C100: Real World AF Torture Test

[Andrius Simutis]

I just got my C100 back from Canon on Monday and wanted to test out the AF. I had the perfect opportunity right up the street as one of our local bars holds a bicycle pie jousting contest every April 1st. It's fast paced with bicycles coming straight at you, people in the way, drunks, flying whipped cream, and mixed light so what better way to test the AF? Since this wasn't a paying gig, I brought my camera and tried to use the AF as much as possible. Here's the result:

In the end, the AF held up decently but there were some surprises as well like once when it just refused to lock in on a backlit subject. I didn't have any of the autofocus "freak outs" where it hunts back and forth, just that it would stop where clearly the subject was not in focus. Overall it was good at grabbing focus and also pretty good at holding it as the subject moved…but only as long as they were inside that white box center frame. You also have to account for the fact that anything that gets into the way center frame for long enough will grab the focus, but that's more of an operator framing issue. Mapping the AF hold to the thumb button made it easy to set up quick shots.
Was the AF perfect? No, but none of them are. The real point here was that without any practice at all I was able to get accurate focus in a really fast paced shoot while keeping the aperture at 2.8-5.6 As a one man band, I don't think I could have done that without the AF. I'd have to either stop down to increase my DOF, or choose the shots where I wouldn't have to track the rider coming at me. Without AF, maybe I'd be able to do a decent job of tracking with a follow focus, but then I'd also have to put my beer down.

Here's a link for those reading on an iPad or phone: http://vimeo.com/90836328

 

[nedcam]

Good job! What lenses were you using?

 

[indiawilds]

Cool event. Having a beer in one hand and AF in another seems to be lot of fun for the operator. envy

 

[Andrius Simutis]

Good job! What lenses were you using?

70-200f2.8 IS, 17-55 f2.8 IS and might have used the 24-105 f4 too.

 

[greenheron]

I think the 17-55 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 IS lenses are perfect for this kind of use and the 24-105 f4 and 70-200 f4 IS lenses when you are outside and/or have enough light. Cant wait to get the upgrade done so I will have this feature when I need it. One more great tool when you really need it.

 

[mhood]

Are you going with rails and lens support with the 70-200 f2.8? I have the 70-200 f4 and it's been okay without lens support (I think).

 

[greenheron]

That is one of the things about the 70-200 f4 that I really like is the ability to hand hold the camera/lens combination without worrying about extra support. I think the C100 with AF will work best with the smallest footprint that you can get by with at the time. This means using the eyepiece and therefore I can't wait for my "Eyecup" to show up in May.

 

[Andrius Simutis]

Are you going with rails and lens support with the 70-200 f2.8? I have the 70-200 f4 and it's been okay without lens support (I think).

I almost never mount up the whole rail setup as it's too much trouble and weight for the kind of stuff I normally shoot, but I do have a lens support method that I use sometimes. What I do is leave a quick release plate on the lens collar of the 70-200, then attach a long quick release plate to the C100 that extends far enough in front to sit under the other plate. This makes the plate on the lens collar really just act like a shim. I've always thought that the C100 was too big to hang off the back of the lens, but not big enough to mount the camera to the tripod and get good balance with such a heavy lens. With my long plate method I've managed to find a nice balance without having to rig up my camera.