EOS 70D autofocus tracking???

[Bazsl]

Will the phase detect 19 point AF system in the 70D track subjects moving toward the camera at 100 miles per hour in AI Server mode? In other words, is the 70D usable for still photos of aircraft in flight, horse racing and automobile racing? Any references to articles on the 70D AF sustem that discuss its ability to track subjects moving toward the camera would be appreciated. Thanks.

Bill

[ebiggs1]

Absolutely, on this was are in total agreement.

"... you still need a certain number of pixels on target."

And 'quality' pixels are better than 'more' pixels (IMHO, ofcourse).   Cell phone!!!!!!!  

BTW, not to highjack the thread, but do you restore cars?  I do, or did,  Mustangs.

[cicopo]

Yes re auto restoration as my day job. Used to do a lot of Camaro's (a good friend had the Mustang's covered) but now it's mostly Corvettes. The Red one at the beginning of this was made into a 2 part magazine article that paid for a 5D.

http://plus.google.com/photos/116179596240613012497/albums/5126557453321932625?banner=pwa

I have a lot more job sets on line but that's roughly what I do but I'm working on semi retirement from the big stuff now. Been working on my own at home full time since 86.

[garryjames]

Cicopo,  Good advice.  I took the time to calibrate AF last night and am very pleased with the results today.  I completely agree with you regarding a rock solid tripod.  When I was calibrating AF I used a cheap tripod and had fits getting a sharp image.  I had to resort to flash, even with mirror lock-up and remote release.  Any suggesting for a good value tripod for under $250?  I'm looking at:

CowboyStudio Panoramic Gimbal Tripod Head BK-45 for $105

Dolica ZX600B300 Proline ZX Series 60-Inch Carbon Fiber Tripod with Ball Head for $126

[garryjames]

Another question:  I'm considering a used Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM Lens (not the II)  It's quite a bit heavier (190 oz. versus 111 oz. for the Canon EF 600mm f/4L II  IS USM Lens.  The older version is between $5500 and $7500.  The Canon EF 600mm f/4L II IS USM Lens is $13000 and out of reach.  Is it worth considering the older Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM Lens?

[cicopo]

We don't have Sand Cranes in my part of the world so I really don't know what they look like but based on the seriously downsized image allowed here the eye looks pretty good but the feathery areas seem to lack detail, which may just be from the downsizing. It also looks a bit underexposed which may very well be a difference in the calibration of my monitor to match my printers. 

Re the used 600 F4 L IS at those prices I'd say it's a go for 2 reasons, which are it's a great lens (assuming it didn't show physical abuse) and you should be able to re sell at roughly what you pay should you find you don't use it often enough or that it just doesn't fit your needs. This link will take you to 50 pages of thoughts, comments & samples from that lens on various bodies.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=225931

If you search this Nikon forum Trenchmonkey shoots a lot of Sand Cranes & knows how to do it (& everything else) very well. 

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/board/7

[cale_kat]

The image appears to be suffering from a bit of motion blur. What shutter speed? I wonder.

[garryjames]

Shutter speed was 1/400, aperture was 5.6, lens was EF 300mm F/4 IS II with a Canon 1.4x III for an effective focal length of 420mm.  6D body.

Image is tack sharp in RAW, might be suffering from jpg or small size?  

[garryjames]

Thanks Cicopo,  Good advice.  I might actually rent one of these lenses and see hope it performs.  I can also compare it with a rented current model, the II.  

Sorry the image of the sand hill crane was poor quality.  The RAW file is "shockingly clear."  There is huge separation with the background.  the small hairlike feathers on the head are individually visible.  What's the best way of sharing images?  I have a Shutterfly account.    

[cicopo]

I'm not surprised that downsizing killed the image because it's done it to many images at several forums I belong to. I used to like Picasa Web Albums which has beccome a part of Google Plus & has had some format changes I don't like but it's still pretty good and so is Flickr. The one thing I really liked about Picasa was the ability to upload full file images for others to download. Their editing software is great & makes a nice upload manager (that's still the same as before).

[garryjames]

Thanks Cicopo,  I've been on Picasa a bit and find it intuitive.  I was however very impressed by the quality of imags on Flickr!  I don't have an account but plan on joining.  One thing I'm concerned about is posting images on-line and let people lift them.  I think that Flickr doesn't permit that for some reason.  I would also like to include a watermark.  Don't know how to do that yet.  Also my 6D includes copywrite info in the info area i suppose that helps as long as it can't be removed.  I suspect that it can be...

Is it better to post images in TIFF?  I try to get print services to print TIFF and CR2 (RAW) but the popular printers, Snapfish and Shutterfly just print JPG's.  I'm not impressed by their print quality.  Can you recommend a good value, high qualty printer?

Any advice you can provide regarding these issues would be appreciated.

Thanks again!