Focus peaking is a real-time visual aid that highlights the areas of sharpest focus in your image with a colored overlay. Available on most modern mirrorless cameras and many DSLRs in live view mode, it is designed to help you nail precise manual focus without relying solely on your eyes to judge sharpness on a small screen or viewfinder.
How Focus Peaking Works
The camera analyzes the live view feed and identifies edges with the highest contrast, which correspond to the areas in sharpest focus. It then paints those edges with a bright color overlay, typically red, yellow, or white. As you turn the focus ring, the highlighted areas shift to show where the new focus plane falls. When the highlights appear on your subject, you know that area is in focus.
Focus peaking works by detecting contrast transitions between adjacent pixels. Sharply focused edges produce strong contrast transitions. Out-of-focus areas have gradual, low-contrast transitions that fall below the detection threshold. The sensitivity setting controls how strong the contrast must be before the camera highlights it. High sensitivity shows more highlighted areas (useful for a quick overview of the focus plane), while low sensitivity highlights only the very sharpest edges (useful for critical precision).
When to Use Focus Peaking
Manual focus lenses. Vintage lenses, adapted lenses, and dedicated manual focus lenses lack autofocus entirely. Focus peaking makes them practical for everyday use.
Macro photography. At extreme magnifications, depth of field is measured in millimeters. Focus peaking shows exactly which sliver of the subject is sharp, making it easier to place focus precisely on a tiny detail like an insect’s eye.
Video and filmmaking. Manual focus pulling is standard practice in video production. Focus peaking gives the focus puller a clear, real-time reference for where the focus plane sits as they follow a moving subject through a scene.
Low-light and wide-aperture shooting. When shooting at f/1.4 or f/1.8, the in-focus zone is very shallow. Focus peaking confirms that focus is on the eyes rather than the nose or ears, which can be difficult to judge on a small EVF.
Tips for Best Results
Choose a highlight color that contrasts with your subject. Red works well for green landscapes but disappears on red subjects. Switch to white or yellow in those situations. Combine focus peaking with magnified view for critical work: use peaking to get close, then punch in to confirm at pixel level. Remember that focus peaking is an approximation, not pixel-perfect confirmation. For the most demanding applications like focus stacking, always verify with magnification.