It's spring. Baseball/softball/soccer season. Go out to the local Little League or high school baseball or softball fields and shoot some games. Practice nailing the pitcher, the catcher, hang out by first base and try to follow the batter as s/he runs to first. Do the same thing with rec league soccer, there's usually no fences to deal with. Make friends with a coach so they don't think you're a lecher and you can shoot from the sidelines, even during practices. The nice thing about digital is you're practicing for free, and if you get some good stuff, parents would love to buy your pro-quality videos, so you're getting paid to practice.
Mark Bone I’ve always used manual focus (since I use a 6yr old camera) and I use an assortment of helpful tools. Peaking is really helpful but I find the red outline distracting and on certain lenses it completely blinds your composition. On my Sony nex6 there’s a button that if I push, it digitally crops in about 4x so you can nail that focus and I press it again and it’s back. If you shoot while on that mode it takes a normal uncropped photo. This is key since kit lenses or cheap lenses or primes don’t zoom in or preserve focus when zoomed. Also all your other tips are helpful but I already do them all the time. It’s not like I watched a video to get them I think I sorta just got it with experience.
On my A7III, for video mode, I turn the AF-ON button to "AF/MF Control Hold". Then I switch to electronic MF (not the switch on then lens), and when I press AF-ON, it will grab focus wherever I aim the focus zone to, and when I release it goes back to MF preventing any shift of the focus plane. It's incredibly useful for run and gun situations as well, since at any given point in time you can just hold it and it'll be in AF until you release it. And it's vital when you don't have an external monitor with you. When you're in AF mode, if you press it, it will go to MF. You can use the AF-ON button to hold that focus plane and then when you release it, it'll switch to AF. This is great for focus pulling as well. Just thought I'd share this tip for hybrid AF/MF shooting. Cheers!
Mark, I dont usually comment on videos that I watch on youtube but after watching this video and your video about smoother handheld videography I am officially a lifelong fan! I've been searching all over for videos like this to no avail! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for making a youtube channel for novices and amature filmmakers like myself. Keep up the amazing work!
Yeah, same with me. I always wanted to build videos since I was tiny and now I'm an amateur figuring it all out and as @d4darious says, making my mistakes now, so it's nice to have these videos. Good work
5:30 zoom in to grab focus. Pretty sure this only works with a parfocal lens. 70-200 2.8 is close to parfocal but most zoom lenses aren't parfocal unless you're buying a broadcast zoom lens which costs a ton. Using magnification tool on your camera monitor or external monitor is a safer way to do the same thing.
Yub, zooming in to grab the focus is generally not a great advice, unless the viewers are shooting on a parfocal cinelens, which I don't think a lot us do. At deeper depth of field it might be a little more forgiving though.
Manual Focus still is the most natural way to work in cinematography, I work mostly in Weddings and love Using my Auto Focus in the 6Dmkii, it's an amazing feature, but my best shots, are using manual focus, the smoothness in the shots are decisive for an harmonic scene.... Great Video Mark! Keep it UP, Love your content!
A lot of truth here. Very nice to hear. Very few on RUclips don’t mention the shots are impossible without manually focusing (things entering frame, exiting frame, controlled rack focuses, etc.) not to mention the amount of realism it provides to see those slight slight out of focus parts - similar to how handheld gives the human element to the cinematography. Great vid.
Since receiving my first DSLR, I have LOVED the control manual focus provides. I've been trying to practice manual focus techniques as much as I can. Thanks for the tips!
This video is intended for people with no common sense. I applaud your effort to explain stuff to this kind of people. In my opinion, people who can't figure out something as simple as manual focus by themselves have absolutely no business in videography or cinematography. I am a self-taught videographer and everything in your video seems like common sense to me. I mastered manual focus just hours after I got myself my first DSLR, some 10 years ago, I figured out focus pulling by marking the positions of the focus ring, before I even heard of a thing called follow focus.
I've been literally running away from buying a camera with not-so-good autofocus for doing the occasional videos I'm interested in. Your video just became gold to me! Subscribed!!
Dare I say it? The goal of practice is to achieve MASTERY of the tools with which we make our films. You can NOT practice too much! Love this channel!!
