Fixing My DSLR Single Point Focus Problem



A few weeks ago I noticed that my Canon EOS 7D camera started using only a single focus point and not the 19-point averaging system that my auto-focusing system should have been using. Below is how I fixed it, albeit temporarily.

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The other day my Canon D7 auto-focus function started to act up a wee bit. Sadly I discovered this after the fact while I was on a journalistic photo.

The problem was that it was using a single, center point of the image and not averaging out the focus in the image with its infamous 19-point auto-focus function.

Grr. (That was not my first verbal reaction, but this was my first printable reaction.)

Whether it be race cars or disc dogs, I had issues. (Did you know that race cars spelled backwards... well, you'll see.)

At least with the disc dog event, I was traveling with the target and was able to post some "artsy" images. LOL...  not. But my NASCAR shooting assignment scrapped about a third of my pictures, or, right after my camera's focusing system started "acting up" for the rest of that weekend.

Double Grr.


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When I took a look at my images sure enough, in almost all cases, it was using the center point square to focus on things.

I could swing it around, pointing at different things and trick it into maybe using itx three or four focus points at times, but it pretty much was acting stubborn about using the center point.

I started scratching my head, wondering if it has always been like this? No, I'm pretty sure I've seen lots of little squares in my viewfinder (focus points) lighting up at times.

Despite the obvious status of the focus system, I could not find any option that I might have activated to start this issue that I could turn off.

I was worried I whacked my lens into some state of confusion!

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One camera shop (Mike's in Menlo Park) said nothing is wrong with it, but it wasn't acting up at the time I brought it to them.  But alas, while chatting with a friend who is about as serious about his photography as any professional I know of, I brought it up to him.

All he said was that this is not the lens, but a setting in the body. I told him I could not figure out the setting that got changed and his reply was to just set all settings back to factory default.

Crickets...

So I figured out how to reset two factory resets. And after that, my 19-point auto-focus came back to me. But this seems to be a temporary fix as it seems that after a while, it returns to its funky state.

So what did I reset?

How to clear all custom settings/functions

-Press the [Menu] Button;

-Scroll to the third settings sub menu (the wrench and three dots.)

-Scroll down on the sub menu, [Clear all Camera Settings]

-Once the "Clear all Camera Settings" is highlighted press the (SET) button.

-Using the Quick Control Dial scroll the setting to [OK]. Press (SET) again.

Here is an instructional video. LINK
This link will take you to the Canon website where you can download the camera manual. LINK


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