Using EOS R5 Joystick for AF

I haven’t been able to get the joystick to move my focus point. It just wouldn’t do anything. I think I’ve figured it out.

I reset all settings to have a baseline. From default, the joystick will not set or move the AF point. It does nothing, in fact.

1) C.Fn3 Menu, Item 3: “Customize Buttons”: You must scroll to the last item, “Multi-Controllers” and Enable “Direct AF Point Selection”

But it still did nothing. Hmm…

2) AF5 Menu (AF Menu, Tab 5): Select “Initial Servo Point for :-)[] and set it to NOT Auto. Either of the other two modes.
NOW the joystick works!

I have re-enabled BBF and the joystick still works. It works with the AF-ON button, which I have configured to Face Detect, and it works for the * button, which is center point AF without Face Detect.

BUT, it only works with Servo AF. In fact, if I configure the * Button to enable Servo AF, the joystick still won’t work if the camera was in One Shot.
Overall, the joystick seems less useful than it was in the 5D Mark IV. But maybe someone has suggestions?

If you are in the tracking focus mode, and in one-shot af, you CAN’T select a focus point, that’s why it’s not working. If you select another af type (point, zone, etc) then you can use the joystick to move the af both in servo and in one-shot.

A little off topic but since getting my R5 I've have no need for it anymore and neve. If eye focus won't focus in a subject I use the BBF to activate one of the non eye AF modes, physically move the camera so the AF point/s lands on the subject and release it. The eye snaps in.

It much faster for how I shoot. I even use that method if there are two or more subjects in the frame and it does not focus on the eye I want. I'd need to use the joystick is if I had the camera on a tripod but it's been a long time since I've done that.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Zeee wrote:

A little off topic but since getting my R5 I've have no need for it anymore and neve. If eye focus won't focus in a subject I use the BBF to activate one of the non eye AF modes, physically move the camera so the AF point/s lands on the subject and release it. The eye snaps in.

It much faster for how I shoot. I even use that method if there are two or more subjects in the frame and it does not focus on the eye I want. I'd need to use the joystick is if I had the camera on a tripod but it's been a long time since I've done that.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Yes,, of course, but not every subject has eyes.

CameraCarl wrote:

MarshallG wrote:

Zeee wrote:

A little off topic but since getting my R5 I've have no need for it anymore and neve. If eye focus won't focus in a subject I use the BBF to activate one of the non eye AF modes, physically move the camera so the AF point/s lands on the subject and release it. The eye snaps in.

It much faster for how I shoot. I even use that method if there are two or more subjects in the frame and it does not focus on the eye I want. I'd need to use the joystick is if I had the camera on a tripod but it's been a long time since I've done that.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Yes,, of course, but not every subject has eyes.

And I also found that even with eyes, sometimes the camera mis-focuses. For example when photographing prairie chickens the camera invariably focuses on the tail when an eye is clearly visible.

And it can take too long to switch between People and Animal eye tracking; I can assign that to a Menu but not to a button.

MarshallG wrote:

Zeee wrote:

A little off topic but since getting my R5 I've have no need for it anymore and neve. If eye focus won't focus in a subject I use the BBF to activate one of the non eye AF modes, physically move the camera so the AF point/s lands on the subject and release it. The eye snaps in.

It much faster for how I shoot. I even use that method if there are two or more subjects in the frame and it does not focus on the eye I want. I'd need to use the joystick is if I had the camera on a tripod but it's been a long time since I've done that.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Yes,, of course, but not every subject has eyes.

Then the head or the body the body works. Mostly the head.

MarshallG wrote:

CameraCarl wrote:

MarshallG wrote:

Zeee wrote:

A little off topic but since getting my R5 I've have no need for it anymore and neve. If eye focus won't focus in a subject I use the BBF to activate one of the non eye AF modes, physically move the camera so the AF point/s lands on the subject and release it. The eye snaps in.

It much faster for how I shoot. I even use that method if there are two or more subjects in the frame and it does not focus on the eye I want. I'd need to use the joystick is if I had the camera on a tripod but it's been a long time since I've done that.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Yes,, of course, but not every subject has eyes.

And I also found that even with eyes, sometimes the camera mis-focuses. For example when photographing prairie chickens the camera invariably focuses on the tail when an eye is clearly visible.

And it can take too long to switch between People and Animal eye tracking; I can assign that to a Menu but not to a button.

That's a cool feature added to the R6II. I have subject to detect assigned to my set button. I would like to be able to do that on my R7 as well. Setting that to the Q menu can be a bit quicker than relying on MyMenu. If that's the Q menu option you use most often, you can leave it on that, so that's what comes up every time you press the Q menu button. Then we're only talking two button presses in quick succession to switch between people and animals, for example. Also, the R6II has the new auto option for subject to detect, which seems to work pretty well, in my experience so far.

Zeee wrote:

MarshallG wrote:

Zeee wrote:

A little off topic but since getting my R5 I've have no need for it anymore and neve. If eye focus won't focus in a subject I use the BBF to activate one of the non eye AF modes, physically move the camera so the AF point/s lands on the subject and release it. The eye snaps in.

It much faster for how I shoot. I even use that method if there are two or more subjects in the frame and it does not focus on the eye I want. I'd need to use the joystick is if I had the camera on a tripod but it's been a long time since I've done that.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Yes,, of course, but not every subject has eyes.

Then the head or the body the body works. Mostly the head.

Flowers, mountains, buildings, bridges, cars, etc.

juanmaasecas wrote:

If you are in the tracking focus mode, and in one-shot af, you CAN’T select a focus point, that’s why it’s not working. If you select another af type (point, zone, etc) then you can use the joystick to move the af both in servo and in one-shot.

That’s my discovery: By default, the R5 TRIPLE-DISABLES the AF joystick.

MarshallG wrote:

Zeee wrote:

MarshallG wrote:

Zeee wrote:

A little off topic but since getting my R5 I've have no need for it anymore and neve. If eye focus won't focus in a subject I use the BBF to activate one of the non eye AF modes, physically move the camera so the AF point/s lands on the subject and release it. The eye snaps in.

It much faster for how I shoot. I even use that method if there are two or more subjects in the frame and it does not focus on the eye I want. I'd need to use the joystick is if I had the camera on a tripod but it's been a long time since I've done that.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Yes,, of course, but not every subject has eyes.

Then the head or the body the body works. Mostly the head.

Flowers, mountains, buildings, bridges, cars, etc.

Ahhh. I use that method for birding anything moving. Your interests are more suited to the joystick. I’m to lazy anyway. I either use single point for what you shoot or all focus points and let the camera decide.