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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Question for Canon nature photographers
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 02/08/2013 05:09:54 PM · #1
Does anyone use AI Servo? I've tried it a couple of times, but I've missed shots that I feel that I could have gotten otherwise, so I keep switching back to one shot mode for birds in flight.

So I'm curious for the successful nature photographers:

AI Servo or one shot?

(for moving subjects. For stationary subjects, I assume that most of us want one shot to focus on the eye or the focus point du jour.)

Message edited by author 2013-02-08 17:11:23.
 02/08/2013 05:21:06 PM · #2
Hey, the title of your thread didn't specify that one had to be a successful nature photographer ... ;-)
 02/08/2013 05:21:21 PM · #3
If the subject is moving at a constant rate, AI Servo will correctly predict the focus for a future point coinciding with the exposure moment. For me, that is mostly birds in flight and mammals on the run.

I can't say I've had complete success with this, as my animals often are erratic in their motion.

I've probably gotten the best results with sports shots. Track runners. Sailboats. Rowers in single sculls (if they are gliding).

For birds that are perched, but ready to fly, I have successfully used AI Focus.
 02/08/2013 05:29:45 PM · #4
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Hey, the title of your thread didn't specify that one had to be a successful nature photographer ... ;-)


:)
 02/08/2013 05:37:38 PM · #5
i use ia servo for sports and tracking my dog a cocker spaniel that bounces all over the show, just a 1dx on trial and it was awesome for focus tracking and hitting focus, although the af did require a lot of reading to get set right

use it with one point selected and ai works great especially in a burst
 02/08/2013 07:22:08 PM · #6
I think I'm using on too fast of subjects. I use it on gulls, but they zig and zag quickly, and I seem to be better that the ai servo at keeping up. Same with the small birds. I haven't bothered with it on the larger birds -- osprey and eagles, though that's probably when it's worth it.

02/08/2013 07:52:54 PM · #7
Not that I am any good at this :-), but when i tried it I was very dissapointed. I think I am "faster" doing it with a "one shot". But perhaps it depends on the type of motion the animal has ... I would assume for example for race horse photography it may work very well? I think it definitely also matters in what direction the animal is moving. Parallel to camera would work better (I think) than coming towards you, or moving in "zig-zag" like your birds. And the other thing is that it probably depends on the camera ... :-).
I tried it once or twice (after reading an article and thinking I just found Nirvana), but as I said, for me and what I used it for (bees and Agility dogs) it didn't work.
 02/08/2013 08:32:14 PM · #8
I use AI Servo 99% of the time. I just recently did a factory reset of my settings and I missed some flying duck shots because I hadn't thought to set it to AI servo. The default was one-shot. Since I haven't tried one-shot on stationary subjects I don't know if that setting is better for that situation than AI servo.
 02/09/2013 12:23:02 AM · #9
I try to use it for moving birds and animals when I'm panning. Seems to help. But then I tend to forget to change back and subsequently miss focus on stationary subjects. Grrr.
 02/09/2013 12:30:47 AM · #10
i can't imagine trying to hit anything in motion in one-shot mode. whenever i'm shooting *anything* in motion, i'm in ai servo mode and it rarely misses.
 02/09/2013 09:51:00 AM · #11
Like a few others here, I find it great for sports. I use a 7D just like you, and since it has a very fast AF system I find it tracks pretty well. That being said, I don't have to deal with erratic movements in gymnastics.

Kasaba - The ability of the AF in your camera will have a huge impact when it comes to this. She is using a 7D which is leaps and bounds beyond the Rebel series (as well as most other Canon's) in this arena.
 02/09/2013 11:36:39 AM · #12
Servo, is useful (at least on the 5dMark3)for fast moving stuff. my nature shots are rarely of fast moving critters, but i do shoot some sports, and Servo does help there.
 02/09/2013 11:56:21 AM · #13
I used ai servo for the first time on my kayak shots - objects moving left-right or toward me, in a wild river with lots of splashes. I was amazed how well it followed the human and missed focus only once or twice (focused on a splash of water in front). I guess I would use the same on any fast moving duck :-).
 02/09/2013 07:54:24 PM · #14
Originally posted by vawendy:
I think I'm using on too fast of subjects. I use it on gulls, but they zig and zag quickly, and I seem to be better that the ai servo at keeping up. Same with the small birds. I haven't bothered with it on the larger birds -- osprey and eagles, though that's probably when it's worth it.