Mark, I appreciate your knowledge you share with the RUclips universe. Your simple approach to getting the job done is amazing. When I see creators like you I'm so inspired to reach my maximum potential. Thank you
Dude, I saw this video title, clicked and subscribed immediately, probably within 10 seconds of the video. I'm coming from a screenwriting background from India and that was my gateway into the film industry. I recently had a chance to approach a DoP regarding focus pulling, he sat me down with his mate, a dedicated focus puller. They advised me to go to a tennis court and shamelessly fail in tracking the ball. This is what I've been doing for the last couple of days. Its impossible, but I'm not giving up. I have a GH5 and I have no other option other than manual focus because its AF sucks, but it's a great camera for video at that price. Sure il scale up later with the gears, but that isn't my priority now. Its networking and learning the craft. I ordered a manual focus puller for now. The NFL reference makes sense to me now, its bloody difficult and I'm struggling to focus a high speed ball. I think I'm going to start with something slower and then go for fast moving objects. What do you think? Also, I've clicked the bell icon. The fifth youtuber I've ever subbed for notifs too. Great video.
I get it and I agree and disagree and I have manual focused for 20 years. I agree because it is a fine art and you can get so much more particular as far as what you want to focus. I disagree that autofocus is just for vlogging because sometimes when your a one man band shooting something like a music video with a prime and the aperture wide open the cam will do a ten times better job then a human and that’s because it can adapt in milliseconds. I respect this post and I always understand that opinions are subjective but much respect!
I can never remember which direction to move the focus ring for farther or closer when the shot actually starts rolling. I think a follow focus is going to be really game changing.
I have spent a lot of time for finding a vidéo which finally explains the manual auto focus on the Dslr. This video is really the first one which trys to resolves the problem. A great video👍👍👍
In the 80's in LA I was in a group of professional sports photographers. What amazed me was as we were waiting for a ride to the game, most of them were practising focusing on license plates of cars passing by. Some of these guys were in the business for decades and in the genre they were big names: PRACTISE.
The "smaller movements" tip is what I'm working on now. Actually I'm a musician, not a videographer. Just trying to up my video game for my music channel. And it's interesting how "smaller movements" is a tip that also applies to synthesizer knobs, guitar strings, really almost all art can be improved through subtlety. Small movements, slow it down, keep it quieter. Thanks for sharing these ideas man
Holy crap, the tire focus exercise is genius! I just finished shooting my major project for journalism school (a 10-minute short-documentary). I ended up having to shoot it on my Canon 6D w/ my 16-35mm F4. Since the 6D mark 1 doesn't have the fancy dual-pixel AF, I ended up doing manual focus for the entire project (about 8 hours of raw footage). Learning to do manual focus is such a skill and I think it is so valuable to learn and always be developing. I think the analogy of practicing follow focus as a camera person to an athlete that does training is spot on!!!!!
I bet you could make a training/sports movie about a protagonist trying to improve their camera skills. The tyre exercise could be part of the training montage!
I have started to use vintage lenses and this has forced me to start doing manual focus, Thanks for the tips they help alot! keep up all the hard work.
All the advice here is so valuable, especially the focus wheel and external monitor. I was having focusing issues and now will be switching to manual. Thanks for the great video :)
Great advice on the tire swing thing, would never have thought of that. In regards to zooming in to focus, I think most people shooting on dslr style cameras are probably not going to have parfocal lenses, so maybe doing a digital zoom in could be a good alternative (that's what I used to do back in my t2i days). Love the channel!
Great video series. I'd add this: If you are buying vintage lenses, get lens that turn the same way. In other words, infinity focus should always be all the way to the right, or all the way to the left. Nikon and Canon MF lens are opposite, for example.
That's why renting cinema lenses is useful. For example Zeiss makes their own set of lenses and they are made to have the same focus and aperture ring. Plus the focus ring can usually rotate a lot giving more flexibility. Thus, pulling focus and iris is much easier for the 1st AC since all lenses behave the same.
Good tips. I have been using anamorphic cine lenses and only way is to understand manual focus. I will also add Focus Peaking, maintaining distance if subject moves you move, and try to use Infiniti as much as I can.
I love the swing & practice tip - THANK YOU! Like everything in life practice, practice, practice - I do wildlife with flying birds and (so far) best video to help.
Wow, the football fact is amazing and the tire swing is a definite exercise I'm going to do (albeit probably not with a tire...I don't have many of those).
Wow, thank you for this video! I am a pro photographer, and videography beginner. I have a Sony body but my lenses are all Canon. So, I am forced to learn manual focusing. I was so reluctant and scared to start learning how to manual focus for video. After watching this video, I am so motivated and encouraged now!
What’s up Mark, I love the channel man. You have a great balance of demonstration and information, and the lean toward focused cinematography is a breath of fresh air with so many “run-and-gun” type channels out there. Keep killing it man!
