Sanyo VPC-H2GX, VPC-HD2EX Photographing a moving subject, Advantage of using the manual focus

Photographing a moving subject

Situation: You would like to snap an action shot of a moving child or pet. The autofocus is activated, but because the subject is moving, the image may be blurred. In particular, when the distance between the camera and the subject is changing, it is difficult to lock the focus on the subject. Here are some hints for successfully capturing images of moving subjects.

k Reasons for unfocused images

When the still images shooting button is gently pressed halfway, the camera’s autofocus works by determining the distance between the camera and the subject. Once the subject is in focus, if it then moves before the picture is snapped, the image may be out of focus. This often happens when you once lock the focus on a subject and then wait for the right moment to snap the picture. And, conversely, a blurred image may result if you press the still images shooting button all the way in one step in an attempt to quickly capture an action scene, thus failing to activate the autofocus in time.

k Preventing blurred images (How to use the manual focus [page 87]) In addition to the autofocus, a manual focus mode is also incorporated in your camera. In the autofocus mode, the distance between the camera and the subject is automatically determined when you press the still images shooting button halfway. In contrast to this, with the manual focus mode, you manually set the focus by specifying the correct distance between the camera and the subject before taking the picture.

k How to photograph a moving subject

1Set the camera’s focus mode to the manual focus. Set the focus distance to the correct distance between the camera and the subject.

2When the subject is at the set focus distance, gently press the still images shooting button all the way down.

<Advantage of using the manual focus>

i Images can be quickly captured without waiting for the autofocus to activate.

i Because you are presetting the focus distance, the focus can be more accurate.

<Using the manual focus effectively>

i When photographing a moving subject, press the still images shooting button just before the subject reaches the focus distance, and the shutter will be released when the subject is at the correct distance.

i Use manual focus to avoid incorrectly focused images when there is an object between the camera and the subject you wish to focus on.

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