IDmark IIn flight settings

[Dennis Connell]

Having used the 10D to 40D series of canon bodies I have just made a jump to the 1DMKIIn.
At this time the body is in transit to me , so I'm trying to get a jump on using it before it is in hand.

Would any one care to share their custom settings for flight shots with this series of bodies ?
Also any other tips ? From what I gather there is quite a bit more to the "fine tuning " of this body over the xxD series .

Any info or pointing to other sources would be greatly appreciated .
Thank you,

Dennis C

[Jim Neiger]

Try looking here: http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ead.php?t=1949

Here are my settings for the 1D3. You'll want to use the equivilant settings for the 1D2n:

1. Center AF point only
2. AI Servo AF
3. Continuous drive high speed.
4. Manual exposure mode
5. Here are the CF settings that differ from default:
CFn III-2: AI Servo tracking sensitivity: slowest (-2)
CFn IV-1: Shutter button/AF-ON: Metering + AF start/AF stop
CFn IV-2: AF-ON/AE lock button switch enabled

[Roger Clark]

On my 1DII I set custom function 20 (serve AF tracking sensitivity) to maximum. I use one AF point at a time, but any not necessarily the center one. Works great.
See: http://www.clarkvision.com/photoinfo...with.autofocus

Jim, I'm curious why you set AF tracking to slowest?

Roger

[Jim Neiger]

Here you go, Roger.

Here is a copy of a post I made a while back. It explains the tracking sensitivity custom function.

Tracking sensitivity is misunderstood by many. It does not speed up Af or make the af track better. What it is is a delay when the camera switches focus from one subject to another subject. For example; if you are tracking a BIF against a varied bg and you miss and the af point hits the bg, there will be a short delay beffore the camera focuses on the BG. The delay in this case is a good thing. It may allow you to get back on the bird without losing focus. If you do mistakenly focus on the bg, the same delay will cost you time when trying to return focus to the BIF. In thiscase the delay is a bad thing. The delay is really a double edged sword. Sometimes it works for you and other times against you. I used to balnce this by setting the tracking sensitivity to STANDARD, but then I discovered a way to use the delay when it helps me and override (get rid of) the delay when it doesn't. I override the delay by bumping the focus. By bumping, I mean let off and refocus. This will override the delay. Now I have the best of both worlds and I can maximize the benefits of the delay by setting tracking sensitivity to SLOW. So SLOW is the way to go if you learn how to bump the focus to override the delay when needed.

[Roger Clark]

Jim,
This guide by Les Zigurski is interesting.
http://www.wildlifeimagesbyles.net/T...iii_guide.html
He uses the high sensitivity mode. I tested my 1DII against my dogs playing fetch at close range. They are faster than the AF system can handle so I was able to test again and again and found that for my style, the high sensitivity mode worked best. I generally keep the shutter button half pressed and let the AF system tract the subject. If the AF point slips off the subject, even with a complex background, I find that the high sensitivity mode re-acquires the subject fastest and that has saved many an action image for me. I find this is particularly good when the subject suddenly changes directions.

Roger

[Jim Neiger]

Jim,
This guide by Les Zigurski is interesting.
http://www.wildlifeimagesbyles.net/T...iii_guide.html
He uses the high sensitivity mode. I tested my 1DII against my dogs playing fetch at close range. They are faster than the AF system can handle so I was able to test again and again and found that for my style, the high sensitivity mode worked best. I generally keep the shutter button half pressed and let the AF system tract the subject. If the AF point slips off the subject, even with a complex background, I find that the high sensitivity mode re-acquires the subject fastest and that has saved many an action image for me. I find this is particularly good when the subject suddenly changes directions.

Roger

Roger,

I've seen Les comments on this and debated it with him in another forum. He gave up and went away angry. I thought it was just a friendly debate.

With the method I use you get the best of both worlds. You can use the longer delay to avoid losing focus on your subject when you miss and you can also bring it back quickly by bumping the focus if you do miss for long enough to focus on the bg. This can often be a critical advantage when tracking bif against varied bgs. With the fast setting you are unable to avoid missing in the first place because the switch to the bg is too quick.

I've tried all the settings at length with both 1D2N and 1d3 bodies and spent several years and several hundred thousand frames developing the techniques that I use. Check out my website and BIF images and compare these to Les' or anyone elses BIF images and then see which method you think produces the best results. BTW: BIF are much more difficult than dogs. Dogs don't fly erratically.

[Roger Clark]

Jim,
You certainly do get great results.

Roger

[Dennis Connell]

Thanks for the help guys ! Can't wait to try this out .

Dennis C

[William Malacarne]

Dennis

You may already know this but if you go to Canon USA web site to the download library you can DL an owners manual in pdf format.

Bill