Posted by Lance Warley on January 3, 2013 at 7:05 PM
A friend just generously lent me his 5DIII for a trip I'm taking to hopefully photograph the northern lights. I've owned the 5DII for awhile. Some questions, please:
Is 5DIII C.Fn2 Disp/Operation Custom Controls second option (AF-ON button; Metering and AF start) equivalent to
5DII C.FnIV-1 option 2 ((Metering Start/Meter+AF start)?
5DIII, in AF1: AF config tool (the first purple menu) - I'm wondering which Case to use. I've chosen Case 1 and set all 3 options to the far left, because I don't want it to do any tracking of moving objects. I want it to stay focused on whatever static point of focus I choose, like a mountain. No birds in flight. Is my setting the one you use for focusing on static objects?
I haven't made it to the 5DIII Live View yet. Do any big differences leap out versus the 5DII? I use Live View a lot for manual focusing.
Any other gotchas? Thanks in advance.
P.S. I just got the 5DIII and I'm getting on a plane Saturday.
Posted by Keith Bauer on January 3, 2013 at 10:59 PM
Lance. Don't use AI servo if you don't want to track moving subjects. If you are in one shot or AI-focus, then you don't need to worry about any of the menus settings for AF (purple menu)
Posted by Paul DeCesare on January 4, 2013 at 2:02 AM
Lance, I now have a 5D3 after 4 years on the 5D2. I'm still using the out-of-the-box AF mode and it's been superb. Major things to know in a pinch: if you're shooting burst for birding, FORGET the thing has an SD card slot. Just stick with your CF cards, the 5D3 supports up to UDMA 7 (i.e., the new 1000x Lexars). The SD slot in the 5D3 does NOT support UHS SD card speeds! DUH, nice move, Canon. The Nikon D800 supports it but not ours. And if you leave an SD in the slot as an "emergency backup", the moment you switch CF cards the camera defaults to the SD slot. You'll start firing and that shutter will hang after just a few shots. Trust me, keep your SD slot empty. And if you want to shoot any video whatsoever, don;t even think of the SD slot. Even the Canon manual states that performance suffers on an SD. HOWEVER, if you're doing landscapes medium-format style where you set up and tweak for 20 minutes to get a sunrise, then having the 5D3 write RAW to both cards as an instant backup is fine if you're taking single shots. But if that last known pterodactyl comes shooting out of a tree you're going to regret having an SD card in your camera. Have I beat that subject into the ground enough??
Your quick-zoom on Live View for focusing is no longer in those two buttons on the top right of the camera back... Canon mucked around with the location which drove me batty the first couple days. I ended up remapping the center Set button to go right into zoom mode which allows me to zoom with the wheel under my right index finger, much easier.
5D3 has a builtin level now, amen! Just toggle the Info button and it'll appear along with two Info choices.
You can now do up to SEVEN shots in auto-bracket, that feature is superb for HDR stuff.
Last, don't be afraid to shoot at ISO 3200 if you need to, it's the new 800, the 5D3 is one clean machine!
Lastly, there are a batrillion reviews out there, but this one is worth the read, will answer some of your AF questions.
Have fun!
Posted by Lance Warley on January 4, 2013 at 6:52 AM
Thanks Very much, guys. Just what I was hoping for. Huge help. Finding Live View zoom was driving me nuts.
A couple of things:
- Do I have it right for the AF-ON button setting (Is 5DIII C.Fn2 Disp/Operation Custom Controls second option (AF-ON button; Metering and AF start) equivalent to 5DII C.FnIV-1 option 2 ((Metering Start/Meter+AF start)?
- With the 5DII live view, I can shoot with the lens set to AF or Manual. With the 5DIII live view, it only lets me shoot with the lens in Manual. Is this the same for you?
Posted by Lance Warley on January 4, 2013 at 8:27 AM
Thanks Very much, guys. Just what I was hoping for. Huge help. Finding Live View zoom was driving me nuts.
