There’s no denying that the automatic focus features on the G12 are great, but sometimes it pays to turn them off and go manual. This is especially true if you are shooting on a tripod: Once you have your shot composed in the viewfinder and you are ready to focus, chances are the area you want to focus on is not going to be in the AF Frame. Often this is the case when you have a foreground element that is fairly low in the shot. You could position the frame low and then pan the camera down until it rests on your subject, but then you would have to press the shutter button halfway to focus the camera and then try to recompose and lock down the tripod. It’s no easy task.
But you can have the best of both worlds by having the camera focus for you, then switching to manual focus to comfortably recompose your shot.
Getting focused while using a tripod
- Set up your shot and find the area that you want to focus on.
- Pan your tripod head so that the AF Frame is on that spot.
- Press the shutter button halfway to focus the camera and then remove your finger from the button.
- Switch the camera to manual focus by pressing the MF button.
- Recompose the image on the tripod and then take the shot.
The camera fires without trying to refocus the lens.