Manual focus also gave me some really nice footage and shots in nature. I have seen lots of people being frustrated about things in front of the camera so the AF is not working properly. Good video.
AutoFocus is great when you need it..l but control over your focus give you better creative images. Can’t pull focus with autofocus. Great video, I’ve rewatch it again.
Don't get me wrong manual focus totally has it's placed but as long as you as a filmmaker understand the importance of using focus to tell your story autofocus is a really powerful tool (provided it's used properly) It will save you time and money and it's getting really good on modern cameras. I think the ideal solution would be to have something like semi-auto focus which smoothly snaps to the closest in focus object as soon as you let go of the focus ring.
This is super helpful! I'm changing from the mirrorless world to the bmpcc4k world so I can start getting a more cinema/hands on approach to be prepared for the future. We rely too much on auto things these days
Came across this video just in time for my next video project. Autofocus is really getting in the way lol ...... When filming it just focus on what it wants lol..! Thanks for making this video!
Amen to all of this. I have the a6400, which has incredible autofocus, but I hardly ever use it, other than talking head kinda stuff, but even then, I usually find myself manually focusing in. I can see for vlogging autofocus is necessary, but other than that, I agree with you...master your instrument.
Excellent video Mark!! I think a video on understanding, interpreting and adjusting sensitivity of the peak focus tool. This would help a lot of people depending on peak focus but don’t know all the benefits and pitfalls to this feature.
"So you started: What's Next?" Video about those who listened to creators like you. Started shooting and filming for free then started getting paid, landed couple satisfied clients and maybe one corporate. What's next? How do we connect with more people in film/videography industry? How do you expand your clients or niche? Some of us feel stuck in the corporate and wedding niche (because we started by shooting for people around us like friends and family). How do we expand our niche and also get connected to the film/doc industry [especially in Toronto ;) ] We listened and went out and started. But we feel the gap with freelancers or production agencies + creators like you who works with big clients and projects that executive producers fund.
"I don't think they know how to manual focus.." Yes, I agree. And for that comment alone, you have my subscription, like, and a full thorough watch. :)
Thanks man, you just added a little confidence to my manual focusing. I´m a wildlife photographer and I like to make short videos of animals too, and in nature, the autofocus is sometimes useless.. I use manual focus but I need to practice a lot because animals are moving like that flying ball.
Great video! I am so glad that I ´ve been using GH4 for past year and a half and my lens stopped working with autofocus so I always had to use manual :D Keep em coming!
Great video man! I like it that you talk about this! Bc those days it seems like nobody is manual focussing anymore! I shoot most of my stuff on a NIKON D750 and it's all manual focussing.... bc I don't have auto focus! Best way of learning it! Keep up the great work!
Very helpful information. New to your channel, second video I've consumed with watch time. There aren't any short cuts in life, but hard work and grit so thank you for taking the time to explain your point of reference.
I totally agree with this, because I just did a recording and decided to use autofocus and it just kept hunting for my subject and I wish I would have at first just used manual focus after the fact because the part that I ended up using of the video clip was not clearly in focus. And, on this particular day I forgot my external monitor LOL so definitely feeling you on not relying on the the small LCD screens. Thanks again for this video!
When I was starting my filmmaking journey, I had to start with manual focusing because I couldn't afford AF lens for my Sony (expensive) . So what I did was adapt Canon lens on my Sony; this forced me to learn how to manual focus which I'm glad about.
Mark! Once again, great video. Manual focus has been intimidating for me, but something I know I have to tackle. I'd like to see a video about the difference shutter speed makes while filming (particularly when aiming for a certain vibe/mood/emotion in a film)
wow! thank you! you make my life better. I would to see a workflow video sometime. I hope you have a good weekend; and thank you again for making our lives better John The Limo Driver from Kansas city
Hey Mark. Thank you foe this video man. I jiat bought all.manual vintage lenses and I was nervous about the choice. Autofocus has betrayed me quite a bit and a once I'm getting deeper into film making, I opted to get a.k manual lenses. Ypur tips are really gping to come in handy.
Agree with all of this. I don't have a DSLR and using my S9 and filmicpro pro. I've been locking the focus on where I want and if I need to move I keep the same distance. It doesn't always work but I prefer it to seeing a sequence I shot and really happy with the movement and content but then mid way you see the focus hunting and inside I'm just like noooooo because now my attention is on that and not the content.
