Autofocus | Fixation

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark II arrives with a revised 61-point AF system – we take a closer look.

Canon has refreshed its pro-level DSLR proposition just in time for the Olympics, and as a camera aimed at the sports and action photographer, a lot of focus has been placed on its focusing system. This article looks at the key things it offers as well as what’s changed from the acclaimed EOS-1D X it replaces.

The Basics

The EOS-1D X Mark II is equipped with a High Density Reticular AF II system, with 61 points in total and 41 of these being cross type. The remaining 20 have vertical line sensors, which means they are capable of detecting horizontal lines.

Canon states that, by moving the points further away from each other than before, it’s increased the array’s vertical coverage by 8.6% in the central bank of AF points and 24% in the left and right banks over the EOS-1D X’s system. It’s also boosted the performance of the AI Servo AF option so that it notices any sudden changes in subject-movement speed better than before.

Five central points – namely the central point and the two above and below it – are dual-cross-type points. This means that they have both vertical and horizontal sensors, as well as a pair arranged in a cross that are at a 45degree angle to these (essentially forming an asterisk), and these are sensitive down to fƒ/2.8.

All 61 points remain operational when a lens with a maximum aperture of f/8 is used, with the exception of five (mainly macro) lenses. This is an improvement of the f/5.6 limit on the EOS-1D X and useful to know if you wish to use the camera in conjunction with maximum aperture-reducing teleconverters. Additionally, 21 points remain cross type with such a combination.

The most central AF point is sensitive down to -3EV in One Shot AF, which bodes well for low-light shooting. This is an improvement on the -2EV central-point sensitivity on the EOS-1D X.

As on previous models, when using the AI Servo mode, the camera allows you to select one of six cases – subjects moving erratically, subjects accelerating or decelerating quickly and so on – to match the subject you’re shooting, with the option to fine-tune individual parameters such as tracking sensitivity.

AF Microadjustment

As with most pro-grade DSLR bodies, the EOS-1D X II allows for the fine adjustment of a lens’ focusing position, should you find a particular camera and lens focusing slightly behind or in front of the subject.

As with the EOS-1D X, you can store up to 40 separate adjustments, with separate corrections for wide and telephoto settings when adjusting zoom lenses. Helpfully, the corrections are remembered by the serial number of the lens rather than just its type; theoretically this means you can adjust a number of the same model of lens and the camera will remember the appropriate amount of correction for each specific example, rather than have it be confused by the two different versions of the same optic.

AF during burst shooting

The EOS-1D X was no slouch with burst shooting, managing to maintain a rate of 12fps with autofocus and auto-exposure for up to 180 JPEGs or 38 Raw images. When using live view this figure increased to 14fps, albeit with the mirror locked up and focus and exposure fixed to that of the first frame in the sequence. Nevertheless, Canon has boosted this further here, giving a 2fps advantage to each mode.

With the EOS-1D X Mark II it’s possible to fire at 14fps with both autofocus and auto-exposure for up to 170 14bit uncompressed Raw frames, or an unlimited number of JPEGs, and 16fps in live view with the mirror locked up and focus and exposure once again fixed to the first frame.

Canon credits these increases to the two DIGIC 6+ processors that drive the camera, as well as a new mirror drive system, although in order to achieve the deepest burst depths you need to use a CFast 2.0 card (the camera accepts both CFast and CompactFlash media).

AF during movie recording

Aside from the option of 4K video recording, of the most significant changes between the EOS-1D X II video options and those in the model it replaces is that Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology now allows for continuous focus while recording videos. This is the first time the system has been implemented on a full-frame EOS body, having previously been included in a number of more junior APS-C-based models.

This can have its tracking sensitivity and focusing speed adjusted to match the subject being captured, and you can also program the camera to track faces if you happen to have people in the frame. This is also one area where the benefits of the camera’s touchscreen make themselves known. Although you can choose a focusing position through the more conventional controls, it’s possible to instruct the camera where to focus through the touchscreen. Doing this while recording also allows you to move focus between two points with ease.

