Some weld pictures I took of welding

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I have a non-DSLR and it hunts or has trouble finding focus sometimes as well. I try to help it along by pre-focusing to distance using the half-press method by aiming at something with strong contrast and while holding the focus lock, then pointing it at my subject(s). Like the side of a person's face or the edge of a table. Most (all?) non-DSLR type cameras use contrast to focus. I think they especially like contrast along horizontal lines but I'm not so sure about that part. It becomes second nature and (usually) doesn't take as long as it sounds.

Also try your camera with center focus instead of multipoint and use the above technique. In that way, it might help you let the camera know what to focus on instead of "where ever it wants to". Hope this helps - I know the pressure of trying to get the right moment.