Why can't Lightroom 3.3 display Canon focus points but Aperture can?

[budjames]

I was playing around with Aperture 3.1 because for my wife's sake, we use iPhoto for all of our family "snap shots" usually capture with a P&S camera. I buy into the fact that Lightroom has tighter integration with Photoshop and is more often the choice with pro photographers, therefore, there is a much larger user base, I was just curious why Aperture can display the Canon focus points but Lightroom cannot?

It's actually a nice feature to be able to switch the focus point viewing on/off to learn more about how my Canon 1Ds MkIII and 5D MkII focus systems work.

Cheers.
Bud

[stamper]

The focus points aren't always accurate. I use View NX and if when taking an image I have focused and then recomposed it doesn't accurately show the focus point. Therefore of limited value.

[johnbeardy]

Because Apple are using the Nikon and Canon SDKs (not sure about other brands of camera) and also use it to write metadata directly into proprietary raw files. There is someone writing a Lightroom plug-in to display focus points, but he's been going very slowly.

John

[Victor Engel]

The focus points aren't always accurate. I use View NX and if when taking an image I have focused and then recomposed it doesn't accurately show the focus point. Therefore of limited value.

What's inaccurate about it? The point is relative to the frame, not relative to the subject.

[stamper]

What's inaccurate about it? The point is relative to the frame, not relative to the subject.

So if it shows somewhere within the frame then it is correct even though it wasn't the one that I originally chose? If I focus somewhere in the bottom left of the frame, with the center focus point selected, and focus lock and then point the camera in a slightly different direction and my focus point is in the center of the image when I press the shutter then you don't know where the original point was. You only see in the program where the the focus was after you pressed the shutter not the original chosen one.

[Victor Engel]

So if it shows somewhere within the frame then it is correct even though it wasn't the one that I originally chose? If I focus somewhere in the bottom left of the frame, with the center focus point selected, and focus lock and then point the camera in a slightly different direction and my focus point is in the center of the image when I press the shutter then you don't know where the original point was. You only see in the program where the the focus was after you pressed the shutter not the original chosen one.

The indicator doesn't say what was being focused, only which focus sensor was used. The two correspond only if the camera and subject didn't move relative to one another between focus lock and shutter release. I can't see how it could be any other way.

[budjames]

Wow! I didn't intend to spark such a heated debate. I thought that I asked a simple question.

LOL!!!

I just purchased a Zeiss 21mm f2.8 for my Canon 1DsMkII and 5DMkII. After a couple of dozen images shot in my backyard adn around the house, all I can say is WOW!!!!

Cheers.
Bud

[stamper]

The indicator doesn't say what was being focused, only which focus sensor was used. The two correspond only if the camera and subject didn't move relative to one another between focus lock and shutter release. I can't see how it could be any other way.

Therefore of limited value.

[Steve Weldon]

I wish Lightroom had this feature as well.  I find it a wonderful training aid and my students love going back after a shoot and seeing which focus point was activated, where it was placed, if they achieved focus at that point or not..  Currently I have to use Breezebrowser Pro for this.

[stamper]

Quote

which focus point was activated, where it was placed, if they achieved focus at that point or not.

Unquote

Correct!