Canon R100 Autofocus Settings: A Simple Beginner's Guide

For most photos on the Canon EOS R100, use One-Shot AF for still subjects, Servo AF for moving ones, and the Face + Tracking area so the camera can find people's eyes for you. When there are no people in the picture, switch to 1-point or Zone AF, and for video, film in Full HD if you want the camera's best autofocus, because 4K uses a slower system.

That is the short answer. The rest of this guide walks you through each setting in plain words, so you know what it does and when to reach for it.

How autofocus works on the R100, in plain words

Your eyes focus all day without you thinking about it. Look at your hand, then look out a window, and your eyes quietly adjust. Autofocus is the camera doing the same job: it moves tiny parts inside the lens until your subject looks crisp.

The R100 uses Dual Pixel CMOS AF. Think of it as millions of tiny helpers on the sensor, each checking whether its little patch of the picture is sharp. Canon says the system covers up to 143 separate distance measurement areas.

The R100's system is an older design than the one in the Canon EOS R50, which uses Dual Pixel CMOS AF II. Reviewers still speak well of it. Digital Camera World calls the R100's Dual Pixel Autofocus "incredibly robust", and The Digital Picture describes it as a high-performance Dual Pixel CMOS implementation that lets you concentrate on composition and timing.

The R100 kit pairs the body with the Canon RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM lens.

Autofocus comes down to two choices. The focus mode decides when the camera focuses: once, or over and over. The focus area decides where in the picture it looks. Get those two right and most blurry-photo problems shrink.

Focus modes: One-Shot AF vs Servo AF

One-Shot AF: focus once, then hold

One-Shot AF finds focus and then locks it. Picture taking a photo of a cat asleep on a couch. The cat is not going anywhere, so the camera focuses one time and waits for you to press the button the rest of the way.

One-Shot AF is also the faster burst mode on this camera. Canon lists up to about 6.5 frames per second with One-Shot AF.

Servo AF: keep focusing while things move

Servo AF never stops adjusting while you hold the shutter button halfway. It is like watching a ball roll across the floor: your eyes keep refocusing as it moves. Use it for kids running, a dog playing, or a friend walking toward you.

The trade-off is speed. Canon lists up to about 3.5 frames per second in Servo AF, and The Digital Picture calls that "very slow" for action. That does not make Servo AF a bad choice. It means you should time your shots instead of holding the button down and hoping.

Canon also notes that only certain lenses work with Servo AF, and points owners to the R100 Detailed Guide on its website for the list. If you use an older or adapted lens, check that guide first.

Movie Servo AF for video

For video, the R100 has Movie Servo AF, which keeps adjusting focus while you record. Canon says Eye Detection works with moving subjects in both Servo AF and Movie Servo AF.

Focus mode	What it does	Good for	Burst speed
One-Shot AF	Focuses once and locks	Portraits, landscapes, food, sleeping pets	Up to about 6.5 fps
Servo AF	Keeps focusing while you half-press	Kids, sports, pets on the move	Up to about 3.5 fps
Movie Servo AF	Keeps focusing during video	Filming people who move	Not applicable

Focus areas: telling the camera where to look

The focus mode is the when. The focus area is the where. The Digital Picture lists four focus areas on the R100: Face + Tracking AF, Spot AF, 1-point AF and Zone AF.

Focus area	Size	Points or positions	Best for
Face + Tracking AF	Whole frame, camera chooses	Up to 143 for stills, 99 for video	People
Spot AF	A tiny pinpoint	3,975 positions for stills, 3,375 for movies	Small details, like an eye through leaves
1-point AF	One small box you place	Placed by you	Still subjects that are not people
Zone AF	A larger patch you place	Placed by you	Moving subjects that are not people

Face + Tracking AF

This is the area to use for people. The camera searches the whole picture for a person and follows them. Digital Camera World lists the R100's detection as humans: eyes, face, head and body. In plain words, if it cannot see an eye, it falls back to the face, then the head, then the body.

This setting also matters because Eye Detection only works in Face + Tracking mode. If eye focus seems to be missing, this is the first thing to check.

Spot AF

Spot AF narrows the camera's attention to a pinpoint. Imagine looking at the world through a drinking straw. It helps when something is in the way, like a bird behind twigs, but it is easy to miss with, so save it for those tricky moments.

1-point AF

1-point AF is a single box that you place where you want focus. It is the steady, predictable choice. Put the box on a flower, a coffee cup, or a mountain peak, and the camera focuses right there. PetaPixel's review notes that the classic single-point box still works fine on the R100.

