Still struggling...I have a 24-105 that I can only describe as flawless and stunning on my 5D and 1DsmkII. I mean crystal clear sharp, shooting wide open, nails focus all darn day long. Lens came as part of the 5D kit about 16 months ago. I love this lens, take it everywhere. Except for distortion on the wide end, it's been a joy.
But,,,,,
I am having difficulty in shooting fast moving objects in near darkness. Yeah, I know that sounds stupid, but I make money shooting receptions that are lit mostly by the lights from a DJ and my 580EX. Lens focuses fine on stationary or slow moving things in these conditions, but damn, kids move fast. Primes aint gonna cut it for crazy kids either.
IS is not really a factor for me - I am shooting flash, f/4, and typically shooting at 1/30th sec or slower anyway. F4 is actually fine for fullframe dof for me. If I want to take a single person portrait I would use a prime or the 70-200. For more than one person, f/4 is fine for me. So.....
is f/2.8 really going to help me? Maybe yes for the 5D center point? I am going to rent a 24-70 from Penn in DC for my next gig to help make the decision.
Has anyone here really thought and used the two under these situations? maybe the guys to ask are the guys who shoot in nightclubs?
Even if you are shooting at f/4, the autofocus system uses the maximum aperture size for obtaining focus. Your cross type sensors will only work with lenses of f/2.8 or better maximum aperture, and even beyond that, the brighter lenses will lock better.
So yes, in terms of AF, you would be much better off using a 2.8 zoom or an even faster prime.
I'm actually in the process of building a prototype of something that might help for this kind of situation. I know this doesn't help AT all... but at least now you know you're not the only one who has encountered the problem and is looking for a solution.
One big problem you'll encounter no matter how bright your lens is is that the stupid AF assist from your flash WILL NOT OPERATE in servo mode... if you're trying to lock on a moving target you'll want servo ... but no af assist is available in that mode. My project should resolve that problem.... if it works
lisy78 beat me to the punch on that one... about the AI servo.
Someone else made a suggestion to prefocus at a given distance and then fire when your subject runs into the focus location. (it was in the context of shoot rangefinder, but that was basically the point of the reply)
MTBtrials wrote:
lisy78 beat me to the punch on that one... about the AI servo.
Someone else made a suggestion to prefocus at a given distance and then fire when your subject runs into the focus location. (it was in the context of shoot rangefinder, but that was basically the point of the reply)
I was going to suggest going hyperfocal...but of course everything from 1/2 that distance to infinity will be in focus.
I am in one shot, using the beam. I think for the 1dsmkII I might try the AF point expansion. But the 1 series actually retains the cross af point at f/4, at least the center one. I guess time will tell when I rent a 24-70..
I'm with Lisy78. I have seen small lighting systems that you can put on the bottom that you can use for auxillary illumination enough to get your focus. I have a friend that uses one and loves it. Might try one myself.
Once (just once) I tried to shoot in near darkness with Servo. Yikes! Won't do that again. I do the prefocus thing and that helps. What gets me is that I have the cam set to not shoot before focus lock is achieved and I find myself standing there going 'lock, lock, damn it, lock'.
It really is very dark where I am attempting to shoot. I was playing with the 1dsmkII in a very dim bedroom last night and it had no problems locking even without the focus assist from a 580EX.
sinbad747 wrote:
I'm with Lisy78. I have seen small lighting systems that you can put on the bottom that you can use for auxillary illumination enough to get your focus. I have a friend that uses one and loves it. Might try one myself.
sinbad747 wrote:
I'm with Lisy78. I have seen small lighting systems that you can put on the bottom that you can use for auxillary illumination enough to get your focus. I have a friend that uses one and loves it. Might try one myself.
that's the heart of my project.
The twist is a relay that is connected to the pc sync port of the camera and which causes the auxilliary lighting system to TURN OFF during an exposure. This allows the auxilliary lighting system to be a bit more powerful without the exposure being affected. of course for all I know cutting power to the auxilliary light won't cause the light to falloff fast enough ... but eventually I'll get it working and then I'll report back
Strobist's David Hobby uses a little handheld flashlight to grab focus in certain circumstances...that's where I got the first inkling of my idea
I HAVE used a small flash light in a pinch. I do what you need to do to get the shot. In the old film days you would just figure out the distance to the subject in your head, look at the depth of field markings on your lens, dial in the the distance and grab the shot in the dark. I could get the shot probably 85-90% of the time using this method. But today you will be hard press to find depth of field markings on the new digital lens.
