Canon 1D v 40D - Autofocus - first impressions

Managed a quick 'first' play with the 1D Mark II tonight. Something I was keen to check out straight away was the focussing - in particular how it compared to my 40D for speed of achieving focus and maintaing focus when tracking.

The swallows which I've photographed a fair bit over the last few months whizzing around the rooftops seemed a suitable test. I've been fairly happy with the results I get from the 40D when I actually manage to 'nail' one but it's fair to say that 90% of the time I don't achieve the focus before the bird has whizzed by.

Anyway - I made a point of using the same (not paricularly fast) Canon 100-400 lens on the 1D II just so I could compare and I was staggered at the difference. In 'one shot' mode I was hitting the target almost every time and in 'AI Servo' mode the focus was tracking well enough to hit perhaps 4 from a 6 frame burst.

I've not got as far as comparing IQ yet - As I said this was more about the focussing but the sheer % of 'hits' to 'misses' is like night and day.

I know it's an older model but for me - so far so good.

Excellent, look forward to seeing some of the pics!

xx

I don't think the IQ of the pics I post on here will be any better than the 40D Zoundz as I only post those pics that come out OK.

It's just for action type stuff the 'speed' and 'AF' is so much better so the ratio of good / duff shots will mean I've a much better chance of getting the shot I want.

What Z said ^^

Sounds really promising so far Phil. I get a bit confused with Canon's the 1D's are the top of the Canon Family Tree?

You mentioned the weight of the 1D in another post, is there much difference in size and weight?

Interesting Phil, many sports photographers went Canon whilst Nikon let their advantage lapse, but i think they nailed it back again with the Nikon D3. The autofocus in a Nikon D300/700 is pretty quick and intelligent with 51 point 3D tracking but it still gets beat occasionally, possibly because of the use of (in some instances) amateur level lenses. In general the 40 and 50D Canon have a lesser capable autofocus then the 300/700 Nikons according to reports i have read.

Clearly it depends on what you photograph whether to pay for top level autofocus...but you need to pay for the fast pro lenses to match it too.

Size and weight, well I'd guess if you have a battery grip on any DSLR then it will weigh approximately the same as a pro camera with it all built in. I'm actually finding lugging gear around a bit of a pain literally. I'm not a lightweight by any means, but a day with a heavy SLR/battery pack/pro lens plus a few bits in a backpack means you can certainly feel it.

If you really want to get the best out of any camera then 'fast pro lenses' will help esp in low light but there's no doubt autofocus is miles better on this than on my 40D without any change in lens. You would certainly expect the D300 and D700 to be better than the 40D but I'm comparing a much older model.

Canon's 1D series is like Nikon's D3 series Moonie. Rather than changing the number as new model comes out (like 30D, 40D 50D) they just say 1D Mark II, 1D Mark III....
The 1DS series are very high res full frame, the 1D series are 1.3 crop with fewer MP aimed more for sport wildlife etc. Horses for courses in a 1 series body.

That's true BC - apart from the very small bodies stuff like 40D, 7D, 5DII, D300, D700 etc with grip = full size.

Quite a bit Moonie - although much of a muchness if your used to having a grip attached.

Got me thinking so I checked.

40D = 822g
1D Mark II = 1565g

It's a bit heavier than current 1D models and D3 models (about 1280g) because they use a newer lighter battery.

To be honest the lens you're using makes more of a difference than the body. Heaviest lens I currently own is 1500g so together it's just over 3KG

I can see you Phil ending up with a camera in each hand so you take take photos infront and behind you at the same time

Bazza

The 40 and 50D are not really a valid comparison for the D300 and 700, I think the 5D and the 7D will be a better match and will surprise you.

Congrats on your Canon 1D series body, it is quite a lump to use especially when attached to a heavy'ish lens. I find I can just about last a day out at a race meet or airshow but my sholders start to get tired by late afternoon.

You also have the advantage of auto focus working upto f8 which can come in handy when shooting with certain lens/converter combos.

Mind you, I still miss my smaller 5D body at times.