Autofocus walkthrough guide for the Canon 1D Mark IV

autofocus guide for the Canon 1D mark iv

Keep It Simple

The autofocus of the Canon 1D Mark IV (reviewed here, and talked a bit more about here) can get quite complicated… but fear not! These are my settings, when I shoot in CH and AI Servo on.

One thing to note: the autofocus tracking ability is vastly inferior to the Nikon D3s of the same year. I shot with both extensively. There is simply no comparison. The Nikon' was better from 2007 to 2019. Only with the 1Dx Mark III and the R5 that Canon finally took the lead again. Not saying it’s bad, we’re still talking about cameras that is used by 95% of the pros at Olympics and racing events: you just have to get to know the Canon system a bit more to make it work. If you don’t care about 3D tracking, or never tried it on a Nikon D3s and later, then you won’t know what I’m talking about. Both focus as fast then each other: just that the Canon doesn’t track as well. And that’s an understatement. Anyway. Enough talking. These are my settings!

Video first, then photos of the menu below.

Just a quick video for the ones that asked me to walk you through my settings!