christo™
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 p.1 #19 · Best 10D Bad AF Example Ever | |
Well, Canonizer, with all the explanations you've added, it seems pretty clear to me that you got a lemon. After reading all sorts of posts on the topic, it seems pretty clear that Canon let a number of 10D's go with less than par calibration on the AF. I remember early on when Larry Mowry was blasting the 10D really badly as he got a lemon, but his got fixed (or replaced, I forget), and he is now quite happy. I do know for a fact that the AF on my 10D is not in the same class as my EOS 3, but I don't consider it "defective" per se, just somewhat lame, as I don't have consistent front or back focus -- it seems happy to slop all over the place, well within DOF as defined standardly in the industry, which dates back to positively antique film technology and includes areas that appear on-screen, in digital photographs, to be quite OOF.
If it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one getting QC defects, that's for sure. I'm lucky with the 10D, but the little battery charger that came with it went POOF in 2 months flat (I've got to get around to getting that RMA'd), and it took me nearly a month from purchase and lots of time on hold waiting for a human to answer at Epson after entering a zillion really annoying and totally non-productive key presses at silly voice prompts, plus plenty of wasted time boxing printers and arranging for UPS to get an Epson 2200 that printed and didn't let gravity pull parts off as they kept shipping me broken replacements. Even after all that, I ended up settling for a printer with a big crack in the paper tray because everything else was cherry and I was sick of the whole mess.
Anybody telling you it's all in your mind is crazy, but you have to admit that a lot of people post one or a few shots with dubious subjects for AF test, and for some reason, people seem to use long lenses with large aperture for the testing, and don't give much background info. People are posting with a lot of different experience levels, and clearly many of them upgraded to L class large aperture lenses for the first time along with the 10D. I don't care what AF system you have, when you're shooting with a 1 inch DOF, getting the subject centered in it is part luck just relying on AF. Also, I think people expect the best with the 10D due to the $1500 price tag, and it might not be obvious to many that a $600 EOS 3 film body has a much better AF system. I know I was a bit dismayed when I got my 10D and felt "gee, back to the Rebel AF again".
I do hope you have some luck with returning your 10D. Some people haven't been too happy with the results -- hopefully the technicians have had time to learn more about how to re-calibrate the things right. Just don't expect it to come back working like the AF on an EOS 3! It would drive me nuts, but the full time MF ring on the L lenses, the fast AF lock / re-lock cycle time, and the low price on muffed shots all do a lot to make up for the lesser AF system to me. I also really like the viewfinder adjustability. I too have eyes that are much less than perfect, and the 10D is the best I've had for clarity. It not only has an adjustable diopter, but you can also buy diopter eyepieces, so it has the largest total diopter adjustment range of any camera I've ever had. I also really like the eyepiece extender EP-EX15. I hate wearing my glasses while shooting, and am happier with the 10D viewfinder as customized than I've been with any other camera's viewfinder (just wish it was bigger).
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