Multiple focus points and usage.

[JG777]

Hello All,

I guess this may be one for the more advanced minded among you but I am interested to know what the advantage s/disadvantages of say 9 focus points or more actually are?

When or what type of shooting do you guys with Canons and Nikons benefit from this? I imagine maybe sports photography but what about stills and landscapes? Are there situations where the camera focuses on the wrong point and it needs manual intervention to rectify this? Can this function actually hold you up when shooting? Does anyone actually switch off these points and set their cameras to just the central one?

The reason I ask is that my camera has only 3 but I very nearly always set it to use only the central cross sensor and recompose if need be. I find this very reliable, especially where portraits are concerned as a few times one of the outer sensors has focused somewhere other than the eyes where I was aiming for critical focus. I know at sometime in the future I will upgrade to possibly an E3 now I have some decent glass, and was just wondering what advantages this functionality gives you. Would be interested in seeing a discussion on this.

 

[pxl8]

On the rare occasion I use all 9 points it's in AI servo mode with slower moving subjects as the camera does a pretty good job of handing control from one point to another.

Normally I will use the central point but sometimes I'll switch to a different point, eg. the right hand point (top in portrait) for people so the focus locks on their face without having to recompose. Canon actually say that focus then recompose is a big cause of OOF shots as the AF is far more accurate these days and the change in angle at close range is enough to go OOF again. I have the thumbstick set up to shift focus point quickly when in shooting mode so it's very easy to switch when I need to.

Using all the points also affects evaluative metering which is weighted towards whichever point(s) locked so that can be a factor in choosing as well.

 

[oldgit]

wot he said

 

[Forbiddenbiker]

I found myself wanting more focus points with wildlife togging, I only have five points on my d70 and find myself fighting to get the compositions and auto focus at the same time on moving subjects, I often end up going manual focus just so I can take the compositions as they come along...

... and dream about the D200.