A is for Auto Focus

Learning the focus functionality of a DSLR camera can very quickly become overwhelming, especially when reading the manual for the first time. The manufacturer's manual-writers freely use terminology like AF-S and AF-C, and they differentiate between things like Autofocus Mode and AF-Area Mode. Why couldn't there be just one mode? It's a whole new language you have to learn before you can truly maximize the functionality of your DSLR camera, and, as many of us have learned, language and terminology is different for the same things depending on what manufacturer made your camera. I happen to "speak" Nikon and have steared clear of also learning a lot of the lingo of my husband's Canon because, well ... quite frankly, I confuse easily, and I really want to learn to use my camera first and foremost.

So let's drill down on the subject of focus, and auto-focus to be more specific. I may be over simplifying this but forgive me, I'd like to make your lives a little bit easier so you can get out from behind that manual and into the field shooting. Quite simply, at the start, there are THREE DECISIONS TO MAKE ABOUT FOCUS and they will determine the settings you'll select on your camera.

Will you be shooting using Autofocus or Manual Focus?
Will your subject be stationary or moving?
What area of the frame do you want/need to be in focus?

WILL YOU BE SHOOTING USING AUTOFOCUS (AF) OR MANUAL FOCUS (M), i.e. will you let the camera do the focusing or you will you be doing it

When I started, I shot everything with Autofocus (AF) on and I still start out almost every shoot that way, as it helps me focus (no pun intended) my attention, up front, on composition. However, much of what I shoot these days is stationary, like food, or close-up like flowers, and I want a specific part of the image to be perfectly in focus, so I will change the selector to M for manual - REMEMBERING TO CHANGE THE SETTING ON THE LENS TO MANUAL TOO (if necessary).

WILL YOUR SUBJECT BE STATIONARY OR MOVING? The answer will determine what "Autofocus mode" you will select.

In the world of DSLRs, there are generally three choices here and again your choice is based on the movement of your subject:

AF-S (Single focus): Choose if your subject is stationary. (S for stationary.) [This would be One Shot Mode in Canon speak.]

AF-C (Continuous focus): Choose if your subject is in continuous motion (C for Continuous.) [This would be Al Servo in Canon speak.]

AF-A (Automatic focus): Choose if you don't know if your subject may be stationary or continually moving, so your camera will automatically choose AF-S or AF-C depending on what it detects your subject is doing. (A is for Automatic selection.) [This would be Al Focus in Canon speak.]

WILL YOUR SUBJECT BE TAKING UP ALL OR SOME OF THE FRAME AS IT STAYS STATIONARY OR MOVES, i.e. what area of the frame do you want/need to be in focus? The answer will determine which "AF-Area Mode" you will choose.

Recently I acquired a Nikon D7000 which has up to 39 points of focus so I now have more choices than I did say with my first DSLR the D60, but conceptually nothing has changed. Allow me to keep it simple for now by describing the D60s three choices:

Closest Subject which, in reality, is an automatic mode defaulting to focusing on the closest subject detected by the camera in the frame.

Single Point which allows you to specifically select a single focus point within your frame.

Dynamic Area which allows you to select a point of focus but if the subject moves/leaves that point of focus the camera will focus based on information from the surrounding points of focus. In the case of the D60 there are only three, organized horizontally across the frame, whereas other models have many more distributed throughout the frame.

So, to recap, remember to think like your camera (you remember C is for Camera - Think Like One), "To give this photographer what he/she wants, how should I be set up?"

Questions to ask?