I bought a mint used MKIIN last week. I moved up from a 20D that I have had for three years. I became fairly happy with the 20D, shooting waterfowl and soccer. I put the AF on the * button, center point focus, AI Servo and got a pretty high success rate.

I checked out the MKIIN this week for front/back focus with all of my lenses and it checked out fine. Today I used it to shoot a girls high school drill competition with a friends 70-200L 2.8 IS lens. I would have to say I was not blown away by the improved AF. I tried the same config as on my 20D, with AF on the * button, AI Servo and CF17 to "2" Automatic Expand to 13 AF points.

Could someone offer suggestions on how to shoot action and the configs they use for the MKII?

Thanks,
Doug

Well you went from a Corolla to an Acura so something is amiss. Start with this document, read it a few times...good stuff.

http://www.usa.canon.com/content/EOS_Digital.pdf

Shane, thanks for the link. Good stuff in there. I think I am on the right track, but new subtleties and controls of the MKIIN are going to take some learning. I tried changing CF17 from 2 to 1 and it seems to make a differnce already.

-Doug

G'day Doug,

Congratulations on your newly accquired toy. The AF performance of a 1D Mark IIN is mind blowing well that's based on my experience. The following are my settings for sports/action and I always get good results

1) Center Focus
2) C.Fn 04 - 3 - exposure is calculated the instant the picture is taken, helps when subject is moving from shadow to bright areas etc.
3)C.Fn 13 - 0
4)C.Fn 17 - 0
5)C.Fn 20 - 2
6)C.Fn 21 - 0
7) AI Servo mode and high speed shooting.

Just using these settings I have been getting excellent results. You might want to go through some archived posts in the sports forums. I recall the AF settings etc of the 1D series gets discussed quite a bit over the past few months.

Certainly sticking a good glass helps quite a bit as well as the lighting conditions in the environment you are shooting in.

Hope this gives you some insight.

cheers
Veeral

Congratulations on the 1D2N purchase.

My standard setup is AI-Servo, Partial Metering, Centre Point AF, 8.5fps, RAW, CFN 4,3 is on and the rest of the CFNs are pretty much default and personal choice. Usually centre point AF focussing is triggered by the * button and I have another point registered against the WB button and I roll my thumb across either button for what I need.

The settings on www.siphoto.com are a good place to start. I set up three Personal Function groups.

1 A group of settngs with af on shutter release(never used but just in case I need to hand the camera to a civilian.)
2 Sports AF with* and most of the siphoto settings. No review on at all.
3 Same as two but with MLU included for tripod use.

This allows me to move between settings and CF groups quickly.

Here is a guide concerning focus point selection. This is for the 1Ds but useful.
http://visual-vacations.com/Photography/1ds_autofocus_tips.htm

Thanks for the replies, good SNR in them! SIPhoto is a new place for me, with a lot of good pointers. I usually peruse nature and wildlife, so sports will be a good crossover area for info.

Thanks again,
Doug

WHat an awesome camera...Love mine. Have fun!