EOS R6 won't focus on the spot I choose

[DayB]

Hi All

I have my camera set up in animal eye autofocus and servo mode.  I have back button autofocus set up so when I press the AF-On button, it focuses and then when I press the * button, it activates eye autofocus.

My issue is that when I set the camera for single spot focusing, no matter where I move the white square to, the camera focuses where it wants whether it is inside the white dot or not.  The little blue squares will lock onto an object and it just focuses where this blue squares appear. 

I have tried one shot and servo modes but this doesn't make any difference.  I have tried on different lenses and no change.  I updated the firmware and tried a reset on the camera.

So either I am being a bit stupid and making a fundamental error, (which has been known on more than one occasion) or the camera could do with a check up.

Any ideas that I may have missed please?

TIA for any help 🙂

[p4pictures · Accepted solution]

With your current setup when you press the * button to activate focus then the camera switches from your spot AF point to face + tracking, activates eye detection and starts focusing. The problem is that the eye detection doesn't take any notice of where your spot AF point was. So you actually need to do something different to get the effect you want.

That different thing is this set of steps... (screens from EOS R6, but its the same for R5)

Set the * button to AF + metering start - just like the AF-ON button, but then press the INFO button to get access to the extra settings, and make sure that the AF method is set to Face + tracking. 

Secondly you need to make sure that eye detection and animals is the selected subject to detect. You can only change the eye detection setting while face + tracking AF method is selected, so do that if needed, then switch back to your spot AF point.

Lastly you need to change the initial servo AF point for face + tracking AF, and change it from auto to the middle of the three settings.

With these steps completed then when you press the * button the camera switches to face + tracking and eye detection is already active as is animal subject detection. However you will have an initial AF point - slightly larger than the spot AF point, but it will be shown in the same location and that is where the camera will look initially to find the subject. Actually the initial AF point is closer in size the the 1-point AF method.

What is important to realise with the EOS R5/R6 is that they don't do subject tracking at all when set to spot AF, 1-point AF, AF expansion cross or surround AF methods. Also eye detection for people or animals is only possible when the AF method is set to face + tracking. Zone AF will do subject detection within the frame of the zone, but it does not do eye detection.

Later models such as EOS R3, R7, R10, R50, R8, R6 Mark II can all do eye detection and subject detection with any AF method. 

[photopro]

no i didnt figure it out as there is so much to the cameras electronics but i did find a work around.

• The AF-ON button is always assigned to eyefocus with servo and will focus on the closest object if no eyes are available or if the subject is a static object. 
• I reassigned the * button to Metering and AF start and then used the INFO button for further customization to enable ONE SHOT, Whole area tracking, and Spot Detection and Eye Detection to Auto.  This functions as my one shot focus button with spot area, but the focus areas i selected can be used also.  This will grab eye focus if presented but will focus as directed by the spot or other focus areas.  I dont like that it locks exposure but using one spot most of the time thats not a problem and actually helps. 
• I reprogrammed the depth of field button to lock/unlock exposure. 
• I used to have the AF point button to change between Servo and One Shot but is now the Direct AF Area selection button.  This seems to work fine, for now.  Whats interesting is if you use your finger on the screen focus stays exactly where you put it.  Canon must have made the touch priority for focusing when using to take an image.  if faced with servo mode and eye focusing on the wrong thing, (like someone in a pew instead of the groomsmen/bridesmaids) i quickly use the touch screen even while my eye is in the viewfinder, to correct the focus spot.
• What is your workaround?

[photopro]

yes i would love to know your solution!!  See mine below.