@Mark Bone I jumped in to focus remotely for the camera op today. How people ever gonna use these modern tools without doing the traditional manual focus work. Also your matching flannel / skate deck is on point 👌
Hey, Mark. Thanks for the tips. I'm here because I am often still thinking too hard about focussing. Anyway, main reason I am actually writing this message is I noticed in your gear links in the description that you have your favourite vintage and main lens is the Helios 44-2, which I just happen to have! It's on a Zenit 12xp I bought mid last year at a market sale as I wanted to get into some old school film photography which has been really slow to take off so far. I've had in mind for the future to get a set of old lenses, too! I'm really curious as to what made this lens be your favourite, at least at this time since I know this video is a few years old now. Cheers.
Interesting that you're using the barrel to focus. I like that my geared focus wheel has adjustable stops that you can set...so that...when you set the end position and the beginning positions in focus, all you have to do is spin between the 2 wheel stops, and yes, practice,too.
I started to mostly manual focus, huge difference. I practice every day so when I get a gig, I can actually shoot it manually instead of auto like I always did.
Even though I don't have the experience, I think an external Monitor is mandatory if you're shooting manual focus with aperture faster than F3.0. I try to use MF As often as possible on my A7III and I had times where I actually forgot to adapt the focus because it was looking OK on the screen or the VF... I just ordered a Cage, Top Handle and so on for my Camera and soon I prpably pick up a 5" 1080p Monitor.
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How do you improve your manual focus?
It's spring. Baseball/softball/soccer season. Go out to the local Little League or high school baseball or softball fields and shoot some games. Practice nailing the pitcher, the catcher, hang out by first base and try to follow the batter as s/he runs to first. Do the same thing with rec league soccer, there's usually no fences to deal with. Make friends with a coach so they don't think you're a lecher and you can shoot from the sidelines, even during practices. The nice thing about digital is you're practicing for free, and if you get some good stuff, parents would love to buy your pro-quality videos, so you're getting paid to practice.
Honestly, for me having marks on the lens helps.
Learn marking at the right spot and practice focusing while moving around
Shoot photos on film once in a while - use manual focus. Limitation and risk makes you pay attention
Mark Bone I’ve always used manual focus (since I use a 6yr old camera) and I use an assortment of helpful tools. Peaking is really helpful but I find the red outline distracting and on certain lenses it completely blinds your composition. On my Sony nex6 there’s a button that if I push, it digitally crops in about 4x so you can nail that focus and I press it again and it’s back. If you shoot while on that mode it takes a normal uncropped photo. This is key since kit lenses or cheap lenses or primes don’t zoom in or preserve focus when zoomed. Also all your other tips are helpful but I already do them all the time. It’s not like I watched a video to get them I think I sorta just got it with experience.
On my A7III, for video mode, I turn the AF-ON button to "AF/MF Control Hold".
Then I switch to electronic MF (not the switch on then lens), and when I press AF-ON, it will grab focus wherever I aim the focus zone to, and when I release it goes back to MF preventing any shift of the focus plane. It's incredibly useful for run and gun situations as well, since at any given point in time you can just hold it and it'll be in AF until you release it. And it's vital when you don't have an external monitor with you.
When you're in AF mode, if you press it, it will go to MF. You can use the AF-ON button to hold that focus plane and then when you release it, it'll switch to AF. This is great for focus pulling as well.
Just thought I'd share this tip for hybrid AF/MF shooting. Cheers!
wow, I didn't know you can do that. Thanks for the tip!
Best camera ever? Lol
That's very smart! Thanks for the tip!
I would love to watch a tutorial on this. I’m not sure how to do this with my A7iii but would love to learn
@@Copymykinkos. here you are ruclips.net/video/R8uUqDSXGS0/видео.html
Mark, I dont usually comment on videos that I watch on youtube but after watching this video and your video about smoother handheld videography I am officially a lifelong fan! I've been searching all over for videos like this to no avail! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for making a youtube channel for novices and amature filmmakers like myself. Keep up the amazing work!
J. Tidwell Photography wow! Thanks for letting me know! I’m glad I can be a resource like this for you! Keep shooting!
Yeah, same with me. I always wanted to build videos since I was tiny and now I'm an amateur figuring it all out and as @d4darious says, making my mistakes now, so it's nice to have these videos. Good work
We talkin' 'bout practice!
Kyle Matthew Hilton PRACTICE mane!
Wonder how many people read this comment and saw ✈️ s 😂😂😂 love A.I.
Allen Iverson?
