Technical Solutions | D6 TIPS

Custom Setting a1 [AF-C priority selection] controls whether the camera gives priority to focus or shutter release.

This menu contains two options: [Blocked Shot AF Response] and [Subject motion].

If AF-C is selected for AF mode, focus tracking with lock-on will prevent the camera refocusing when your subject is briefly obscured by another object, ensuring that it will continue to track the main subject once the obstacle has moved away. Choose the length of time before the camera refocuses from [1 (Quick)], [2], [3], [4], and [5 (Delayed)]. Lock-on applies only while the camera is focusing; to focus at a new distance without waiting for lock-on to end, re-initiate autofocus.

ThisThe camera will track and focus on objects at the same distance as the main subject. High values (slow response) make the camera slow to refocus on obstacles when the shot is blocked. Select low values (quick response) to quickly refocus on subjects passing in front of the camera and for improved response when switching rapidly from one subject to another.

This option lets you concentrate on shooting without having to worry about focus-point selection. Choose whether the camera uses the same focus point and AF-area mode in all orientations, or stores separate focus points and/or AF-area modes for use in "wide" (landscape) orientation, "tall" (portrait) orientation with the camera rotated 90° clockwise, or "tall" orientation with the camera rotated 90° counterclockwise. The options are [Focus point], [Focus point and AF-area mode], and [Off].

Choose [AF-ON only] to split the functions of the AF-ON button (or the control to which [AF-ON] has been assigned using Custom Setting f3 [Custom Controls]) and the shutter-release button so that the former is used for focus while the latter is used only to release the shutter. Lift your thumb from the AF-ON button to lock focus and take more shots at the current focus distance or prevent the camera refocusing when an object passes between you and your subject.

Highlighting [AF-ON only] and pressing displays an [Out-of-focus release] option; for sports photography, confirm that [Enable] is selected.

If [Wide] is selected in single-point or dynamic-area AF AF-area mode, the camera will use data from surrounding areas to locate subjects slightly outside the selected focus point. Use for fast-moving, hard-toframe subjects.

Selecting [Enable] lets you use the multi selector to choose the starting focus point when AF-C and auto-area AF are selected respectively for AF mode and AF-area mode. The camera will resume normal auto-area AF after focusing on the subject in the selected point.

If you have assigned [AF-area mode] or [AF-area mode + AF-ON] to a control using Custom Setting f3 [Custom controls], you can hold the control to switch temporarily from the current AF-area mode to a second, pre-selected mode. Selecting [Auto] for Custom Setting a13 [Focus point persistence] lets you do so without changing focus points.

Select [Auto] for Custom Setting a13 [Focus point persistence].

For this example we will choose [Auto-area AF] and an autofocus mode of AF-C.

Select Custom Setting f3 [Custom controls] and choose the desired control and role (in this case, the Fn1 button and [AF-area mode]). To choose the AF-area mode activated while the button is pressed, highlight [AF-area mode] and press . This example assumes that [Dynamic-area AF (9 points)] is selected.

Press the shutter-release button halfway or press the AF-ON button to focus using the default AF-area mode. In the case of auto-area AF, the camera will automatically detect the subject and choose the focus area.

At the settings selected in this example, focus will track subject motion while the shutter-release button is pressed halfway or the AF-ON button is pressed.

Hold the selected control (the Fn1 button) to switch to the AF-area mode selected in Step 3 (9-point dynamic-area AF). Because we selected [Auto] for Custom Setting a13 [Focus point persistence] in Step 1, the camera will focus on the subject in the current focus point using 9-point dynamic-area AF.

Had we selected [Off], the camera would not have maintained focus on the subject in the point chosen by auto-area AF but would have instead switched to a different focus point.

Limiting the choice of AF-area modes available during viewfinder photography speeds AF-area mode selection and prevents your accidentally selecting an undesired option. For example, you can limit the choice of AF-area modes to single-point and 25-point dynamic-area AF by selecting only these options in the AF-area mode list. Note that [Single-point AF] cannot be deselected.

Limiting the choice of available autofocus modes prevents accidental selection of an undesired option. For sports photography, you may find it convenient to choose [AF-C] to stop you accidentally selecting AF-S.

Select [Wrap] if you frequently switch between widely-separated focus points.

Focus-point selection will "wrap around" from top to bottom, bottom to top, left to right, and right to left so that, for example, pressing when a focus point on the right edge of the display is highlighted () selects the corresponding focus point on the left edge of the display ().