AF Point(s) Question

[coldyn8w]

Unless I am shooting sports where I understand having many points can track movement of an object (or something like that), Can someone enlighten me on why having a lot of AF points is such a big deal?

What I dont understand is how this computer/mechanical process can really help something that is ultimately decided as a creative decision by the photographer.

How can a camera with 50 AF points know what part of the image I want to be in focus? Do people with all these AF points find they use the focus/recompose method still? Or can these cameras somehow understand what the photographer wants in focus?

 

[Werecow]

Well the idea is that for action in Servo AF mode the camera picks up the target from the centre point only and once it's acquired it can track the subject across the other AF points if and when it does move out of the centre.
It doesn't always work in practice as it depends on how good the camera's AF system is and the type of background.
A higher amount of AF points over the subject as it's moving towards you especially can give a greater keeper rate as well.

It's really not so important in my opinion for single mode AF. Though it is nice to have points near the rule of thirds

 

[Triggaaar]

It's really not so important in my opinion for single mode AF. Though it is nice to have points near the rule of thirds

Indeed, it's nice to be able to focus on someone's eye, for example, without having to recompose. Doesn't matter if you've got some dof, but if you're shooting wide open, recomposing isn't a good option.