EOS R6 How to get AF to follow subject

[ckeohane]

When in Servo mode can I  focus track an object when in anything other than Face Tracking? When I set the mode to something else such a Spot AF or 1-point AF the focus point does not follow the subject.

[Waddizzle]

That is the correct behavior for Spot AF or 1-pt AF.  Maybe this video will help.

[ckeohane]

Thank you, so to be clear, Servo mode only tracks moving objects (people, animals, vehicles)  when in Face Tracking?

[FloridaDrafter]

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@ckeohane wrote:

Thank you, so to be clear, Servo mode only tracks moving objects (people, animals, vehicles)  when in Face Tracking?

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When tracking in Servo on the R6, your AF system needs a focus point to "hand off" to. Once AF is locked, It will track to the boundaries of any of the "Surround" or "Zone" AF selections, this boundary will show in the EVF as a black box or rectangle denoting those boundaries. When a single point, be it Fine or Single, is set as the AF Method, there is nothing to hand off to.

The Face+Tracking AF Method selection activates all usable AF points along with Face tracking and, as far as I know, is the only selection that will allow you to activate "Eye Tracking". I suspect that this is the reason that selection in the AF Method was renamed and moved in the R6 mark II.

I hope this makes sense. Like the guy in the video, I mostly use a single Fine point, but use Servo and Face+Tracking for BIF. My esteemed colleague, Trevor (@Tronhard) seems to use tracking quite a bit with the R6 and mark II, so he may have a better grasp on this than I do.

Newton

[Waddizzle]

@ckeohane wrote:

Thank you, so to be clear, Servo mode only tracks moving objects (people, animals, vehicles)  when in Face Tracking?

” …tracking in Servo on the R6, your AF system needs a focus point to "hand off" to.”

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AF points can have one of two modes, enabled or disabled.  You select which AF points are enabled or disabled.  This selection method can be seen at the 1:10 mark in the video.  

Let’s review the AF point selection modes.  Sometimes it helps to hear it explained differently.  The AF system will only look at the scene using these modes. Let’s start from the left and move across to the right. 

He makes one confusing statement here when he says “One Shot” is what you should be using most of the time.  One Shot does not track subjects.  Once the AF system locks focus after you half-press the shutter button, the AF system pauses until you fire the shutter or release the shutter button.

The first selection on the far left is “face detection + tracking”, which is a fully automatic AF mode.  It is comparable to, and used by, the Green Square shooting mode on the top dial.

When you select a single AF point, Spot AF or 1-point AF, these are the only AF points that are enabled.  Every other AF point is disabled.  The task of tracking a subject falls solely on the photographer, who must keep that single AF point on the subject.

The next two selection modes are “Expand AF” and “Expand AF Surround”.  These modes work like the 1=point AF mode, but with the addition of either 4 or 8 “AF Assist” points.  The main AF point is in the center.  The photographer is still solely responsible for tracking the subject’s movement, except you now have some help.  If your main AF point slips off the subject, then one or more of the AF assist points will maintain focus on the subject until you can re-acquire the subject with your main AF point in the center of the cluster.

The last three AF point selection modes enabled a large zone of AF points.  You must select one of these Zone AF modes, which have different shapes, to enable the advanced tracking features in the camera.  The photographer is still solely responsible for tracking the subject’s movement, except you now have some additional, intelligent help.  

The photographer is somewhat relieved of the responsibility of keep a single AF point on the subject.  The photographer is now responsible for keeping the large AF zone on the subject.  The AF system behavior is determined by the other settings, such as eye detection.

Hope this helps.

[p4pictures]

The EOS R6 and EOS R5 will also track moving objects (people, animals, vehicles) when set to any of the three Zone AF areas too, but it will not detect eyes, nor will it move the zone around the frame to follow the subject. 

Secondly when set to face + tracking method and you have servo AF active, you can have an initial AF point of your own. Change the default setting from AUTO to either of the other two options. I use this to "guide" the AF system where to look initially for the subject. Once the camera identifies the subject it will follow it around the whole of the frame. 

[ckeohane]

Now I got it. Thanks

[Waddizzle]

If one or more of the replies resolved your issue, then please mark the best replay as “Answer.”  Doing so will help current and future forum members find answers to similar questions and issues.

Thanks, ahead of time.