Page 66 - NyghtVision Boot Camp One Fill Edition

Rule of Thumb 1: The closer to the MFD 2. With the lens you use the most on your camera, walk
you are, the greater the Circle of Con- up to the wall. Don’t stand on the tape measure but stand
fusion. next to it.
How can you learn to use the Circle of Confusion? It 3. Turn auto-focus on.
isn’t as hard as it might seem. Let’s start by looking at 4. Carefully, get to with in about 6” from the wall. Try
your lens. Somewhere on the lens, usually near where the to focus on the wall. Can you? Most likely, you won’t be
F-Stop is printed, is the minimum focusing distance. It able to.
doesn’t say MFD. Usually, it is just a number - for exam-
ple, 1.5 M. This means the MFD is 1.5 meters or roughly 5. Step back another 6” and try again. If you still can’t
focus, step back again.
4.7 feet.
Do you need to remember it for every lens? Check the 6. Keep doing this until you can.
lens every time? No. Knowing where the MFD is can be- 7. Put the camera down and look at the tape measure.
come instinctive - it is a matter or practicing enough to How far away are you?
find it. Here’s an easy way to do that: 8. Without moving, create a photo. You won’t be able to
1. Make sure you have a tape measure that will go at least see much on the camera’s LCD so don’t be disappointed.
ten feet with you. Look for a wall that is at least six feet Rule of Thumb 2: Using a lower F-stop
long and reasonably flat. Lay the tape measure on the and moving away from the subject ex-
ground so that zero is next to the wall and the other end tends the Circle of Confusion
is extended ten feet away.

66 Boot Camp, Part 1