Autofocus, set up right
How do you set up the R8's autofocus so it holds your subject?
Tracking needs Servo AF
Every tracking setup depends on Servo AF: the camera keeps adjusting while you hold the button half-pressed. One-Shot AF locks once — right for still life, wrong for anything that breathes or walks. AI Focus AF switches automatically; Servo is the deliberate choice.
Pick the area by the subject
Spot AF and 1-point AF take one exact point. Flexible Zone AF works a patch of the frame you can size and move — the home most shooters should live in. For movers, Whole area AF plus Whole area tracking Servo AF lets Servo follow the subject across the entire frame. This body has no joystick: move the point with the cross keys, or by touch and drag on the screen.
Name the subject exactly
Canon tunes detection to the named subject: Auto, People, Animals, Vehicles, None. Animals means dogs, cats, birds and horses; Vehicles means sports cars, motorcycles, aircraft and trains. When you know the subject, name it exactly — Auto is for days when anything can show up.
Tell it which eye
Eye detection carries the choice inside itself: Auto, Right eye, or Left eye. For portraits, set the eye nearer the camera — if it is not found, the camera falls back to the other eye rather than losing focus.
Set Servo AF and Whole area AF with tracking on, name today's subject under Subject to detect, then track something moving across the frame and watch it follow instead of hunting.