After trying numerous recommendations for setting Canon's AI Servo AF, I am getting only the rare in-focus picture of small birds in flight in their native environment. Based on this I have formed an opinion wrt the performance limits of Canon's "AI Servo AF". However, as this is a Q&A forum, and not a discussion forum, I'll pose my question as follows:
QUESTION:
Does anyone have an objective test (or series of tests) that clearly show the limits of Canon's AI Servo AF to track and maintain focus on subjects in motion?
I do not have a great deal of experience in wildlife photography. Perhaps the "limits" are exclusively mine. When one searches online for information that documents "limitations" of Canon's AI Servo AF, there is virtually nothing critical of its performance. Yet, it's fairly simple to set up a test that shows the system consistently fails to track a moving subject. I've posted a short video on a makeshift "tracking test" I set up since originally posting this question.
A few points:
My home-made "tracking test" is not intended to be the final word on the subject; it's simply a point of departure. And FWIW, I found if I zoomed my lens in on the "moving subject" in this video, the tracking improved. Could image size in the frame be a limiting variable?
I chose a black subject because the wall was white, and I wanted to present the AF system with a high contrast subject against the background. I assumed that contrast was a limiting factor for AF performance, and so my intent here was to start with an "easy" subject to track.
I'm aware that there are a lot of very sharp in-focus pictures of birds in flight posted on the Internet. However, it seems that most of these pictures are large birds against a contrasting background (e.g. blue sky).
Based on some comments and answers received so far, my question seems to have caused some to feel that the objective of my question is defamation, or even a rant. This is not the case. I am asking this question here because I want to learn if my camera is capable of capturing the images I want. If not, I am prepared to try other approaches.