Oh Yea!

[squishy]

Originally Posted by The_Moaner

Surely Evaluative and Partial are one and the same.

My understanding is that in evaluative the camera evaluates the scene and exposes for what it thinks is the subject (or provides the best compromise), and partial uses an average from a section in the centre of the frame.
Spot metering uses the small circle in the centre, and centre weighted average averages out the whole frame with main focus on the centre portion.

[The_Moaner]

This camera certainly needs learning. But in my opinion that defeats the object. By the time you get it correct in camera the Bird has FLOWN!

I now use the AF 5 point expansion for birds in flight with either Evaluative or Centre Weighted. For birds in tree or on ground I use Single point AF or Spot AF.

Back Button as I find that is great to use. (might change to front button to try soon)

Problem I find that when pointing at Sky with the 400mm f5.6 I need to be on +2 on the metering. Not been that high on any other camera ever.
Is this +2 the Norm ??

Also, I find that when on AF 5 point expansion the focusing square points change every so often to. 2 squares at bottom middle, or 2 squares at right middle, or two squares at end left middle. Should it do that??

Always thought that AF 5 point Expansion stays in middle unless I use the joy stick to change. Someone Explain this please.

Apart from that, the Problem is me. Nothing wrong with camera or lens.
I'm being a bit Paranoid I think.

Have put some Red Kites in my Zenfolio from weekend.

Please look and comment in here.
THANKS for being Helpfull.---Appreciated.

[PMG]

Originally Posted by The_Moaner

This camera certainly needs learning. But in my opinion that defeats the object. By the time you get it correct in camera the Bird has FLOWN!

I now use the AF 5 point expansion for birds in flight with either Evaluative or Centre Weighted. For birds in tree or on ground I use Single point AF or Spot AF.

Back Button as I find that is great to use. (might change to front button to try soon)

Problem I find that when pointing at Sky with the 400mm f5.6 I need to be on +2 on the metering. Not been that high on any other camera ever.
Is this +2 the Norm ??

Also, I find that when on AF 5 point expansion the focusing square points change every so often to. 2 squares at bottom middle, or 2 squares at right middle, or two squares at end left middle. Should it do that??

Always thought that AF 5 point Expansion stays in middle unless I use the joy stick to change. Someone Explain this please.

Apart from that, the Problem is me. Nothing wrong with camera or lens.
I'm being a bit Paranoid I think.

Have put some Red Kites in my Zenfolio from weekend.

Please look and comment in here.
THANKS for being Helpfull.---Appreciated.

The 5 point expansion should stay static in a cross-shape with the middle square being dominant - unless as you say you joy stick/multi function into another pattern.

I'm still struggling to get consistency out of my 7D - the next time it comes out of the safe I'm going to press the major reset button and start again with a piece of paper to say what I've done and when We have been over to Lincs to photograph the short eared owls again and I could only get pin sharp pics intermittantly - it appeared to have locked on while I was looking thro but the results when viewed were mostly not pin sharp - about every 7th pic or so came good the rest were either a bit blurred or completely out. Yes I know the bird was flying about and I was moving the camera around on the tripod but I would like to use someone elses 7D to see if it behaves the same way. I would like to go out with my camera today and have a practice but the problems at home are preventing me from getting a clear run at sorting this conundrum out which is intensifying my upset and annoyance ...... but thats me - now what about you ......

When you have a clear sky background you can change the AF to all 19 active in that big wide expanded oval block - provided all your view will be just bird and sky - the camera will lock on to that bird - it might do it all over the place from wings to tail and back and will be lighting up like a Christmas tree

To go back to me and the owls - I suppose it makes a difference that the bird and its background is almost the same and the sensor will struggle to pick the bird out. I know I want the owl but the sensor doesn't know that and it can;t tell the background from the bird

I have changed the speed of focusing sev times due to differing opinions - have it on slow it won;'t jump to bits of grass in front of the bird - speed it up and it will try and grab onto anything else that gets in the way - but surely it should keep on the bird and follow the bird better when its set faster. Or is it a case of once it is on the bird and I am keeping up with the bird then the sensor sees a big area hardly moving until a blade of grass gets in front? I'd like to know what hit rate of truly clear pin sharp images (how many) you can expect to see out of a shot sequence - is everyone else having the same experience as me - blurred, blurred, getting clearer, pin sharp, softening, back to blurred??? And yes I know the 500 prime is not 'the' lens to be using for flight photography - I realise its harder to use for this but not impossible and until I go beserk and buy the 300 (which I watched someone using this weekend .....) or the 400 4.5 which is looking extremely likely as I struggle to carry the big stuff, but until the day comes when I can't heft the weight anymore I still intend making my 500 do its job - cos when it all falls right the results are so satisfying

And yes +2 does seem to be needed with the 7D when pointing up to a dark bird, harrier, buzzard etc against a blue sky and no I never went that high with the 40D. I'm no longer thinking in terms of is this normal but what does this camera need me to do to get the best from it and if its plus 2 and then some thats ok with me!

Back button is certainly useful but in prolonged use my thumb gets painful and seizes up

So thats my report and thoughts for the day - back to the humdrum for me starting with shopping ........... !

