Question for photographers

Re: Question for photographers

• libbyann member

  April 2009

  I like selecting focal points because it gives me more control over where the focus falls in the picture...For example, I can put the focal point over an eye and not worry about where the focus will fall...does that make sense?

  ETA: It also helps me see compositions in my head better. That may just be me, but I find that I don't center everything or compose everything the same way if I'm moving focal points around. I learned to shoot like this though, so it may not make a big difference if you're already used to focusing and then recomposing. 
  

  To do it on a 20D - 

  Menu > Custom Functions (in the yellow part)

  Scroll to Function 13 (AF point selection method), hit the middle button on the wheel and scroll to 1: Multi-controller direct. Hit the middle button on the wheel to select.

  When you're taking a picture, you'll use the little joystick in the back to move the focus points around - you can tell which focal point is selected by which one is highlighted with a red box. If you press the joystick in (like a button), it'll select the center focal point. 

  HTH!
  

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• abbysmom1005

  April 2009

  libbyann:

  I like selecting focal points because it gives me more control over where the focus falls in the picture...For example, I can put the focal point over an eye and not worry about where the focus will fall...does that make sense?

  
  

  HTH!
  

   

  Yeah, that does make sense.  But,  you accomplish the same thing by focusing on that point, say an eye, (with the focus point set in the middle)  and re-cropping.

  That is just the way I learned, but was thinking maybe it was better/easier or gave some sort of advantage doing it the other way. Not sure if it is worth it to learn a new way. kwim   Unless there really is a huge advantage to the way the shot turns out.  Have you tried both ways? Do you see a difference in the final photo?
  

   

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• batsteph

  April 2009

  I do it the same way you do, abbysmom. ?Way back when I first took up photography, there was no such thing as a DSLR (heck, there was no such thing as D!) and my first camera was a fully manual Canon A1. ?You did what you needed to do. ?There are lots of more technically advanced ways to do things now, but I still do many of them the old-fashioned way.

  That's a really good question, though. ?Is there an advantage to choosing your focus point through the camera's interface??

  

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• Mrs.Purdue

  April 2009

  It actually will help your focus in your pics if you select your focus points.  I started out just letting my camera pick the focal point, then i moved to the center point + recompose, and now I select the correct focus point.  If you select the center focus point and then recompose, there's a chance that your subject will no longer be on the same plane once you move the camera, which would cause the focus to fall on something else. This is especially true for wide open aperatures and in cases where your subject is moving closer or further away from your camera. 

  Also - what libby was describing is how to use back button focusing (i think - i have an XTi, but I think it's pretty similar to the 20D).   I've just started using this technique, but it's taken me a while to get there.  If you want your camera to behave just like it is now (press shutter halfway to lock the focus point), then you can simply press button next to the * button (it should have a little box with smaller boxes inside it).  Then you can use your joystick or the turny-wheel to select a different point.  once you have the one selected that you want, you're set. 

  Here's an article that explains (mathematically) why selecting focus points is more accurate than center + recompose:  

  https://visual-vacations.com/Photography/focus-recompose_sucks.htm
  

   

   

    
  

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