Focus Change During Video Recording - Coolpix P610

A viewer requested a video showing how to change focus during video recording with the Coolpix P610. She want to be able to have the background in focus and change to foreground in focus, making the background out of focus and the reverse, too. Or start with a subject out of focus and make the subject in focus, while recording was continuous. Hopefully, this video will address methods to accomplish this in a fairly simple way.
Most of the video is shot with a lot of zoom so changes in focus are significant. With less zoom, there will be less of a change in focus but the techniques will be the same.
Video samples were shot with the Nikon Coolpix P610. Documentation and stills were shot with a Panasonic DMC-TZ5. Editing was done with Sony Movie Studio.

[@lindagray1809]

I am so very happy to have found your tutorial! It was luck rather than judgement when I got a shot, and I'm already feeling excited and more competent 😊

[@MontanaMonk]

I'm glad that you found the video helpful. Thank you for comments and thank you for viewing.

[@CorazonCoraza33]

Thanks a bunch! I had the same doubt. Your videos using the P610 are very helpful and I really appreciate them.

[@renatabiolegal]

Thank you so much MontanaMonk!!! I'm learning a lot with you! Hugs from Brazil!

[@gusbrown4515]

Never thought about doing something like this. Thank you so much for the great ideas.

[@marianalira3594]

thank u Sr. i appreciate it sooo much, thanks for hearing your followers this is the best youtube channel ever! thanks!!!!

[@djprole1843]

thanks for the great videos on the P610. keep them coming

[@thomaswoodenrailwayadventu9365]

I only found your video by accident, but thank you so much for posting. Very helpful.

[@Aveenged]

As always, another great tutorial ! Thank you very much !

[@psacentralcoast6970]

good to finally find a expert.

[@Anderson_Anderas]

I really love your videos. Well Done!

[@meryemeloufir2097]

Can i set the focus like you did with my Coolpix 600 ?

[@FlatEarthPhotography]

I am so happy I found your helpful videos. May I ask what setting would you recommend to make videos of airplanes? I find the camera struggles with continuous auto-focus sometimes and gets out of focus a lot.

[@MontanaMonk]

I would suggest using manual focus to shoot aircraft in flight. Since flying aircraft move over long distances quite rapidly, you want the camera to be focused such that it will produce a sharp image over most of the distance the aircraft will cover and over the zoom range you want to use. I did a quick test and found that if the white focus distance indicator is at the top end of the exposure indicator bar (black bar with the +), you will probably have pretty sharp images over a long range of zoom and for most distances you will be from the aircraft. Using manual focus eliminates the need for the camera to work at keeping focus, which is difficult with moving subjects and setting the manual focus to a good intermediate distance will let you concentrate on framing and just using the zoom as necessary. I hope this helps. Thank you for viewing and for comments.

[@FlatEarthPhotography]

+MontanaMonk thank you so much! I will be trying this today :) I actually own the p900 and really there is no such great channel as yours. If I may ask one more thing. I was recently trying to make video of the rising moon, which was above the sea. Since it was was only about 5%-it was very hard to see so due to the low light it had and it was also orange/red in colour. What settings would you suggest for me to try and shoot it? I believe best is using manual focus, since it was nearly impossible to use auto focus. However can you please advise which settings I should be using? M/A/S/P? I really appreciate your help. Your videos are very professional and clear. Thank you

[@MontanaMonk]

It doesn't matter too much which mode (M/A/S/P) you use, since during video recording, you don't have much control over exposure, so P mode should be fine. I would use infinity focus for shooting the moon. The moon will always be at infinity. Using infinity also eliminates any problem with trying to focus, either by the camera or manually, which is especially difficult in low light. The other thing you might want to do is use spot metering and make sure the bright area is in the bracketed area that indicates where metering is being done. The bracketed area can be moved around, even though the spot metering indicator is at the center of the screen. Press the OK button to see where the bracket is located and press the sides of the multi-selector to move it. Press OK again to lock it in place. Just remember to position the brightest part of the scene at the bracket area when you start recording. After you start recording, lock exposure by pressing the > on the multi-selector. This will keep the exposure constant. Since you don't have full manual control of exposure during video recording, you sometimes have to "trick" the camera into proper exposure. For example, if you were shooting a full moon rising, the exposure might change a lot as the moon rises. However, you probably want the foreground and horizon to remain the same, so you need to set exposure to be correct when the moon is brightest. In this case, you might find something as bright as the moon will become to lock the exposure (even a bright subject nearby). Just point at the brighter subject, start recording, lock exposure and then point to where you really want to shoot while the recording is still running. Just clip off the first part for the final scene. You P900 is a great camera. I probably would have chosen it when I got the P610, but it was not readily available at the time and I wasn't patient enough to wait.

