What are focus points?
Focus points, also called AF points, are the locations in the frame where the camera’s autofocus system measures focus. In a viewfinder they appear as small squares or dots. When you half-press the shutter button, the camera uses the active point or points to judge how far off focus is and drives the lens to correct it. Placing a point over your subject is how you tell the camera what matters.
Does the number of focus points matter?
A bigger number sounds better, and a higher count can help, but it is not the whole story. These matter at least as much:
- Coverage: how much of the frame the points span. Many DSLRs cluster points near the center, so subjects near the edges can be hard to focus on directly. Many mirrorless cameras cover most of the frame.
- Point type and sensitivity: some points work better in low light or with wide-aperture lenses.
- Tracking and detection: face, eye and subject detection can matter more than point count for people, animals and vehicles.
- Speed and accuracy of the lens.
For still subjects, a modest number of well-placed points is plenty. For moving subjects, coverage and tracking are the useful parts.
Focus area modes
Most cameras offer a ladder of choices from narrow to broad:
- Single point or spot: you choose one point. This is the most precise option.
- Expanded or flexible point: one chosen point with neighbors helping if the subject drifts.
- Zone or group: a cluster of points covers a region. Good for erratic movement within a limited area.
- Wide or auto area: the camera chooses. Quick, but it may lock onto the nearest or most contrasty object.
- Tracking: after you select a subject, the camera follows it around the frame.
Names differ between manufacturers, so look in your manual.
What does 1-point AF mean?
It is the single point setting. The camera uses only the one point you select, which gives control and predictability. It is often used for portraits, landscapes, macro and any situation where you need the eye, a flower stamen or a building edge to be exactly sharp. It can be harder to keep on a fast-moving subject, since you must keep the point on it yourself.
How to select a focus point
- Joystick or multi-controller: the most common method on higher-end cameras.
- Direction pad: works on many models, sometimes after pressing an AF area button.
- Touch screen: tap where you want focus, or on some cameras drag your finger on the screen while looking through the viewfinder.
- Automatic selection: the camera picks, sometimes with face detection.
Practice moving the point without taking your eye from the viewfinder. Many cameras can also reset the point to the center with a button press.
Focus and recompose
If no point sits over your subject, one option is to place the center point on the subject, half-press to lock focus in single autofocus, then shift the framing and press fully. It works well for distant subjects at moderate apertures. At wide apertures and short distances, the change in angle can shift the sharpest plane and miss focus slightly, so moving the focus point is more reliable. In continuous autofocus, recomposing while half-pressed lets the camera refocus on the new framing, so use single autofocus or back-button focus (see autofocus modes explained).
Where to put the point
- People: the eye nearest the camera. With a wide aperture this matters especially, because the zone of sharpness is thin.
- Animals: the eye or face.
- Landscapes: on something with texture and contrast, often a third of the way into the scene. See the hyperfocal distance guide for deep scenes.
- Flowers and macro: the nearest important detail.
- Architecture: on a high-contrast edge, such as a window frame.
Autofocus needs contrast. A point on a plain surface may hunt or fail.
Eye and subject detection
Many modern cameras can detect faces, eyes, animals, birds or vehicles and place the point automatically. These features are often reliable in good conditions and a big help for moving subjects. They can still be fooled by obstructions, heavy shadow, distance or crowds, so watch where the camera placed the point and switch to manual selection when needed.
Suggested starting setups
- Portrait or still subject: single point (or eye detection) with single autofocus.
- Walking child or pet: zone or tracking with continuous autofocus.
- Sports or birds in flight: tracking or a large zone with continuous autofocus, and subject detection if available.
- Landscape on a tripod: single point, single autofocus, then zoom in on the result to check.
For a general overview of the focusing process, see how to focus your camera.