Have you ever bought a new lens just to take sharper landscape photographs? Stop wasting your money. Seriously, you’re doing it wrong.
If you’re like me, you spent loads of cash to get the best gear, only to find your photos are just as blurry as before. Or worse, you weren’t using your gear correctly. You already have everything you need.
In this video below, I share my manual live view focus technique (starting at 1:20). This method is great for focusing in low light as well.
How to Use Manual Focus For Tack-sharp Photos
Whenever I meet highly-skilled landscape photographers, they almost always have one method in common to take sharper photos.
What’s the secret? Manual focus.
We’ve come to rely too much on camera technology. Just because your camera says your subject is in focus DOES NOT guarantee it’s as sharp as can be. Even the best cameras can be slightly off when autofocusing.
So if you’re photographing something that’s not moving like landscapes, forget about autofocus, single point af, focus tracking, and all that other mumbo jumbo. Do this instead: put your focus on manual.
3 Easy Steps To Great Manual Focus
- Set your camera to manual focus.
Find out the best way to access manual focus for the make and model of your camera.
- Magnify your scene.
Using your camera’s digital zoom, zoom in 100% to what you’d like to focus on. Don’t zoom in with your lens! I demonstrate this technique in the video above.
- Focus on your subject.
Use the focus ring on your lens to make your subject as sharp as possible. Then take your shot!
DSLR Pro Tip: Live View Focus
If you own a DSLR camera (mostly Canon or Nikon), you’ll need to enter Live View mode to zoom in with your digital zoom. Next, zoom in 100% with the magnify button – usually a magnifying lens icon.
Mirrorless Camera Pro Tip: Digital Zoom Focus
If you own a mirrorless camera (Sony, Fuji, Panasonic, etc.), there’s no Live Mode. Mirrorless cameras have electronic viewfinders (EVFs) whereas DSLRs have optical viewfinders. You’re always looking at a digital projection with mirrorless cameras, not through the lens itself as you would with an optical viewfinder. To put it simply, mirrorless cameras are 100% live mode cameras.
You do however need to make sure your camera’s digital zoom is at its max setting when focusing. For instance, Sony’s digital zoom starts at 5.9 times magnification but can go up to 11.7 times magnification if you press the zoom (magnifying glass) button. Don’t forget to turn on focus magnifier so the camera will automatically zoom in 5.9 times when you turn the focus ring.
On Fuji cameras you spin the rear command dial to zoom in. You can also turn on Focus Check to have the camera automatically zoom in when you turn the focus ring.
Focus Peaking: Should You Use It?
These days almost every brand of mirrorless camera has focus peaking. According to Sony, Focus Peaking: “enhances the outline of in-focus ranges using a specific color in Manual Focus or Direct Manual Focus shooting. This function allows you to confirm the focus easily.”
That doesn’t mean you should use it though. I prefer to have it turned off. The added focus peaking color actually blocks your view of what’s in focus. So again, you’re relying on your camera’s ability to nail the focus, not your own.
Conclusion
You don’t need expensive gear to take sharp landscape photographs. Whether you own a DSLR or mirrorless camera, manually focus your lens and you’ll never miss a shot again. Don’t underestimate this simple yet highly effective tip. It’s the secret to razor sharp photos.
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