When to use manual focus

You may get better results if you switch off autofocus for some scenes and subjects: here are some common scenarios where manual focus might be the better choice...

Some types of photography are a natural fit for manual focusing. The slower pace of landscape photography, for example, means you can afford a bit more time to position the focus exactly where you want it. Working with a tripod-mounted camera also means that you can take advantage of the rear Live View display.

With a lens or camera set to manual focus, the focus distance that you set will be locked in. This means you’ll get consistent results from frame to frame, which is essential when you’re taking pictures that you’ll be combining later, whether stitching them together to create a panoramic photo or blending exposures for an HDR image.