> 4 minute read

Unlock Your Camera’s Extra Focusing Features

Your camera’s AF/MF Setting menu gives you a huge amount of control over its focusing system. Some options are down to personal preference, others suit specific styles of photography.

The AF/MF SETTING menu is one of the most feature-packed parts of any X Series camera. It’s full of options that control one of the most important aspects of photography and your selections can make the difference between biting critical sharpness or disappointing almost-there blur.

Let’s have a look at some of the features you might find here, which we haven’t discussed in other articles yet, and see what a difference they can make to your photography.

AF Point Display

Turn on this option by choosing YES or NO from AF/MF SETTING > AF POINT DISPLAY. When YES is selected, you’ll be able to see the inactive focus points, as well as the active ones (in green), when you’re shooting in Wide/Tracking or Zone AF mode.

Showing the inactive points can help to give you an idea of how well a subject is going to line up with the camera’s AF points. But if you find this a distraction, just turn it off by selecting NO.

Number of Focus Points

Although your X Series camera has lots of AF points, you don’t always have to have all of them active when you’re making images in Single Point AF mode. You might find that it can take too long to move between active AF points when you have the maximum number of points in operation. If moving AF point quickly is important to you, choose the smaller number of points from the AF/MF SETTING > NUMBER OF FOCUS POINTS menu.

Pre-AF

By default, this option is switched off and your camera will only start focusing when you half-press the shutter release button. But with Pre-AF switched on (AF/MF SETTING > PRE-AF > ON), the camera will focus continuously as long as it’s switched on, regardless of whether you have the shutter button pressed or not.

Why would you want to do this? Because with Pre-AF turned on, the lens will be nearer to where it needs to be when you press the shutter release button, which translates into faster acquisition of focus. It’s a good move for things like street photography, when you need to react quickly to unpredictable events.

Be warned though – all of that continuous focusing can use up a lot of battery power, so you might want to switch off Pre-AF when you don’t actually need it.

AF Illuminator

In dark conditions, the AF Illuminator sheds a little extra light on the scene to help the camera focus. It comes on automatically when it’s needed and can really make a difference when lighting conditions are on the edge of your camera’s limitations. Turn it off by choosing AF/MF SETTING > AF ILLUMINATOR > OFF. Why would you want to turn it off? Because it can sometimes give you away when you’re trying to be sneaky and make candid street photography without your subject realising.

AF+MF

When this option is switched on (AF/MF SETTING > AF+MF > ON) in AF-S focus mode, focus can be adjusted manually by rotating the focus ring while the shutter button is half-pressed. Both standard and focus peaking MF assist options are supported.

This lets photographers tweak focus without interrupting their creative flow or switching into manual mode. This is a good one to leave switched on as it can be very useful.

Your Next Steps

• CHALLENGE Switch on Pre-AF and go out on the street to capture some unpredictable moments. What’s the most spontaneous thing you can shoot? Post your favourite image to social media with the hashtags #learnwithfujifilm. You can also submit your work here for a chance to be featured on our social media channels.