Page 39 - Learning How to Photograph with your DSLR Camera 2nd Edition Jan 2021

AF-A (Nikon) or AI-Focus (Canon)
One of the newer and most useful modes is Auto depending on the situation. It gives
you the best of both worlds. It focuses on your subject if it is still or when it starts to
move. Think of weddings where you must shoot on the fly when the bride is stationary
and starts to move. The camera decides whether to use AF-S/One-Shot or AF-C/AI-
Servo

M (Manual Focus)

There are times you may need to manual focus your camera. A good example would be
focusing on something in the background when you have a lot of movement in the
foreground. Some high-end product photographers use this as well.

Focus Points

Now that you have a grasp on the different focus modes your camera has to offer, let’s
discuss focus points. Focus points are either round balls or squares appearing as
overlays in your viewfinder. When focus is achieved these focus points will change to
red or green indicating which focus points are used.
To change focus points types you either access the setting in the menu system or by
pushing a button and rotating the sub-command dial.

Figure 15 AF Points on a Nikon D4

The above is an example of a 51-point focusing system on a Nikon. You can see a
single point, 9 points, 11 points, 21 points, and 51 points. Not all the focus points may
be available for every focus mode and will vary by manufacturer and model.

Having all these focus points does not mean they will all be used, just that they are
available to the camera to use for focusing.

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