Half the people reading this think AI means artificial intelligence and not…. You may never know lol
Not the game…
5:30 zoom in to grab focus. Pretty sure this only works with a parfocal lens. 70-200 2.8 is close to parfocal but most zoom lenses aren't parfocal unless you're buying a broadcast zoom lens which costs a ton. Using magnification tool on your camera monitor or external monitor is a safer way to do the same thing.
Yub, zooming in to grab the focus is generally not a great advice, unless the viewers are shooting on a parfocal cinelens, which I don't think a lot us do. At deeper depth of field it might be a little more forgiving though.
Yeah, all good advice except this point.
I think he probably meant ..digital zoom....
Sigma 24-70 2.8 ef if parfocal too
I think most Panasonic lumix cameras have a feature that magnifies part of the screen so you can see if it’s in focus or not
Manual Focus still is the most natural way to work in cinematography, I work mostly in Weddings and love Using my Auto Focus in the 6Dmkii, it's an amazing feature, but my best shots, are using manual focus, the smoothness in the shots are decisive for an harmonic scene.... Great Video Mark! Keep it UP, Love your content!
A lot of truth here. Very nice to hear. Very few on RUclips don’t mention the shots are impossible without manually focusing (things entering frame, exiting frame, controlled rack focuses, etc.) not to mention the amount of realism it provides to see those slight slight out of focus parts - similar to how handheld gives the human element to the cinematography. Great vid.
Since receiving my first DSLR, I have LOVED the control manual focus provides. I've been trying to practice manual focus techniques as much as I can. Thanks for the tips!
Manual focus allows for more creativity! Keep crushing it
That tire swing practice is actually a brilliant idea! Imma try that out for sure 👍🏼
Same
I completely agree. That’s probably the best thing I’ve heard for getting know your focus per lens. Genius idea.
Definitely going to try this
One of the best teacher and motivator of doc films! Thanks mark❤️
This video is intended for people with no common sense. I applaud your effort to explain stuff to this kind of people. In my opinion, people who can't figure out something as simple as manual focus by themselves have absolutely no business in videography or cinematography. I am a self-taught videographer and everything in your video seems like common sense to me. I mastered manual focus just hours after I got myself my first DSLR, some 10 years ago, I figured out focus pulling by marking the positions of the focus ring, before I even heard of a thing called follow focus.
Freschino YOU SOUND LIKE THE BEST MANUAL FOCUS VIDEOGRAPHER IN THE WORLD. TEACH US YOUR WAYS.
I've been literally running away from buying a camera with not-so-good autofocus for doing the occasional videos I'm interested in. Your video just became gold to me! Subscribed!!
Dare I say it? The goal of practice is to achieve MASTERY of the tools with which we make our films. You can NOT practice too much! Love this channel!!
Mark, I appreciate your knowledge you share with the RUclips universe. Your simple approach to getting the job done is amazing. When I see creators like you I'm so inspired to reach my maximum potential. Thank you
You're welcome!! Keep crushing it!
Great tip on focusing on the tire swing. Perfect way to practice.
Dude, I saw this video title, clicked and subscribed immediately, probably within 10 seconds of the video. I'm coming from a screenwriting background from India and that was my gateway into the film industry. I recently had a chance to approach a DoP regarding focus pulling, he sat me down with his mate, a dedicated focus puller. They advised me to go to a tennis court and shamelessly fail in tracking the ball. This is what I've been doing for the last couple of days. Its impossible, but I'm not giving up. I have a GH5 and I have no other option other than manual focus because its AF sucks, but it's a great camera for video at that price. Sure il scale up later with the gears, but that isn't my priority now. Its networking and learning the craft. I ordered a manual focus puller for now. The NFL reference makes sense to me now, its bloody difficult and I'm struggling to focus a high speed ball. I think I'm going to start with something slower and then go for fast moving objects. What do you think? Also, I've clicked the bell icon. The fifth youtuber I've ever subbed for notifs too. Great video.
Thank you for actually teaching us real skills man and not just the usual gearjunky affiliate links BS! Priceless how you share your experience!
you give the best tips. coming from someone watching RUclips for years and never the type to leave comments.
I get it and I agree and disagree and I have manual focused for 20 years. I agree because it is a fine art and you can get so much more particular as far as what you want to focus. I disagree that autofocus is just for vlogging because sometimes when your a one man band shooting something like a music video with a prime and the aperture wide open the cam will do a ten times better job then a human and that’s because it can adapt in milliseconds. I respect this post and I always understand that opinions are subjective but much respect!
