Re: 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
Todd Klassy wrote:
I was worried that I too missed something and went back and looked. There is nothing in print that says AF points were \"enhanced\" in some way to be black instead of red. And frankly, I think they knew some people would be pissed because it was never brought up.
Todd, I don\'t want to beat a dead horse, nor am I suggesting you or anyone else is wrong to dislike the new system.
But I do think there is some confusion around this.
First, the AF points in previous 5-series cameras were black, not red. They are balck on every Canon model other than 1-series cameras.
Yes, the design for how the black AF points get displayed in 5D3 is different (being dynamic rather than fixed), the only significant functional change from the 5D2 is that there is no momentary AF point illumination when in AI Servo mode. (I agree this is a problem currently, but it should be easy to fix with a firmware update.)
The \"red only\" AF point illumination system has only ever existed in the 1-series models, and there should have been no real expectation that the 5D Mark III would would like a 1D Mark IV.
For the prospective 1D-X buyer, I think there is certainly some cause to be concerned if you prefer the old system. But it\'s hard to call Canon out for changing something unexpectedly on the 5D Mark III, as the the AF points always were black on prior 5-series models.
Re: 5d M III Viewfinder illumination and af points!
Todd Klassy wrote:
I was worried that I too missed something and went back and looked. There is nothing in print that says AF points were \"enhanced\" in some way to be black instead of red. And frankly, I think they knew some people would be pissed because it was never brought up.
Perhaps that is so.
The new design is similar to the 7D and to several recent Nikon models, so I suspect we\'ll see it rolled out on more cameras in the future.
For me it\'s a net positive change from the 5D2, as I value the ability to suppress the display of all the unselected AF points (to say nothing of AF performance). It\'s also improved over the 7D in that the AF squares are lighter in outline and far less distracting when visible.
The illumination issue and extra button don\'t affect me much as I shoot in One Shot most if the time (where the AF point illuminates when acquiring focus), and I have reprogrammed the DOF button to toggle AI Servo when I need it. This makes it easy to switch between AF modes on the fly with the camera at your eye.
For those who don\'t or won\'t use this workaround, I do hope that Canon issues a firmware update to provide some form of momentary illumination when in AI Servo, to confirm where the AF point is before tracking in low light / low key situations. It seems to me this would be about the best they could do in terms of a \"fix\" given the HW design.
May 25, 2012 at 11:02 AM
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