Focussing in the dark?

[LORAC]

Hi - I have a few night shots of a car to take. How do I make sure the focus is bang on with so little detail to aim at? Aperture? ISO? Any help appreciated.

[mcminty]

A quick and simple idea is to get a torch and shine it on the part of the car you want focused. When you lock focus, turn the torch off and take the picture.

[SkipD]

A quick and simple idea is to get a torch and shine it on the part of the car you want focused. When you lock focus, turn the torch off and take the picture.First off, for the American readers, a "torch" in the UK is what we know as a flashlight.

You could have a problem focusing on a reflection of the light in the car's surface. That's because the reflection would be seen at a distance beyond the surface of the car, just like the image in your bathroom mirror. The image is not seen at the surface of the mirror.

You could actually hold the torch/flashlight at the point on the car that is to be your primary focus point and aim it at the camera or you could light up a large piece of paper or something like that which does not have a mirror-like reflective quality to it like the paint, chrome, and glass on a car does.

[LORAC]

Cheers Guys - a few to try there.

[CannedHeat]

Also, it is extremely advantageous for you to set a custom function in your camera to take the focus off the shutter button. That way, after focusing with your flaming torch (;)) the camera will remain in focus allowing you to recompose, etc. without worrying about the camera re-focusing when pressing the shutter button. A shutter release cable is also mandatory if the low-light exposures are long. /Dan

[kevin_c]

Fit a speedlight that gives a focus-assist beam, focus with it on, switch to MF or lock focus, switch speedlight off and take the picture.
Depends how far away it is though...

[JWright]

Fit a speedlight that gives a focus-assist beam, focus with it on, switch to MF or lock focus, switch speedlight off and take the picture.
Depends how far away it is though...

You can also supress the speedlite flash with a camera custom function so you do't hav eto worry about turning the flash off.

[Hermeto]

Small flashlight is a must in every camera bag.
In Photography, all we need is Light!

[JWright]

Small flashlight is a must in every camera bag.
In Photography, all we need is Light!

If you use a small flashlight, consider using one with a red lens. White light will destroy your night vison, red light won't.

[SwingBopper]

Use a laser pointer.