light. I'm often shooting at 1.8 and 500 elsewhere. One entire light pod is dark at left center court. I've mentioned it to the Superintendent, who has just shrugged and mumbled money.

Mike: Checked both of your links. Much good info. Thanks.

dwerther (Dave?) excellent links. As you and others have noted I need to learn to "pulse" the back button. I can see how keeping it pressed can make the AF "work too hard." Don't know why I hadn't thought of that. You are exactly right in that I get the situation where the frame is largely filled by my intended subject but the focus has skipped past it.

To all, it is becoming apparently to me that this camera requires more sophistication (read practice) than my 1DIIn perhaps required, though I remember that I had to work with it a lot to get the results I wanted from it also. Clearly the AF on the 1DIII is a more subtile and complex beast. Probably why they had so much trouble with it in the beginning. The complexity of focus, back button pulse, fire at correct time will take practice. I've also noticed an occasional tendency to "twitch" when I press the shutter button. Don't have a solution yet for that.

As everyone can probably tell, I'm a complete rookie in the sports field having been drafted. My background was landscape and wildlife. Many of you work in larger schools/cities. Here we are so small and so far from any other media that the paper is the town's communication system. More than once I've been stopped in the grocery/hardware/bar, etc., and asked something like, "That was a great shot my girl made. How come it wasn't in the paper?" My answers vary, but in that case all I had was the top of her head, arm extended in shooting and a perfectly focused back of ref. I guarantee that modern AF is a "stripe seeking device."

Thanks again to all, and I'll report back.

Robert




Jan 22, 2012 at 12:11 PM





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