Autofocus
For a compact camera, the autofocus on the S100 is very snappy, and the contrast detection AF usually has no problem locking onto a target. There are a few AF modes to choose from, with intelligent AiAF the best one for most situations. This will detect the focus from up to nine different points in the scene, and if face detection is turned on it will also look for faces and focus on these.
A single-point AF mode is also available, and the size and position of the point can be changed, with most of the frame available for selection. You can’t focus at the very edges of the frame, but this isn’t really an issue as it is unlikely your subject will be placed at these extremes.
AF tracking is also available, with the autofocus tracking the subject around the frame as it moves. This works well, particularly when photographing a subject moving at a moderate pace. It is also useful if you wish to choose the point of focus to recompose a scene. With a number of button presses required to change the AF point, using focus tracking to chose the AF point and then recompose is a useful time-saving technique.
Manual focus is also available, but given the number of AF modes on offer and its accuracy, it isn’t really necessary, except for macro images.
