5D MK III AF point illumination

paddler4paddler4 Registered Users Posts: 976 Major grins
edited October 25, 2013 in Cameras
I'm considering upgrading to a 5DMKIII and have been reading gobs of complaints about the AF-point illumination. Many of the posts are old, and a bunch suggest that a firmware upgrade might improve things. Have any of the firmware updates improved this? And for those of you who have been using the MkIII, how big a deal is this?


Thanks.
http://dkoretz.smugmug.com/

Comments

  • David_S85David_S85 Administrators Posts: 13,249 moderator
    edited October 22, 2013
    The new firmware changed AF functions a bit. Lens combinations that are f/8 will now AF properly, though not super quickly, as expected. I can get red blinky and audible confo's now at F/8 in two of the AF modes, One Shot and AI Focus.

    I don't use my 400 5.6 with the 1.4x TC very often, but the couple times a year that I might, I am happy Canon came to the table and offered the improvement. That said, many of us feel the camera should always have been able to perform this way and Canon had hobbled the functionality at its debut; and at best, not fully understood why photographers needed f/8.
    My Smugmug
    "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
  • paddler4paddler4 Registered Users Posts: 976 Major grins
    edited October 22, 2013
    thanks. I just pulled the plug--should have it in two days
    http://dkoretz.smugmug.com/
  • David_S85David_S85 Administrators Posts: 13,249 moderator
    edited October 22, 2013
    paddler4 wrote: »
    thanks. I just pulled the plug--should have it in two days

    clap.gifclap.gifclap.gif

    Congrats! Anything new should have the new firmware already set. When you get it, look at the firmware number and post it here. Sometimes Canon will include a minor tweak and increment the version a little bit. You'll also have fun making all those custom settings to allow it to work best for you. Lots of hints and suggestions on the net and on other forums on that subject.
    My Smugmug
    "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
  • paddler4paddler4 Registered Users Posts: 976 Major grins
    edited October 25, 2013
    David,

    Still firmware version 1.2.1, which I think is the version released last April.

    Spent the evening learning my way around the camera, which provided welcome relief while the Sox lost. It really is an amazing camera, a huge step up in many ways from the 50D I have been using for the past 4 years or more. The AF is quite something, although I have to say that Canon really messed up that part of the manual, which does not clearly distinguish between setting the type of AF, e.g., zone, and picking the area you want to use. However, once I figured it out, it seemed pretty easy to use. I am really pleased that it lets you set the AF area separately for each of the three camera orientations.

    Dan
    http://dkoretz.smugmug.com/
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