Minolta MAXXUM 8000i Instruction Manual page 15

To select the focus area:
1. Press the function-selector key so that the
data panel's function pointer is beneath the
focus area indicator.
2. While pressing the function-adjustment
(FUNC) button in, slide the setting control in ei¬
ther direction to select the alternate focus area.
The currently selected focus area is indicated in
the data panel.
25
Focus Hold
Focus hold makes it easy to handle subjects
positioned outside the focus frame when you
operate the camera in autofocus mode. By tem¬
porarily memorizing a set of exposure and focus
settings, it allows you to take advantage of auto¬
focus in situations where the main subject is
framed off-center, or even at the edge of the
frame.
Focus hold can be operated in two ways: with
the shutter-release button alone, or by using the
shutter-release button in combination with the
focus-hold button. The main difference be¬
tween the two is duration. Using the shutter-
release button alone, focus is held for a single
exposure only; with the focus-hold button, the
AF system is actually disengaged (M. FOCUS
will be displayed in the data panel) and the cur¬
rent focus setting will be held as long as the
focus-hold button is pressed in.
To use focus hold, first center the focus frame on
your subject, then press the shutter-release but¬
ton partway down so that the green focus signal
glows. For operation with the shutter-release
button alone, simply recompose the picture as
desired, making sure that the green focus signal
continues to glow, then press the shutter-re¬
lease button all-the-way down to take the pic¬
ture.
26