BLOG QUESTION: FOCUS & EXPOSURE

What do focus and exposure do? How do you check to see if your subject is in focus when shooting? How do you check to make sure your subject is exposed correctly?

Focus allows your camera to focus on a certain object of your video, making the main subject sharper and everything else softer which enhances the look of your video. To check if your video is in focus, you can either look at the digital display (not always recommended as it can be deceptive) or you can go into the menu and turn on “Peaking” which will outline the objects that are in focus. Exposure controls the amount of light that comes through the camera, allowing you to make your image brighter/darker. To make sure your subject is exposed correctly, you can set your camera to auto-iris and then manual-iris and adjust it from there while looking at the image in the viewfinder/display screen. You can also use a feature called zebra stripes, which can help you judge the exposure.