If you have a dog, you can sit on the ground and play fetch with them while practicing your focus!
Great idea!
I can never remember which direction to move the focus ring for farther or closer when the shot actually starts rolling. I think a follow focus is going to be really game changing.
Most our lenses- right when they come tight, left when they go long
This is the problem I run into as well
I have this struggle for a while too. I also tend to change which hand I use at times which adds to the confusion.
i never knew others had this problem too lol i suck at left & right
Omg I'm not the only one 😢
I have spent a lot of time for finding a vidéo which finally explains the manual auto focus on the Dslr. This video is really the first one which trys to resolves the problem. A great video👍👍👍
Got to manual focusing almost from the first DSLR shot. Very cool. It's that kind of power and responsibility one personally could love most.
In the 80's in LA I was in a group of professional sports photographers. What amazed me was as we were waiting for a ride to the game, most of them were practising focusing on license plates of cars passing by. Some of these guys were in the business for decades and in the genre they were big names: PRACTISE.
You have presented some of the best practical and well thought-out tutorials I have seen in this genre. Definitely a fan!
The "smaller movements" tip is what I'm working on now. Actually I'm a musician, not a videographer. Just trying to up my video game for my music channel. And it's interesting how "smaller movements" is a tip that also applies to synthesizer knobs, guitar strings, really almost all art can be improved through subtlety. Small movements, slow it down, keep it quieter. Thanks for sharing these ideas man
Holy crap, the tire focus exercise is genius! I just finished shooting my major project for journalism school (a 10-minute short-documentary). I ended up having to shoot it on my Canon 6D w/ my 16-35mm F4. Since the 6D mark 1 doesn't have the fancy dual-pixel AF, I ended up doing manual focus for the entire project (about 8 hours of raw footage). Learning to do manual focus is such a skill and I think it is so valuable to learn and always be developing. I think the analogy of practicing follow focus as a camera person to an athlete that does training is spot on!!!!!
I bet you could make a training/sports movie about a protagonist trying to improve their camera skills. The tyre exercise could be part of the training montage!
This is the thing I've been working on, but still had no idea how to get even better until this video. Thanks!
I have started to use vintage lenses and this has forced me to start doing manual focus, Thanks for the tips they help alot! keep up all the hard work.
All the advice here is so valuable, especially the focus wheel and external monitor. I was having focusing issues and now will be switching to manual. Thanks for the great video :)
Excellent tips. Having an external monitor can be one of the most crucial tools for your video gear.
Greetings from Bogotá, Colombia.
Glad it was helpful!
Great advice on the tire swing thing, would never have thought of that.
In regards to zooming in to focus, I think most people shooting on dslr style cameras are probably not going to have parfocal lenses, so maybe doing a digital zoom in could be a good alternative (that's what I used to do back in my t2i days).
Love the channel!
Great video series. I'd add this: If you are buying vintage lenses, get lens that turn the same way. In other words, infinity focus should always be all the way to the right, or all the way to the left. Nikon and Canon MF lens are opposite, for example.
Good point. It crossed my mind also to mention this point.
That's why renting cinema lenses is useful. For example Zeiss makes their own set of lenses and they are made to have the same focus and aperture ring. Plus the focus ring can usually rotate a lot giving more flexibility. Thus, pulling focus and iris is much easier for the 1st AC since all lenses behave the same.
Good tips. I have been using anamorphic cine lenses and only way is to understand manual focus. I will also add Focus Peaking, maintaining distance if subject moves you move, and try to use Infiniti as much as I can.
I love the swing & practice tip - THANK YOU! Like everything in life practice, practice, practice - I do wildlife with flying birds and (so far) best video to help.
Wow, the football fact is amazing and the tire swing is a definite exercise I'm going to do (albeit probably not with a tire...I don't have many of those).
Pretty cool eh?
Wow, thank you for this video! I am a pro photographer, and videography beginner. I have a Sony body but my lenses are all Canon. So, I am forced to learn manual focusing. I was so reluctant and scared to start learning how to manual focus for video. After watching this video, I am so motivated and encouraged now!
What’s up Mark,
I love the channel man. You have a great balance of demonstration and information, and the lean toward focused cinematography is a breath of fresh air with so many “run-and-gun” type channels out there.
Keep killing it man!
NEB VISION thank you! This is a huge compliment :)
A perfect follow up to my focusing question the other day. RUclips algorithm for the win! 😄
Manual focus also gave me some really nice footage and shots in nature. I have seen lots of people being frustrated about things in front of the camera so the AF is not working properly. Good video.
