Digital SLR close up focusing techniques
Digital SLR close up focusing techniques | ||
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When shooting close-up or macro images, rotating the focusing ring on the lens will have little or no effect. The best method is to set the lens for a specific magnification, and then move the whole camera and lens combination backwards and forwards to the subject to bring the image into focus. Special focusing rails are available for this, enabling very fine control. Most lenses and cameras nowadays have an autofocus (AF) capability (some less-expensive cameras do not offer the option of turning it o ff), which is one of the great innovations for 'conventional' photography. For macro photography, however, it is less useful, and may even lead to incorrect focusing. In the camera viewfinder are a number of AF points or zones, from 4 or 5 to 50 or more in high-end cameras. When one of these points is selected, that is the region of the image that the lens will focus on. If, however, the most important part of the subject is smaller than that zone, or cannot be distinguished by the camera (e.g., a strand of a spider's web) then the lens may not focus correctly, and constantly 'hunt' for the correct focus. For that reason it is essential that any camera system you choose for close-up photography has a manual focus facility, so you can focus precisely on the most important area of the subject. | ||