DoF & Manual Focus

WhiteLight

Senior Member
I tried using my lens on 'M' mode rather than allowing it to focus through A/M mode & found that it is not very easy to focus on one portion of an image while keeping the rest out of focus..

For example, while in A/M mode, if there are 2 objects on different planes, its very easy to set the focus point & the lens blurs out the rest except the plane of focus...

Why is this or am i doing something wrong?

Correspondingly, if you are shooting in Manual, both the camera & lens, does it matter if you set the focus point or not?

Thanks in advance!
 

stmv

Senior Member
well, that is just physics, does not matter if you are in autofocus or manual, forced to pick your focal plane, even when using multiple point af, the camera is determining where to put the focus plane. but good to hear you shooting in manual and taking control of that focal point.
 

AC016

Senior Member
Here is a good link for you: Understanding Depth of Field in Photography

Aperture and the distance to the subject that you want to focus on, are the biggest factors in DOF. Last night, i put my focal point al the way to the left of my viewfinder and focused on my wife. I was only sitting a few feet away from her. I had my aperture at about 5.6. I took the pic. My wife was focused and sharp at the left. On the right hand side, everything else was softly out of focus. Read the link, it is a good one.
 

WhiteLight

Senior Member
So you saying that the focus points would matter only in non-manual modes?
Cos i see the red dot every time am focusing on something & at times i don't bother moving the focus point at all.
 

AC016

Senior Member
So you saying that the focus points would matter only in non-manual modes?
Cos i see the red dot every time am focusing on something & at times i don't bother moving the focus point at all.

I was using the center focus point, just one focal point. You can move it around. THis will enable you to focus on one subject. That usbject can be at the very top right hand corner of the photo, in the center or all the way to the left. If you are using all focal points, then yes, you may have the camera focus on something behind your subject or in front, then you will have to refocus and try and get your main subject. Best thing to do, is to get as close to the subject as you can. If not, just use one focal point.
 
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