Canon 7D: Selecting the AF Point Without Using the AF Point Selection Button

You can select the AF Point with the Joystick/Multi-Controller without first pressing the AF point selection/Magnify button. This applies to:

  • Single-Point AF
  • Spot AF
  • Zone AF

But you first need to configure the camera:

  1. You need to assign the Joystick/Multi-Controller to the AF Selection button with the Menu > Custom Function (2nd icon from the right) > C.Fn IV: Operation/Others > 1 Custom Controls (p 217 of the manual) > Assign the multi-controller to the AF point direct selection (p 220 of the manual).

    You need to do this only once.

  2. Switch to Single-Point AF, or Spot AF, or to Zone AF.
  3. Engage the focus with either the half-press of the shutter (if you have not disabled it) or the AF-ON back button.
  4. Now you can use the Joystick/Multi-Controller to select your focus point.

So why bother? I have configured my AF point/Zone to be linked to the orientation through C.Fn III -12. Most of the times when I make a photo of a person, I turn the camera sideways and use the upper-zone of the Zone-AF. But there are times when I want the focus somewhere else and that's when I use the Joystick/Multi-Controller to change the pocus area.

It's more intuitive (at least to me) and this saves me a button press, I don't have to press the the AF point selection/Magnify button to change the zone.

  • To change the focus points/zones, the focusing must be active.
  • Pressing down the Joystick/Multi-Controller, the camera will return the AF to the default which most of the time is the central point or the central zone depending on the focus mode.