Camera Focus Functions - Manual Focus & Continuous Auto

Butterpuff 6 · Nov 6, 2016

msinger said:
Yes, the focus appears to change smoothly as I adjust the slider.

Thanks msinger, this is great news to me. I really was starting to think this feature didn't make it to production units. It seems like using the manual focus would be the best way to ensure you are truly focused to infinity when you want to be focused on the distant horizon. The ability toggle from manual to tap-to-focus looks like it will be really useful too.

CAPTAINDRONE · Nov 6, 2016

msinger said:
By default, manual focus is disabled. It must be turned on in the "General Settings" section of DJI GO.

View attachment 918

Once enabled, you can toggle between automatic focus and manual focus by clicking "AF/MF" at the top, right of DJI GO.

View attachment 919

When using manual focus, the focus slider will appear on the right side of DJI GO.

View attachment 920

You can adjust the focus distance by moving the slider up and down. The focus changes in real-time as you move the slider. There are little tick marks on the slider, but it doesn't jump to those ticks as you move change it. It seems to move fluidly from top to bottom.

I'm using an Android device and in my General settings I don't have an option to enable Manual Focus. Did I miss something?

msinger · Nov 6, 2016

CAPTAINDRONE said:
I'm using an Android device and in my General settings I don't have an option to enable Manual Focus. Did I miss something?

I don't see it in the Android version of DJI GO either.

Peel · Nov 7, 2016

msinger said:
Yes, the focus appears to change smoothly as I adjust the slider.

That's great news. This will enable rack focus (i.e. focusing on a foreground object and smoothly shifting focus to your subject in the distance, or vice versa)

Sent from my iPad using MavicPilots

Rick · Nov 7, 2016

So it looks like it hasn't been included in the Android version of the app yet. Here's hoping the next update will include the full manual focus settings ios enjoys.

Trandg · Nov 9, 2016

My general settings on the Android app don't show an option for enabling auto or manual focus....anyone else have this issue?

msinger · Nov 9, 2016

The manual focus setting is not available in the current version of DJI GO for Android.

Trandg · Nov 10, 2016

That is a huge bummer. I don't have an iPhone. I hope they update soon

msinger · Nov 10, 2016

I'm sure they will. Android features sometimes lag behind iOS for some reason.

Bernard · Dec 10, 2016

It's available in DJI GO 4 on android.

Boscobrown · Jan 21, 2017

Excuse my lack of knowledge on the subject but...

When you turn on manual focus and pick a subject to focus on, say something in the foreground, will that make the background out of focus?

It seems that when I get the foreground in focus and the background is still also in focus.

It would be great if you could have something like a subject either in foreground or background in focus and the opposite out of focus to give it a nice effect.

Rick · Jan 21, 2017

Boscobrown said:
Excuse my lack of knowledge on the subject but...

When you turn on manual focus and pick a subject to focus on, say something in the foreground, will that make the background out of focus?

It seems that when I get the foreground in focus and the background is still also in focus.

It would be great if you could have something like a subject either in foreground or background in focus and the opposite out of focus to give it a nice effect.

Rick · Jan 21, 2017

Put simply, you can achieve the effecr you describe but only at a relatively close distance from your subject. Anything within three or four feet can be captured in sharp focus with the background appearing "soft". Due to the constraints of the camera it's not possible to extend much beyond this distance.

Boscobrown · Jan 21, 2017

Rick said:
Put simply, you can achieve the effecr you describe but only at a relatively close distance from your subject. Anything within three or four feet can be captured in sharp focus with the background appearing "soft". Due to the constraints of the camera it's not possible to extend much beyond this distance.

I see. Thanks for the reply and clearing that up. I think I'll just stick with auto focus.

Unless there is some great reason to manual focus? I just find it hard to really see if I am in the correct focus or not when it's sunny out and have a small screen. Even with iPad I find it difficult.

Rick · Jan 21, 2017

Boscobrown said:
I see. Thanks for the reply and clearing that up. I think I'll just stick with auto focus.

Unless there is some great reason to manual focus? I just find it hard to really see if I am in the correct focus or not when it's sunny out and have a small screen. Even with iPad I find it difficult.

My drone it's in for a defect repair and I haven't used it with the latest version of the app to judge how reliable auto focus is. However, to avoid unwanted focus issues of focus "hunting" or unwanted changes in subject focus, manual focus would be my preferred setting. Tap to focus once at a subject close to infinity, say 100 feet away, and pretty much everything will appear in sharp focus from around 20 feet away and beyond.

zanderlane · Jan 27, 2017

...anyone figure out the proper hyperfocal distance setting yet?

Boscobrown · Feb 13, 2017

What is hyperfocal ?

Pushpak · Feb 13, 2017

zanderlane said:
...anyone figure out the proper hyperfocal distance setting yet?

If I'm not mistaken, it's 12 meters

Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

Pushpak · Feb 13, 2017

Boscobrown said:
What is hyperfocal ?

Hyperfocal distance is the precise focal distance at which depth of field is maximised for a given aperture and focal-length combination.

Egika · Feb 13, 2017

Not quite.
Hyperfocal distance is the distance set in focus at which infinity is just within the depth of field.

...on a second thought you actually should be correct that this is also the maximized depth of field