What's Manual Focus All About?

Manual focus is not just still alive in an era of more sophisticated autofocus – it is being reborn.

- Marcus Hawkins

Despite the advances that camera manufacturers have made in terms of autofocus performance, with systems that include more sensitive and precise AF points, faster acquisition times and better tracking, there are still occasions where only manual focusing will do. Autofocus isn’t infallible: it can lock onto the wrong part of the scene that you’re photographing, and it can struggle when there’s not enough light available or when there’s not enough of a contrast between the subject and the rest of the scene for the AF sensors to detect it. In these situations, the lens will repeatedly focus backwards and forwards, ‘hunting’ for something to lock onto before eventually giving up.

Shooting through obstacles such as long grass, branches or windows can also prove frustrating, as the camera’s autofocus system will tend to settle onto the object closest to it rather than the subject beyond. Unsurprisingly, moving subjects pose a particular set of problems for autofocus, especially if they enter the frame at speed or from an unexpected location.

Manual focusing can get you out of tight spots like these. You can correct autofocus inaccuracies and set the focus distance in situations where the camera can’t find anything to bite onto. Manual focusing provides consistency: once the focus is set, the camera can’t focus anywhere else.