Manual focusing point will not move - Canon 6d Mark II

[Skip70]

I just noticed that I am not able to move the manual focus point on any of the modes -- spot, 1-point, zone, etc. Happens with any lens. I've spun both control wheels and the focus point remains stuck in the lower center position. Auto focus point moves around okay, just the manual is stuck. 

Is there some setting or configuration somewhere I may have changed to cause this?

[ebiggs1]

Do a full reset of your camera and then try again.

[Waddizzle]

Another reason why you can’t move the AF point is your shooting mode.  You need to be in set to a creative mode to be able to move around the AF point.

You also need to be in a creative mode to reset the camera.

“ Do a full reset of your camera and then try again. “

There isn’t a single setting that resets the entire camera.  The rest option in the camera menu system will perform a soft reset.  Ernie is taking about a hard reset, I believe. 

Charge up your battery.  You are going to have to walk through the entire menu system. There are several options that are not included in the soft reset.  If a menu setting opens to its own submenu, then it probably should have its own exclusive reset option.

Once you reset the camera, do not immediately begin entering your favorite settings.  Test the camera first. 

[FloridaDrafter]

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@Skip70 wrote:

I just noticed that I am not able to move the manual focus point on any of the modes -- spot, 1-point, zone, etc. Happens with any lens. I've spun both control wheels and the focus point remains stuck in the lower center position. Auto focus point moves around okay, just the manual is stuck. 

Is there some setting or configuration somewhere I may have changed to cause this?

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Hello, Skip!

I have to admit that I am baffled by your terminology "manual focus point". A camera reset is probably in order, but if you haven't done that already, try this:

First, press and hold the AF point selection button, then press the "SET" button. This should re-center your AF point, that is, move it from lower center to center.

Newton

[ebiggs1]

"Ernie is taking about a hard reset, I believe."

"Once you reset the camera, do not immediately begin entering your favorite settings.  Test the camera first."

Absolutely, you need to make sure there isn't some setting somewhere perhaps by mistake and this is the fastest way to get back to square zero. I don't have a 6D Mk II to try but if the full reset doesn't fix it then it is probably not possible on that model. This is simply basic advice when things don't go as wanted.

[Waddizzle]

“ I just noticed that I am not able to move the manual focus point on any of the modes -- spot, 1-point, zone, etc. Happens with any lens. I've spun both control wheels and the focus point remains stuck in the lower center position. Auto focus point moves around okay, just the manual is stuck. “

Hello again, Skip, Are you trying to use Live View shooting mode?

Let’s reset the conversation and stop talking past one another. Find some common ground between what’s being said and how it’s understood. 

First and foremost, the 6D2 is a camera designed for use with auto focusing lenses. It does not have the type of manual focusing aids that were found in film cameras sold decades ago.

Those old film cameras had a single focusing area in the center of the optical viewfinder.  You could not move the focusing point.  Its location was fixed.  

Photographers had to find work arounds if they wanted the primary area of focus to be elsewhere from the center.  A common work around was called “focus and recompose.”  You would center the subject in the center of the frame, and then reorient the camera slightly before firing the shutter. 

Because the 6D2 is first and foremost a camera designed for use with auto focusing lenses, photographers had to create work arounds to the camera with manual focusing lenses.

The camera was designed to allow for these work arounds. The camera would use the center AF point in the optical viewfinder, just like you would with a film camera and a manual focus lens.

That is how you would use the camera with a manual focus lens. No matter if you are using the optical viewfinder or the rear Live View screen.

A point of confusion has been your description of where your “manual focus point” is located in a lower corner. The camera doesn’t have any manual focus points. The only has auto focus points, some of which can be activated when you use a manual focus lens.  However, this active AF point MUST be defined using an auto focusing lens.

Most users choose the center AF point.  The camera will not allow you to reselect an auto focus point when the camera is not in auto focus mode. I hope this helps. 

[Skip70]

As suggested by a couple of you, I reverted to factory settings and did a hard reset of the camera just to be sure. The manually selected focus points seen in the viewfinder now respond to the dial on the camera, as it should. 

[ebiggs1]

Great, glad it worked