Canon EOS R5/R6 best autofocus settings for portraits

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[OctoberWild]

On the active touch, I was also having a problem with my nose being in the way--then I realized that because I shoot with my left eye, I could move it to the left side and use my left thumb...total game changer and I love love love this feature!

[SJFphotography]

Hi Pete, thanks for the video, I will share what I do and having had the an R5 and R6 from launch. The R5 can be set up a number of ways and it will depend on what you shoot the most. However as a wedding photographer, this is how I set mine up….The shutter button is set to spot focus and one shot and the back AF button is set to face and eye tracking in servo. The benefit is if I have a single person in my frame I use the back button and it nails focus every time….amazing as you say. But when there are more than one, and I want the person in the background to be sharp then I use the front button to pin point my focus on them and recompose or use the joy stick (for me recomposing is quicker). It is also clearly much better for taking pictures of when there is movement in the frame that you do not want the camera to jump focus to. Therefore you have all focusing methods available without having to change your camera set up every time. As a wedding photographer this is critical so that you do not miss critical moments that are happening around you. One last thing, I do not use any of the specific AF cases and use the Auto setting and it has never missed a beat in all senecios I shoot so no reason to change. I hope this was useful.

[JuanLopezmusica]

Best video explanation! Thank you so much!

[cguerrieri]

Thank you for the great explanations. New to r5 from an old D6 ver1. You can imagine the confusion

[critchmoore]

Thanks for sharing. The “none” selection under subject to detect instructs the camera to track all types of subjects instead of specifically animals, people, cars, etc. Helpful if you are shooting a variety of subjects, not just one particular category.

[rosariocusco]

Thank you for making it easy to understand

[mannaubreusegem]

Hi I'm from Belgium and my English is not that good, but I understood most of it ! Thank you so much for this amazing video!

[nickdermilio]

Thanks Pete! I’m bookmarking this for when I get an R5, but very useful considerations for cameras that have some of these settings.

[Marcocanadea]

great video, thanks a lot. The one thing i don't really like tbh is if, like you did, you switch "Initial Servo AF pt for..." to the middle option, when in tracking AF mode, you loose the ability to switch between eyes and/or faces. In other words it doesn't give you those arrows that show you you can use the knob to flick between eyes and people....does that make sense? is that not something you would miss when shooting multiple people? thanks

[grumblewoof]

Hi, glad I stumbled across this. I've had an R5 for a year and always get messed up as I switch from subject to subject i.e. portraits to landscapes, architecture to people street photography etc ... flowers to sports. I seem to get the wrong auto focus settings. Odd things like shooting animals as humans and the reverse and all sorts if other mix ups. The classic is 50 identical shots out of focus of a single flower. The wall behind is of course in focus. Kept meaning to work it out and store settings in the C1, C2 custom etc... now at least I have a good guide for portraits. I can write C1 = Portraits in indelible ink on the back of my hand. Many thanks and happy new year.

[anthonyhershko]

Great video, for me, only the Large Zone AF: Horizontal works the best.
If I change that to one spot AF it's simply not focusing... (In my case it's aircrafts and military ships),
I don't know why, I got the latest firmware and it still the same, you press the AF button and it's not focusing it's blur or
You getting read square/frame in the camera...
Thanks!

[kouros]

Great Video Pete. What AF mode would you use if you photographs humans with pets together?

[jagdishpatel-onsv]

Pete Do you have any recommendation of setting for landscape Photography

[Tanyaewen]

Hi Pete you don’t show how you get to the low speed continuous in the camera settings? You think I can find it 🤦‍♀️😂 I’m sure it’s looking me on the face. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[danielcharnitsky]

Peter ... than so much for a great video - appreciate you posting. Although I understand more and more with each viewed video, however I am still confused on what AF settings to use for different situations. I know yours for portraits. Now ... what settings do you recommend for1) just plain landscapes or shooting flowers; 2) shooting wedding receptions of people who just want to be photographed; 3) high energy stage shows. Also ... I have a mental block on the tracking as I see the icon as face tracking = that throws me off when I am taking landscapes.

[thanhd]

Thanks for the video. Do you know what happened to face tracking AF for the R6 Mark ii. I don't see that option anymore. Thanks.

[jasonhead]

Using one shot, enables you to focus, and repose

[fizzahraza]

I’m new to mirrorless and moved over from Nikon to Canon. Thank you for sharing this very specific settings menu! I used to use back button focusing with center focus lock. With the eye tracking and servo can I still use back button focus instead of the half depressed shutter button? Good idea or bad idea?

[taryn]

Hi Pete. Newby here. I'm struggling with using my multi-purpose controller for AF. I've customized the button to use the controller for AF. Every time I press the controller (to center the icon on the back screen), an icon appears (looks like a screen with OFF written on the icon), and if I press it again, 'FACE SELECT OFF' shows up on the screen? What am I doing wrong? I've figured out the Touch and Drag AF but not the multi-controller option. Help!

[JagaatBhari]

Hi Pete. Thanks for your video. Question - How did you manage output menu to TV? Will you be able to do it to Mac as well instead of TV? If so, how?