cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Servo AF Settings - Questions about subject tracking

DaBrownCO
Enthusiast

File this under a question for which I should know the answer. Does Servo AF track the subject even if you don't have Face + Tracking on? I thought that was the case, but the other day, when I had the Focus Point set to 1 point or Spot, it did not track. However, when I used the *, which is custom set to Eye AF, it did track. The image was of ducks on a lake so there may not have been enough contrast, but Eye AF did track. So I'm a bit puzzled.

My set up is BBF with AF-On set to Focus/Metering Start and as stated * set to Eye AF.

13 REPLIES 13

jrhoffman75
Legend
Legend

Is your AF1 menu tab top item set to Servo?

John Hoffman
Conway, NH

1D X Mark III, Many lenses, Pixma PRO-100, Pixma TR8620a, LR Classic

Yes

Tronhard
Elite
Elite

Servo AF is different from Face and eye tracking in that it is only active as long as a focusing button is active.  In the following video, Canon explain that for setting up BBF, one sets up servo focus, and then tap the BBF button to focus (and then stop) on a static subject, but if that button is held down, Servo will  follow the selected object as it moves - even if it is not a face or eye.  Even if you don't use BBF, it hopefully demonstrates the principle.


That is different from Continuous Focus that would cause the camera to continually focus as long as the camera was turned on - an excellent way of draining the battery.  I have noticed that feature disappearing from the menu systems of some models now.
Face and eye detection intelligently look for faces and eyes and will track them as long as the focusing system is active.
For more detailed investigation of this you might find these interesting:
and 

They might be helpful in some general info on the subject


cheers, TREVOR

"The Amount of Misery expands to fill the space available"
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

I know not to drain the battery so that Continuous Focus is off. I had the BBF pressed while the duck was swimming and it did not track the duck until I hit the * that is set to Eye AF.

 

Are you using BBF or half-pressing the shutter button?  I am adding more to my original response FWIW


cheers, TREVOR

"The Amount of Misery expands to fill the space available"
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

Using BBF.

Well, unless something has changed in the setup, I would agree with John that referring back to Tech Support might be a good move.


cheers, TREVOR

"The Amount of Misery expands to fill the space available"
"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

Best then to give Canon support a call. Register your product first if you haven’t already done so. 

John Hoffman
Conway, NH

1D X Mark III, Many lenses, Pixma PRO-100, Pixma TR8620a, LR Classic

Just got the camera back from CPS before Christmas for another issue. I think I'll try it again to see if it wasn't something of a fluke or an operator error.

National Parks Week Sweepstakes style=

Enter for a chance to win!

April 20th-28th
Announcements