Canon the 18-55 kit lens cope with fast moving subjects?

[photospark9]

Hi everyone, I'm new here.

I was doing a shoot the other day involving very quick subjects that changed direction a lot (dogs). Got some good shots but the vast majority were badly out of focus which was a real shame. I want to know if this is the lens, the body or my technique that is failing me.

I'm relatively new to photography so it might just be that my settings are wrong or my technique is bad. I'm using the lens wide open, not in live view, with AF servo on on a 600D body. Generally when I focus I just pan the camera round to follow the subject, occasionally squeezing down when I want to shoot.

I am considering upgrading to the 17-55 f2.8 because it's sharp wide open and has a constant and fast aperture and USM and full time manual focus with a proper focusing ring.

Thanks.

[TCampbell]

Lenses with "USM" focusing motors are the fastest (the actual speed depends on the specific lens model... some USM lenses are faster than others.)   STM lenses are fairly fast... but not as fast as USM.   If it's not USM or STM then it's slow.  E.g. the Canon EF-S 18-55mm (non-STM versions) and the EF 50mm f/1.8 have slow focus motor speeds.

Alan and Mike offer good guidance however... the camera needs to be in "AI Servo" mode and you must keep the focus system active by holding the shutter button half-way (it will stop focusing if you release it completely.)  You can also configure back-button focusing as an alternative (Canon allows you to configure one of the buttons on the back as a focus-button so that you can use your thumb to control when the focus system is active rather than the shutter button.)

When in "AI Servo" mode, the camera uses "release priority" -- meaning it WILL take a shot even if the camera didn't have time to lock focus.  YOU have to keep the focus system active and decide when to take the shot.  In "One shot" mode, the camera will not continuously update focus (it focuses once... then stops updating focus)... but that mode uses "focus priority" which means the shutter wont activate until it can confirm focus lock on at least one AF point.

And of course even if focus is perfect, you can get blur because of movement (either camera movement or subject movement) unless the shutter speed is fast enough.  You'll usually need a minimum of 1/500th but depending on the speed of the action you may need even faster.

[ScottyP]

The obvious answer is slower dogs. Maybe try Basset Hounds, or maybe English Bulldogs. 🙂

[photospark9]

Or wait till they are sleeping haha

[ebiggs1]

This is kinda a reversal role for me as I am usually the one bashing the lowly “Niffy Fifty” EF 50mm f1.8.

Now I am the one recommending it!  

But you hadn't stated you were using ...”Was using shutter speeds between 1/400 and 1/150 with ISO 400 and f5.6-8 ...”

That shows you had plenty of light but thinking low light was the problem was the thought behind the 50mm f1.8 idea.

Which will focus in way less light than the kit lens you have. Focus speed is not an issue if the lens won't focus at all.

Is it?

Also, it likely will focus in less light than the f2.8 you are considering.

But light is not your problem.  After what you have stated afterward, your technique is the problem.

Do try the suggestions above. Even the kit lens will probably work for you than.  

[photospark9]

Thank you for your very comprehensive response. Using only the centre AF point really helped when I tried a similar shoot and the keeper rate rocketed up to about 8/10. Still not perfect but much better than before, I also boosted my ISO higher and that also improved the keeper rate as the amounts of motion blur in shots was reduced a lot. I do think I might have to invest in some better equipment but that can be the subject of another post.

Thanks for all the help 😄