25
Step 3 Focus and Shoot
Bas
ic Ph
otography an
d Pl
ayba
ck
: A
u
to
Mod
e
C
During Recording
While pictures are being recorded, the
O
(wait) icon will be displayed and either the
C
icon or the
X
icon (when a memory card is inserted in the camera) will blink. Do not turn the camera off, open
the battery-chamber/memory card slot cover, or remove or disconnect the power source while
these icons are displayed. Cutting power or removing the memory card in these circumstances
could result in loss of data or in damage to the camera or card.
C
Autofocus
Autofocus may not perform as expected in the following situations. In some rare cases, the subject
may not be in focus despite the fact that the active focus area and the focus indicator glow green:
•
Subject is very dark
•
Objects of sharply differing brightness are included in the scene (e.g. the sun is behind the subject
and is in deep shadow)
•
No contrast between the subject and surroundings (e.g. when the subject is standing in front of a
white wall, wearing a white shirt)
•
Several objects are at different distances from the camera (e.g. the subject is inside a cage)
•
Subject is moving rapidly
In the situations noted above, try pressing the shutter-release button halfway to refocus several
times, or focus on another subject and use focus lock (
91). When using focus lock, be sure that
the distance between the camera and the subject with which focus was locked is the same as that
for the actual subject.
D
Shutter-release Button
The camera features a two-stage shutter-release button. To set focus and exposure, press the
shutter-release button halfway, stopping when you feel resistance. Focus and exposure lock while
the shutter-release button is held in this position. To release the shutter and shoot, press the shutter-
release button the rest of the way down. Do not use force when pressing the shutter-release button,
as this may result in camera shake and blurred pictures.
D
AF-assist Illuminator and Flash
If the subject is poorly lit, the AF-assist illuminator may light by pressing the shutter-release button
halfway, or the flash may fire by pressing the shutter-release button all the way down. The
illuminator has a range of about 1.9 m (6.2 ft.) at the maximum wide-angle position and 1.1 m (3.6 ft.)
at the maximum telescopic position. The AF-assist illuminator can be set to [Off] manually (
although in this case the camera may not focus when lighting is poor.
Press the shutter-
release button the
rest of the way down
to shoot.
Press the shutter-
release button
halfway to set focus
and exposure.
