Automatic focus isn’t automatically the best

We get asked quite often why the HUE HD camera doesn’t come with automatic focus. The camera comes with manual focus and there are two good reasons for that which are linked to its two main uses.

HUE as a visualiser

If you’re one of the many teachers who use HUE as a document camera to project your students’ work on a whiteboard, you probably wouldn’t appreciate if it kept refocusing every time you put a pen or pointer under the lens to show the class something in the picture.

HUE as an animation camera

If you bought your HUE camera together with the HUE Animation software to create stop motion videos, you have probably already realized how much more practical it is to use a camera which doesn’t change its focus every time you move the object you are animating. When using an autofocus camera, you often end up with blurred frames which then have to be deleted and redone. With manual focus, you’re in control; you can even change the focus mid-scene to draw attention to the background as part of your story.

So, how do you adjust the focus on your HUE HD camera?

All you need to do is turn the silver focusing ring until the picture is clear. Be careful to hold it so as not to obscure the view with your fingers, and hold the head of the camera with one hand for extra support if needed.

If you are using the HUE Animation software, it’s easier to focus if you switch onion skinning off temporarily, so that you can make sure the picture is nice and sharp.

We’ll end this blog entry with an extra little tip. When you’re filming an animation and you want to add close-ups, do them right at the end and just group the frames into a clip to easily move them into the right place in your timeline. This can be much easier then adjusting the camera every time you want to change the shot.

If you find it hard to remember which scenes will need close-up shots later on, why not create a storyboard to plan your movie first?