Wow, great read. Thanks! That clarified some of my questions. I'm using AF-A now on the Single Point (5). I was using the AF-A on Dynamic 51 but it sounds like that may not be the ideal way to shoot?
That really IS a great read, isn't it? It totally changed how I set up my camera.
Yours is sort of an "it depends" question; as in it depends on what you're shooting. As I understand it, the faster and more erratic the subject moves, the larger the array you want to use, in conjunction with say tracking. The larger array gives you more latitude to keep a moving subject somewhere in the frame where the AF can keep tabs on it and keep it in focus. However, if you have a smaller, more stationary subject, you can switch to one of the smaller arrays (say 9 or 11 point) to better pinpoint your focus area. That, to me, seems to be The Main Thing. In short:
- Fast/erratic subject: Big, wide array for a better chance of keeping the subject within the AF array.
- Slow moving or still subject: Smaller, more selective array so you can really pin down your focus area.
This being the case I've been using AF-A and Auto (select). Using AF-A seems like a no-brainer to me; it's the number of points that made this tricky for me until I experimented with different settings, which I really suggest you try yourself.
So, speaking for myself... Right now I'm using AF-A and Auto. But at the same time I'm teaching myself to get fast at finding the AF/M button and too hit the command dial to switch quickly to, say AF-A / 9-Point because the Auto (select) seems a bit wonky; sometimes it nails what I want to focus on but just as often it seems to miss the mark wildly. I will probably revert back to using AF-A and 9-Points unless I have need to switch to something else. Knowing I can press a button and spin the command dial makes it easy, though, so that's nice.
For my type of shooting that combo seems to work well (AF-A with 9-Points), but then I shoot pretty sedentary subjects most of the time and don't shoot a lot sports or birds in flight or what have you. I've also gotten pretty good at moving the array around in the viewfinder using the four-way button on the back. The thing to remember in this mode combination, is that even though you only see ONE point moving around in the viewfinder, that's the center point
of the chosen array of points (press the AF/M button to see the entire array, remember?). That was kind of a minor "ah ha!" moment for me. I like the control of moving the focus point but with 9-Points I'm moving the whole array around! CHA-CHING!! That just so works for me. But again, that's me and my shooting style. You really need to experiment with the different settings and, just as importantly, get comfortable switching between them.
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