Focus Areas
The Sony a6000, my new camera, although old now (2014!) by modern mirrorless cameras, is a big step up for me. It is my first mirrorless camera, and is ideal for a beginner.
It can be confusing to understand the difference between focus areas and focus modes when beginning photography. These help the photographer get sharper images by helping to focus either the whole image, or just specific parts of the image. The challenge is to remember to set these up prior to taking a photograph, and even harder to switch modes and areas in a hurry!
I have based the following on information from the Sony a6000 manual:
In the Sony a 6000, like many other cameras, there is autofocus mode (AF), and manual focus (MF) mode.
You can programme them in the camera’s custom settings menu to be, and you can then use the FN button to access them.
To use an AF mode you press the shutter button halfway. Once you take your finger off the shutter button focus is lost.
AF-S refers to single shot AF. Once the subject is in focus the focus is locked. This mode is useful for static subjects, such as portrait, landscapes etc.
AF-C is AF Continuous. AF- C continues to operate and shifts focus for moving subjects, such as cars, animal’s people. It is good for sports photography and moving wildlife.
AF-A When the shutter button is pressed halfway down, the camera automatically recognizes whether the subject is moving or not, and switches the AF mode between AF-S and AF-C accordingly.
This mode is used to shoot various subjects at the same time, or to avoid switching the AF mode manually.
DMF Direct Manual Focus - you can use this to make fine adjustments after AF, and is quicker than using manual focus in the beginning.
Manual focus puts the photographer in total control of focussing. It is useful for genres such as macro photography. You focus by turning the focus ring on the lens.
Focus areas select the part of the frame that you want to focus on.
Wide:
Focuses automatically on a subject in all ranges of the image. When you press the shutter button halfway down in still image shooting mode, a green frame is displayed around the area that is in focus.
Zone:
Select a zone on the monitor on which to focus. A zone consists of nine focus areas, and the camera automatically selects a focus area on which to focus.
Center:
Focuses automatically on a subject in the center of the image. When used together with the AF lock function, you can compose the image you want.
Flexible Spot:
Allows you to move the focus range finder frame to the desired point on the screen and focus on an extremely small subject in a narrow area.
Expand Flexible Spot:
If the product fails to focus on the single selected point, it uses the focus points around the flexible spot as the second priority area to achieve focus.
Lock-on AF:
When the shutter button is pressed and held halfway down, the camera tracks the subject within the selected autofocus area. Point the cursor to [Lock-on AF] on the [Focus Area] setting screen, then select the desired tracking start area using the left/right sides of the control wheel. You can move the tracking start area to a desired point by designating the area to be the flexible spot or expand flexible spot.
Back Button Focussing. This allows the camera to remain focussed, even if you release the shutter button. You don’t’ have to switch between AF- S and AF-C. You can assign the AEL button on the camera as the back button focus. If using AF-C keep pressing the back button.
For a really clear guide to all of the above, please see Toms Jurjaks excellent You Tube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkDW3rxS61g
Sony a6000 AUTOFOCUS guide for BEGINNERS [Selecting Focus Mode & Focus Area for Photography
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