Capturing fast-moving subjects

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mangolicious

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I recently picked up a second-hand mint 7D and have so far mostly been using it for portrait shots of my baby daughter. A couple of weeks ago I took some shots of her on a swing in the park, the results of which I was quite happy with, but I shot in HSC burst mode in order to ensure I got at least one decent shot in crisp focus each time.

My question is... with a fast-moving subject (travelling front-to-back etc.) what is the best method to use, or at least the one that should give me the greatest success, without having to shoot in bursts?

I am thinking I need to use AI Servo and possibly back-button focus, but am not entirely confident that the camera will be able to retain quick focus on the subject. That said, I'm sure it can be done (going on comments I've read on these forums) but would like to know if anyone has any tips / guidelines that will improve my technique for this kind of photography.

I would assume that the speed of focus shifting is partially/mostly determined by the lens. Is this correct?

Hope someone can offer some helpful advice on this :)

edit:: not sure this is in the correct forum. If not, perhaps a kind Mod will move it into 'Talk Basics' for me
 
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I'd shoot in TV mode with a relatively fast shutter speed of around 1/250 or higher. In bright sunlight you have more than enough light to shoot with fast shutter speeds.
 
AI Servo, single point focus and change the focus/tracking speed to fast.

Have a look in the 7D owner's thread in Equipment as there are some links to tutorial videos that give good info on how to set the AF system for certain scenarios :)
 
Russ - thanks for the pointer.

Onona - I take your point about fast shutter speeds although I suppose I neglected to mention that, in addition to capturing, I'm also keen to learn about tracking the subject as it's moving towards me at speed. My daughter on the swing was just an example, but I'd also love to know how to track a running dog or an approaching vehicle.

Hopefully I can find some useful hints on the 7D owners thread. :)
 
mangolicious said:
Russ - thanks for the pointer.

Onona - I take your point about fast shutter speeds although I suppose I neglected to mention that, in addition to capturing, I'm also keen to learn about tracking the subject as it's moving towards me at speed. My daughter on the swing was just an example, but I'd also love to know how to track a running dog or an approaching vehicle.

Hopefully I can find some useful hints on the 7D owners thread. :)
Click to expand...


If it's on AI Servo then the camera will constantly be focusing , and so you can track the dog/swing :)
 
inlineadam said:
If it's on AI Servo then the camera will constantly be focusing , and so you can track the dog/swing :)
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm very keen to know just how fast and accurate the tracking can be using this setting. Guess I'd better try it and see for myself.
 
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