Hello!
When to use only one AF point and when to use all seven.
Is there any reason to select any number between 1 and 7?
Greetings........................Wojtek..................
ive gotta say everytime ive used 7 point af on the 10D ive been thoroughly let down.
in crowd shots, it focuses on the wrong person, and in motorsport shots it seems to focus on the background and completely blur the subject. I use the centre AF point on the 10D 99.9% of the time with 99.9% success
Same here, When I got the 10D I thought I had a bad copy because I couldn't get what I wanted in focus. Switched to centre point, problem solved and I've never switched back.
Similar to what others have said, soon after I started using a 10D, I found that, if I stuck with the manually selected center point, the AF was accurate and reliable. Whenever I tried to use all 7 focus points, it was anyone's guess what it was going to choose to focus on, and it rarely chose to focus on the subject that I would have wanted it to focus on.
Les
I am probably simple but I could never see the reason for several focus points. After all, you need to know what is going to be in focus and using the central one makes that clear.
Could someone come up with a really good reason for using them all?
paulhodson wrote:
I am probably simple but I could never see the reason for several focus points. After all, you need to know what is going to be in focus and using the central one makes that clear.
Could someone come up with a really good reason for using them all?
Ski jumpers against a clear, blue sky.
Actually, if you're shooting in AI Focus or AI Servo mode, you can note what the focus locks on when you half press the shutter release, and while it's half-pressed the camera will pretty reliably continue to track that object as it moves across several different focus points.
Hello!
Thanks for all answer.I had same experience,but as a newbie I want to make sure about it.
It would be nice to select more then one AF point...
Greetings...........Wojtek..............
RDKirk wrote:
Ski jumpers against a clear, blue sky.
Actually, if you're shooting in AI Focus or AI Servo mode, you can note what the focus locks on when you half press the shutter release, and while it's half-pressed the camera will pretty reliably continue to track that object as it moves across several different focus points.
Well I knew there had to be a reason! Pretty limited then in most cases as far as I am concerned. Still - thanks for the answer
cklugewicz wrote:
I agree completely. I never use the 7 point AF -- always pick my point (the center, most of the time -- I'll crop the shot later in PS).
-- Chris
Unless you are shooting wide open with very shallow DOF, why don't you just focus with the center point and RECOMPOSE? Don't waste the pixels on the crop.
I only have 3 AF points on my D30 and they are way too few! Consider yourself lucky that you have 7 on your 10D..
When to use the non-middle AF points? When shooting portraits wide-open, macros and when using E-TTL flash. Focus-lock and recompose works for your point and shoot digital with near infinite depth of field, but when you only have a few millimeters of depth of field, focus lock and recompose doesn't work anymore. Think: focus on the eyes in the portrait - recompose the camera - eyes now out of focus. Likewise for macro shots where the subject is off-center - there's no way using the center focussing point only will work at high magnifications.
E-TTL. If you only use the center-focussing point, you are forced to use FEL everytime in order to get reliable exposures. Selecting and using the side AF points is way faster and more convenient than FEL-ing every shot.
When to use ALL 3 or 7 or 45 AF points?
When using AI servo and it is too difficult to track the subject with only the center focussing point (e.g. fast moving objects like flitty butterflies - try tracking them with only the center AF point! I assure you that you will be giddy with exhaustion trying to keep up with the butterfly!). In this instance, the more AF points you have covering the image area, the faster and more accurate your AF servo speed will be. Imagine my frustration with only 3 AF points (and so narrowly-spaced at that too) - you should be glad you have 7 or 9 or 45!
Sep 02, 2004 at 12:00 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
paulhodson wrote:
I am probably simple but I could never see the reason for several focus points. After all, you need to know what is going to be in focus and using the central one makes that clear.
Could someone come up with a really good reason for using them all?
nutek wrote:
I only have 3 AF points on my D30 and they are way too few! Consider yourself lucky that you have 7 on your 10D..
Thanks - I knew there was a reason there somewhere and I understand what you say. In practice then for most of my photography the one will do - but when I get that 85mm f1.2 - the others are being switched on as well.
I assure you that you will be giddy with exhaustion trying to keep up with the butterfly!). In this instance, the more AF points you have covering the image area, the faster and more accurate your AF servo speed will be. Imagine my frustration with only 3 AF points (and so narrowly-spaced at that too) - you should be glad you have 7 or 9 or 45! 
