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Hello there, friends! I’m mixing it up today: I decided to record a video rather than my usual typing! I had a lot of fun making this, and I hope it’s helpful.

In the video below, I talk about how to zone focus on manual-focus lenses.

Psst! If you’re working on your manual focus, you might want to check out my post and video on how to use focusing screens, too.

We’ll cover what zone focusing is, how to use it on your manual lens & camera, what kinds of photography situations it’s great for—and when it’s not so great.

(Also, you get to see the Minolta X-700 film camera I love to travel with—its first appearance after I finally got it fixed!)

An important note: zone focusing itself is an easy technique to use, but it is not for camera beginners.

Depending on where you are in your photography journey, zone focusing could be a game changer, or it could seem totally arcane to you. To get the most out of it, you need to understand how aperture works first—which means you need to know how manual mode on your camera works!

If that’s you and you want to up your manual focus game, then watch away!

P.S. I’ve gotten a few questions about whether you can use zone focusing with autofocus lenses, too.

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