Zone AF

Zone AF gives the camera a bigger patch to watch. Think of it as telling the camera, "focus on whatever is inside this window." It forgives a shaky aim better than 1-point, which makes it a good partner for Servo AF when a pet or a car is moving.

Tracking and eye detection: what the R100 can and cannot do

The R100's tracking is built for people. Canon says its Eye Detection can find the eyes of human subjects with high accuracy from long distances. TechRadar found the face detection and human subject tracking "really sticky and reliable for portraiture", and PetaPixel said eye detection works quite well for casual portraits and family shots.

Here is the limit to know about. PetaPixel points out that the R100 is missing animal and vehicle detection, and that there is no tracking focus beyond people's faces and eyes. The Canon EOS R50, by comparison, adds detection for dogs, cats, birds, racing cars and motorbikes.

That does not mean you cannot photograph your dog. It means you do the aiming:

• For a pet that is sitting still, use One-Shot AF with 1-point AF, and put the box on the eye closest to you.
• For a pet that is running, use Servo AF with Zone AF, and keep the zone over the animal as you follow it.
• If you miss a few, that is normal. Each missed frame teaches your hands where the box needs to be next time.

If you are comparing cameras, the Canon R50 autofocus guide covers what its subject detection adds.

Moving the focus point without a touchscreen

If you came from a phone, you may want to tap the screen to focus. The R100's rear screen is not touch sensitive and is navigated with buttons. PetaPixel describes moving the autofocus box with the directional control pad, or with many turns of the control dial, and lists the lack of a touchscreen as a handling issue for exactly this job.

A few habits make this easier:

• Let Face + Tracking do the work with people. The camera finds the face, so you do not have to move a box at all.
• Use the directional pad, not the dial, for big moves. Pressing toward a corner is quicker than spinning a dial many times.
• Try focus and recompose for still subjects. Leave the box in the middle, half-press to lock focus on your subject in One-Shot AF, then gently move the camera to frame your shot and press the rest of the way. It is like pointing at something, then stepping back to see the whole scene.

Autofocus for video on the R100

This is the part that surprises a lot of new owners. When you record 4K, the R100 switches from Dual Pixel AF to contrast AF. Contrast AF is like finding a radio station by turning the knob a bit past the clearest spot and back again. It gets there, but you can see it searching.

PetaPixel found that in 4K 24p, subjects tend to drift in and out of focus as the camera struggles to track them. Digital Camera World also notes that 4K adds a 1.55x crop on top of the APS-C crop, so footage looks very zoomed in.

The fix is simple: when focus matters, film in Full HD. Dual Pixel AF is available when shooting Full HD, and Digital Camera World lists Full HD at up to 60p. For a talking-head video or filming your kids, sharp Full HD usually looks better than soft 4K.

For more on video basics, see the beginner's guide to shooting video with any camera.

Starter settings for common situations

Use these as a starting point, not a rulebook. Once you see how each one behaves, you can mix and match.

What you are shooting	Focus mode	Focus area
A person posing for a portrait	One-Shot AF	Face + Tracking
Kids playing or a friend walking	Servo AF	Face + Tracking
A sleeping pet or a flower	One-Shot AF	1-point AF
A dog running or a passing car	Servo AF	Zone AF
A bird behind branches	One-Shot AF	Spot AF
A landscape or a building	One-Shot AF	1-point AF
Filming yourself or family	Movie Servo AF, Full HD	Face + Tracking

When your photo is still blurry

Sometimes autofocus did its job and the photo is still soft. That is a learning moment, not a failure. There are usually two other causes.

Motion blur

The shutter speed is like a door opening and closing. If the door stays open a long time, anything that moves, including your hands, smears across the picture. A faster shutter speed, like 1/500 of a second for a running child, freezes the moment. If you are not sure how to set this, the guide to auto, priority and manual modes explains it step by step.

Dim light and the kit lens

The kit lens has an aperture range of f/4.5 to f/6.3. The aperture works like the pupil of your eye: a wider opening lets in more light. PetaPixel argues the kit lens gets worse in anything other than bright sunlight because of that narrow aperture range. Indoors, you may need to raise your ISO so you can keep the shutter speed fast. Digital Camera World lists the R100's ISO range as 100 to 12800.

If you are just starting, it is fine to lean on the camera for a while. The Digital Picture notes that the R100's A+ mode picks the settings for you, and that beginners can step up through Creative Assist adjustments to full manual control. Use A+ to get comfortable, then try the focus settings above one at a time.

Want the bigger picture on what all these numbers mean? Read Camera Specs Explained next.