Can you use focus points while manually focusing on a Canon EOS 6D?
Asked 12/12/2017
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I’m new to DSLRs and using a Canon EOS 6D with a 50mm f/1.8. When I set the lens to MF, I can only focus by turning the focus ring. I can’t make the camera focus using the selected focus point. Is that normal? What do the focus points do when the lens is in manual focus, and can they help with manual focusing at all?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
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1) Manual focus means you must turn the focus ring to change the focus distance of the lens. Anytime the camera moves the focus point of the lens you are using autofocus (AF). With the Canon EOS system you use the AF/MF switch on the lens to select Manual Focus (MF) or Autofocus (AF).
Other than a few exotic big white Super Telephoto lenses that have an electronic MF feature (where you set focus to a certain point and program an extra button on the lens to return to that point whenever the extra button on the lens is pressed), the only way to manually focus Canon EOS lenses is to turn the focusing ring on the lens barrel. There are no controls on Canon EOS bodies to manually focus a lens.
2) The 'manual' focus point selection setting on the body is not to select whether you or the camera focuses the lens. Rather, it is to select whether you or the camera decide which AF point to use for the camera to autofocus the lens. With a manually selected AF point you tell the camera exactly which AF point to use to focus the lens. With the automatic AF point selection setting the camera selects the AF point from those available. In the 'Auto' and 'Scene' zones the camera always selects the AF Mode and the AF point. In the P-Tv-Av-M exposure modes you can let the camera select the AF point (by selecting all of them) or select one yourself.
3) With the lens set to manual focus (MF), you will have to turn the focusing ring to set the lens' focus. If there is a selected AF point active, when you have manually focused the lens to the correct distance for that point the focus confirmation light should come on in the lower right hand corner of the viewfinder if the 'One Shot' AF Mode was selected before the lens switch was moved to 'MF'.
Keep in mind that Manual (M) exposure mode selected via the mode dial has nothing to do with manual focusing mode. You can use manual exposure mode with autofocus or with manual focus. You can use some of the 'semi-automatic' exposure modes (Program (P), Shutter Priority (Tv), or Aperture Priority (Av)) with either AF or MF as well. You can even use the full Auto exposure modes with manual focus by setting the switch on the lens to 'MF'!
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
8y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes, that is normal. On a Canon EOS 6D, if the lens is set to MF, you focus manually by turning the focus ring on the lens. The camera body does not have a control that manually moves focus for standard EOS lenses.
The AF point selection on the camera is mainly for autofocus: it tells the camera which area to use when AF is active. It does not let the camera drive focus when the lens is in MF.
So:
- lens on MF = you turn the focus ring yourself
- lens on AF = the camera can focus using the selected AF point
If you see a “manual” AF point selection option on the camera, that means you are manually choosing which autofocus point to use—not manually focusing the lens.
In manual focus, the focus points may still be useful as reference points in the viewfinder, but they do not move focus by themselves. For true manual focus on your 50mm f/1.8, use the focus ring.
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