61-point AF system: AF Area Selection Mode
Tag: EOS-1D X, EOS-1D C, EOS 5D Mark III, Autofocus, 61-point AF

AF area selection mode is first introduced in EOS 7D. It is something that has been well received and much requested on other models. Accordingly, the 61-point AF system features six different AF area selection modes to cope with various scene and subjects, brining much greater flexibility to photographers.


Introduction to AF Area Selection Modes

Single-point Spot AF

You can manually select one of the 61 AF points. The area of focus is even smaller than Single-point AF. Effective when focusing on a small area, such as the pupil of an eye, or when competing distances make it hard to focus—photographing lion though tall grasses, for example. Focusing may be difficult during hand-held photography or with a moving subject as the focusing area is smaller and keeping the AF point on the subject will become more difficult.


Single-point AF

The default AF point selection method. You can manually select one of the 61 AF points.


AF point expansion (4 points)

Focusing uses a manually selected AF point and the four adjacent points above, below, and on both sides of the selected point. Useful when shooting a moving subject that is hard to follow with Single-point AF.
*In AI Servo AF mode, the subject has to first be focused with a manually selected AF point.


AF point expansion (Surrounding points)

Focusing uses a manually selected AF point and the eight surrounding points. Useful when shooting a moving subject that is hard to follow with Single-Point AF.
*In AI Servo AF mode, the subject has to first be focused with a manually selected AF point.


Zone AF

Focusing uses one of the 9 zones divided among the 61 AF points. In any AF mode, AF points will be automatically selected from all points within the selected zone, with the camera generally focusing on the nearest subject. Effective when shooting a moving subject that maybe hard to follow with Single-point AF or AF point expansion.


61-point automatic selection AF

In One-Shot AF mode, the camera generally focuses on the nearest subject. Active AF points will be shown when focus achieved.
In AI Servo AF, the user can manually select an AF point as the autofocus starting point. After initial focus is acquired, the camera automatically changes AF points to continue to cover a subject across the entire 61-point AF array.


Selection of AF Area Selection Mode


Tips

Limiting the selectable AF Area Selection Mode
You can limit the selectable AF area selection mode to suit your shooting subjects and preferences, this can make the selection of AF area selection mode faster and more direct.