Beginner Is it possible to manually set the auto focus?

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jack whieldon

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Jack
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I have a nikon 5300

is it possible to set the square in the viewfinder to a certain place and the auto focus will focus in on that position without changing ?
 
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jack whieldon said:
I have a nikon 5300

is it possible to set the square in the viewfinder to a certain place and the auto focus will focus in on that position without changing ?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I understand the question.

Can you explain what you're trying to do and we'll give you some pointers.
 
AdamTudor said:
As in just manually select the focus point? That's how I read the question?
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yes sorry not with all the lingo haha

yes i want to manually set the focus point but auto focus to actually get the focus

sorry finding it hard to explain
 
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Sure! As described in the manual, the focus point may be set anywhere in the
focus area and the selected point is where the focus will be done… for as long
as the focus point remains there. At anytime, you may take it back to the middle
of the area by pressing the centre of the selection wheel.

It is best, for such details, to adopt the RFM strategy and develop an intimate
knowledge of your gear.
 
You move the 4 way button on the back of the camera which moves the little red box to a selected area. Once selected this is the focus point area that the auto focus will use.
 
when im looking through the viewfinder to select my focus point, and im on auto focus it wont move though only on manual focus.

when on auto focus it will select its own focus point
 
Are you using the pre- program modes?
If so then no, the focus point is set within these programmes.
 
It lets you see all the nice red squares lighting up all over the place. Quite enjoyable but the photos tend to be rubbish :D
 
One simple option for a beginner is this : focus the single point (central square) on your subject, then half depress the shutter. This will lock focus (while the shutter is half-pressed), allowing you to recompose to place your subject where you want it. Some people prefer this option anyway, and it's especially useful on cameras where you can't move the focus point.

A second way is to use the AF Lock button, which simply replaces the half-press of the shutter to lock focus while you recompose.
 
Chrisphoter said:
One simple option for a beginner is this : focus the single point (central square) on your subject, then half depress the shutter. This will lock focus (while the shutter is half-pressed), allowing you to recompose to place your subject where you want it. Some people prefer this option anyway, and it's especially useful on cameras where you can't move the focus point. A second way is to use the AF Lock button, which simply replaces the half-press of the shutter to lock focus while you recompose.
Click to expand...
•
+1
…I see someone else has adopted the RFM strategy to better understanding one's gear… Cool!
 
Chrisphoter said:
One simple option for a beginner is this : focus the single point (central square) on your subject, then half depress the shutter. This will lock focus (while the shutter is half-pressed), allowing you to recompose to place your subject where you want it. Some people prefer this option anyway, and it's especially useful on cameras where you can't move the focus point.

A second way is to use the AF Lock button, which simply replaces the half-press of the shutter to lock focus while you recompose.
Click to expand...

That's known as 'focus-recompose' technique and many experienced photographers use it all the time - it's very fast and usually easier than fiddling with buttons. It works best with 'back-button AF' that is an option with most cameras, which removes the focusing function from the shutter release and assigns it to a button on the back under your thumb. Lots of threads on this method.
 
But what if you do this and the subject is then out of focus when u move to them, as you have moved from where your camera originally focused
 
jack whieldon said:
But what if you do this and the subject is then out of focus when u move to them, as you have moved from where your camera originally focused
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With ultra fast lenses at close distances, the swing of the body can be enough to change the distance. But that's a really niche situation in reality (very fast and very close), because the plane of focus is just that, if you think of your plane of focus as being a glass wall at the exact distance from the camera as the point you focussed on, and the DoF around that, you'd have to be pretty clumsy with your movement to change the distance significantly enough to take a subject OoF.
 
jack whieldon said:
But what if you do this and the subject is then out of focus when u move to them, as you have moved from where your camera originally focused
Click to expand...
Try it.

First of all, make sure the camera's focus mode is set to AF-S (single focus) and not AF-C (continuous focus).

Point the camera at your subject so that the central focus point in the viewfinder is where you want to focus. Half press the shutter button and the camera will focus on your subject. Don't release the shutter button. Keep half pressing it, and point the camera differently so that your subject isn't in the middle of the frame. When you have the composition as you like it, finish pressing the shutter button. So long as you haven't moved the camera backwards or forwards, and have just changed the direction in which you point it, the subject will stay in focus the whole time.

Try it.
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•
+1
…I see someone else has adopted the RFM strategy to better understanding one's gear… Cool!
Click to expand...
I'm retired now, but I owe my whole career to the obscure and little known route to expertise of going to the extreme length of actually reading the manual. Even in research labs very few people read the equipment manuals.
 
jack whieldon said:
But what if you do this and the subject is then out of focus when u move to them, as you have moved from where your camera originally focused
Click to expand...

I commonly find this in Macro mode, as the distance is so close that between the half-press and firing, I could have moved forward or back fractionally, which at full open aperture to give shallow DOF, is enough to throw the focus point out. So for such shots I use AFF - this forces the camera to refocus at the point of firing the shutter. For a moving subject that is not close to the camera, you would use AFC which tracks (with varying success) the movement.
 
Phil V said:
With ultra fast lenses at close distances, the swing of the body can be enough to change the distance. But that's a really niche situation in reality (very fast and very close), because the plane of focus is just that, if you think of your plane of focus as being a glass wall at the exact distance from the camera as the point you focussed on, and the DoF around that, you'd have to be pretty clumsy with your movement to change the distance significantly enough to take a subject OoF.
Click to expand...

Yes, and I would add that the pre-focused subject has to be a long way off-centre towards the edge of the frame to create a significant error. And if you try it, you will be so close and the depth of field so shallow, that the much more likely error is a change in the actual shooting distance through movement of either the camera or the subject (or both).

The problem is a theory (correct!) rather than a real practical issue except in rare situations. There are some blog posts around the web that like to suggest otherwise, but they're flawed.
 
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