R5 fails to focus on subjects

[johniccp]

New Canon R5 this spring, replaces 7D Mark II.  Here's a short list of AF items for which I miss the 7D.

(1) focus on a blank object.  I have a Bower desktop tripod that holds a cell phone.  The backing on the clamp is a dull black.  The R5 can't focus on this or anything else that lacks contrast, such as a blank wall or a cloudless sky.

(2) a person walking through the dining room.  My wife walks through the dining room and I'm trying to get the AF to lock on her.  With the shutter semi-continously held down, the R5 can track her about half the time.

(3) lacrosse players in the rain.  I tried servo and one-shot mode, not much difference.

1 & 2 can likely be fixed by a change in AF mode.

3 however needs more detail.

My sports events are typically late afternoon through early evening. Variety of lighting.

Lens: RF 70-200mm f/2.8

Mode: TV, usually at 1/1000

Drive mode: usually slow speed continuous

AF method: Expanded AF ( a square surrounded by four little squares )

AF operation: usually one shot.

Metering mode: Evaluative metering

Shutter mode: Elec. 1st-curtain

From the AF menu: Subject to detect is People, and Continuous AF is Enabled

The Servo AF is Case 4 where subjects accelerate or decelaerate quickly

And Switching tracked subjects (AF4 menu) is set to 2.

Firmware version: 1.3.1

And this unrelated question, if Eco mode is off and Power Saving settings are set to 3 minutes, why oh why do I have to wake up the camera within twenty seconds of my last shot?  (sorry, that's a rant.  I use the AF-On to wake-up the camera every 15-20 seconds.  I'm developing a nervous twitch...)

Thanks for reading.  I look forward to responses.

[jrhoffman75]

"My experience was that unless I narrowed the focus to a single point, the camera would choose to focus on the nearest human object. "

All the Canon AF systems, unless directed differently by AF point placement, will focus on the closest object to the camera with sufficient contrast. The camera assumes the closest object is the object of interest.

[wkf94025]

Just finding this thread now, 4 months into my R5 + RF lens ownership.  Shooting volleyball, and baseball, stills and video.  Volleyball very challenging for AF, baseball a walk in the proverbial park.  Like @johniccp, I am shooting fast-moving athletes, with athlete of interest NOT the nearest moving object with contrast.  I am using face tracking, servo AF,  Case 2 (stay with current subject), AF Method face + tracking, subject to detect = People, eye detection enabled, Continuous AF disabled, touch & drag AF enabled, switching tracked subjects = 0 (don't switch).  Using either RF 24-70 F/2.8 or RF 70-200 F/2.8.  Shutter mode electronic for max frame rate when bursting JPGs.  Shooting JPG's in M mode, aperture wide open @ F2.8, shutter speed 1/1250, auto ISO, JPGs to SD card, and video to CFE card.  Videos shot in either FHD 59.94P ALL-I, or 120fps for super smooth slow motion (without audio, unfortunately).   Do these seem to be the right settings to lock on to a hitter on the far side of the court, and maintain lock despite other players closer in, perhaps moving across the frame, occasionally the net, and occasionally the ref entering the frame.  It's HARD.  Far easier than my ancient T3i which preceded the R5, but still hard.  The other use case that is hard is when a player is serving from the end line, I am shooting from 30 feet away behind our bench, and coach crosses into the frame to advise player where to serve.  I'd like to stay 110% locked on player about to serve, and ignore moving coach in foreground.  Appreciate any pro tips. 

EDIT:  I don't mind being responsible for keeping athlete of interest in the middle of the frame, so if disabling the higher IQ AF modes and simply saying focus on this one small point, then maybe I can use that method to avoid AF brain latching on to the wrong athlete.