[@cesaraugustop]

What a useful video!! many thanks for sharing! take my like!!!!

[@souhailsuffee7993]

thanks you your video are very helpful

[@febinutube]

Thanks you very much. Thanks for teaching me how to use my p610

[@science.of.horror]

Thanks! That was very helpful

[@lildaisyheart]

Hey, i have a question. I have the exact same camera and still trying to learn more about it. But i mostly use it for my youtube videos where i film myself. And my question is- How do i make it super blurry in the background but it is focused on me? Does that make any sense? For example if i'm sitting in a room and there's plenty of stuff in the background, how do i make it very blurry so you kinda can't see what is in the background, so it is only focused on me? Is it possible to do it that way, if so, please tell me! I've seen some youtuber having it that way and i' curious if that camera can do that! Thank you!

[@MontanaMonk]

It is difficult to get the background very blurred. Using maximum zoom makes it easier, but you need a lot of space to include all of yourself in the frame and keep the background at a distance so it is out of focus. An easier technique might be to light yourself much brighter than the background. Then, the background disappears bacause it is so dark compared to you. Try to make yourself cover much of the frame or the camera will adjust for the dark background. Getting a blurred background is much easier with cameras with larger sensors and lenses with large lens openings, both of which cost a lot. In the video on changing focus, the zoom was almost maximum, the camera was about 2 meters from the near subject and 8 meters from the back subject. This is difficult to do in a house. Looks like you have been doing a lot of video. Keep shooting and have fun. Thank you for viewing and for comments.

[@souhailsuffee7993]

+MontanaMonk even if its not completly blur am getting difficulties to blur a full background.

[@paigehanic506]

Thank you!! You just helped me so much!

[@aubreybates4087]

Hi Mr. MontanaMonk, I really enjoy your tutorial videos but I would like to know if the Nikon 610 can be used with off camera flashes( TTL or Manual) especially with close up photography ?

[@MontanaMonk]

There are some units that could cause an off camera flash to fire when the on camera flash fires. These are referred to as "optical slaves". They might work for close-up photography, although I haven't tried any of them. Thank you for questions and comments and thank you for viewing.

[@aubreybates4087]

MontanaMonk thank you

[@SaraitBeauty]

You're so helpful! Thank you so much

[@franciscopena4915]

Excelente vídeo.

[@sebrandao2]

Tenho uma Nikon Coolpix L840 zoom 38x. Ela só tem funções automáticas. Está semana comprei uma Nikon Coolpix P610 que tem os mesmos recursos da L840 e com vantagem de ter mais zoom e muitos recursos manuais que a L840, para mim o principal é o foco manual, ele permite muito mais controle nas gravações e fotos.🇧🇷

[@antoniopaulonacionalista5627]

Boa tarde! Comprei uma p610 e queria saber se ela consegue tirar múltiplas fotos num disparo.

[@sebrandao2]

@@antoniopaulonacionalista5627 Sim consegue.

[@antoniopaulonacionalista5627]

@@sebrandao2 obrigado!

[@bot4144]

Great video! very helpful. I have a question, how do I use flashlight while recording a video? especially, during low light? or at night? I use the same camera but still learning. : D please help. thank you. :)

[@MontanaMonk]

The flash on the P610 doesn't work while recording video. Unlike the flash in cell phones, which is an LED and can be turned on and off, the flash in the P610 and most cameras is a flash tube and lights up only during the discharge of a stored charge and lasts for a very short time, perhaps 1/2000 sec. The light from a flash tube is typically much brighter than an LED, so it can light up subjects at greater distances. There are LED lights for video that can be used. They normally mount on the camera flash bracket. Since the P610 doesn't have a flash bracket, you would also need a bracket which is mounted to the camera with the tripod mount. Some of these lights can be pretty expensive, but I've seen some for around $30 which have good reviews. Adequate brackets are usually less than $10. Thank you for viewing and for your comments.

[@bot4144]

+MontanaMonk thank you :)

[@attiquehashmi5488]

Thankew bro...ur videos r very helpful....

[@itsjennyyystyle]

How u doing zoom in n out how ur focusing which button u press ur not shown

[@MontanaMonk]

In this video, I change the function of the zoom button on the left side of the lens housing to do manual focusing by using Menu-Setup-Assign side zoom control-MF. Then exit menu and set focus to MF by pressing the bottom of the Rotary Multiselector - MF. Now, when you press the shutter release half way down the camera will enlarge the preview so you can set the focus. Then start video recording and change focus as necessary using the side zoom button on the left side of the lens housing. To zoom, just use the zoom lever on the front of the camera around the shutter button. I hope this helps. Thank you for questions and comments and thank you for viewing.

