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I've read a lot but could not find a clear explanation. As I understand, a lens can only focus physically on one point since the focus depends on the physical position of the lens vis-a-vis the sensor. So what is the purpose of these 49 focus points my camera has? Does the camera take an average of the points to determine the final single focus? In that case, I don't see why 49 points would be any better than 5 or 10 points.

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You're right about the physical / optical limitation. There is only one plane of focus, and you can't use multiple focus-system focus points to get around that.

The advantage is simply that you can choose what to focus on without changing the framing or otherwise recomposing. If the thing you want in focus is over in a corner, you can select the corresponding focus point, and there you go.

Additionally, modern advanced autofocus systems generally have modes where they track subject motion. This is super-useful for sports, wildlife — or just your kids at the playground. More focus points (and ideally a wide spread of them) make this possible.

Modes where the camera allows more than one focus point to be active do one of three things (depending on the specific camera and settings):

  1. They grab one of the focus points as determined by the camera's processor. Probably the one that's most in focus already, or the most contrasty — but it could be more complicated than that.
  2. They try to optimize depth of field so that multiple points are in as much focus as possible.
  3. They use the multiple points as part of a tracking mode, as above.
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  • \$\begingroup\$ So you're saying a single focus point is tied to a specific portion of the image- if it had just one focus point, it physically could not focus on the sides, for example. But what about when it uses multiple focus points at once to focus, is it taking the average of these? In other words, what's the point of using more than one focus point at the same time, if a lens can physically focus on one only? \$\endgroup\$
    – Marco
    Apr 25, 2018 at 16:09
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Marco Edited to expand on that \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Apr 25, 2018 at 16:48
  • \$\begingroup\$ by the way, are there focus points on a camera with a touchscreen (any help?) or are they there to indicate that the some places cannot be (auto)focused? \$\endgroup\$
    – user152435
    Apr 25, 2018 at 17:16
  • \$\begingroup\$ @user152435 That sounds like it might be a separate question. Some cameras with touchscreens let you select focus points in that way — is that what you mean? \$\endgroup\$
    – mattdm
    Apr 25, 2018 at 17:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ @user152435 A touchscreen can be used as an interface to allow manual selection of which focus point to use. For example, when photographing a computer component on my desk I'll set up the framing first and then touch the screen to indicate on which part of the component I want the focal plane to be set, and the camera will do its autofocus using that point. \$\endgroup\$
    – cjs
    Mar 25, 2022 at 5:37

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