Focus In & Stay Sharp

Ever had this happen? You’re shooting an event from the back of an auditorium. You start with a wide establishing shot of the stage as the curtain rises… and then – at just the right time – you zoom in for the big closeup, only to find that *DOH!* your focus is soft. Here’s the deal: It’s virtually impossible to set a sharp manual focus on a distant subject with your lens zoomed out to a wide angle setting. You just can’t see where your focal point is. The trick is to zoom in as far as you can and set focus at the extreme telephoto end of your lens. This will mean anticipating the position of the subject you’ll want to zoom in on before the show starts. The cool thing is, once you’ve zoomed in and set your focus on the most distant thing you’ll shoot, the shot will stay sharp as you zoom back to wide angle.