[@bcoral8101]

Thanks so much!

[@shashinkan99]

NICE VIDEO THANKS

[@cheenuray]

Thank you very much Sir....

[@simonrboothphotographer2217]

Very helpful - Thank you :-)

[@10pond]

Wich setting you have your camera when filming this ?

[@MontanaMonk]

The camera was set to manual focus and I used the side zoom lever for changing focus. Also used a lot of zoom, which causes the blur between foreground and background. Foreground was about two meters from the camera. Background was about ten meters from the camera. Video set to 1080p. Most important factors are manual focus, zoom and relative distances. Thank you for viewing and for comment. If you have more questions, please ask. I try to answer all with either text or video or sometimes stills posted on my web site: montanamonk.com

[@10pond]

Thank u very much for explaining. Your videos are a big big help for me.

[@RaymanW]

can this be done on panasonic lx100 if yes please reply

[@MontanaMonk]

The LX100 should be able to do the same focus changes during video recording. It has both manual focus and continuous auto focus modes during video recording, so it should be similar to the P610. For manual changes, set to manual focus mode and use the focus ring to change focus during recording. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to change focus manually during recording without introducing camera motion, but stabilization will probably help. I am basing this opinion on information from the manual, since I can't test the camera directly. Thank you for questions and comments and thank you for viewing.

[@RaymanW]

MontanaMonk thanks i would try manual focus but it's little difficult

[@Guenni01]

Thank u for uploading this Video. Thumbs up and a sub.

[@ВладимирЩерба-я7з]

Спасибо!

[@janismateuss]

Thanks!

[@jsml300892]

I would like to use microphone with the camera, can I do that?

[@MontanaMonk]

No, the P610 does not have a mic jack for an external microphone. If you are looking for a camera with a mic jack, I would suggest the Canon Powershot sx60hs. It is about the same class as the P610. Thank you for viewing and thank you for questions and comments.

[@souhailsuffee7993]

how to blur a full backgroud on nikon p610

[@MontanaMonk]

To get blur to the extent I show in the video, you need almost maximum zoom and the background must be at least ten meters away. Then use manual focus and set focus on something just two meters away. The background should be out of focus. Thank you for viewing and for your comment.

[@helenaguila8686]

La camara esta bella y la vas a emplear muy bien

[@Vizagloveok]

wonderful.sir

[@SrananBoi015]

Does anyone know how to do it with a Nikon D7100?

[@MontanaMonk]

The D7100 should work very similarly. With Live View/Movie AF set to Single-servo AF mode, you can change focus manually during video recording or you can set it for Full-time-server AF and the camera will focus as the subject distance changes. Also, the camera may record some of the sound of focus changes as the camera refocuses, unless you use an external mic. Hope this helps. Thank you for viewing and for questions and comments.

[@SrananBoi015]

Thank you for your quick response, it worked!

[@coloreyed]

sir how i can increase the video time?it is 15 min 5 sec only

[@MontanaMonk]

My initial suggestion is that the memory card you are using is fairly small. A 2 GB card will only hold about 15 minutes of video recording. If the card is larger and you have not formated it recently, the card may not be using all the space it should have available and it should be re-formatted. If you are recording at 1080/60i, changing to 1080/30p might provide 30 minutes of recording time with your current SD card. If you are using HS 720 2x recording, you can only get about 15 minutes recording in one clip. I need to know more about the movie mode you are shooting and SD card size to provide a more complete analysis. If you provide more information, I'll be happy to analyze the problem further. Thank you for questions and comments and thank you for viewing.

[@oliwerstutorials9259]

I have Nikon P900, but its work❤

[@EmirDoski]

The batteries of these cameras run out very quickly

[@MontanaMonk]

Be sure to turn off the GPS features if you don't really need them. Recording Location Data and Log Recording will continue operation for about 6 hours even when the camera has been turned off. This will run down the battery much quicker than you might expect. I rarely use the GPS, since I can add the location with my image editing program. While it might be a little less accurate this way, it conserves the battery. Thank you for comments and thank you for viewing.

[@EmirDoski]

@@MontanaMonk Thank you very much for the helpful tutorials

[@DeyvsonMoutinhoCaliman]

Sony and Panasonic superzooms have so much better manual focus.

[@meryemeloufir2097]

P600 sorry

[@MontanaMonk]

Yes, the P600 should work the same as the P610 for using the side control as a focus control. Just reassign the control for Manual Focus. Thank you for questions and thank you for viewing.

[@cheenuray]

Thank you very much Sir....

[@najeelas66]

The same way I can focus on Nikon Coolpix b700? 😢

[@MontanaMonk]

Yes, the B700 focus should operate like the P610. Thank you for questions and thank you for viewing.