What does a green frame on my Canon SX40HS indicate ?

[James15]

I purchased a Canon SX40HS and studied the manual.

When talking pictures in AUTO mode I often notice a green frame on the display but
the manual mentions nothing about this.

I assume it means take the picture,everything is fine ( focus etc etc )

But I am not 100 % sure,therefore I decided to contact some experts.

By the way: is only the section in the green frame 100 in focus ?

As an example : I want to take a picture of a person where the priority is a sharp picture of the face.
Do I make sure the face is in the green frame and then shoot ?

Thank you for your help.

James15

 

[scorpion_tyr]

I'm assuming you're talking about the green rectangle in live view mode that indicates the camera has achieved auto focus. Is the square white, and then turn green? That's at least the way it works on my 60D.

If I'm right about it, it just means your camera has focused on something within that frame. It will probably be the largest, closest, or object with the most contrast. Depending on what you're doing there may be things in that frame out of focus and there may be things outside that frame that are in focus.

Basically when a camera and lens achieve focus, either auto or manual, it is only setting a certain distance. Anything at that same distance from the focal plane (a point inside of your camera) will be in focus. What is out of focus will depend on your Depth of Field (DOF) and your DOF will depend on your aperture, focal length, and distance to the subject.

That green frame should be the focus point I think it is so yes if you put that on a model's face and let it focus the face should be nice and sharp. Just make sure to read your manual about how to focus and different focusing modes. If you want to get a good sharp picture of someone's face I always suggest focusing on the eyes. I always make sure the eyes are the sharpest part of all my portraits since they're the windows to the soul and all.

Hope that answered your questions.