Making Certain You’re In Focus

Most DSLRs require you to manually focus on your subject when shooting video, and that’s made even trickier by the fact that you’re not looking through your viewfinder to focus—instead, you’re using the LCD monitor on the back of your camera, and if you’re subject isn’t really large in the frame, there’s a fair chance they’ll be at least a little out of focus. So, since you’re already looking at the LCD monitor before you start recording, why not use the zoom button (the little magnifying glass with the plus sign) to zoom in tight on your subject and make certain they’re in really sharp focus before you hit the depth-of-field preview button (on a Nikon) or the Start/Stop button (on a Canon). Of course, don’t forget to zoom back out before ....