AutoFocus is great when you need it..l but control over your focus give you better creative images. Can’t pull focus with autofocus. Great video, I’ve rewatch it again.
Great channel, Mark! RUclips recommended you, and I’ve been binging your content all morning 😂
Love it!! It’s a Boneflix kinda morning I guess
@@markbone your videos on frame rates and shutter angle were dope. Really enjoyed them. As a rookie, they were really helpful.
I’m glad Matti talked you into making a channel your vids are very informative 👊🏻
Me too!
Stoked you're back! I practice my manual focusing but... just doing it, practice practice practice.
Don't get me wrong manual focus totally has it's placed but as long as you as a filmmaker understand the importance of using focus to tell your story autofocus is a really powerful tool (provided it's used properly) It will save you time and money and it's getting really good on modern cameras. I think the ideal solution would be to have something like semi-auto focus which smoothly snaps to the closest in focus object as soon as you let go of the focus ring.
This is super helpful! I'm changing from the mirrorless world to the bmpcc4k world so I can start getting a more cinema/hands on approach to be prepared for the future. We rely too much on auto things these days
Came across this video just in time for my next video project. Autofocus is really getting in the way lol ...... When filming it just focus on what it wants lol..! Thanks for making this video!
Amen to all of this. I have the a6400, which has incredible autofocus, but I hardly ever use it, other than talking head kinda stuff, but even then, I usually find myself manually focusing in. I can see for vlogging autofocus is necessary, but other than that, I agree with you...master your instrument.
Excellent video Mark!!
I think a video on understanding, interpreting and adjusting sensitivity of the peak focus tool. This would help a lot of people depending on peak focus but don’t know all the benefits and pitfalls to this feature.
Good call
Bro. Such great tips here. I’m thankful you are doing RUclips videos now!!
Same here
Loving your videos Mark!
Teppo Haapoja thanks brother! And likewise! Always encouraging and pumped watching your channel grow!
Thanks for permission to manual focus. A professional skill. Like stick handling is to hockey?
"So you started: What's Next?"
Video about those who listened to creators like you. Started shooting and filming for free then started getting paid, landed couple satisfied clients and maybe one corporate. What's next? How do we connect with more people in film/videography industry? How do you expand your clients or niche?
Some of us feel stuck in the corporate and wedding niche (because we started by shooting for people around us like friends and family). How do we expand our niche and also get connected to the film/doc industry [especially in Toronto ;) ]
We listened and went out and started. But we feel the gap with freelancers or production agencies + creators like you who works with big clients and projects that executive producers fund.
I like your tips!!! I have Nikon D750 with terribre video autofocus, but i am using manual all the time! Practice Practice Practice
"I don't think they know how to manual focus.."
Yes, I agree. And for that comment alone, you have my subscription, like, and a full thorough watch. :)
Manual focus is where we set the filmmakers apart from the RUclips vloggers
AVICIIZ haha. It just might.
AVICIIZ what about run and gun film making?
Maxwell *Personal Account* some still use manual focus for this type of filmmaking. :)
bla bla bla
AVICIIZ no, that would be storytelling
Thanks Mark, I have a C300 and it does not autofocus. Very helpful!
Important angle of mastering this art! Thank you
Thanks man, you just added a little confidence to my manual focusing. I´m a wildlife photographer and I like to make short videos of animals too, and in nature, the autofocus is sometimes useless.. I use manual focus but I need to practice a lot because animals are moving like that flying ball.
BEST video I have watched about this. Thank you
This is a great skill that has been getting unnoticed. Glad to learn from this! 😃👍
Great video! I am so glad that I ´ve been using GH4 for past year and a half and my lens stopped working with autofocus so I always had to use manual :D Keep em coming!
Keep crushing that manual focus
Very educational. Saving it in my tutorials playlist
Totally find this one so helpful and encouraging. As a solo, it's so hard to keep track of everything, but I want to learn this art.
That is tight Mark, knowledge is power and get to know your gear is essencial!!!! Practice is the world... Thanks for this help!!!! 🖖
Amazing video again, love the part about the tire swing. Keep it up!!
Yeah! Those NFL films guys are legends
Great video man! I like it that you talk about this! Bc those days it seems like nobody is manual focussing anymore!
I shoot most of my stuff on a NIKON D750 and it's all manual focussing.... bc I don't have auto focus! Best way of learning it!
Keep up the great work!
Very helpful information. New to your channel, second video I've consumed with watch time. There aren't any short cuts in life, but hard work and grit so thank you for taking the time to explain your point of reference.
