How do I choose a different autofocus point on a Nikon D5000?
Asked 10/15/2011
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My Nikon D5000 has 11 AF points, but I only seem to be using the center point. How do I select another focus point, and what AF-area mode should I use? Also, does changing the focus point affect metering?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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First you need to set the AF area mode to Single or Dynamic on your LCD display. Then you select the point using the D-pad. You can quickly return to the centre point by pressing the OK button.
The difference between Single and Dynamic is that Single keeps the focus point wherever you put it, whereas Dynamic will try and automatically keep the object originally focused on in focus by selecting other focus points automatically.
Also note that if your metering mode is set to Matrix or Center-Weighted, you are still metering the whole scene (with a center bias in CW's case), not the selected focus point. Set your metering to Spot to meter from the selected point.
Originally by user3205. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user3205
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—you can manually choose an AF point on the Nikon D5000.
Set the camera’s AF-area mode to Single or Dynamic, then use the directional pad (D-pad) to move the active focus point. Pressing the OK button quickly returns the selection to the center point.
In practice:
- Single-area AF: the camera focuses using only the point you selected.
- Dynamic-area AF: you start with a selected point, but the camera can use surrounding points to keep the subject in focus if it moves.
So if you want precise control over exactly where focus is placed, use Single-area AF.
Changing the focus point does not automatically make metering follow that point in most metering modes. With Matrix or Center-weighted metering, the camera still meters the whole scene (or the scene with center emphasis). If you want metering tied to the selected focus point, use Spot metering.
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