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Canon 7D autofocus

Discussion

5 replies
Posted by Wick Smith on June 27, 2011 at 5:02 PM
I just got the Canon 7D as my 5DII is great for landscapes but is not as adept for wildlife shooting with FPS or the autofocus. Has anyone out there had any good experience on the sophisticated autofocus modes they have in this camera for wildlife - especially for birds in flight or running animals? Are you using the zone focus, if so are you using the center zone? or the AF Point Expansion mode - this one sounded like a great possibility...

I'm looking forward to getting in the field with this camera.
Posted by Max Waugh on June 27, 2011 at 5:30 PM
I usually go with either a single AF point or the expansion mode for sports and wildlife on the 7D. The zone system does not work as well for moving objects.

Max
Posted by Ron Bielefeld on June 27, 2011 at 6:40 PM
Wick, the 7D's AF is very good. For bird's in flight against any kind of BG other than the sky, I suggest sticking with just the center AF point. If you use more AF points and you cannot keep all the points on the bird then the camera will try and focus on the BG and you will generally end up with nothing in sharp focus. If you are shooting BIFs against the blue sky then I have found the center AF with the 4 surrounding points engaged as assist points to work very well. I would imagine that running animals would be the same as birds against a busy BG, so the single center AF point is probably the best choice for that. Just my experience over the past year of so shooting with the 7D. Cheers. Ron
Posted by Keith Bauer on June 27, 2011 at 6:45 PM
Hi Wick:

I'll point you to another article on Greg Basco's site contributed by Doug Brown. This is a setup guide for Birds in Flight using the 7D. Hopefully it will give you some insights.

http://www.deepgreenphotography.com/2009/12/setting-up-your-new-canon-7d/
Posted by Nate Chappell on June 27, 2011 at 8:45 PM
I use the center autofocus point with the assist points activated and have had excellent results against both sky and non-sky backgrounds.
Posted by Ed Cordes on June 28, 2011 at 7:00 AM
My wife and I use center point only for most situations. Occasionally we will enable surrounding assist points if the BG, or FG is not too busy and the subject warrants it. FWIW, we also use the back button AF and have assigned the shutter release to metering and releasing the shutter.