Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/04/16

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: Re: [Leica] 75'lux focusing
From: Harrison McClary <harrison@mcclary.net>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 15:19:40 -0500

>Could autofocus have gotten it? I don't think quite yet. Maybe the Nikon
>F6 or EOS 2001!

Mark,

Don't be so quick to discount the AF of Canon.  I have been using the EOS 
for several years now and the AF speed is nothing short of amazing...much 
faster than I ever was and I have been shooting professional sports since 
1990.

The af on my EOS 1n will follow focus EXTREMELY fast.  I was shooting 
photos of my daughter the other night with my 24 1.4L  She ran up to the 
camera and stuck her face right into the lens...about 5 inches to 1 foot 
from the camera most.  Was shooting at 1.4 and her eyes are sharp, 
everything else is soft.  No way to have gotten this MF as she was moving 
very fast, up to the lens  then away in a matter of seconds.

I have seen the EOS in at baseball focus on a play at second the second 
baseman jump for a ball, camera focuses on outfield, player lands camera 
focuses on second again...all frames sharp.

Unless you have used these lenses and bodies (speaking the top of the 
line lenses & body from Canon, not the consumer stuff) don't discount it 
so quickly.

Please keep in mind that I am pretty much a manual focus kind of 
photographer...still shoot NFL with an old MF 400 2.8 on an old Canon F1 
and do just fine keeping up with the boys and their fast AF toys, but I 
am admit that in the hands of someone who has learned how to shoot sports 
with the AF those things can do things I am incapable of doing manually.  
Like shooting a player diving out of bounds on top of you WITH ONE HAND 
and get all frames sharp...seen it happen and got my ass chewed when the 
competition had the shot and I did not.

Harrison McClary
email: harrison@mcclary.net
http://www.mcclary.net
preview my book: http://www.volmania.com