How to Set a Focus Mode for Your Canon Rebel DSLR Camera

[CaptainDan]

The auto-focus feature on Canon’s Rebel line of cameras is quite stellar. It’s been getting better every year and for a good majority of photographers, it’s what they use when they’re out shooting.

There’s actually a lot that surrounds the topic of auto-focus with these cameras and you might not even know much of what exists. That’s because these Canon cameras come set to One Shot mode when they’re shipped from the factory. One Shot is what many of us are used to. You know, you point your camera at whatever it is you want to capture, press the shutter button half way down to let the camera focus and when it does focus, you continue pressing the shutter button until the picture is taken. We all know how this one works, but did you know that there are two other focus modes? Well, there are and that’s what I’ll talk about down below.

In today’s post, I’d like to discuss all three focus modes that are available on the Canon Rebel lines of DSLR cameras. The example photos I took for this post were of the Canon T6i, but this post can be used for all Rebels, from the T2i, T3i, T4i, T5i and T7i. All work pretty much the same way.

Accessing the Auto-Focus Menu​

If you look at the back of your Canon camera, you’ll see five buttons that create the shape of a circle. There are four arrow buttons and one Set button in the middle. The right arrow button says AF on it. If I press that button, I’ll be brought to the Auto-Focus menu.



Inside the menu are three options. They are One Shot, AI Focus and AI Servo. To choose one of these options, use the left and right arrow keys on the back of the camera. Once a selection is made, press the Set button to accept the change and to return to the home screen. Below, I’ll explain what each option does.

The Different Auto-Focus Modes​

Okay, I’ll quickly explain what each auto focus mode does so you can get outside to start shooting. These explanations are easy to understand.

One Shot: Use this focus mode when taking photos of objects that don’t move or that remain on the same focal plane throughout the shot. To focus on an object, press the shutter button half way down. When this is done, the focus is locked onto an object at a specific distance (plane) from the camera. To complete the shot, press the shutter button all the way down. This mode is used in the Portrait, Landscape and Close-up modes on the camera dial.

AI Focus: These cameras are very intelligent and can accurately determine when a specific focus mode is necessary. The AI (Artificial Intelligence) Focus mode allows the camera to choose between One Shot and AI Servo modes. When you press the shutter button down half way to take a photo, the camera chooses One Shot mode because that’s what the scene calls for. If that subject begins to move, the camera will automatically switch over to AI Servo mode and will begin refocusing as it sees fit. This focus mode is used with the Scene Intelligent Auto, Flash Off and Creative Auto modes.

AI Servo: This auto-focus mode is used when photographing moving objects. You still push the shutter button down half way, but when you do, the camera doesn’t lock in on an object. It determines whether or not it needs to track the object and continuously focus on it. You wouldn’t want to use this mode for still photography because it can become rather annoying. The camera automatically chooses this type of focus when in Sports mode.

When you’re in one of the manual modes, you’ll have the ability to set any one of the focus modes that you deem necessary to maintain focus.

And there you have it. It’s a short and sweet topic that can help out so much once it’s understood. Happy shooting!

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I hope I clearly explained how to choose a focus mode on a Canon Rebel camera as well as what the focus modes mean. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment section down below. Thanks for reading!

 

[CaptainDan]

Canon Rebel One-Shot Focus vs. Continuous Auto Focus​

Obviously, probably the most important aspect of any good photograph is whether or not a subject is in focus. Without that, the image is no good. Beyond general focusing, there’s targeted focusing, which is important, but not as important as the photo being sharp all over. Targeted focusing is more of a stylistic consideration.

Back in the day, we all were forced to manually focus our cameras, but today, we can sit back and take advantage of the very accurate and handy auto focusing technology that the camera gods have come up with. Basically, the camera does most of the work and it does a very good job of it at that. The most helpful times a photographer can use auto focus is when subjects in a scene are moving. With the continuous auto focus feature that most camera manufacturers offer these days, cameras can track a moving object and keep that object in focus. I’m sure you can see the benefit of that.

Personally, I use my Canon Rebel T7i’s auto focus for about 95% of my shots. I do a lot of landscape, still life and food photography and I like to establish the focusing distance right off the bat. I use back-button focusing, which helps tremendously in the situations I find myself in. So whether it be using a continuous auto focus feature or the one shot auto focus feature, my Canon DSLR camera has me covered.

To allow continuous auto focus to be used on your camera, if you’ve got a higher level Canon, you’ll need to enter the menu setup area and set Continuous Autofocus to Enable. My T7i doesn’t seem to offer this option, so I’m assuming that’s because I’ve got the no-frills version of Canon camera.

On my T7i, to set which version of auto focus I’d like to use, I’ll press the right arrow button on the back of the camera. This is the one that has the AF written on it. When I do that, the AF Operation screen will appear with three offerings. From left to right, they are One Shot, AI Focus and AI Servo. To read up on what each of these means, please take a look at this post. For now, I’ll simply tell you that if you’ve got a moving subject and you’d like to track that subject to keep it in focus, you’ll need to choose the AI Servo option. Then, when tracking the subject, you’ll need to keep the shutter button pressed half way down. That will put the camera in “eternal focusing” mode, which will keep it focusing on whatever object it’s currently being pointed at. If you’re using the back-button focus configuration like I am, I believe you should just keep that back button pressed all the way as you’re tracking your subject. Back-button auto focus isn’t optimal for sports and action photography, in my opinion.

For non-moving subjects, it’s much more appropriate to use the One Shot auto focus option. When using this setting, you can easily frame your scene, press the button to focus on your subject and then take your shot. If you’d like to focus in on your subject and then reframe the scene, that’s just as easy to do. Just be sure to only move from side to side when reframing, as any forward or backward movement will knock the subject out of your intended focus.

The reason you wouldn’t want to use continuous autofocus when capturing still life photos is because the camera may want to continuously focus on the non-moving subject. That’s not ideal because what the camera decides to ultimately focus on may not be predictable. It’s much better to choose the correct autofocus mode when it comes to still life photography. It’s the best setting to take advantage of when focusing on a still subject and then recomposing for a more styled photograph.