Focus is the mechanism of converging light from a point light source onto an imaging plane by a lens.
3
votes
1answer
251 views
Why does my Canon 1000D focus only on the bottom part of an image?
I had it checked in case it needed repair, but they said they could not find a problem with it.
I really need help on this one.
[the process]
I turn the camera on, select M mode, select the top ...
1
vote
2answers
238 views
Is there a way to use phase detection AF with live view on a Canon EOS camera?
On any of the EOS xx(x)D model that has the live view function, can the camera make focus using the AF collimators (instead of using contrast detection), as it's possible on the old Nikon D300 ?
If ...
2
votes
1answer
230 views
Wide angle + macro converter
I just bought an "0.43x Super Wide Angle" converter. The converter consist of two separate parts, a wide angle (W) part and a macro (M) part. The full converter screws on the filter thread of my Sigma ...
46
votes
14answers
5k views
How does one focus for landscape photos in very dark conditions?
Tonight I tried my best to take some night landscapes in the darkest of dark conditions. Hoping for an epic composition of the Milky Way and a landmark.
Of course, none of my glass could auto focus ...
23
votes
18answers
1k views
What are some techniques for hand-held image stabilization?
My zoom lens (75-300mm) is fairly slow: 5.6 at its farthest point. (I think it's 3.5-5.6, and it's not image stabilizing. I'm on a budget, sadly!) Unfortunately, my primary use for it is hand-held ...
29
votes
7answers
829 views
What is “Hyperfocal Distance”?
I'd like a clear & easy-to-understand (especially for non-physics-types) explanation of what Hyperfocal Distance is, how it affects photographs, and what determines its value.
9
votes
1answer
2k views
What is the difference between depth of field and depth of focus?
Reading this answer I realized that I didn't know the difference between the two depths (of field and focus). Browsing related questions didn't reduce the blur (!) between the two...
Wikipedia ...
3
votes
2answers
271 views
How To Fix Badly Functioning Shutter Release-Button?
I have a compact Pentax OptionM10 which I bought in 2006 and sometimes shutter-release button works only when pressing it on edge and under specific angle, but mostly as I apply little pressure which ...
3
votes
2answers
562 views
All my photos were blurry
I recently did a shoot of a baby and my 6 year old son, and I got some fantastic shots that were super sharp. I then did another shoot of a 6 year old and toddler and every single photo was slightly ...
3
votes
1answer
362 views
Taking pictures with fixed/full focus camera
I have got a fixed focus, 5 MP camera with 3.3mm focal length (not sure what it means) on my phone. I want to know what's the best way to take pictures with since it's missing auto-focus feature. Is ...
13
votes
2answers
553 views
What makes the focus ring on a lens go smoothly?
I’m curious about the smooth movement of the zoom or focus rings on a lens. How is the smooth movement done? Is there some kind of liquid with high viscosity? That doesn’t sound very probable. On the ...
17
votes
7answers
3k views
How to nail focus for DSLR astrophotography?
I've been doing a bit of astrophotography and the problem that I almost always have is nailing focus. I'll manually focus on a bright star or the moon (which hopefully isn't an option!) by magnifying ...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
combine video frames for clarity [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
CSI image resolution enhance: How real is it?
Apologies if this isn't the best SE for this search.
What might be good software, esp. opensource/freeware, to combine ...
10
votes
3answers
415 views
Focussing on a mirror image
When I take photographs of a subject reflected by a surface (water, mirror, glass) I notice that the focussing distance is not the distance from my camera to the surface, but mostly it is close to ...
12
votes
4answers
1k views
How do you use the different autofocus points on your DSLR?
My Nikon D300 has quite a few autofocus points. There's a button I can operate with my thumb to change the autofocus point but I find that quite difficult to use. So I almost exclusively use the ...
8
votes
5answers
359 views
Are there DSLR lenses that don't allow for manual focus?
I am looking into getting a Nikon soon (either a D3100 or a D5100). One of the reasons that I am upgrading from a point and shoot is because I want to have more control over the camera's functions. In ...
6
votes
2answers
627 views
How can I get more of this macro photo in focus?
I want to make a full focus on the body, for example:
I need to have a clear focus on the each balls in the photo. I used just single point focus.
