Seeing the auto-focus point when viewing photo: I mostly use my 80D. In both chimping or in DPP4 I can view the focus points with the one used highlighted. I have found, however, it is...

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

I mostly use my 80D. In both chimping or in DPP4 I can view the focus points with the one used highlighted. I have found, however, it is NOT highlighting where I focused in the field of view since I spot focus, then recompose. It is simply telling me which focus point I selected to spot focus with!

Is this true for all cameras and post processing programs that show and highlight focus points?

LolaPL Loc: Richardson, Texas

Very interested in the answers here because I have the same issue on my 70D.
Thanks for asking.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

What do you mean? Are you saying you use autofocus with one point, lock the focus, then recompose? What does "where I focused" mean? Any thing that was the same distance as what the camera focused on should be in focus. No?

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

nadelewitz wrote:

What do you mean? Are you saying you use autofocus with one point, lock the focus, then recompose? What does "where I focused" mean? Any thing that was the same distance as what the camera focused on should be in focus. No?

What I do is compose, pan to where I want to focus, focus, pan back to original composition, shoot. So if I focus on a person's eye, then pan to re-center the person and shoot, when I check the photo the highlighted focus point is not on the eye.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

PHRubin wrote:

I mostly use my 80D. In both chimping or in DPP4 I can view the focus points with the one used highlighted. I have found, however, it is NOT highlighting where I focused in the field of view since I spot focus, then recompose. It is simply telling me which focus point I selected to spot focus with!

Is this true for all cameras and post processing programs that show and highlight focus points?

If you focus using "one shot" and recompose, the place shown in DPP will not be accurate since you recomposed.

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

PHRubin wrote:

What I do is compose, pan to where I want to focus, focus, pan back to original composition, shoot. So if I focus on a person's eye, then pan to re-center the person and shoot, when I check the photo the highlighted focus point is not on the eye.

Are you locking the focus at any time? On what?
it sounds like you are not, and the camera is focusing on the one point, even if it isn't over the eye.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

PHRubin wrote:

What I do is compose, pan to where I want to focus, focus, pan back to original composition, shoot. So if I focus on a person's eye, then pan to re-center the person and shoot, when I check the photo the highlighted focus point is not on the eye.

My guess is because you re-composed the shot. Does it show the focus point as an X-Y position in the image frame?
The "focus point" will not follow the image if it is re-composed, but should show as one of the focus locations in the image area.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

If you don't lock focus before recomposing in some way, repressing the shutter button will result in a refocus by the chosen focus point to whatever it is now pointed. Or you may have continuous focus selected which refocuses as the subject or you move.

3 options come to mind, holding the shutter halfway down keeps focus during recomposing, use AF lock or disable shutter button AF and enable back button focus.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

PHRubin wrote:

I mostly use my 80D. In both chimping or in DPP4 I can view the focus points with the one used highlighted. I have found, however, it is NOT highlighting where I focused in the field of view since I spot focus, then recompose. It is simply telling me which focus point I selected to spot focus with!

Is this true for all cameras and post processing programs that show and highlight focus points?

Are you using AI Servo AF in your camera settings? That setting compensates the focus when it detects movement and could be changing your focus point automatically. One Shot AF will lock on and not change focal points if you move the camera.

DanielB Loc: San Diego, Ca

It's going to only show you the active focus point at the time of the shot so if you use a single point to focus on a subject and then recompose your shot then you have moved the active focus point from it's original point in the frame and that's what is going to register in the EXIF data.

PHRubin wrote:

I mostly use my 80D. In both chimping or in DPP4 I can view the focus points with the one used highlighted. I have found, however, it is NOT highlighting where I focused in the field of view since I spot focus, then recompose. It is simply telling me which focus point I selected to spot focus with!

Is this true for all cameras and post processing programs that show and highlight focus points?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I think I figured out a better way to state it:
It will display the focus POINT(s) used, not what subject they/it was focused on.

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

PHRubin wrote:

What I do is compose, pan to where I want to focus, focus, pan back to original composition, shoot. So if I focus on a person's eye, then pan to re-center the person and shoot, when I check the photo the highlighted focus point is not on the eye.

Think about this. Why would it show the focus point on the eye? You moved the focus point. The camera doesn't know that you physically moved it. As far as it's aware, you kept the camera in the same spot. It's showing the last successful focus acquisition.

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

I've not found a way on my 60D. I use BBF regularly now and usually get the middle sq. lit up (but not always).

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

PHRubin wrote:

What I do is compose, pan to where I want to focus, focus, pan back to original composition, shoot. So if I focus on a person's eye, then pan to re-center the person and shoot, when I check the photo the highlighted focus point is not on the eye.

It sounds like the actual focus point is not the one you intended. You can test this by focusing on something close, panning the camera and then shooting a subject that is far away. See which one is actually in focus.

Are you using BBF? Using the shutter button to focus and then moving the camera can be trickier.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

The focus point in the camera isn't going to move when you recompose. You have locked it on that focal plane and anything in that focal plane will be in focus. You would have to turn on focus tracking in order for the focal point to move as you recompose. Steve Perry's book on the Nikon focus system has some very good info on how this all works and is well worth the few dollars to purchase it at his website.