An ophthalmic surgical system includes an imaging system to generate a first image, an imaging system to generate a second image, and an image registration system to receive the first image, receive the second image, track a location of a distal tip of a surgical instrument in the first image, define a priority registration region in the first image comprising a portion of the first image within a predetermined proximity of the distal tip, register the priority registration region in the first image with a corresponding region in the second image, and update registration of the priority registration region in the first image with the corresponding region in the second image in real time as the distal tip is moved, without registering portions of the first or second images that are outside the registration regions.