In this picture I used:
shutter speed: 8
...
2
votes
3answers
2k views
What is the technical difference between focus and zooming?
This may look like a silly question but I don't know what the difference between zooming and focusing is. Zooming in will usually let me have fewer subjects in the scene while zooming out will allow ...
5
votes
4answers
499 views
What's the difference between holding a half-pressed shutter button and pressing the AE lock?
As I have been looking around today the AE lock button is supposed to lock in the focus and exposure settings (aperture and shutter) so that the picture can be recomposed before taken. I also believe ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I find infinity focus on a kit lens with no markers?
I have a kit lens which has no markers. What would be a recommended way to find infinity focus on this lens?
I plan to shoot objects at night -- not necessarily stars or the moon. So, adjusting the ...
4
votes
4answers
293 views
How can I make close-by objects appear as if they were much bigger?
We all know the popular Tilt Shift technique that gives objects a "miniature" look, making them appear much smaller than they actually are.
I'm wondering whether it's possible to achieve the opposite ...
1
vote
3answers
323 views
What techniques are there to get focus and/or lock exposure other than center, half-press, and recompose?
The way I shoot is this:
turn the camera so that the subject is in the middle of the
viewfinder, where my center point is,
press the shutter half way, the camera now focuses the lens on the subject ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
Are there cheap or DIY focus assist solutions for the Canon 5D?
I want a better autofocus system for low light. Low light auto focus is my biggest bane.
I use a 5D so the options are AF on a flash like the 430 or 580. I happen to use the Pocket Wizard TT1 so I ...
6
votes
3answers
743 views
What are “Depth of field and focus scales”?
I'm reading Kurt Munger's review of SAL75300 (Sony's 75-300mm F/4.5-5.6 lens) and I noticed the entry "Depth of field and focus scales? Nothing" in his summary table. Now, I know what depth of field ...
13
votes
3answers
2k views
Can software auto-detect image focus?
I was wondering if there was any photo management software out there that could auto detect and "rate" images on how in focus they are.
This comes up for me quite commonly when i am looking through a ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
How do I keep both the background and foreground in the image in focus at the same time?
How do you have both the background and foreground in the image in focus at the same time?
Last week I was attempting a shot where I had the back of a hat in focus and in the distance you could see a ...
5
votes
2answers
718 views
Can I combine several low quality pics into one higher quality picture?
Is there an easy tool to combine low quality pics taken from a mobile phone, all of the same thing but taken within a few seconds interval from one another, mostly suffering from slight out of focus ...
0
votes
2answers
107 views
How many pictures per play should I take in outdoor sports?
I have recently started photographing outdoor sports, and I want to know when I see a good play happening, should I immediately hold down the rapid-shot button, and take a ton of pictures hoping to ...
5
votes
2answers
280 views
How is the term Gaussian blur used?
Is the term Gaussian blur used strictly in post-production, or can it also be used as a term for an out-of-focus area in your image when you-re taking the picture? I'm pretty sure that bokeh is used ...
8
votes
3answers
554 views
When a camera auto-focuses, is the current focus distance reported from the lens to the camera?
The question says it all -- does the camera "know" how far the subject is from the lens, i.e. what is the current exact focus distance set at the lens?
14
votes
3answers
1k views
Why does using a tilt-shift lens make things look miniature?
This question isn't so much about how to achieve the effect of making a scene look like it's modelled in miniature, but why tilting the focal plane creates the effect. What is it about photographing ...
0
votes
1answer
435 views
Auto-focusing problem on a Canon 500D with a EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS(standard kit lens)
I'm having problems with the lens. I've tried auto-focusing with my other lenses, and it works fine. It can only auto-focus one way, i.e. the focusing ring is still able to move, but only able to turn ...
82
votes
6answers
6k views
What is bokeh, exactly?
I understand that "bokeh" refers to out-of-focus areas of an image — but there is obviously more to it than that. What does the term mean exactly? How well is bokeh really understood? Is it purely ...
7
votes
4answers
758 views
Why are my photos taken at f/11 less sharp than those taken at a wider aperture?
I am new to photography. I have Fujifilm FinePix HS10 camera. Lately I was trying my hands on landscape photography.
