Focal Points - what am I doing wrong???

[LJG]

My questions is at the moment I am shooting in Auto and when I press the shutter down half way the focal points light up - they do not always light up - eg. I am taking a photograph of a person where do I put these focal points? are these the points that go on the eyes???

If you are shooting in full Auto the camera will choose the settings, I think including focus points on the 450. My son has mine ATM so I can't check, but I'm pretty sure you need to switch over to a manual setting to be able to choose the focus point. As already mentioned the centre point is the most sensitive.

[philiph]

I use the centre focal point for shooting birds as so that I know exactly what will be in focus. The other thing to look at is the AI Focus and AI Servo (or similar) setting on the camera. The servo setting is recommended for moving objects as the camera will re-focus as you track the subject. The manual explains it better than I can but it will take a bit of getting used to and depends on what you are shooting, which is why they invented digital cameras- so you can take lots of practice shots. Good luck and keep shooting

[Jcas]

This has been an informative thread for me , thanks to all contributors ..

[silkdiver]

Also very informative for me, ty all.