Focus Modes

Focus Modes - One Shot or Servo? - Many digital cameras, particularly SLR's, give you the choice of either AI Servo or One Shot focussing. Again, what you choose normally depends on your own style and what you are photographing.

One Shot

This is exactly what it says. The camera will focus correctly for one shot and then you would need to release the shutter button and press again for a new focus point on your subject.

AI Servo

This is a bit more interesting and great technology for sports or wildlife photography as the camera and lens will constantly work together and focus on and adjust for any moving subject within the frame.

E.g. Let's say you are on safari and a leopard is running towards you at great speed. If you are silly enough to stay and photograph this monumental (or just mental) occasion, and you have your focus mode set to One Shot, you wouldn't be able to make good use of your continuous mode of 5 or 8 frames per second as you would need to be repeatedly pressing and releasing the shutter button to refocus each shot.

If you didn't, the big cat would become more and more out of focus as it approached with the original point of focus nicely sharp all the way!

If you had the camera set to AI Servo on the other hand, you could just keep your finger pressed firmly on the shutter knowing that the AI Servo tracking focus is taking care of everything, right up to the point of your untimely death!

Most modern DSLR's also have sensors amongst the focus points that determine which part of the image is moving, meaning you can set the focus points to ALL and be quite certain that the camera will track your subject.

So for sports and wildlife photography, the best set up may well be to use all focus points with AI Servo focussing if your camera allows it, but again, it still takes a lot of practice to get it right.

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