I know this thread is a bit old for the OP, but it has been revived by @Sannystac07. So I'm going to take a stab at it but I might not totally understand what they are referencing.
Anyway, In the R5 and R6 there is an item included in the AF point/area selection lineup called Face+tracking and is its own selection. @Sannystac07 and @Immc2u, Is this what you are referring to? (see below)
If so, this was removed/renamed on the R6 mark II and made available to all AF selections. An icon was added above the point/area selection options and is now called "Whole Area Tracking Servo AF". This icon is a toggle, so by tapping it in Q mode you turn it on or off. (See below)
It's easily accessed using the Q button, but can also be accessed from the AF 1 menu> Item 3.
I hope this is what you are referring to. I didn't like this because I use the control ring on my RF lenses to set my AF point/area so by turning left one click I go from fine one point to Face+tracking on my R5... Not so with the R6 mark II.
Newton
@Judyhorses wrote:Thank you ….. I shoot Mounted Cowboys and Barrel Racing. I have watched videos that is suppose to be for the R6 Mark ll and they show to choose the face icon in settings. It is so confusing. Still working on focusing issues. So I should have Whole tracking area on when doing action shoots…..Correct?
To be clear, I have access to the R6 mark II, but it is my wife's camera and I only shoot with it occasionally. I've looked through the menus and advanced users guide and can't find a reference to a "Face icon", particularly like the one in the R5 and R6 which I also use. I suspect the video you watched was actually for the R6. I've ran into this myself when trying to find info on the R6 mark II, the video ends up being about the R6.
As for using "Whole area tracking" in your situation, it may work, but there are better options (see attached)
Normally when Expanded or Zone are selected, tracking will stop when your subject exits the boundary of your selection. However, if you have Whole area tracking enabled, tracking will continue to the edge of the frame, or really close, even if your subject exits the specified points or Flexible zone. So there are advantages to activating Whole area tracking in combination with other AF Point/ Zone selections but there are also drawbacks, especially when your image is really busy (foreground/background)... The camera gets confused and focuses on the wrong subject...
I use the Whole area tracking selection on my R5 for very specific purposes and it is pretty tricky to use just on its own. It's much better if you use it in conjunction with other AF point settings because you give the camera a target to follow with the initial focus points selected. I have a medical condition that makes it hard for me to hold central focus points on a moving target, like BIF and Dragonflies in flight, which would be ideal, so I use Whole area tracking.
This was taken with the R5 using Whole area tracking only. The first is the FF showing the servo tracking focus point, the other is a crop of the FF.
I hope this helps, I sometimes have trouble explaining things 🙂
Newton
