Nikon D40 manual Getting Good Results with Autofocus

Getting Good Results with Autofocus

Autofocus does not perform well under the conditions listed below. The shutter release may be dis- abled if the camera is unable to focus under these conditions, or the in-focus indicator (z) may be dis- played and the camera may sound a beep, allowing the shutter to be released even when the subject is not in focus. In these cases, use manual focus ( 28) or use focus lock ( 26) to focus on another subject at the same distance and then recompose the photograph.

There is little or no contrast between the subject and the background (e.g., the subject is the same color as the back-

ground).

The subject is dominated by regular geometric patterns (e.g., a row of windows in a skyscraper).

The subject appears smaller than the focus area (e.g., focus area contains both fore- ground subject and distant buildings).

The focus area contains objects at different distances from the camera (e.g., the sub- ject is inside a cage).

The focus area contains areas of sharply contrasting bright- ness (e.g., the subject is half in the shade).

The subject contains many fine details (e.g., a field of flow- ers or other subjects that are small or lack variation in brightness).

Reference: More on Photography (All Modes)/Focus

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