I use it to shoot very large Ducks, but they are wearing pads and a helmet.

I use it for wildlife, but I often miss the shot and I've slowly been coming to the realization the 5D2 may deserve its poor reputation in this regard.
 02/09/2013 08:27:54 PM · #15
I use servo most of the time, but I have it set to respond to the AF-On button on the back of the camera and not the shutter button. This allows you to turn the AF on and off, independent of taking the shot. For example, you can focus, take your finger off the AF-On button and refame. You could also hold the button continuosly if your subject continues to move. This has worked the best for me.
 02/10/2013 12:07:38 AM · #16
My friend, the 7D is special when it comes to the autofocus.

Go to your Custom menu > C.Fniii : autofocus and drive. The 1st adjustable is the sensitivity setting for Al Servo. Yours will probably be on 0. I have set mine towards the minus to prevent a splash of a wave from stealing my focus, towards the positive if I want the tri-angle of focus points to change focus immediately. The 3rd setting under that cluster should be set to 1;Continuous AF track priority.

cloudsme has great advise on the AF-ON button. Once you get use to that way of focusing you will seldom go back to Single shot.
 02/10/2013 08:40:33 AM · #17
Originally posted by docpjv:


cloudsme has great advise on the AF-ON button. Once you get use to that way of focusing you will seldom go back to Single shot.


ok -- people have mentioned this before, and I need get this figured out. Though the 7D is pretty big for my small hands, so I'm no sure I can work this with the big honking lens.

Message edited by author 2013-02-10 08:41:16.
 02/10/2013 08:49:53 AM · #18
Originally posted by cloudsme:
I use servo most of the time, but I have it set to respond to the AF-On button on the back of the camera and not the shutter button. This allows you to turn the AF on and off, independent of taking the shot. For example, you can focus, take your finger off the AF-On button and refame. You could also hold the button continuosly if your subject continues to move. This has worked the best for me.


ok -- but why do you want to do this? It's not that big of an issue holding down the shutter button half way and then reframing. I know that it's been explained to me before, and it made sense, but I don't remember the reasoning. Is it pretty much when you're using ai servo on a static subject so you can reframe without having to switch to one shot?
 02/10/2013 11:30:46 PM · #19
Originally posted by vawendy:
Originally posted by cloudsme:
I use servo most of the time, but I have it set to respond to the AF-On button on the back of the camera and not the shutter button. This allows you to turn the AF on and off, independent of taking the shot. For example, you can focus, take your finger off the AF-On button and refame. You could also hold the button continuosly if your subject continues to move. This has worked the best for me.


ok -- but why do you want to do this? It's not that big of an issue holding down the shutter button half way and then reframing. I know that it's been explained to me before, and it made sense, but I don't remember the reasoning. Is it pretty much when you're using ai servo on a static subject so you can reframe without having to switch to one shot?


This thread had a very good discussion on the separation of focus and shutter.

//www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=1095606&highlight=af-on&page=1
 02/11/2013 12:51:43 AM · #20
Originally posted by vawendy:
ok -- but why do you want to do this?

By default, you lock exposure and focus when you press the shutter button. It's not always the case that what you are focusing on is what you want to be exposing for. For example, I'll often pull exposure from the ground when there's a bright sky, then reframe to include the sky. It's VERY sensible to separate the two functions, unless you're shooting fast-moving scenes, where it can get cumbersome. Certainly, for landscape work where you may try several different framings of the same scene, it's good to calculate your desired DOF, set the focus, and forget about it, concentrating on exposure only.

You can, of course, do that with manual focus, and I often do. Setting back-button focusing means that full manual focus is always available to me without having to turn the AF switch on the lens on and off: assuming, of course, that the mounted lens is USM-focusing.
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