A couple of things:
- Do I have it right for the AF-ON button setting (Is 5DIII C.Fn2 Disp/Operation Custom Controls second option (AF-ON button; Metering and AF start) equivalent to 5DII C.FnIV-1 option 2 ((Metering Start/Meter+AF start)?
- With the 5DII live view, I can shoot with the lens set to AF or Manual. With the 5DIII live view, it only lets me shoot with the lens in Manual. Is this the same for you?
Posted by Wick Smith on January 4, 2013 at 10:24 AM
A couple of additional notes. The live view screen resolution is even better than the 5DII. You can better manually focus in live view due to this as well as review shots after the fact to better determine clarity.
Also, in live view, if the lens is set for AF to be on, live view will auto focus. When it achieves focus, a green box will appear where it thinks it should focus to let you know it has accomplished that. I've tested it & it seems to be VERY accurate unless you are in very low-light or low contrast scenes.
Here's some other notes I posted a while back on what I found that had changed: http://goo.gl/lzFJ4
Posted by Lance Warley on January 4, 2013 at 10:42 AM
Thanks, Wick. Your comment here and your other post are very helpful.
Discussion
6 repliesIs 5DIII C.Fn2 Disp/Operation Custom Controls second option (AF-ON button; Metering and AF start) equivalent to
5DII C.FnIV-1 option 2 ((Metering Start/Meter+AF start)?
5DIII, in AF1: AF config tool (the first purple menu) - I'm wondering which Case to use. I've chosen Case 1 and set all 3 options to the far left, because I don't want it to do any tracking of moving objects. I want it to stay focused on whatever static point of focus I choose, like a mountain. No birds in flight. Is my setting the one you use for focusing on static objects?
I haven't made it to the 5DIII Live View yet. Do any big differences leap out versus the 5DII? I use Live View a lot for manual focusing.
Any other gotchas? Thanks in advance.
P.S. I just got the 5DIII and I'm getting on a plane Saturday.
Your quick-zoom on Live View for focusing is no longer in those two buttons on the top right of the camera back... Canon mucked around with the location which drove me batty the first couple days. I ended up remapping the center Set button to go right into zoom mode which allows me to zoom with the wheel under my right index finger, much easier.
5D3 has a builtin level now, amen! Just toggle the Info button and it'll appear along with two Info choices.
You can now do up to SEVEN shots in auto-bracket, that feature is superb for HDR stuff.
Last, don't be afraid to shoot at ISO 3200 if you need to, it's the new 800, the 5D3 is one clean machine!
Lastly, there are a batrillion reviews out there, but this one is worth the read, will answer some of your AF questions.
Have fun!
A couple of things:
- Do I have it right for the AF-ON button setting (Is 5DIII C.Fn2 Disp/Operation Custom Controls second option (AF-ON button; Metering and AF start) equivalent to 5DII C.FnIV-1 option 2 ((Metering Start/Meter+AF start)?
- With the 5DII live view, I can shoot with the lens set to AF or Manual. With the 5DIII live view, it only lets me shoot with the lens in Manual. Is this the same for you?
A couple of things:
- Do I have it right for the AF-ON button setting (Is 5DIII C.Fn2 Disp/Operation Custom Controls second option (AF-ON button; Metering and AF start) equivalent to 5DII C.FnIV-1 option 2 ((Metering Start/Meter+AF start)?
- With the 5DII live view, I can shoot with the lens set to AF or Manual. With the 5DIII live view, it only lets me shoot with the lens in Manual. Is this the same for you?
Also, in live view, if the lens is set for AF to be on, live view will auto focus. When it achieves focus, a green box will appear where it thinks it should focus to let you know it has accomplished that. I've tested it & it seems to be VERY accurate unless you are in very low-light or low contrast scenes.
Here's some other notes I posted a while back on what I found that had changed: http://goo.gl/lzFJ4