Pauline

[The_Moaner]

Hi Pauline
I use the same settings as Doug Brown from Deep Green Photography Blog -- Nature Photo News and Techniques from the Rainforests of Costa Rica

One of Canons experts in a Video on Utube shows you the same settings.
I printed it all out so I'd never forget how to redo it if I change things.

Well I've changed my settings quite a few times but have now gone back to Doug Brown's settings.
I did try front button but quickly went back to the back button. lol
With back button you can keep thumb on it so it keeps focusing, then when bird is still you take it off as in Single shot.
So you get both AI Servo and Single shot in one button.

Putting the 19 point AF in the 7D was a total waste of space, time and money. I think the person who thought of that one must of been drunk on Jack Daniels.
The next one after that is a waste also. None of them are ticked in my 7D.

Glad I'm not the only one who finds that the 7D likes to be at +2 for Birds in sky.
Did someone in Japan get the metering wrong somehow??

Quote "I have changed the speed of focusing sev times due to differing opinions - have it on slow it won;'t jump to bits of grass in front of the bird - speed it up and it will try and grab onto anything else that gets in the way - but surely it should keep on the bird and follow the bird better when its set faster. Or is it a case of once it is on the bird and I am keeping up with the bird then the sensor sees a big area hardly moving until a blade of grass gets in front? I'd like to know what hit rate of truly clear pin sharp images (how many) you can expect to see out of a shot sequence - is everyone else having the same experience as me - blurred, blurred, getting clearer, pin sharp, softening, back to blurred??? And yes I know the 500 prime is not 'the' lens to be using for flight photography - I realise its harder to use for this but not impossible and until I go beserk and buy the 300 (which I watched someone using this weekend .....) or the 400 4.5 which is looking extremely likely as I struggle to carry the big stuff, but until the day comes when I can't heft the weight anymore I still intend making my 500 do its job - cos when it all falls right the results are so satisfying " unquote

YEP! I find the same with my 400 f5.6. Blurr, blurr hit miss blurr. More blurrs than hits I'm afraid. But when I get it right, the images are sharp.
So they gave us 8 fpm but you get one hit out of 8.
Not logical that.n

Well I must say. The members in WAB who have poped in to help me are Great. Some have even come along to meet me and help me with the setting up and to test my Lens & 7D. I am greatfull to them All.
Hope my Moaning has not put them off me.

I'm phoneing Canon UK tomorrow to ask them a few questions and to see if my 7D needs sending in.

Hope you got all your shopping done.
Cherio for now. Dennis

[darrenm]

Hi Dennis i had the same set up you are using and also found it very hit and miss a lot of the time and even took my 7D back i had bought before Christmas under the impression it was faulty but so did the shop at the time and i exchanged it for a new 60D......but a few weeks back i decided to take the plunge again with a new 7D body and in the last few weeks have been rethinking a lot of things and experimenting with it more or less non stop and feeling a lot happier now than i did before.

Yesterday i tried altering the apature and ISO settings to some i had copied from a book on Wildlife photography and got some reasonable shots but still quite a few blurred ones but with a lot more sharper pics than blurred so i am a lot happier than of late.

This morning i went out and decided i would give it a go with yesterdays best result settings but this time without the AF switched on the lens and just manually focus when taking a pic and the results were all a lot sharper than yesterday and hope now i am really getting the hang of it.

I have found with the AF set on on the lens at times the spot focus in the camera seems to ignore it and will focus on something other than my target area and i am still trying to work out why. But after today i may use the camera with the lens in manual a lot of the time.

The 7D has been and is quite a steep learning curve for me but i am now getting some much better pics with it than i have with my 60D and now hope to build on what i have learnt and start to produce some pics i would be happy to post here.

[squishy]

Originally Posted by The_Moaner

Putting the 19 point AF in the 7D was a total waste of space, time and money. I think the person who thought of that one must of been drunk on Jack Daniels.

Strange, because that's the one biggest feature that I would ever want to upgrade my 40D for.

Some people still say 19 points isn't enough compared to 51 in the nikon D300s!

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by squishy

Some people still say 19 points isn't enough compared to 51 in the nikon D300s!

I mostly just use the one!

Jim

[The_Moaner]

Problem with ALL 19 points as in the Auto, is that if anything gets in front of your subject the 7D automaticly locks on to it. You therefor lose focus on your main subject.
That is why the Auto is not recomended for Birding.
Canon Rep also told me that on phone today.

I'm sending my 7D to Canon Hertfordshire for them to correct the focusing + noise at iso200/400 + to look at the exposure meter for inconsistancies.

The other week I had pretty sharp images with my 400 f5.6.
Two days ago my images were not sharp as before. Two days ago the light was Excellent with high 1/1000 upwards in f5.6 and f7.1, should of had at least 100 sharp images out of 258 if not more. Not one was pin sharp.
Also for the fourth time my 7D refused to recognise my 400mm lens and told me to clean the contacts. Contacts were clean..What a load of Rubbish. It never did that with the Sigma 150-500 or my 17-70mm.

If I gota pay any more High Postage after this I'll take up Sleeping all day.

If they tell me there be nothing wrong with it, I'll take up some other hobby.

I must STOP Moaning I need to stop moaning
I WANT a camera that works as it should.

I shall let you all know in 2 weeks time what the outcome was.

Back to my Sony A700 for SHARP images.

Be Good.