Using your manual focus is key in making sure your subject is crisp. You can help yourself by adding lights or using the focus stacking method. Selective Focusing. There are times when you'll want to have full control over your focus. This would be for creative purposes when there are many layers to your scene. Auto vs. Manual Focus for Videos. Here are some likely settings when you need to decide whether to use auto or manual focus when shooting videos. When to use autofocus. Many digital cameras nowadays have great continuous autofocus that can help you take sharp videos without much involvement from you. It would be a shame to let it go to waste Try using manual lenses. Instead of simply adjusting your auto-focus lens to manual, search for vintage manual lenses. These will give you higher-quality images, although you'll need a variety of lenses so you can select the right lens for your needs. For example, use a macro manual lens if you'd like to photograph a close-up of a flower or plant. The default camera app should be able to allow you to focus manually. Just as in the camera view, you can slide out the settings to change exposure, iso, speed, lighting and focus manually, so can If you're a beginner in the wonderful world of photography, if you've never used an older film camera, or a combination of both, you might be unfamiliar with the workings of manual focus. Even if you are, you may not have thought about how you would use it in real-world situations. Manual focus allows you to add certain effects to your video. For example, there is a manual focus technique called rack focus that camera operators use to bring the foreground and background alternatively in and out of focus. Racking focus allows you to direct the viewers' attention within a given shot by focusing on different objects Also due to the nature of your camera focusing on the closest thing it sees, it would be wise to use manual focus in situations where a glass or fence is involved as a barrier. The camera often ends up focusing on the glass or fence and not the subject behind it and this can often pose a huge problem. In this quick guide on how to focus a camera we answer all of the common questions many beginner photographers have about setting the right AF mode and when to use manual focus. [caption id I'm sticking with the apps that come with the OS because I don't want a Microsoft account to download apps. So I'm wondering if my 520 will get a Windows Phone 10 update and a new camera app that allows manual focus. DSLR: Find the MF(manual focus) switch on the lens or front of your camera body, and use the focus or zoom assist button to get the image sharp by turning the focus ring. Camcorder: Set your focus to "M" near the camera lens, and use the focus assist to establish focus. Some cameras don't have focus assist, so check your user manual first. The 9 times manual focus beats autofocus. But back to how to use autofocus properly At first we assume that the camera will just focus for us, we think that's all there is to it. It's misleading. To make the most of your camera's autofocus abilities, you need to be out of auto mode. If you're not comfortable with aperture priority While auto focus works fine for average users, switching to manual focus allows you to experiment with subject and background. Manual focus is activated by tapping on the third column from the left, or by choosing it from the on-screen shutter key. By