Canon 1DX AF point illumination issues

jhefti

I love my X bodies in every way, except when I am trying to find the AF point in low light. Shot an event last night with really poor light, and needed to bump my AF point around a lot. Half the time I couldn't find it. In addition to the poor illumination--really just a faint flicker--it has a nasty habit of illuminating several points at once, despite the fact that only one AF point is active.

Canon said the latest firmware update should fix this, but it hasn't. In fact, the multi-point illumination started happening after I did the upgrade and it's driving me nuts.

Has anyone found a way to deal with this?

David_S85

Super low light can be a bitch no matter what camera you're using. What lens were you using? Was there an extender applied? What AF mode? Were you using a single fixed AF point or was the one point primary and also expanded to neighboring points? Were you at f/8 by chance? It can be a complex issue which is why I'm asking those (and I'm also expecting Ziggy to jump in here soon).

Here's my experience, for what its worth. Following my focusing update last year (5D3), I found that at very low light, lens combo of f/8, center single point spot (dot in the square), single point (with only the square), or expanded to nearest neighbor (above, below, left, right) - with any of those focusing settings they might light up briefly and lock on, but then in review, only the center square will be confirmed as the focusing point (for f/8 lens combo's). I don't actually care as long as I achieved focus in the final shot. My 5D3 also does the same with the red blinky dance at times. Luckily I shoot in those conditions rarely. I've found that low light shooting at tight f-stops to be an experience in patience, even with the best equipment.

ziggy53

Please see if this is helpful:

http://support-au.canon.com.au/contents/AU/EN/8200848300.html

However, starting with Firmware ver 2, I believe that the above link is in error about the AI Servo mode, where the Canon 1D-X (and only the 1D-X) "should" light the selected focus confirmation dot, especially if the AF menu, page 5 (AF5), "VF Display Illumination" is set to "On". (Default is "Auto" and the dot may not properly illuminate or only very briefly illuminate in the Auto setting.)

jhefti

David_S85 wrote: »

Super low light can be a bitch no matter what camera you're using. What lens were you using? Was there an extender applied? What AF mode? Were you using a single fixed AF point or was the one point primary and also expanded to neighboring points? Were you at f/8 by chance? It can be a complex issue which is why I'm asking those (and I'm also expecting Ziggy to jump in here soon).

Here's my experience, for what its worth. Following my focusing update last year (5D3), I found that at very low light, lens combo of f/8, center single point spot (dot in the square), single point (with only the square), or expanded to nearest neighbor (above, below, left, right) - with any of those focusing settings they might light up briefly and lock on, but then in review, only the center square will be confirmed as the focusing point (for f/8 lens combo's). I don't actually care as long as I achieved focus in the final shot. My 5D3 also does the same with the red blinky dance at times. Luckily I shoot in those conditions rarely. I've found that low light shooting at tight f-stops to be an experience in patience, even with the best equipment.

I had one body with a 50mm f/1.2 and the other body with a 70-200mm f/2.8. I used just a single AF point in servo mode.

The problem was not locking on, it was seeing the AF point beforehand so I could place it on the subject. In general, if I could see the AF point and get it over the subject, the camera locked on just fine. The AF system in the X is great.

In my older 1D bodies, it was possible to keep the AF point illuminated all the time, so hitting the target was easy. The illumination on the AF points in the viewfinder in the X (and from what I hear, the 5D3 as well) is really poor. I suspect that it is a hardware problem that can't really be fixed with a simple firmware upgrade.

In any case, thanks for your suggestions and comments!

jhefti

ziggy53 wrote: »

Please see if this is helpful:

http://support-au.canon.com.au/contents/AU/EN/8200848300.html

However, starting with Firmware ver 2, I believe that the above link is in error about the AI Servo mode, where the Canon 1D-X (and only the 1D-X) "should" light the selected focus confirmation dot, especially if the AF menu, page 5 (AF5), "VF Display Illumination" is set to "On". (Default is "Auto" and the dot may not properly illuminate or only very briefly illuminate in the Auto setting.)

Thanks Ziggy! The AF point does in fact light up when focus is achieved, but very briefly and dimly.

The bigger problem is seeing the AF point in the viewfinder to place it on the subject in the first place. My 1D4 bodies are set to keep the AF points illuminated all the time, which makes shooting in poor light much easier.