Canon 60D Focus Issues
Discussion
Hi all, I have just got myself a Canon 60D which is great. It is my first SLR camera so trying to get used to it. One issue. When i take photos one area seems to focus, but it is not necessarily the area I want. Is there a way of using autofocus but making the focus work on the area you want?
For example, in this pic, the focus is on the cat's back leg/fence. How would i make it focus on the cat's face but automatically, not manual focus(I am not that quick with the focus yet)?
Thanks for any help, Rus
For example, in this pic, the focus is on the cat's back leg/fence. How would i make it focus on the cat's face but automatically, not manual focus(I am not that quick with the focus yet)?
Thanks for any help, Rus
Somehow you will be able to select which focus point it uses, I think using the round jobbie on the back to scroll through them. No doubt the camera also has various auto settings which allow it to choose one itself (though it may not be the one you want!).
Time to read the little white book
Time to read the little white book
You are unlikely to get as accurate as the AF system using manual focus - unless also using a tripod, taking time and working with Live View. Modern cameras are not usually terribly helpful with manual focus aids if speed is required.
The way the camera focuses depends on the settings in use. If you example image is the full frame you shot (not a crop) then I would sugges that the cat's back leg is likely to be outside the aread in which the camera has focus points. That in turn suggests that you are using a setting that allows the camera to freeze the focus, probably when the shutter button is half pressed but there other ways the 'freeze' can be enacted, and then moving the camer to recompose. Nothing wrong with thst - its a well used technique and has been for many a decade - but you need to know what the limitations are. The camera,, in that mode, will have done all it was going to do for you.
With a moving subject (or a moving photographer) freezing the focus may not be ideal - it tends to work well for Landscape, still life shots and maybe portraits - that sort of thing - but less well in other situations especially when the moving subject is relatively close and therefore the distance within the scene that appears to be in focus (Read up on Depth of Field) is quite shallow.
Apart from choosing which focus point to use (and maybe AIServo mode) the other option is to ensure you refocus when the subject moves, then recompose and take the shot very quiuckly before it moves again. However, goos as this technique can be, it means you are not using a fair amount of the technology you paid good money to obtain.
Check the User Guide for full operational descriptions. It should be quite absorbable if you take it one subject at a time as the need arises. At least with a digital camera it is easy, quick and inexpensive to learn by experimentation. One of the benefits of the modern age.
The way the camera focuses depends on the settings in use. If you example image is the full frame you shot (not a crop) then I would sugges that the cat's back leg is likely to be outside the aread in which the camera has focus points. That in turn suggests that you are using a setting that allows the camera to freeze the focus, probably when the shutter button is half pressed but there other ways the 'freeze' can be enacted, and then moving the camer to recompose. Nothing wrong with thst - its a well used technique and has been for many a decade - but you need to know what the limitations are. The camera,, in that mode, will have done all it was going to do for you.
With a moving subject (or a moving photographer) freezing the focus may not be ideal - it tends to work well for Landscape, still life shots and maybe portraits - that sort of thing - but less well in other situations especially when the moving subject is relatively close and therefore the distance within the scene that appears to be in focus (Read up on Depth of Field) is quite shallow.
Apart from choosing which focus point to use (and maybe AIServo mode) the other option is to ensure you refocus when the subject moves, then recompose and take the shot very quiuckly before it moves again. However, goos as this technique can be, it means you are not using a fair amount of the technology you paid good money to obtain.
Check the User Guide for full operational descriptions. It should be quite absorbable if you take it one subject at a time as the need arises. At least with a digital camera it is easy, quick and inexpensive to learn by experimentation. One of the benefits of the modern age.
When you have more than 1 active focus point on canons they will always focus on the closest subject under them (in single shot af).
So if you have (*and this is default I think) all the focus points enabled then ti will focus on the closest thing in the viewfinder pretty much.
What you want to do is switch it to use just one focus point at a time ( go for the center one) and move it around when you need to.
Theres a bunch of other stuff, like how its better to use a (single) focus point over what you want in focus rather than half press & recompose, & how its also better to remove focus from the shutter button and just use the af-on button on the back of the camera etc.
AI servo is canons tracking focus, I normally use this along with back button focusing but its really only meant for shooting things that move. With this the setup is a bit more complex depending on how you want it to work but single point is still fairly straight forward.
So if you have (*and this is default I think) all the focus points enabled then ti will focus on the closest thing in the viewfinder pretty much.
What you want to do is switch it to use just one focus point at a time ( go for the center one) and move it around when you need to.
Theres a bunch of other stuff, like how its better to use a (single) focus point over what you want in focus rather than half press & recompose, & how its also better to remove focus from the shutter button and just use the af-on button on the back of the camera etc.
AI servo is canons tracking focus, I normally use this along with back button focusing but its really only meant for shooting things that move. With this the setup is a bit more complex depending on how you want it to work but single point is still fairly straight forward.
Thanks for all the help, this explains it really well for me and I can see where I have been going wrong. I have found the scroll to select a single focal point, that works really well. I have also reacquainted myself with the user guide, but you know how it is when you get a new toy, you want to learn by using, not reading! Having uploaded my first weekends photos to the computer I can really see the difference in quality, they look great.
You might find this helpful, I did: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-60D-Snapshots-Grea...
It's more interesting than the manual, as it shows you in pictures.
It's more interesting than the manual, as it shows you in pictures.
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