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Can any of you explain a little bit about each focus mode? When you would use each one etc? Thanks

Your best bet is to experiment Sax.

I?m at work so don?t have access to my 350D manual to get the terminology right.

I?ll do my best basically one of them focuses once when you half press the shutter it will lock on to the AF port you chose or if you chose to use all of them it will lock onto one it thinks is good

The other mode will keep re-focusing so try it change the focus mode and keep holding the shutter (half) down and move the camera around it should keep re-focusing.

If you move the camera so the scene is mostly background and then move it so there is a subject in the foreground you should see if keeping up with the focus.

There are too types to kind of focusing one of them I think is intelligent and can spot when where is a moving object and will switch that mode on where as if it cant spot a moving subject it will only use single focus mode, The other will always use the constant focusing

to sum up the above, theres oneshot, ai focus, ai servo

oneshot = only focus once per half press shutter

aifocus = smart mode which it stays in oneshot but if detect movement goes to aiservo

aiservo = continuous focusing, half press shutter and the af point select will keep focusing on watever it's on.

focus is alot better on 1D series than on any other canon camera.

to sum up the above, theres oneshot, ai focus, ai servo

oneshot = only focus once per half press shutter

aifocus = smart mode which it stays in oneshot but if detect movement goes to aiservo

aiservo = continuous focusing, half press shutter and the af point select will keep focusing on watever it's on.

focus is alot better on 1D series than on any other canon camera.

Cheers you explained that better than I did mine was franticly typed out during my lunch break lol.

How is the 1D?s focus better I know it has more focus point doesn?t it? I guess for the money it would just be better over all faster and more accurate?

Aiservo is fun I used that when I was messing with some shots of cars I?d use it to lock onto the car and use a slow shutter while panning the camera in the direction the car was traveling I ended up with cool shots where the BG was really blurry and the car in focus apart for the moving wheels.

I guess this is what you use for things like birds then

I'm pretty new to it as well. I just got my XTi last Christmas, and it was my first DSLR (my previous camera was a crappy old 3.2MP Sony point and shoot that I never used).

Looks like you're learning fast though (Y)

I know we should have a thread for this but....

So could you give examples of when you would use these modes?

Accesser has provided a good example of aiservo

I?d love to have more talk about tips and trick and info about how the photos where taken in this thread or another thread anyone else feel the same?

Sax as I sad in my other post I use ai-servo for the cars and other similar situations.

I don?t like the ai focus I?d rather tell the camera when I want one shot or ai servo.

One shot is good for most other kinds of shots where you don?t have a moving subject if you where shooting through trees for example ai servo might focus on the trees and not your intended subject.

Can anyone else give some good examples of when to use the different modes ?

Can anyone else give some good examples of when to use the different modes ?

One Shot is very useful for focusing on the subject you want. by half pressing the shutter, then keeping it halfpressed you can then recompose your image and you know you will still have the focus on your subject.

Servo would have automatically refocused on whatever the focus point was on.

It does depend on what you want, for sports servo is fantastic.

*Edit* Having said that, if i was trying to shoot motorbikers coming round a corner at 23984795 mph i would pre focus on a section of the track I know they will pass through, because servo might not be quick enough.

Cheers you explained that better than I did mine was franticly typed out during my lunch break lol.

How is the 1D?s focus better I know it has more focus point doesn?t it? I guess for the money it would just be better over all faster and more accurate?

Aiservo is fun I used that when I was messing with some shots of cars I?d use it to lock onto the car and use a slow shutter while panning the camera in the direction the car was traveling I ended up with cool shots where the BG was really blurry and the car in focus apart for the moving wheels.

I guess this is what you use for things like birds then

1d's focus is faster and more accurate as all of it's focus points are cross type sensor, yeah panning cars u can use ai servo + slow shutter to get the wheels spinning and bg blurred to create a sense of speed. for bird shots , use aiservo and fast shutter as a bird is rather small and flies rather fast and less predictable. for portraits as many know, use oneshot. for maybe taking pics of a little kid u can use aifocus, however i would use oneshot more. if u look at the 1d's function list, 1d only has aiservo and oneshot mode.

SergioLopes your photos were excellent.

There's some excellent stuff in this thread, and I agree with some earlier posts that it'd be interesting and useful if some more information/advice was given regarding how the pictures were taken. It's very useful for beginners as a lot of these photos are quite inspiring.

Small amount of ash (the white particles) from the fires in southern California. I live a couple miles from the Santiago Canyon fire, so it's extremely smokey, and ash is starting to fall more now. We're packing our stuff up in case we have to evacuate.

Ash_small.jpg

Edited by MasterC

1346660483_800a271ee4.jpg

Picture off my flickr, I'm not a professional photographer, but I'd like to start getting into it more.

Just took a great shot while I was in Las Vegas for vacation.