AF Area Selection options

As with the EOS-1D X, the new model offers a broad choice of AF Area Selection modes. In addition to focusing automatically with either the whole array, a standard single point or a small pinpoint for more precise focus, you can program the camera to focus with and display the four adjacent points around a selected point to form a cross, or even the remaining four points next to these to form a 3×3 box.

The Zone option allows you to select one of nine separate areas of the array for focusing, while a new Large Zone AF option lets you specify which one the three banks – central, left and right – you want to use. So, you can opt for the central bank, for example, if your subject is always in the centre of the frame, preventing the camera from seeking focusing elsewhere as it may otherwise be tempted to.

AF point illumination

You can adjust the brightness of the focusing points in the viewfinder over two levels, which may help when capturing certain subjects.

You can also now opt to have the relevant focusing points illuminated as you focus, so that you can continue to see these once focus has been confirmed. Usefully, when using AI Servo to four continuously, the camera can also keep these points illuminated as long as your subject is in focus.

Another useful feature carried over from the EOS-1D X is the option to light up all cross-type points at the touch of a button so you can tell which are most sensitive in the array. This may find itself to be particularly useful when using a lens with a relatively slow maximum aperture, which may limit the number of cross-type points available.

New metering sensor

Canon has eschewed the EOS-1DX’s 100,000-pixel RGB metering sensor for a new 360,000-pixel RGB-IR alternative here, and also paired it with its very own DIGIC 6 processor. So how does this help focus?

Canon reckons the combination boosts the camera’s chances of recognising the subjects faster than before, which in turn means that it can focus and meter on them more precisely and in less time. This advantage is also said to benefit the Intelligent Tracking and Recognition system (iTR) when keeping a lock on a moving subject.

Other useful options

The camera presents many further useful focusing options. One of these is that you can register a frequently used AF point and program a specific button to activate it on demand.

It’s also possible select whether you want the spot metering system to stay with the central AF point or continue to work with any other points you choose.

You can also configure the display to show only a limited number of points, or even just the cross-type points.

You can customise the body and certain lenses so that buttons access focus-specific functions of your choosing.

Thanks to the inclusion of the Intelligent Viewfinder II, you can even choose exactly where to have AF status display in the viewfinder.

The arrival of the Nikon D5 and D500 saw the company debuting a Multi-CAM 20K focusing module, which updates the previous Multi-CAM 3500FX and Multi-CAM 3500FX II modules found inside the D4s and D750 respectively. The full extent to which the camera can have its focusing options configured stretches beyond the scope of this article; what follows explores the key changes Nikon has made and the main points of interest around its autofocusing system.

The Basics

The new Multi-CAM 20K module boasts 153 AF points in total, with 99 of these being cross type and 55 available for selection (compared with 51 AF points in total on the D4s, all manually addressable and 15 being cross type). Nikon also claims the new system offers 30% more coverage than the system inside the D4s, with the further benefit of a new engine on board dedicated solely to focusing, said to boost focus-calculation speeds, assist focus tracking and improve response in general.

While sensitivity of the D4s’ Multi-CAM 3500FX module was rated down to -2EV, the Multi-CAM 20K module here boasts -4EV sensitivity at its central point and -3EV everywhere else. This should make it much more sensitive in darker conditions.

The camera offers the same quintet of focusing modes as the D4s: Single-Point AF, Dynamic-Area AF, 3D Tracking, Auto-Area AF and the Group Area AF introduced in the D4s. The new focusing system has, however, brought with it three separate Dynamic Area AF patterns to bring the overall total to seven. These allow for all 153 points to be selected, or alternatively 72 points or 25 points, in contrast to the 9- 21- and 51-point options on board the D4s.

The camera is able to maintain continuous autofocus when recording images at 12fps for up to 200 losslessly compressed Raw frames. For this it requires a shutter speed of at least 1ƒ/250sec and an XQD whose write speed is fast enough to keep the buffer from filling. A 14fps option is also available, although this locks up the mirror and fixes focus and exposure to that of the first frame.

Auto AF Fine Tune

Arguably one of the most useful changes from previous models is the ability to have the camera automatically calculate the degree of shift required when putting a lens through the AF Fine Tune option. Whereas previously you needed to manually work out what level of adjustment was appropriate for a specific lens, here the camera can calculate it for you. To do this, the camera uses the contrast-detect AF system of its live view feature to accurately calculate the shift required for the phase-detect AF system (which is employed when shooting conventionally).

