When the need arise, even if it's a butcher's copper when used by a skilled surgeon can save life as well. To me "the equipment is only as good as it's wielder"
5D mk2 vs D700... auto focus differences really an issue?
- Thread starter buckwheat
- Start date
When the need arise, even if it's a butcher's copper when used by a skilled surgeon can save life as well. To me "the equipment is only as good as it's wielder"
Of coz, but in emergency.. would u trust a skilled surgeon with a chopper or a 1st year med student with a scalpel?
I think u need to employ a different technique to achieve the same results from the 5dmk2 & d700.
i am using a 5dmk1...athough AF is lame...1 use center AF for low light and multiple AF for bright outdoors.
D700 might nail the AF easier but the 21m image of the 5dmk2 is a world of difference to me!
i am using a 5dmk1...athough AF is lame...1 use center AF for low light and multiple AF for bright outdoors.
D700 might nail the AF easier but the 21m image of the 5dmk2 is a world of difference to me!
Can the 5D be used for sports photography? Sure. Heck, if you are really good, you can get great shots with MF, using the right techniques. The question is, what is your keeper rate, and can you (not some unnamed maestro or surgeon with butcher knife) capture the precise moments you want?
Good skills are important, and will allow you to optimize the technical capabilities of your equipment, and achieve results that one with lesser skills may not be able to.
But I think picking the 'right' camera is sensible. Even the best photographers would pick the most optimal gear for the job at hand to get the best results. If you only have one camera, then the question is moot n u just make do with what you have. For me, my iPhone is my best camera sometimes.
Good skills are important, and will allow you to optimize the technical capabilities of your equipment, and achieve results that one with lesser skills may not be able to.
But I think picking the 'right' camera is sensible. Even the best photographers would pick the most optimal gear for the job at hand to get the best results. If you only have one camera, then the question is moot n u just make do with what you have. For me, my iPhone is my best camera sometimes.
I concur with you bro. 5D2's AI SERVO is pretty good actually. If you know your tool well, you can delivery amazing shots with it too
Although sports photography benefits from a high FPS camera, sometimes Instinct is what required at the end of the day.
Instinct and anticipation.
TS, try using the 28f1.8, or the 17-40f4 (in brighter conditions). I'm sure these lenses will keep up with your kids movements.
If you're further away, the 85f1.8 is super fast. You'll notice that these lenses are light, allowing you to keep up with your kid's movements, rather than the 24-70L ;p personally nothing against that lens, but it does weigh a ton and the chances of you missing a shot then are higher.
Just my 2c.
5D2 can be used for sports and my keeper rate was decent, despite not having optimal gear:
S League use 5DmkII correct leh... EPL than use 1D
Haha what to do? EPL is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Anyway good to know that there are supporters of the technique over gear here. Just to add - the fast fps is not a replacement for good technique and anticipation in sports photography. Anyone with a (say) 1D at 10 fps can machine gun all day and still get a few decent pictures. What separates the really good ones from the mediocre photographer is the understanding of the game, ability to read the game and anticipate correctly, and understanding of the players and how they will react in certain situations.
My opinion that the greatest use of the fast fps is to ensure you get the shot of the incident that you have anticipated or spotted. Gives you better chance of getting the shot. Those without this luxury will just have to rely on instinct and to get the perfect timing (with some luck of course!)
As mentioned technique is no longer an option when u are given an assignment to capture all the marathon runners that cross your path. Cos the paymaster is actually selling these photos to the marathoners and he will want us (photographers) to capture as many faces of these marathon runners as possible. So given such situation, you can no longer anticipate the game cos there will be a huge pool of runners running pass you and the fps of 5DMKII in such situation is not going to help and no matter how good your technique is you are still going to lose a few shots since the fps cannot keep up with the rate of such large pool of runners running pass you.
So it still depends, if its for commercial photography like what I am doing (whom I need to answer to the pay master when I lost some shots), it pays to have a more reliable equipment (not to say 5DMKII is not reliable but in such condition, it is really not as compared to my previous 40D I owned which have a much faster fps).
But leisurely, I think 5DMKII is more then enough to handle any sports photography.
Hmm with all due respect this is not really sports photography in the traditional sense where we are trying to get a "headline shot" or pictures to accompany an article of the event. However if the assignment is what you described then yes I agree with you the fast FPS will come in very handy for you to gain as much coverage of the runners within a short window of opportunity given to you.
Anyhow that's part and parcel about photography isn't it? Determining what equipment works best for us given the requirements. And then executing it based on what we've picked
Anyhow that's part and parcel about photography isn't it? Determining what equipment works best for us given the requirements. And then executing it based on what we've picked
yup, that's why TS needs to know whether is he shooting leisurely or shooting commercially (similar to the assignment I done). Cos I believe leisurely, I am very sure 5DMKII is pretty good enough. Heck! I am also a 5DMKII user leh
The AF of the 5D2 is certainly good enough although it is not marketed as a fast camera. With my limited needs, I have never found the AF of the 5D2 wanting.
On the other hand, I had both a D700 and a 5D2 and for some unknown reasons, the AF of the D700 would not focus some of the times. I was using this at a wedding and I lost several valuable shots. The paid photographer beside me was also using a D700 and he also complained of the same problem. I lost confidence in the AF of my D700. I have complete confidence with the AF of my 5D2 and I have not lost any shot because of AF. Even though it is not ultra-fast or ultra-precise, it does what it is supposed to do.
a 1ds mark 2 or 1d mark 3 would be a good substitute with better af and supposedly "okay" low-light performance
The AF on 5D2 is certainly not fast enough and a bit erratic at times when using al servo. So I switch to center AF and still can get good results some times.
I feel the better investment should be made in lenses. A fast f1.4 lens can do wonder to kids photography.
I feel the better investment should be made in lenses. A fast f1.4 lens can do wonder to kids photography.
Last edited:
I believe 5DMKII can handle low light very well already.
AF wise, actually personally I got no complains since I always use the center focal point, it never fails me.
I think the only thing that 5DMKII is the lack of fast fps that 1D and 1Ds series have which is pretty useful when comes to sports photography (not a must unless you are shooting commercially and cannot afford to lose too many shots).
sinned79 said:
I don't see the fps as an issue with the 5d2 haha usually stick to single shooting myself, but if the autofocus tracking really matters to ts then I guess a 1d series would definitely steal the spotlight from the 5d2
no comments about the iso comparison though..
chocolateking123 said:I don't see the fps as an issue with the 5d2 haha usually stick to single shooting myself, but if the autofocus tracking really matters to ts then I guess a 1d series would definitely steal the spotlight from the 5d2
its a big issue when u are given an assignment to shoot as many marathon runners running past you in one big lot. the fps of 5DMKII in this sense lose out to 40D which had faster fps and can keep up with the rate without losing shots. anyway such assignment they dun care about composition what they want is full or half body marathon runners in acceptable composition dun have to be perfect in composition, clear face in focus. dats all. so they can sell these photos to these marathon participants.
this is the time whereby technique no longer helps cos of the fps limitation of your equipment which doesnt allows u to fire as many shots as u want within the time frame.
dats how i found out after shooting a series of 4 such events, in the end i bought a second hand 40D after the 1st series cos i lost quite a number of shots as my 5DMKII fps wasnt fast enough to keep up with the running rate of these runners.
shooting leisurely its a different story, fps no longer that important cos u dun care about quantity of photos but quality, from that pool of marathon runners u just want to nail dat few moments. that's when technique and good photographer eyesight that counts.
Last edited:
Similar threads
