[toni-a]

I am considering upgrading my gear in a few months, I am not a student anymore so money is not a problem <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



Don't care about brand, full frame or crop, pixel count etc...

I need a camera with a high performance autofocus, I need the autofocus points to cover all the frame and be very acurate, since I will be using fast glass.

what annoys me most on my 30D, is that autofocus points are all close to the center, I often have to recompose after focusing.

What's the point of having more than 50 AF points if they are all close to the center ??

Basically I shoot everything, ok I am mainly a portraits shooter, but I often do nature photography, I also shoot sometimes sports and weddings, that's why I am demanding.

Which camera body would you recommend ?

[janez]

d300s

nice day janez

[toni-a]

just looked at the specifications, nothing impressive, no AF in the upper and lower third of the frame,all AF points close to the center

[mst]

If you want really wide frame coverage of the AF system, then you need to look at crop cameras, not full frame.



And of all the crop cameras I've tried myself, the D300 AF covers the largest part of the image frame. There currently is no wider AF coverage, at least not for DSLRs.



It's possible of course to allow complete frame coverage with contrast based AF, like in the mirrorless systems. But with those you lack speed and precision (in servo mode).



-- Markus

[toni-a]

you mean that a camera like 7D could be ideal for this job ??

I am used to Canon system so if 7D and D300 are the same in this aspect, i would go for 7D

[Guest]

[quote name='toni-a' date='04 June 2010 - 08:21 PM' timestamp='1275675687' post='213']

just looked at the specifications, nothing impressive, no AF in the upper and lower third of the frame,all AF points close to the center

[/quote]



I don't see anything better than the D300 among any of the major brands. There's no AF points in the upper and lower *quarter* of the frame, and sideways they leave only 1/8 of the frame empty in each side. That's a lot of AF points to scroll through, though.



-Lars

[toni-a]

compared to 7D is the difference big enough to justify a swith from canon ?

[Brightcolours]

No, the difference between the D300(s) and all other APS-C cameras is marginal.

D300:

http://gallery.techarena.in/data/601/Nikon-D300-Digital-Camera-Viewfinder.jpg



7D:

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/10107279-lg.jpg



As you can see, a little bit wider for the D300, and vertically the 7D has the advantage.



It has to do with the optics needed for the phase detect AF module, that AF point distribution is the way it is.

[Nick]

The 7D has the advantage that all its focus points are cross type, too. In truth I don't think there's much practical difference between the 7D and D300s in use. I bought one a few weeks ago for sports and wildlife photography, and have been mightily impressed with its overall performance. One thing you do have to do with it, though, is spend some time learning how the AF works and how to set it up to best cope with your shooting style and lenses - manually selecting focus points in high-speed use isn't recommended! It's time well spent. It also produces great all-round results for general photography, although it's a bit of a shock to have to go back to sharpening everything after using a 5D II for a year, but that's another story.

[Guest]

[color="#0000ff"][size="2"][url="http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2010/05/ps-but-not-to-george.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FZSjz+%28The+Online+Photographer%29"]Standard answer [/url][/size][/color] [size="2"][color="#efefef"][color="#000000"]to folks looking for advice on camera choice:



" 1. Do your level best to get something you really, really like.



2. Make a promise to yourself—set a time goal in order to limit the time you might waste shopping and the money you might waste buying successive iterations of the same item. The best experiences I've had with new cameras were when I invested in exactly what I wanted and promised myself in advance that I'm going to commit to it for a certain period of time. I committed to the M6 for one year, and used it for nearly three; the OM-4T for three years, and used it for nearly five. Both experiences were great—very focused on pictures as opposed to gear. It's fun to shop, but it's crucial to stop.



3. While you own something, no matter what it is, use it as hard as you can and enjoy it."[/color]

[/color][/size]