p.22 #1 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
AGeoJO wrote:
FYI, I've found that on the 5D Mark III, you can reprogram the DOF button to instantly switch between One Shot and AI Servo, which can be a great way to "have your cake and eat it too" and a potential work-around for this issue.
I missed that in the manual Absolutely great idea. The DOF preview button is certainly convenient for that.
p.22 #2 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
It would be more convenient IF by clicking the DOF preview button it would switch and stay in either One Shot or AI Servo mode. The way it works now the user must press and hold the DOF preview button to keep the camera in one mode or the other. Pressing the DOF preview button AND the * button to focus AND the shutter button to meter (three fingers) is cumbersome at best.
p.22 #3 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
Todd Klassy wrote:
It would be more convenient IF by clicking the DOF preview button it would switch and stay in either One Shot or AI Servo mode. The way it works now the user must press and hold the DOF preview button to keep the camera in one mode or the other. Pressing the DOF preview button AND the * button to focus AND the shutter button to meter (three fingers) is cumbersome at best.
Absolutely right! It is nice that the DOF Button is programmable for the switch. But of course it should switch to the other mode by pushing (or any else programmable button), not by holding it "pressed".
To make that funktion usable it should not be to difficult to implement this into the next firmware update.
Edit:
Complaints seem to be listened to. Am I blind, or did they really put away that asolutely worthless "print-button" (imo the new rate-button is as unneccessary like that was before)?
p.22 #4 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
Todd Klassy wrote:
The problem with One Shot mode is that if you have the camera set to provide illumination the whole grid and VF flash red when changing or verifying AF point placement, which means another problem presents itself: the red illuminated AF point is easily lost. One can turn off illumination, but then you're back to the old problem...the AF point is black and gets lost in certain backgrounds. Also, when shooting a situation where there is a combination of both action and stationary subject matter, adding another step to the process is cumbersome and problematic.
I guess I don't understand why Canon felt necessary to fix something that wasn't broken....Show more →
I agree the viewfinder flash is annoying when selecting an AF point, but this does not really affect the operability of the camera. (In any case, it's inherent in the new design and is unlikely to change.)
I believe the key usability issue is that in AI Servo, the selected AF point no longer illuminates briefly during initial focus acquisition, making it hard to tell exactly where the AF point is (and thus position it on the target).
Not so in One Shot: the active focusing point illuminates, and in fact you can control how and when the illumination occurs via a custom function. So, shooting in One Shot could be a work-around for a lot of shooting situations where you may not need AI Servo.
Of course, One Shot AF is not a solution for most sports or wildlife photography, so that's where the DOF button AF mode toggle can perhaps be an option (if you can get your head around using it this way).
It's not a perfect solution, but it's an option to consider until a firmware update materializes (if ever).
p.22 #5 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
Yes, the fact that the AF point does not illuminate briefly during focus acquisition in AI Servo mode is certainly the larger of the two issues, but my problem with the VF flashing is bigger than just being annoying, it is hard to see through a mesh and flash of red where the AF point is. It is a minor issue when compared to the AI service problems, but still a pain the arse nonetheless.
As for the direct print button, no it is not there, but hidden behind the Creative Photo/Comparative Playback Button in the far upper left-hand corner on the back of the camera. I'll rejoice, however, when it is completely extinct. AND keep in mind it took Canon, what, 7 years to get rid of that stupid feature? What was the first camera with a direct print button? The 20D?
p.22 #6 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
Todd Klassy wrote:
I guess I don't understand why Canon felt necessary to fix something that wasn't broken.
My frustration as well. The 1D series had it designed right. Why change it? You develop your finest
low level light body to date but you can't see the AF point under those conditions? Still shaking my head.
p.22 #7 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
garyvot wrote:
I believe the key usability issue is that in AI Servo, the selected AF point no longer illuminates briefly during initial focus acquisition, making it hard to tell exactly where the AF point is (and thus position it on the target).
Not so in One Shot: the active focusing point illuminates, and in fact you can control how and when the illumination occurs via a custom function. So, shooting in One Shot could be a work-around for a lot of shooting situations where you may not need AI Servo.
Gary, I am not sure what you exactly meant. As far as focus confirmation in the form of blinking LED concerned, I cannot come up with any Canon camera that will enable you to get the AF point illuminated in the AI Servo mode. I have used quite a few Canon bodies, including 1D Mark II through Mark IV, 1Ds Mark I though Mark III and several other prosumer bodies. Again, the active AF point is displayed but not illuminated for focus confirmation. It doesn't make sense since that mode is designed for follow focus where the focusing distance changes and sometimes changes rapidly. In this mode, the focus point/plane moves back and forth to follow focus depending on the distance between the camera and the moving target in this mode and it would be simply not feasible to get a focus confirmation as such.
