EOS 90D How to Toggle Between Drive Modes

[noleks]

I have searched this forum and the 90d owner's manual to no avail...

Is there a way to assign a button to toggle between two drive modes (single shot and high speed burst)?  Maybe the back AF button for example would be a good candidate for this.

I find myself toggling this constantly while taking photos of my son's sporting events (rowing).

I have been using sports mode but if I can create a custom mode that mimics it and has this functionality, I will do the work!

[wq9nsc]

What shutter speed were you using with the 100-400?  And what was your distance to target?  If you are fairly close, the depth of field gets pretty shallow with a 400mm even at f6.3 so it is possible you need to fine tune the focus of your lens using the micro focus adjustment built into the camera.

But softness is likely either due to some blur from camera shake and/or subject motion due to too slow shutter speed and it could also be from increased ISO and resultant noise reduction if using fast shutter speed with a f6.3 aperture if it wasn't in direct sunlight.

If you are shooting from land, then 1/500 shutter speed is  going to be the minimum and higher is better.  If you are shooting from a vessel, then double this as a minimum and preferably even faster if conditions permit.  You can do a lot with noise reduction if you start with a RAW file but once you have motion blur, it is baked in and there is no clean way to remove it. So with fast moving objects, be biased towards accepting a higher ISO and the resulting noise reduction.

I recently acquired a Canon EF 200-400 f4 with the integrated 1.4X extender making it a 280-560 f5.6 with the flip of a lever.  It is incredibly versatile and produces very sharp and high contrast images in both 1X and 1.4X modes and I love it for daylight field events.  But for night events, I will continue using my EF 400 f2.8 rather than giving up a full exposure stop.  With sports, on a few occasions you get more light than you want in places (too much dynamic range between highlights and shadows), on rare occasions it is just what you want, but most of the time you are choosing the best tradeoff between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.

Rodger

[noleks]

Will do- need to do this after this weekend though as I've got to be there for our rowers in < 1hr!

[noleks]

I think I'm starting to detect a pattern here...

In the attached photos I used the 9 point AF pattern and got a fuzzy result in one of them.  I think it must be because the camera is trying to focus on the water as well as the rowers.
This becomes significant for me because sometimes the single point AF seems to do the same thing... perhaps with my single point AF it's a miss.  Then again in 2/3 attached photos I think the right auto focus occurred.  What I'd really like to do is guide the AF to a 5 point AF along the lower middle to steer it towards the boat and rowers.
Unrelated... CR3 takes much longer to write to my card than jpeg.  Would a UHS-II card make a difference here?

For the files I attached:Paint Shop Pro 2023 batch options823882398242af pattern: 8239
8238: decent
8239: fuzzy
8242: decent

[wq9nsc]

A UHS II has a faster write speed and that will make a difference BUT that varies a lot by card brand/model so take a look and compare write speed.  The CR3 files are bigger than the jpg files so they will write slower.

As to focus points, with the distance and the amount of "stuff" in frame I think you are going to be better off using a single focus point and putting it where you want it to make sure that the AF locks on what you want.  I often use single point for sports for that reason. For many situations, single point in the middle isn't the right choice and you may want the single point lower in the AF array than centered.

I don't like back button focus but instead reassign that button to stop focus on those occasions where I want to lock focus and to change framing.  This won't work with a fast moving target but it will be helpful at times.

Rodger

[noleks]

Is there a way to design my own custom AF pattern?
Can I assign the back button focus to stop Servo AF?
This is a bit of a challenge for me esp. at greater distances- I might need a gimbal and tripod. My birthday is approaching quickly. 🙂

[deebatman316]

1. You can use Manual AF Point selection for that.
2. Yes that would be an AF Stop Button. Some lenses already have an AF Stop Button built in.
3. I recommend using the Center AF Point when using teleconverters. Not all of the AF Points can be used with Teleconverters depending on the lens and camera combo. This is due to the new max aperture. 
4. So check your camera manual for this. Also check the lens manual and teleconverter manuals too. Link to Manual  

[ebiggs1]

You seem to be a little hesitant to take the advice of the very experienced folks here. A single focus point is what you want and should use. The camera will try to focus on the closest thing to the camera that has sufficient contrast to achieve focus. If you give it multiple choices it has a greater chance of finding that point. Using just the center focus point it will focus exactly on what you put it on. I would say 90% all focus issues people have as user error and not camera error. Try just the center point and aim carefully.

[noleks]

I'm not hesitant but I do seek full understanding.  Digital photography is still pretty new to me so I am trying to exhaust multiple possibilities with my questions. 

In this case I had shots go wrong because the single point AF didn't work, either.

This sport is fast-moving when the rowers are not at the dock and so it seems the best way to get the contrast while panning would be to shoot for the waterline.

[deebatman316]

What focus mode are you using. Depending on which one you use the AF system works differently. One Shot is Focus Priority meaning the camera won't take a picture unless it's in focus. AI Servo is release priority meaning the camera has no focus lock. The camera will take pictures regardless of if the subject(s) are in focus or not. AI Focus is a hybrid mode of the 2. The camera will start out in One Shot AF then will switch to AI Servo if the camera detects subject movement.

• One Shot AF
• AI Servo (renamed to Servo AF in newer cameras)
• AI Focus AF

[Tronhard]

Frankly if you want the functionality that you are asking for, then I would suggest you consider one of the R-series cameras that have eye / human tracking.   The 90D is a good camera, but given what you are trying to achieve, if you want consistent results, then people tracking may be the way to go.   Since you are using an APS-C sensor at the moment, something like the EOS R7 might be worth considering.  I would suggest doing some research on the features of the R7 for sports shooting - there are numerous ones available on the web.  Also, if you have associates who are also shooting the same sports, it might be worth having a talk to them, especially if they are using an R-series body.