I learnt from different tutorials that setting high aperture value gets most of ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
Is it difficult to focus on 1.4F prime lens, and if it is how to counter that?
Does difficulty in focusing have anything to do with 1.4F (Nikon G)?
Will it be still difficult if I use manual focus?
Is auto focus too slow?
Is there a way to counter it?
This example photo (from ...
7
votes
4answers
439 views
Why does my lens focus better/faster with a speedlight attached to the camera?
I have a Nikon d90 and have often found that the camera reaches focus faster, with less re-adjusting and missing the focus, when I have a speedlight (the Nikon sb-600 in my case) attached.
Why is ...
31
votes
7answers
4k views
How can I get sharp manual focus despite poor eyesight?
I suffer from astigmatism. It's only mild, though I feel it's affecting what I'm seeing when looking through the viewfinder. Frequently, after shooting a photo with my Canon EOS 7D, I'll load it into ...
2
votes
2answers
199 views
Why doesn't pixel peeping with magnified Live View give the sharpest possible image?
I've seen this comment (most recently in this question), or similar, in several answers here on photo.SE: "Pixel peeped images aren't likely to look sharp".
Why is that? It would seem to me that if ...
2
votes
3answers
972 views
Is there a webcam that can focus to infinity, for time-lapse landscapes?
Does anyone here know of a webcam (at least 720p) that has the ability to focus to infinity?
At least one webcam I know of (Logitech C910) doesn't allow that.
I would like to use it for time lapse ...
6
votes
3answers
679 views
How can I achieve this effect, where the flower is sharp and everything else is blurry?
I was wondering how it is possible to take a picture like this.
Please have a look here for some example pictures. The flower is sharp, and everything else looks like taken with a long shutter.
Is ...
19
votes
2answers
2k views
What tips and advice do you have for photographing the Aurora Borealis?
A friend has been kind enough to lend me a DSLR for a few months. It's my first foray into DSLR photography, or indeed any kind of photography beyond simply aiming my Canon IXUS at something and ...
6
votes
4answers
642 views
Are there macro focusing techniques for handheld shots?
I know that when doing much macro work that the autofocus system is nearly useless. When hand holding and trying to manually focus, I find myself continually going a little too far or just not far ...
2
votes
2answers
231 views
How can I find which lenses have “Continuous manual focus”?
Canon lenses with USM auto focus can be called "continuous manual focus" (at least some). By this I mean that you can override the AF without switching it off. I've found this very handy, and I often ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
Is it possible to measure distance to an object by adjusting the focus?
This is maybe not a 100% on topic photography, but I couldn't find a better stackexchange site to post this on and maybe you guys can help me out.
I have a camera that takes pictures of a production ...
7
votes
4answers
1k views
How can I get maximum DoF with no distance markers?
I am aware of what hyperfocal distance is and the general principles behind it. However, most of the tutorials I have seen and read regarding it make use of lenses with focus distance indicators. ...
6
votes
4answers
662 views
How can I get sharp images using optical zoom function on a point-and-shoot?
We’ve got a point-and-shoot (Canon A590 IS), and it seems that the zoom function is completely useless because it is always blurry, even in broad daylight. For example, I tried to take a picture of a ...
11
votes
7answers
497 views
How do I get proper focus when photographing lightning strikes?
I've been lucky to have the opportunity to photograph several large thunderstorms in Colorado recently, however I ran into a couple issues. The first issue I've run into is getting proper focus.
As a ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Are there advantages to using a viewfinder for focusing instead of using a camera's rear LCD screen?
Are there any particular advantages to using the viewfinder for focusing instead of the LCD?
6
votes
1answer
308 views
Does focus breathing make a lens slower when close focusing?
I've heard that focal length of some lenses will become noticeably longer when focusing to a close distance, an effect called "focus breathing". Since f-number is focal length divided by diameter of ...
2
votes
2answers
826 views
Is there a way to do focus bracketing on Nikon D90 with Nikkor 105mm f/2.8?
One feature I loved in my old Canon G6 was the ability to do focus bracketing in macro photography.
Any hope of focus bracketing using my Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 macro lens on my D90 body?
