Focus Points?

what does everyone have their focus points set too?

I always have it set to the center one and when i take a photo, i use it to focus on the subject and then recompose the shot.... is there anything wrong with the way i do it?

should i be selecting focus points for every situation?

Nothing wrong with the way you do it. I use the center focus point too. Just be careful with shallow DOF, as re-composing the shot could be enough to move your subject out of focus... for shallow DOF, it's usually best to use a selective focus point to keep from recomposing.

I manually select focus points for every situation. On the 5D I use the joystick directly.

On the 1D4 I use the wheels mostly and the feature that allows me to toggle points between center and one other. The 1D4 also automatically changes points between two manually selected ones when you change camera orientation.

thanks for the advice

Whichever one lets me get the shot.

I have my 50D set up for AF point selection using the joystick, and I use whichever point best suits what I'm shooting.

Or if I'm feeling lazy, I use center point, focus and recompose.

Veemac wrote in post #9934956
I have my 50D set up for AF point selection using the joystick, and I use whichever point best suits what I'm shooting.

Or if I'm feeling lazy, I use center point, focus and recompose.

+1 on both

JeffreyG wrote in post #9930526
I manually select focus points for every situation. On the 5D I use the joystick directly.

On the 1D4 I use the wheels mostly and the feature that allows me to toggle points between center and one other. The 1D4 also automatically changes points between two manually selected ones when you change camera orientation.

Does the 5D make it quick/easy to do this? Maybe I'm just not used to it, but I'm kind of slow on my Rebel.

peterlcole wrote in post #9935997
Does the 5D make it quick/easy to do this? Maybe I'm just not used to it, but I'm kind of slow on my Rebel.

One of the biggest differences between a Rebel series camera and a xxD series camera like a 40D or 50D is that the bigger body allows for much better ergonomics. You're not paying for better image quality because the sensors are pretty much the same. You're paying for things like improved ergonomics and a better AF system so that it is easier to get good image quality under different conditions. When you move to the xxD series you get a little joystick control and a large wheel control on the back of the camera. You get the ability to configure the camera to choose the method of AF selection that you prefer. And you get higher quality non-center AF points so AF doesn't suffer as much of you are using them.

In terms of size and ergonomics, the 5D series are basically just full-frame versions of the xxD series.

Veemac wrote in post #9934956
I have my 50D set up for AF point selection using the joystick, and I use whichever point best suits what I'm shooting.

Or if I'm feeling lazy, I use center point, focus and recompose.

I operate the same way except I use the center point more often than not. I shoot a lot of air shows and I have trouble keeping the center point on a fast moving aircraft. In this case I'll usually activate all the focus points and let the camera choose. There's usually nothing else up there for the camera to focus on accidentally.

I never understood why would anyone want to limit him/herself to center af point only. Sure sometimes you can recompose, but as soon as you start shooting something moving, you can forget about recomposing, yet people still stick with center af point. Yes I know, center af point on low(er) end cameras is cross type, while others are not (even on 1dmk2 only 7 or 9 (I don't remember right number now) af points are cross type, while rest are not, and I never had problems shooting things flying at you at 100+km/h with non-cross type af points).
So my suggestion is to pick any point you want to fit your composition. If cameras would be intended to use with center af point only, then they wouldn't bother implementing another 6, 8, or 44 af points into them

Center, I do exactly what the OP does.

I used to select specific AF points on crop bodies. Then stuck with centre AF and recompose when I went FF. Even when I had 1D/1Ds bodies, I just stuck with centre AF.

Whichever works for you.

peterlcole wrote in post #9935997
Does the 5D make it quick/easy to do this? Maybe I'm just not used to it, but I'm kind of slow on my Rebel.

I LOVE the joystick on my 40D. That's probably the only thing I don't like about the ergonomics on my Xsi (I can deal with the lack of rear wheel)

It's REALLY easy to switch AF points quicky with a XXD or XD body.

krb wrote in post #9936144
One of the biggest differences between a Rebel series camera and a xxD series camera like a 40D or 50D is that the bigger body allows for much better ergonomics. You're not paying for better image quality because the sensors are pretty much the same. You're paying for things like improved ergonomics and a better AF system so that it is easier to get good image quality under different conditions. When you move to the xxD series you get a little joystick control and a large wheel control on the back of the camera. You get the ability to configure the camera to choose the method of AF selection that you prefer. And you get higher quality non-center AF points so AF doesn't suffer as much of you are using them.

In terms of size and ergonomics, the 5D series are basically just full-frame versions of the xxD series.

Yeah, I wish I could have gone a step up from the XSi. But, financially speaking, it was that or no camera at all.

egordon99 wrote in post #9942262
I LOVE the joystick on my 40D. That's probably the only thing I don't like about the ergonomics on my Xsi (I can deal with the lack of rear wheel)

It's REALLY easy to switch AF points quicky with a XXD or XD body.

I'll get there... someday