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Using Dual-Pixel Autofocus on the Canon C300 Mark II

Along with the new Canon C200, the C300 Mark II holds the crown for best continuous autofocus implementation available today. It makes solo operator shooting much more plausible, it makes gimbal work simpler, and it opens all sorts of possibilities for an already feature-rich camera. No longer are you constrained to a single, locked box in the center of the screen. Now, we have 80% of the sensor area to work with, and any area within that is selectable and usable. So let’s dig into it.

Activating Dual-Pixel Autofocus

The first step, unsurprisingly, is to turn the autofocus on. In the Camera Setup menu, select focus, then AF Mode, and choose continuous. One other option may be of note to your First AC - AF boosted MF. In this mode, the AF system will passively monitor your manual focus pulling and only step in to lock focus when you have pulled to a specific target. This subtly helps to eliminate those slightly-soft pulls while still allowing you full creative control over your image.  

Tuning Dual-Pixel Autofocus 

Also unlike the first generation of Dual-Pixel Autofocus in the C300 and C100, the C300 Mark II offers many customizable options to help you set the behavior exactly how you like it. You can adjust the AF Speed with newer lenses, which limits how fast the camera will whip from focus point to focus point. You can choose to enable or disable Face Detection and Tracking, which does exactly what it sounds like it should do. And you can also determine the position and size of the AF Frame, the bounded area that the C300 Mark II will hold focus on. 

Manipulating the AF Frame on the C300 Mark II

Once you have set the behavior of the Dual-Pixel Autofocus within the Autofocus menu, it is time to move into the world of real shooting - and of having to adapt on the fly. Luckily with the C300 Mark II, this process is very easy. The frame can be moved very simply with the joystick mounted either on the rear of the camera body or on the detachable monitor unit. It can also be scaled larger or smaller from the Focus menu we explored above, which gives you flexibility in a variety of shooting scenarios. You can also move the box in quadrants using the control dial on the camera, or return it to the center of frame by pressing cancel.

Face Tracking Customization

If you have Face Tracking enabled, the workflow is very similar. The C300 Mark II will draw a box around each face that it can see, and you simply use the joystick to toggle between them as needed. But you also have access to another submenu called Face AF, which allows you to customize even more. From here you can choose either Face Only or Face Priority. In Face Only mode, the C300 Mark II will not attempt to focus on anything it does not recognize as human. This can prevent it from straying in confusing scenes, but may hinder you if your subject leaves frame. The other, more flexible option is Face Priority. This gives the camera permission to revert to the AF Frame method if it cannot locate a face within your shot. 

Face tracking, locked and ready
Face tracking, locked and ready

Assignable Buttons

Many of the auto focus features can be controlled quickly during a shot by assigning them to physical buttons on the camera. Holding the menu button, tap a button you’d like to assign. Popular functions include AF Lock for temporarily disengaging the auto focus, Face AF for changing between Face Priority and Face Only, as well as Tracking for tracking objects throughout the frame in the same manner as the face detection.

In Conclusion

With so many settings to customize, you can feel safe in the knowledge that Canon has your back in almost any shooting scenario. The Dual-Pixel Autofocus is a powerful assistant whether you want to focus manually or hands-off, shooting faces or shooting B-roll. Play around with it on your next shoot and you will find it an invaluable tool in your arsenal. 


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