I. CAMERA FEATURESAND OPERATION 20
Background
Both AFPSand Single Point AF are useful in shooting sports. A single point is generally
bestin team sports like football, basketball, soccer, and hockey. AFPSis good for sports
like baseball, some trackand field, and many individual sports like skiing, skating, etc.
AFPSis also useful in team sports like football or soccer where the player has broken
free ofa large pack and the main scene is composed of only one or two players.
Like sports, wildlife photographyhas situations where different focusing methods are
helpful. AFPSfor birds in flight, single running animals in the open; and Single Point AF
for birdsin a tree or nest, or animals lurking in woods or tall plants.
The idea here isthat the photographer can make that call on-the-fly while shooting,
rather than trying to anticipate prior to bringing the camera to the eye whatmethod
would be best.
Mostspor tsshooters prefer to use a rear button on the camera for focusing rather
than using the shutter in itshalfway position. There are several advantages to working
thisway.
•The photographer can capture focus on the subject well in advance of shooting the
image withoutworrying about pre-metering or accidentally firing a shot.
•The camera can stay in focus on a single subject for longer periods of time (e.g.,
waiting for a batter to swing) and when ready, the photographer can shootwith better
camera responsiveness.
•While pressing the AELock button in this mode, you have AI Servo tracking focus. Let
go ofthe button and you are now locked at that distance (as if you were in One-Shot).
And with Canon EFlenses that have Full-Time Manual focusing, including all USM
lenseswith distance scales, you now have manual focus… all three focusing options
available withouthaving to take your eye from the finder.
Operation
Assign AFPSas your Home Position (HP). Then go back and set any single or double
focusing pointwith the AF Point Selection Button. Most photographers would probably
setthe center point depending on what they’re shooting, but any focusing point can be
selected ifit’s compositionally more pleasing.
Now you have two buttonson the back of the camera that activate focus. When you look
into the finder you willsee the single or double AF point you’ve chosen. Hold in the AE
Lock(*) button with your thumb and the camera will servo focus at that point. Or, hold
in the AssistButton and the camera will servo focus using AFPS (see information on
AFPSwith AI Servo earlier in this document). Or, focus the lens manually at any time.
In thisway, you can choose, while looking at your subject through the viewfinder, which
method ismore effective or appropriate to that subject without the distraction of taking
your eye offthe subject.