This new option is also available on the D500, which was launched at the same time as the D5, and will no doubt feature in future models.

Focus tracking with lock-on

This option allows the user to specify how to camera behaves when something passes between the camera and a subject on which the camera has its focus locked. Although it has been offered on previous Nikon models, the options here have been revised.

Whereas before you had the option of one of five levels of response – from short to long, as well as an ‘off’ option – Nikon has renamed the options to Quick and Delayed here. Control is once again offered over five levels, although this is now augmented by the further option to inform the camera of the nature of subject’s motion, from Steady to Erratic, over three levels.

Touchscreen

The D5 is the first model of its kind to offer a touchscreen, a feature that has long been used for focus-point selection on models aimed at a more junior and enthusiast audience. As we may expect, this same option is provided here when using live view, allowing the photographer to specify the focusing point with greater precision than offered by the phase-detect AF system (given that the camera is no longer using its 153 phase-detect AF points in live view).

Considering this is the first time we’ve seen this option on a camera of this level, it perhaps comes as little surprise that control over touch functionality is fairly rudimentary. The Touch Controls feature in the menu only offers the possibility of disabling or enabling touch control and the option to specify the direction in which images are displayed when swiping through them upon playback. Furthermore, while it’s possible to focus on the subject using the touchscreen, it’s not possible to set the camera to release the shutter once this happens – a fairly common option among other types of camera with touch control.

One thing that is useful when playing back images, however, is the option to zoom into the image to check focus, in exactly the same way as the Multi selector center button allows, by double-tapping the screen.

Multi selector center button

As with the D4s, the D5 allows you to determine exactly what happens when you press the Multi selector’s central button, whether you’re shooting conventionally or using live view, or when playing back images. Much of what happens here doesn’t necessarily have to concern focus, although it can be set up to provide the user with useful focusing options.

Nikon users will be familiar with the default option in the shooting mode, namely the return of the selected AF point to the center of the array, although you also have the option of setting this to select a preset point, or alternatively to do nothing.

You can also return the AF point to the centre of the array with this button when using live view, although the camera provides the further option of zooming into the scene to 50%, 100% or 200%, once again to allow focus and detail to be checked before you shoot (which is particularly useful when using manual focus).

Similarly, in the playback mode, although you can configure this control to display thumbnails or histograms of captured images, or even to sort images into slots and folders, what most photographers will no doubt find useful is the further option to zoom into captured images to check focus to one of the above three levels.

Point size and brightness adjustment

The addressable focusing points inside the viewfinder are now square in shape and smaller than those on previous models, which should help with precision. The assist points, meanwhile, are easily identifiable as they resemble small dots rather than boxes.

As on the D4s, it’s also possible to adjust the brightness of the focusing points over four levels; Low (-1), Normal (0), High (+1) and Extra High (+2). Normal is the default setting, although increasing point brightness could find itself useful when shooting against certain subjects, such as particularly bright ones or those mainly red in colour.

Assignment of focusing modes to function buttons

The D4s was designed with Pv and Fn1 buttons between the grip and lens mount on the front plate, and on the D5 these are joined by a further Fn2 button. These buttons can have all but the 3D Tracking focusing modes assigned to them for quick access. For example, the photographer can set the camera to access the Group Area AF mode with the Fn1 button, the 153-Point Dynamic Area AF option with the Fn button and the 27-Point Dynamic Area AF mode with the Pv button, or any other combination. These are not, however, the only buttons which can access these, so you can assign these options elsewhere if you prefer to have these three buttons accessing alternate settings.

Number of selectable focusing points

The D4s allowed all 51 of its AF points to be selected, with the option of limiting this to just 11 points where required. The new focusing system inside the D5 has changed this; you can now set the camera to display 55 points – the maximum that can be addressed – or 15 points.

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Tag Archives: Autofocus

Close-up: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II Autofocus System

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark II arrives with a revised 61-point AF system – we take a closer look.

Close Up: Nikon D5 AF Options

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