Focusing Issues
When I press the ‘Shoot’ button while not in live view, it tries to autofocus first even though I don’t want that. How do I prevent it from focusing first?
This is caused by the body being set to require focus before shooting and is due to an incorrect autofocus mode. See the ‘Focusing’ article for information on how to configure your body for correct focusing.
When I do a focus stack preview, the focus moves as planned. But when I try to capture the stack, the images all have the same focus. Why?
This is caused by the body being set to an incorrect autofocus mode. See the ‘Focus Stacking: Focus Never Changes’ article for information on how to configure your body for correct focusing.
The setting you require is normally called something like ‘Release Priority’, which means that the shutter will release when you command it to, regardless of whether it is in focus or not. To ensure you have it set properly:
- Disconnect the USB cable from the the camera.
- Turn on the camera and go into live view.
- Put the lens cap on the lens. You want it to be perfectly dark.
- Press the shutter release button on the camera. It should immediately take the picture and you should hear the click. Listen closely to the focus motor on the lens or body. It should remain quiet while you shoot since we don’t want it trying to autofocus. If it is trying to focus, find the setting in your camera manual that allows it to capture an image without requiring focus, while in live view. There is often a setting for this in live view, and another setting for when live view is not active.