Been wanting to fix it up a bit in photoshop, maybe add a black boarder with a thin silver lining separating the picture and the boarder ;)

^ scary O_O

Yes it is. I just heard on the news that the Fire Authority determined that it was an arsonist who started the fire. :no:

Nice shot MasterC, the horizontal lines on the curb leads the eye right in to the center of the photo! :)

Thanks. It was kinda hard to do that because I had to lay on the ground. Now I have ash all over my shirt! :laugh:

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    • Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe review: your headphones will love it by Steven Parker If you have been reading Neowin for any length of time, you may remember that I reviewed the Sound Blaster Audigy FX Pro back in April. I found it to be an excellent budget sound card, even though it lacked support for formats such as DTS over the included SPDIF port. Anyway, Creative reached out to me again asking if I was interested in reviewing the Sound Blaster AE-X. It is a card mainly targeted at headphone wearers, which I'll get into a bit later. Before we get underway, here is a disclaimer: Creative Labs provided a free sample without any review pre-approval. Here are the full specs of it: Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Dimensions: 179 x 126 x 18 mm Weight: 263g / 9.28 oz Platform: PCI-e DAC: ESS ES9039Q2M Connectivity Options Side: Rear: 1 x HD Audio Front Panel Connector, 1 x ⅛“ Headphone port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Left) port, 1 x RCA Line-out (Right) port, 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port, 1 x ⅛“ Mic in/Line-in port, 1 x TOSLINK SPDIF-in port Surround: No DNR / SNR: THD+N: 0.0001% Dynamic Range 130 dB Recording Resolution: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Direct Mode: Line Out (Stereo): PCM up to 32-bit  384 kHz Coaxial SPDIF Out: PCM up to 24-bit 192.0 kHz Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 384kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 Output Impedance: 1Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 8–600Ω, IEM: 0.5Vrms, Low: 1.5Vrms, Mid: 3Vrms, High: 6Vrms, Maximum output power: 350mW @ 32Ω (High), Maximum output voltage: 6Vrms (High) Front Panel Headphone Amp: PCM up to 32-bit / 192kHz (Stereo) Native DSD: DSD64, DSD128 Output Impedance: 10Ω, Supported Headphone Impedance: 32–300Ω, Maximum output power: 40mW @ 32Ω, Maximum output voltage: 1.9Vrms ASIO: ASIO 2.3 Total Harmonic Distortion: THD+N: 0.0006% Dynamic Range: 114 dB Scout Mode: Yes EMI shielding: No (but it passed all the FCC emission tests) Operating temperature: 0–45°C Input Power: 12V⎓0.5A Warranty: 1 Year (MSRP) Price: $179.99 / £169.99 The Sound Blaster AE-X was announced at the end of May, and it becomes clear that it is mainly for headphone wearers. I should also note that the card does not support DDL/DTS encoding technology, but it is said to support decoding through the coaxial SPDIF port. I was able to test this working with the classic Windows Sound properties, but I could not get a DTS (decode) signal through my Logitech Z906, it defaulted to 3D sound whenever I played DTS content through Plex or Emby. In addition, this card only supports two channels (stereo) over the speakers. The surround support is limited to the Headphone Amp, so before I get underway, what we have here is a card mostly intended for headphone use, especially with its SPDIF In (Toslink) port where you could connect another device like a console. So what about the highlights of this card? The AE-X is powered by the ESS SABRE DAC (ES9039Q2M), which is capable of a 130 dB dynamic range. In addition, it supports 32-bit/384 kHz playback for deeper detail and clarity. The headphone amplifier delivers up to 350 mW @ 32Ω, which admittedly far surpasses standard onboard audio, offering support for studio-grade headphones. DSD256 and ASIO 2.3 are also supported. What doesn't it have? No support for What-U-Hear, Super X-Fi, or the SmartComms Kit No EMI shielding, but it passed all the FCC emission tests (from the FAQ) I also want to make it clear that I am no audiophile. For me, it's purely subjective and it should just "work" out of the box. First impressions As I said in the introduction, I was a bit sad to see that the AE-X only supports stereo output, meaning it would not be on par with my ALC1220 over my speakers, as I mentioned it seems like this card is marketed toward headphone users. Since I am not an avid gamer that would rule me out as a potential customer, but I can still test its capabilities! The card arrived in a nice-looking box, as shown above. It's quite a bit larger than the Audify FX Pro that I reviewed back in April, and at first I thought the covering meant that it was EMI shielded, but it isn't as mentioned above in the highlights section. What's in the box: 1 x Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe card 1 x 3.5 mm CTIA TRRS to Dual TRS Headset Splitter Cable 1 x Quick Start Guide Aside from the Quick Start Guide, which someone at my age (I guess) needs a magnifying glass to read thanks to the tiny fonts, Creative Labs also has the manual online, which first requires you to prove that you're human in order to access it (so I can't direct link it). Anyway, the box is mostly made up of cardboard, and the only plastic in it is the anti-static bag for the card itself. Design Top Bottom The card itself looks pretty cool and actually wouldn't look out of place in an all-white build. There's only one connector, and for some reason it is awkwardly placed on the side (front-facing) that is for the front panel audio connector, which will let you use the headphones through the front PC audio jack. Since the front panel Headphone