Canon 90 autofocus issues

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davholla

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David
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I have noticed that this is not Autofocus on my 90 is not as good as my 7DMKII - any ideas on how to fix this?

As an example, on a recent trip the 7DMKII could photograph arctic terns - the 90 could not.
 
I've not used a 7D, but what settings are you using on the 90D (SS,f# Etc..) ? Which AF zone? ServoAF?

Have you changed any custom settings regards AF reaction speed?

Do you track the bird before the shot or point and shoot?

Was it a bright BG? As a white bird on bright BG is a tough ask unless your close.
 
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Gav. said:
I've not used a 7D, but what settings are you using on the 90D (SS,f# Etc..) ? Which AF zone? ServoAF?

Have you changed any custom settings regards AF reaction speed?

Do you track the bird before the shot or point and shoot?

Was it a bright BG? As a white bird on bright BG is a tough ask unless your close.
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I just used the default settings I even tried clearing all settings and it didn't help.
Further research shows that the 7D is just better than the 90D at focusing!
 
There are plenty of custom settings to use, default isn't it's finest setting, but I've not used the 7D to compare to, so I'll back out now and take your word for it :)
 
Gav. said:
There are plenty of custom settings to use, default isn't it's finest setting, but I've not used the 7D to compare to, so I'll back out now and take your word for it :)
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Can you suggest the best settings for autofocus? Maybe with a bit of change I can improve it?
 
I've recently bought my wife a 90D, this being a step-up from her earlier 60D. A big change (alongside the increase in focus points from 9 to 45) is the opportunity to use different set-ups in the custom menu (autofocus). By simply typing '90D autofocus setup' into your search engine, there are a number of useful pieces of you tube information to see and rewatch. We went out to a motorcycle event where the combination of autofocus and panning produced some excellent rules. It's a very capable piece of kit.
 
davholla said:
Can you suggest the best settings for autofocus? Maybe with a bit of change I can improve it?
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I'm assuming birds in flight.

Are you getting soft images or is it just refusing to focus?

If soft images, can you post an image?

I'm guessing 10 fps?

Are you using Servo AF?

Which AF zone do you use normally?

Have you changed any of the custom setting in the menu?

Do you pan before shooting to allow the camera time to work out subject speed?

I'll get back to you with my settings, BUT ... those will only be for my style of shooting.. trial and error has a part to play.
 
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Gav. said:
I'm assuming birds in flight.

Are you getting soft images or is it just refusing to focus?

If soft images, can you post an image?

I'm guessing 10 fps?

Are you using Servo AF?

Which AF zone do you use normally?

Have you changed any of the custom setting in the menu?

Do you pan before shooting to allow the camera time to work out subject speed?

I'll get back to you with my settings, BUT ... those will only be for my style of shooting.. trial and error has a part to play.
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Yes birds in fight - if it focuses it is good but on tricky subjects e.g. arctic terns it does not focus.

It was one shot - I have changed it Servo AF to see if that works although I can't test it on arctic terns.
I tried resetting all custom settings

BTW I took this the 90D but this was a lot slower than an arctic terns
IMG_9569-CR3_DxO_DeepPRIMEDuck by davholla2002, on Flickr
 
davholla said:
Yes birds in fight - if it focuses it is good but on tricky subjects e.g. arctic terns it does not focus.

It was one shot
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I think this was the issue!! In OneShot the camera would have hunted for a few seconds and give up looking and given you the no-AF symbol. Even if it hit focus, the bird will be out of focus in a split second and the camera freezes the lens movements. Servo will keep tracking or hunting!

ServoAF all the way, for 99% of wildlife.

I'll post my settings shortly, these may help point you in the right direction :)

Good to see you're not afraid to use high SS and ISO (y)
 
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My 90D settings

I have slightly different settings saved on the mode dial for C1 & C2 as follows.. (ie C1 mammals, C2 Birds in flight)

AI Servo!! ;)

Focus points -

(these are my preference, not everyone will like the way these work, you'll need to use the joy stick to toggle around)

I use single point for the Hare or a bird in tree.
9 spot square for the birds in flight.
Large area will work, but can struggle with busy BG's, but setting a start point will help, see menu setting 11 below.


Menu button - C. Fn Menu settings (5th tab, Orange) - C. Fn II : Autofocus...

1 - Tracking sensitivity, I use +1 or 2 depending of the animal I'm after, the more agile the higher I go.

2 - Acceleration/deceleration tracking, I have this set as default for most, as if it is set too high it can cause erratic hunting. sometimes +1 for something coming in fast but may stop too (Hare or Dog etc..)

3 - AF point switching, +1, this speed up the reaction across the area.

4 - AI Servo 1st image priority, I keep as default, I did try to go to focus but found it held back too much.

5 - AI Servo 2st image priority, I use focus priority (+1) this can slow the frame rate but increases the chance of the next shot being in focus.

6 - Lens drive when AF impossible, I leave this as continue.

7 - Select AF mode - Default - personal choice

8 - Limit AF methods - Default - personal choice

9 - AF area selection - Default - personal choice

11- Initial Servo AF point, this personal choice, but I use mode 2 AF set point, as this allows me to pick the large area AF start point. (I don't use this much, as I prefer small zones)

12 - Auto AF point selection : EOS iTR AF, I have this disabled ( mode 2) , I find it lowers the delay slightly as it's not 'looking' for faces, if you shoot people this may be better left on.

13- Personal settings, I've left as default.

14 - Personal settings, I've left as default.

15 - Personal settings, I've left as default.

16 - AF micro adjustment, handy thing to use if you need to adjust your lens to the body.


Canon Manual PDF posted below in case you don't have it. Menu section starts at page 552.

Hope this helps :)

 
Off the top of my head, the 90d and 7dII use the same AF system.

And it should be bloody brilliant, you're right it's a case of setting it up properly.
 
Thank you all I will try these changes in the next few days.
Phil V said:
Off the top of my head, the 90d and 7dII use the same AF system.

And it should be bloody brilliant, you're right it's a case of setting it up properly.
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I thought that they were meant to be similar although I have read that they are not.

Gav. said:
Good to see you're not afraid to use high SS and ISO (y)
Click to expand...
On a recent trip I used 8000 for arctic terns although the light was very good so mostly the ISO was alright.
 
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