AF point question!

[barryburgard]

I was wondering how others use the AF point selection. That is, do you let the camera set the point automatically or do you manually select the point? If you select the point, which point do you select (I have the 300D)? What are the advantages / disadvantages of manual selection?

Barry

[tim]

I never let the camera choose the focus point. I use centre focus point most of the time, but when i'm shooting theatre with an F1.8 lens I change the focus point to suit the shot i'm taking at the time. With large apertures focus-recompose can easily spoil you focus. Note that the centre focus point is meant to be more sensitive and accurate.

The advantage of choosing your own focus point is with large apertures you get exactly what you want in focus - and what you want is usually the eyes of the person. If the camera chooses it you might get more of the whole person in focus, but what you really need are the eyes.

[PacAce]

I was wondering how others use the AF point selection. That is, do you let the camera set the point automatically or do you manually select the point? If you select the point, which point do you select (I have the 300D)? What are the advantages / disadvantages of manual selection?

Barry
The center AF point is the most sensitive of all the AF points. So, whenever possible, especially in difficult lighting situations or when using slow lenses, it's best to use the center AF point. Of course, you can also use the other AF points if you bear in mind that the focusing may not be as accurate compared to using the center AF point. As for the auto AF point selection, I wouldn't really recommend using it in Single Shot or AI Focus mode unless absolutely necessary.

[barryburgard]

Thank you for your help. I will be using the center AF point from now on unless I have a good reason to use automatic.

Barry

[martcol]

People who do portrait work tend to select a side AF point which will then locate on the eyes when the camera is sideways. Me, I tend to let the camera choose cos a) I'm lazy and b) when I set something I always forget to set it back. Like I always shoot at ISO 800 the day after a night shoot even in the sun. It never dawns that shooting everything at 1/8000 is natures way of telling you your stupid!

Back to the point - I only really use a selected AF Point if I need to reassure myself that I gave the camera every chance to focus on the right bit.

Regards

Martin