PLUG-IN: Show Focus Point Lightroom Plug-In
A while back I wrote a post on some features I’d love to see, but I really didn’t think would make it in to Lightroom. Well, one of those features was the ability to show me my focus points. At times, I’ll shoot the same photo but focus in different areas. As a landscape photographer, sometimes I’ll merge a few photos together (focus stacking) to get an ultra sharp photo. Other times, I just use one photo, but knowing where I focussed can help me in the future.
Well, a few blog readers pointed out a plug-in that I hadn’t seen before. It’s called Show Focus Points and it only does one thing – it shows you your focus point. After you install it, you just go to the top menu to Library > Plug-in Extras > Show Focus Points (make sure you’re in the Library module first).
It’s not incredibly elegant, but it opens a window that does the trick and gives you lots of focus information, including showing you the focus points. Pretty cool eh!? It only works with some cameras, but it’s totally free. So keep your whining to yourself 😉
Here’s the link to download it. It’s free and only takes a minute to install. Enjoy!
Why this plug in not longer available?
Is there another great plug in (for Windows and not for Mac) for to see focus point?
Bye.
Martino.
You can find it here:
http://lightroomfocuspointsplugin.com/
Bye
Michael
AS of May 28th 2017 I can no longer find a VALID URL for the Show Focus Points Lightroom plugin. It appears to have been pulled from distribution. Any idea why or if it is still available?
No longer available or supported.
It still works fine with LR though (if you can find it) and I’m using a Nikon D500 for which the plugin was recently updated.
If it’s no longer available or supported, is there any way to know if it was accurate to begin with?
hi i’ve got focus point’s plugin for lightroom cc but after coming back from a shoot in local woodlands i discovered it does’nt give focusing distance for the canon 50 mm f1.8 11 it gives everything else but not the depth of field ( sorry brain is a bit old ) but it give’s the information for the 24-70 that i also used. i will try again toomorrow going back to do some more shot’s
Cheers Tony
Hi, not exactly a reply – but a question. From where did you get the show focus points plug in for LR 6/CC? I had it for LR 5 but this doesn’t work (for me at least) in LR 6/CC. Thanks in advance for your response.
Here the same- It doesn’t work in LR 6 🙁
same 50 mm 1.4 no field depth
Matt,
Very good plug in, especially for the distance to the subject, in my case for birds in flight!
Thanks
Canon software that comes free with all Canon cameras does this same thing. Further, even when shooting tethered, focus points can be visible via Canon software.
Hi. I have looked for it in Image-Browser EX; DPP and Picture-Style-Editor and I can find it. Please Give a clue.
I would like to see this work in Develop module since we do most of our work in that Module.
None the less its cool and FREE!
Outstanding! Very inspirational to stay current with Lightroom techniques.
Not bad….not bad at all. In fact, pretty d@mn good!
Love this – installed and began checking my images. I struggle with focus often due to my old eyes – and while I trust auto focus, this really helps me to see where I intended to focus and whether I achieved that goal.
Excellent Matt !! Now I can have more control of my shots, goes great with my Nikon D7100. Thank you very much.
This appears to be very “spliced on” as opposed to well integrated. Perhaps Adobe’s SDK does not allow better. If this plug-in proves popular, maybe Adobe will buy this (best) or develop their own (sad, but most likely) and integrate it more tightly.
option is greyed out — how do I activate it?
Thanks, interesting as long as you keep in mind that which focus points were in use, and where focus was within the picture frame, can be very different things if you use the focus and recompose a lot 🙂 For me this plugin is mostly useful when I use a tripod.
not compatible with LR 4, I tried it and it said was specifically for 5…so I Googled and found another one for 4 but it was Windows only 🙁
Would you mind posting a link to the Win/LR 4 version you found? Thanks!
It only works in LR5
WayCoolGroovy! Showing focus points in Aperture was one of my favorite features, and helped me to improve my overall shooting.
where is the link???
never mind, found it by googling. it’s http://www.lightroomfocuspointsplugin.com/. Thanks.
Thanks – nice tool to know about.
Thanks for sharing! Was just talking with another photographer the other day about helpful it would be to look at the focus points!
How can we get a notification when it’s available for Lightroom 4.4 ?
I can’t speak for the people who made it but I doubt they’ll develop a version for an older version of Lightroom. Did you try it in 4 yet? Sometimes these things are backward compatible.
I tried in LR4. Not working. Notify me please when it will be available in 4.
Thank you.
OMG – how dumb some comments are…
No funciona con SONY 🙁
Thanks, Matt. This is a great tool. Looking forward to seeing your seminar in Livonia Michigan!
when i move mouse to plug in – extras i don’t found (show focus point)
*my lightroom 5.3
an thankyou please help ?
Wonderful!!! Thank you, Matt!
Thanks Matt, this will be really useful for my landscape work too!
Cheers Matt. Can see this being very useful. Will be making others aware.
Although it is nice to see what the focus points where ate the moment the photo was taken, when using the focus-recompose technique it will make this information invalid.
It would be great if one could see that the focus-recompose technique was used and, even better, what the actual focus points where. But that is information that must be provided by the camera.
How would the camera know that you moved it from the original position to then take the photo after focus was achieved? Unless the camera has a gyroscope and is storing this data in the exif (before and after focus is achieved) – there is no way to get this data.
This is real nice, thanks for sharing
I always continue to find great tips and information here….thanks Matt !!!
Thanks, Matt! When working with my second shooters, I often like to pull up focus information and have a discussion. This will make it much easier!
your second shooter should be honest to your potofolio at smugmug
Are the second shooters on the grassy knoll?
Nice, but too bad it doesn’t support Olympus, Panasonic or Fuji camearas.
Why do the niche camera people always seem to feel the need to complain when something supports the mainstream cameras and not theirs? That’s sometimes the price you pay for your niche choice. The rest of us don’t give a rat’s ass. (And to be fair, Matt pointed out in his article that it only supports some cameras.). Geez…if it doesn’t work for you, simply move on.
Aperture does this for my Fuji.
“Nice” being whining, I guess. You spent a lot more time whining than the post you were whining about, even if we accept it as whining, as opposed to just stating facts. #hypocrisyFTW
He is just sad about the fact- so no harshness here
This is excellent! Thank you for making us aware of this awesome little tool!
Dude, that is an awesome plugin! Works with my D600’s files, and I’m surprised at the info it can deliver. Not only does it show the focus point that was primary, but also any others that were in use but not active. It even tells you if AF lock was achieved on the available points. Sure enough, some of my blurry shots showed the right point was active, but no did not have lock. Thank you!
I have always wanted to know where the focus points were on the images I’ve shot. If for no other reason, than to see if where I selected was the actual point. Thanks for sharing
Only for Canikon 🙁
Al — The website lists Canon and Nikon camera models it supports.
🙁