Ready for my close-up

Mike Harris shares a few tips and tricks that will help you focus on close-up subjects with pinpoint precision

- Mike Harris

The Mission – Accurately focus on close-up subjects

Time – One hour

Skill level – Beginner

Kit needed – Macro or close focusing lens

If you’ve been lucky enough to try out the Z 9, Nikon’s swanky new flagship mirrorless camera, you’ll have no doubt been bowled over by the speed and accuracy of its incredible autofocus system. Its advanced AI algorithms can automatically detect between nine subjects, including humans, birds, cars and planes. In fact, all of Nikon’s Z cameras feature lightning-fast AF – and DSLRs such as the D6, the D850 and the D500 aren’t too shabby either.

Nowadays, we take autofocus systems for granted. They’ve become so good that manual focus often seems like something from a bygone era; and that’s because it kind of is… However, there are still a few isolated situations where many photographers refuse to rely on AF systems – and when that happens, they revert back to the tried-and-tested focus ring.