Amp has fewer capabilities than the rear headphone port, I decided not to use it. Rear of card PCI-e interface The rear of the card is completely open and is normally where you would find the front panel connector. The PCIe interface side is completely covered, which initially made me think it was EMI shielded. I/O panel Side (front-facing) with Front panel connector On the outer rear bracket side we have the TOSLINK SPDIF in, Coaxial SPDIF out, RCA line out (Right), RCA line out (Left), Headphone out, and Mic/Line in ports. On the front facing portion of the card itself is the F-panel connector. Usage Test System Our test system consists of the following: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS F12) Corsair RM1000x (2024) Thermal Grizzly Kyronaut (33x33x0,2mm) 2x 32GB Kingston Fury Beast RGB DDR5 6000MT/s CL36-38-38-80 T-Force Z540 2TB (PCIe Gen5) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition (NVIDIA) Creative Sound Blaster AE-X Windows 11 25H2 Pro I installed the card into the Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER which includes the RealTek ALC1220 onboard audio. For our subjective listening tests, I used the Coaxial SPDIF port to my Logitech Z906 speakers. For headphone tests I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 Wireless DJ Headphones that I reviewed last month. After installing the audio driver, I installed Creative Nexus, which is a relatively new app designed for the latest Sound Blaster cards. Then I discovered the AE-X needed both a driver update from 1.00.15.0001 to 1.01.09.000 and a firmware update from 1.00.06.0000 to 1.00.06.0002, then I was set to go. It should be noted that the card did not work without the driver (not Plug and Play). As you can see above, you can manage the firmware, driver, and inputs via Advanced Settings on the Device tab. By default Nexus enabled "Direct Mode". Upon clicking on Acoustic Engine, the Equalizer can be enabled and set to four different presets, which are: Gaming Music Movies Footsteps Enhancer There's also a dedicated Scout Mode for gamers. I mainly used Tidal and Spotify in the past week to listen to some of my Liked Songs (which now total over 700) in Shuffle mode; there were no pops or interference that I could hear. I also found a 5.1 Surround Music playlist on Tidal that sounded really great over Studio Max 2 headphones. When I reviewed the Audigy FX Pro, I went out and purchased a Logitech Z906 set second-hand for €100 specifically to use with the card, but in this instance all I could get on the AE-X was the 3D output of surround sound through Coaxial SPDIF and although it still sounded great, it isn't quite as good as DTS Interactive via my onboard Realtek ALC1220. Conclusion So what have I learned? The AE-X lacks multi-channel support for 5.1/7.1 setups and drops support for modern surround technologies like Dolby or DTS, functioning strictly as a stereo output device. So to really benefit, you will need Studio-grade headphones to "hear" the benefits of this card. With that being said, I can imagine it will appeal to gamers who are switching between console and PC. By utilizing the SPDIF in port, you could just plug your headphones into the AE-X (front or rear port) and then switch between PC and Console without having to move the headphones to a different port. As I said in the Sound Blaster Audigy review, the EQ in the Creative Nexus app offers safe presets, which allows a user to further tweak the lows, mids, and highs for a personal listening experience. Of course it all depends on the headphones you hook up to it. Speaking of headphones, I kind of wish I had higher-quality Studio-grade headphones to really test this card with; I'm not usually wearing headphones in my day to day duties. The only time I will wear them is if I want to listen to music very late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors, so my rating (verdict) is based on this fact. Someone with a PC/Console setup and wears headphone religiously to game, and consume media will benefit much more than I from the high-quality Headphone Amps that are included in the AE-X. Once again, I do feel like Creative could have gone the extra mile to support the S/PDIF port a bit more. Why include it if you're not supporting the main popular digital formats? It seems like the decision was more of a legacy-based one, offering uncompressed 2-channel PCM audio, for users with high-fidelity audio systems and external DACs. Maybe I will be lucky enough to review a card that truly includes all these features in the future. I am sure readers with far more knowledge on audio systems than me will correct me in the comments below. I'll just say I am happy to learn what I don't know! Where to buy The Sound Blaster AE-X is available to purchase now in preorder for $179.99 on the U.S. Creative website, or for £169.99 on the Creative UK website and will start shipping to customers from June 25.
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    • Or... just use Bitwarden. Free, and has on-prem option as well. Works both on desktop and mobile, wherever you are. The age of local password files is over.
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    • I actually got to use one of those so called "backup codes" once. It was for a customer, I choose the backup code option, and by the grace of god, they actually hade them printed out. Imagine my surprise, when after using the backup code, Google then told use we had to enter a code they just sent to the gmail address we currently did not have access to. I was not amused, Google backup codes should be the end all get out of jail free card, because you had to have access to the account to even get them.
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