Anybody have any experience yet with the Canon 1DX AF system shooting Ice Hockey?
I have not been getting the results I was expecting. I almost always get focus, just not on the subject I want.
I have been shooting with Case 4 mostly but have also tried Case 5. I've tried Single-Point AF, AF Expansion 4 Point and AF Expansion 8 Point.
I re-read the AF guide today and will try some of the advanced settings to try to refine my setup and techniques but was wondering if anyone else has any advice.
We don't have ice hockey in the tropics, but.... try zone AF with case 4, make sure you know which focus point you have picked. Line up your target on the focus point, it should continue to track, you might want to play with the track lock adjustment if it switches away too quickly. Use the rear AF button and keep it pushed continuously after you have focussed on your target. Don't forget to reset the shutter button to release and meter only.
Mike
It's hard for me to lock in a perfect setting for hockey as I have to shoot through the glass which has any number of scuff marks and smudges on it that may interfere with AF.
Case 4 seems to yield a decent keeper rate though.
I don't have a 1DX, but if zone works the same as it does on a 7D, it means that it always switches to the closest subject. So I would not want to use zone, regardless of the switching speed.
I think you want to use a focus mode that uses a single point, or a single point expanded, where the speed with which the camera changes focus only coming into play if another player or ref cuts in front.
Sounds like you've already tried that; It's hard to understand why you're not getting good results with single point. Have you shot hockey before with other bodies, so you have a pretty good idea of what minimum keeper rate to expect?
mselby - after re-reading the AF guide I plan on adjusting the track lock adjusting to see if that helps. I am using back button focus and meter only on the shutter release.
msalvetti - i have shot hockey for awhile now but only with a 20D. in the past i have mostly concentrated only on my son which probably lends better to getting in focus shots on him since i'm "tracking" him only. This year I want to try to shoot the games more like a jounalist would and that's I guess where I'm seeing that I'm following the play but focus is getting picked up on other players in the frame.
ggreene - yes-shooting through the glass at times and that has caused some issues as you mention.
Have you tried viewing the photos in DPP so you can display the location of the active focus point?
I'm wondering if it's less the camera grabbing the wrong subject, and instead is an issue with focus accuracy (microadjustment?) or just missed focus. Granted I would think missed focus is unlikely - you should be getting much better results than with your 20D.
Hopefully you're using a 70-200 f/2.8 or similar fast prime? Maybe you can post a couple of examples.
On the first photo it tracked in on the knee of the player in the back and missed the subject I was shooting. The second and third photo I had focus on the subjects then it jumped to the player in the back. Fourth the focus picked up a player in the back and off to the side. Do I need to refine my settings or am I just expecting too much from the camera tracking movement that fast?