A newbie just learnt a lot! Thank you, Sir!!
So good! Thanks for the tips! 🙌
I totally agree with this, because I just did a recording and decided to use autofocus and it just kept hunting for my subject and I wish I would have at first just used manual focus after the fact because the part that I ended up using of the video clip was not clearly in focus. And, on this particular day I forgot my external monitor LOL so definitely feeling you on not relying on the the small LCD screens. Thanks again for this video!
Grabbed a top handle finally! Hopefully i’ll have more stability for good focus 🧘♂️
When I was starting my filmmaking journey, I had to start with manual focusing because I couldn't afford AF lens for my Sony (expensive) . So what I did was adapt Canon lens on my Sony; this forced me to learn how to manual focus which I'm glad about.
The tire swing thing is brilliant. I know what I’m going to be doing!
Mark! Once again, great video. Manual focus has been intimidating for me, but something I know I have to tackle. I'd like to see a video about the difference shutter speed makes while filming (particularly when aiming for a certain vibe/mood/emotion in a film)
Great video mark...I've been very hesitant to use it on set. Time to practice in my down time!
The tire swing reference is actually a fantastic way to build confidence, dexterity, and accuracy.
wow! thank you! you make my life better. I would to see a workflow video sometime. I hope you have a good weekend; and thank you again for making our lives better
John The Limo Driver from Kansas city
The quality of this video is so 🔥!!
Going to challenge my self to work on Manual Focus!! Thank you for the tips.
This is the second video I'm watching from you and you're giving out good and fresh advice for people like us. You earned a subscriber!
Good work Mark, i use magic Lantern to nail focus and of course an external monitor.
super valuable information. these videos are incredible. thank you mark!
frankmittenz thank you for checking them out!!
Hey Mark. Thank you foe this video man. I jiat bought all.manual vintage lenses and I was nervous about the choice. Autofocus has betrayed me quite a bit and a once I'm getting deeper into film making, I opted to get a.k manual lenses. Ypur tips are really gping to come in handy.
Agree with all of this. I don't have a DSLR and using my S9 and filmicpro pro. I've been locking the focus on where I want and if I need to move I keep the same distance. It doesn't always work but I prefer it to seeing a sequence I shot and really happy with the movement and content but then mid way you see the focus hunting and inside I'm just like noooooo because now my attention is on that and not the content.
@Mark Bone I jumped in to focus remotely for the camera op today. How people ever gonna use these modern tools without doing the traditional manual focus work. Also your matching flannel / skate deck is on point 👌
Super helpful! And very motivational... Yes autofocus good for vloggin.. I like also do it your self focusing
Hey, Mark. Thanks for the tips. I'm here because I am often still thinking too hard about focussing.
Anyway, main reason I am actually writing this message is I noticed in your gear links in the description that you have your favourite vintage and main lens is the Helios 44-2, which I just happen to have! It's on a Zenit 12xp I bought mid last year at a market sale as I wanted to get into some old school film photography which has been really slow to take off so far. I've had in mind for the future to get a set of old lenses, too! I'm really curious as to what made this lens be your favourite, at least at this time since I know this video is a few years old now. Cheers.
Preach! I've been telling my v-log friends that they need to practice their manual focus. I'm so going to force them to watch this video. LOL!
Interesting that you're using the barrel to focus. I like that my geared focus wheel has
adjustable stops that you can set...so that...when you set the end position and the beginning positions in focus, all you have to do is spin between the 2 wheel stops, and yes, practice,too.
What? He's using a follow focus wheel.
Thanks for the tips! I definitely need to practice this more.
Wish I found this channel ages ago! Better late than never I suppose lol
My new favourite RUclips videographer
I started to mostly manual focus, huge difference. I practice every day so when I get a gig, I can actually shoot it manually instead of auto like I always did.
GREAT VIDEO! I learned a lot about Manual focus techniques: Thank you...
Even though I don't have the experience, I think an external Monitor is mandatory if you're shooting manual focus with aperture faster than F3.0. I try to use MF As often as possible on my A7III and I had times where I actually forgot to adapt the focus because it was looking OK on the screen or the VF... I just ordered a Cage, Top Handle and so on for my Camera and soon I prpably pick up a 5" 1080p Monitor.
Great advice brother!
This was very Kiff to watch. Thank you for the help and the advice
Thanks Mark. Enjoyed the Ted talk. haha, was good to hear as a complete newbie in filmmaking. Autofocus is not where its at.