On my already sold 1D Mark IV, the AF is lit continuously while the the camera is active to identify its placement but it doens't blink to confirm focus. If that's what you meant with illumination of AF point, then I agree. I believe that that can be changed or added in a firmware and I certainly hope that Canon will include the option of keeping the AF illuminated while the camera is on. Actually, I would like to see that option in the new upcoming firmware of the 7D also. Whether I will use it or not remains to be seen but of course, having another option to customize your camera further won't hurt.
p.22 #8 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
AGeoJO wrote:
On my already sold 1D Mark IV, the AF is lit continuously while the the camera is active to identify its placement but it doens't blink to confirm focus. If that's what you meant with illumination of AF point, then I agree. I believe that that can be changed or added in a firmware and I certainly hope that Canon will include the option of keeping the AF illuminated while the camera is on. Actually, I would like to see that option in the new upcoming firmware of the 7D also. Whether I will use it or not remains to be seen but of course, having another option to customize your camera further won't hurt....Show more →
The 1D-IV provides red focus point identification (but not focus confirmation) and remains on-screen for 5 seconds before it blinks off. The issue with the 5D-III (and 7d) is that there is no red focus point identification. In this thread, people (me included) have been misusing the term "confirmation" instead of "identification" since we all "know what it means"
Unfortunately, the same issue applies to the 1DX - for me, this is a show stopper and I have a predilection to pick up another 1D-IV rather than the 1DX simply because of this.
p.22 #9 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
New firmware version 1.1.3, which is available tomorrow, will NOT have a fix for the AF illumination issue, but it doesn't have any new features added to it at all.
p.22 #11 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
AGeoJO wrote:
Gary, I am not sure what you exactly meant... Again, the active AF point is displayed but not illuminated for focus confirmation.
If you look at my comment carefully, you'll see that I didn't use the word "confirmation", but "initial acquisition" (but what I really meant was "initial activation"). You are correct that the AF point does not illuminate for "confirmation" in AI Servo--to do so would be meaningless.
What I am referring to is that in AI Servo on most Canon bodies, the currently selected AF point illuminates briefly when the AF system is activated. This helps with identification of the selected AF point and orientation of the viewfinder and subject.
This does not occur on the 5D Mark III.
Bear in mind that in the 5D Mark II and all prior prosumer bodies (other than the 7D), the AF point are *always* visible, as they are permanently etched into the viewfinder. When the AF system is activated, the selected AF point flashes briefly to distinguish it from the dormant ones.
On the 7D and 5D Mark III (and presumably the 1DX) AF point display is on-demand. In the normal configuration, only the selected AF point(s) are visible--as black rectangles without any illumination.
Canon presumably figured that just making the selected AF points visible (while hiding the others) was sufficient... But unfortunately, the AF points are simply not easy to see in certain dim or bright light conditions.
One idea being suggested is that Canon light up the selected AF points for a brief time when the AF system is activated as is done on other Canon bodies, or as in One Shot AF. I won't speculate on why that seems hard to do (CR says it must mess up the metering), but since it occurs in One Shot AF it seems like it should be solveable for AI Servo.
p.22 #12 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
I think you folks that are poo pooing the 5D3 transmissive screen are going to have to deal with it. It now seems to be a trend among camera makers. The Nikon D800 screen is identical to the 5D3 right down to the red flash that is seen in the lens during exposure. It seems to be a practical way to add additional features to the VF. Nikon is using it to show camera level in the VF by pressing the function button.
p.22 #14 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
garyvot wrote:
...
What I am referring to is that in AI Servo on most Canon bodies, the currently selected AF point illuminates briefly when the AF system is activated. This helps with identification of the selected AF point and orientation of the viewfinder and subject.
This does not occur on the 5D Mark III.
Bear in mind that in the 5D Mark II and all prior prosumer bodies (other than the 7D), the AF point are *always* visible, as they are permanently etched into the viewfinder. When the AF system is activated, the selected AF point flashes briefly to distinguish it from the dormant ones.
On the 7D and 5D Mark III (and presumably the 1DX) AF point display is on-demand. In the normal configuration, only the selected AF point(s) are visible--as black rectangles without any illumination.
Canon presumably figured that just making the selected AF points visible (while hiding the others) was sufficient... But unfortunately, the AF points are simply not easy to see in certain dim or bright light conditions.
One idea being suggested is that Canon light up the selected AF points for a brief time when the AF system is activated as is done on other Canon bodies, or as in One Shot AF. I won't speculate on why that seems hard to do (CR says it must mess up the metering), but since it occurs in One Shot AF it seems like it should be solveable for AI Servo....Show more →
Precisely. This is what I'd hoped would be addressed in FW. Hasn't been with 1.1.3, but we can hope that it's still coming. Can we be noisier?
p.22 #18 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
No, you can not adjust the brightness. It is almost like the 5D3 and D800 VF were designed by the same person. You're right about the D4, it has a normal older type screen .
p.22 #20 · 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
ggreene wrote:
As a Canon user it is definitely frustrating seeing Nikon get it right on the D4 and price the thing $1000 less.
I guess you are talking about 1D X? Nikon got it right, because they kept the old thing? Maybe in this point. But they stay behind with most other features, too. AF, speed, resolution (what I like), ISO (a giant step back imo).
Absolutely great idea. The DOF preview button is certainly convenient for that.
