Canon T2i manual focus question

[Happy_Mummy]

Normally I use af for pics, but because I'm taking head shots of my 10 week old baby so I need to use mf for focus where I want. In the course I took when I got my T2i I seem to remember there was a way to enlarge the centre of the frame wile nopt in live view so that you could see the focus was clear. I want to say that it was a menu choice, but I don't remember how I got there, Anyone know? I looked in the manual, but it only had the info on moving the switch from af to mf. Help please!

[veritasimagery]

The only way that would be possible is in "Live Mode." If you are looking through the standard view-finder, what you are seeing is directly off the mirror from the lens. There is no way to enlarge that without changing mirrors.

[ceremus]

It is of course in live view. On my T3i once in live mode you press the AF Point select button on the camera rear in the upper right corner. It looks like a 4-dotted cross, and is also marked with a magnifying glass with a + in the center. It's the button you press in review mode to zoom in on your stored images.

The T2i and T3i aren't very different models so I'm pretty sure it's the same function key. Never be afraid to check your manual, though! You should do your best to become well-acquainted with that.

[veritasimagery]

Also, if the T2i is like the T3i, you have the ability to move the AF point around in both "Live Mode" and in regular.

[Happy_Mummy]

Thank you for the advice. I had tried looking in the manual under manual focus and didn't see that in the live view section. I found it there now.

Also, using AF it would focus on his forehead instead of his eyes. I tried moving the AF point around with no luck on better focus because Zac is so little he doesn't hold his head very still so even with forcing a certain focus point he just wasn't always "there" when needed!

[veritasimagery]

Originally Posted by Happy_Mummy

Also, using AF it would focus on his forehead instead of his eyes. I tried moving the AF point around with no luck on better focus because Zac is so little he doesn't hold his head very still so even with forcing a certain focus point he just wasn't always "there" when needed!

I think you'll find the same issue with manual focus. If your subject is moving around it's gonna give you headaches no matter if it's AF or MF. You're basically gonna be doing the same thing, place a focus and hope he stays there while the shutter fires.

Also, unless you are shooting with the aperture wide open, if the camera picks his forehead to AF on, his eyes should still be in focus. That would have to be an extremely shallow DoF. Another thing to look at is what shutter speed you're using. If he's moving, like you say, it may not be a problem of missed focus but of subject movement. If that's what's going on the only thing that will fix it is faster shutter speeds, as opposed to changed to MF.

[Happy_Mummy]

Zac is mostly working on head control and doesn't move forward or back, just side to side. On AF the camera was slow to "find" him and didn't at times. You could be right with the shutter speed though. I noticed that the speeds that the camera used were 1/40 and 1/50 which I realize are slow. I have been shooting on AV with no flash. Maybe I should try shutter priority and do 1/500?

edited to add: if you go to my flickr account I have uploaded 4 of the many pics that I took. Many of the AF pics I took dd not turn out due to focussing I believe, not subject movement.