Nikon D7000 Experience User Manual page 12

Nikon D7000 Experience
5.2 Autofocus Modes
The D7000 has three different Autofocus Modes to choose from, typically depending if
your subject is still or moving. It also has four different Autofocus Area Modes (or AF-
Area Modes, discussed in Section 5.3) to specify how many of the AF points are active
and how they follow or track a moving object. You can set these two functions in
various combinations. First the Autofocus Modes. Select the Autofocus Mode by
pressing the AF-Mode Button (the button located inside the Focus-Mode Selector switch
that says AF/M on the camera body near the base of the lens) and rotating the Main
Command Dial (the rear dial) while monitoring the settings on the top Control Panel or
in the Viewfinder.
Single-Servo AF (AF-S)
Use this mode when your subject is stationary, or still and not going to move, or if your
subject is not going to move very much, or if the distance between you and the subject
is not going to change between the time you lock focus, recompose, and take the shot.
Lock focus on the subject and recompose if necessary. When using AF-S, you can
select from two Autofocus Area Modes, either Single-Point AF where you select the AF
point, or Auto-Area AF, where the camera selects the AF point(s) for you. I suggest you
nearly always select your own desired AF point so that the camera autofocuses exactly
where you want it to.
Continuous-Servo AF (AF-C)
Use this mode when your subject is moving. If the subject is moving towards you or
away from you, the camera will keep evaluating the focus distance, as long as the
Shutter Button is kept half-pressed. You will need to use this in conjunction with the
Autofocus Area Modes to determine if and how the camera tracks the subject laterally to
the surrounding AF points, or if it will only track the subject if it remains at the initially
selected AF point. If the subject is going to be difficult to follow set the Autofocus Area
Mode to one of the Dynamic-Area AF modes. If the subject will be moving across your
field of view use the 3D-Tracking mode (further explanation of these situations and the
Autofocus Area Modes section below). Focus on the moving subject initially with your
selected point if using Single-Point, one of the Dynamic Area Modes, or 3D-Tracking, or
let the camera select the AF point in Auto-Area AF (not recommended since it doesn't
know what you wish to focus on), and then as long as the Shutter Button remains half-
pressed the camera will track the subject as it moves closer or farther in distance.
Depending which AF Area Mode you are using, the camera may also maintain focus or
track the subject to some or all of the surrounding focus points if it moves away from the
initially selected point (more about this below).
Auto-Servo AF (AF-A)
This mode is a hybrid of the two other focus modes. It starts in Single-Servo AF (AF-S)
mode then changes to Continuous-Servo AF (AF-C) mode if your subject starts moving.
Why shouldn't you use this all the time, then? Well, it is typically not the best of both
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