Page 89 - (DK) Advanced Photography Guide

FO CUSING 87

FOCUS AIDS

Usually, viewfinders aren’t perfect for judging whether a in Live View, but DSLR optical viewfinders don’t have built-in
subject is in focus. Magnifying the area of focus will make a big magnification. Optional viewfinder magnifiers are available for
difference to your precision when focusing manually; this is easy some models, typically allowing up to 2x magnification.

LIVE VIEW MAGNIFICATION AF POINTS

The Live View image of a DSLR or CSC can be magnified The phase-detection AF points of a DSLR can help to confirm
(usually up to 10x) to show more detail. It’s much easier to see focus even when set to manual. The AF confirmation indicator
whether the image is in focus when it is magnified, particularly in the viewfinder will light when the area under the selected
if used alongside focus peaking (see below). Mount the camera AF point is in focus. Using the AF points this way helps confirm
on a tripod when using Live View magnification to prevent the that your image is sharp, but it does restrict your focusing to
subject-to-camera distance changing as you focus. the AF points, negating some of the benefits of MF.
FOCUS PEAKING

CSC cameras frequently offer a focus-peaking option,
which activates when MF is selected. Focus peaking
adds a colored outline or highlights to sharp areas
of an image. These highlights can often be set to
either subtle or coarse; the latter is easier to see, but it
can obscure the finer details of your subject, making
composition more difficult. Focus peaking is a quick
and useful way to check focus as you shoot.

▶ You can change the
color of the focus-peaking
highlights to make them
easier to see. Choose
something that contrasts
with or is brighter than the
color of your subject. ▲ FOCUS PEAKING AS SEEN ON AN LCD SCREEN

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