Whic AF point do you use?

[MLM]

I am taking pics of football players on the field during the game. I will often use the middle AF point on my Canon Rebel Xti to make sure the camera focuses where I want it to. But alot of times, I don't get what I want in focus. Should I let the camera decide which af point? What do other sports photographers use?

Thanks!

[Doug Pardee]

You should be using AI Servo autofocus so that it can track the movements of the players. If you set automatic AF point selection on, AI Servo will start with the center AF point and then try to track the subject if it moves to another AF point. Realistically, this tracking doesn't work too well with the simple AF system on the Digital Rebels; it works a lot better on pro cameras, like the 1DmkIII with its 45-point AF system, dedicated subject tracking processor, and "ring of fire" close-spaced AF points.

So your best bet is to go ahead and use AI Servo with Auto-selection, but try to keep the subject under the center AF point at all times.

[MLM]

Thank you! I will try that!