03: AF Area Mode

This entry is a duplication of the autofocus area mode options in the Quick Settings menu, as described in Chapter 1. You can also choose any of these modes from the Custom Setting menu. You’ll find more about autofocus and focus modes in Chapter 6. To recap, the three choices are:

• Closest Subject. The D60 selects the focus point containing the subject that is nearest to the camera. This mode is used automatically in Auto, Auto (Flash Off), Portrait, Landscape, Child, and Night Portrait scene modes. It is the default mode for Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Manual exposure modes, but you can select one of the other two modes. It’s an excellent choice when you are confident that the closest object in the frame will also be your center of interest, regardless of its position within the picture. You have to trust the D60’s “smarts” when using this mode, because you cannot select the focus area manually.

• Dynamic area. In this autofocus area mode, you can choose which of the three focus points will be used using the multi-selector left/right buttons. However, if the subject moves from the point you have specified, the D60 will focus based on information from one of the other two focus zones. This mode is best for subjects that are moving unpredictably, as in sports activities. In fact, this mode is applied automatically with the Sports scene setting.

• Single point. You choose which of the three focus points are used. This mode is best for stationary subjects, because you can select the focus zone when you frame the photo, and the D60 won’t depart from that in calculating autofocus. This mode is used automatically in Close-up scene mode.