Going MF in Live View
Activate the rear display and blow up the most important details for super-accurate focus
Live View and manual focusing go together like coffee and cream. Not only does the larger illuminated screen make manual focus much more practical in low light when you can barely make out anything through the optical viewfinder, but being able to magnify the image means that you can ensure that the focus is positioned correctly on the smallest details.
To magnify a detail, first position the Live View focus point over it, then tap the button with a magnifying glass icon to cycle through the options. Pressing it once magnifies the area covered by the focus point five times. Pressing it again magnifies the area ten times, while a third press returns the full image to the screen again.
It’s not all plain sailing: unlike shooting with the viewfinder, it’s harder to keep the camera still when you’re shooting in Live View mode without a tripod, and any nudge backwards or forwards will change the point of focus. You may also end up with the odd exposure error if you don’t remember to return the Live View screen to the full image once you’ve finished focusing in magnified view – although the aperture and shutter speed will be highlighted in orange as a warning.
Finally, in low light the image on the Live View screen will look decidedly choppy. This noise won’t be recorded in the final picture, but it can make it hard to judge whether details are in focus or not. Our tip is to shoot in Raw and set Monochrome as the Picture Style; this removes the ugly colour noise on the screen without affecting the image.