In many situations, manual focus is not especially practical in underwater photography. However, the short answer is yes, manual focus is often possible for those who need it.
The most important component in allowing manual focus underwater is a focus gear. Focus gears are rings with machined teeth that go around the barrel of the lens, inside the housing. The focus gear ring grabs the focus ring of the lens, and the teeth on the outside of the ring contact more gears that are built into the housing.
In this way, you are able to turn a knob on the housing (or in some cases, a knob on the outside of the lens port), and the gears all connect in such a way that you rotate the focus ring on the lens itself, from outside of the housing.
Some housings allow a quick switch from AF to MF. On housings that do not have a physical manual / AF switch, you can assign a custom menu button to manual focus.
Manual focusing underwater generally is an advanced technique that is often used by videographers or macro shooters. Using MF for wide angle still photos is very rare and not really worth the effort, since AF typically performs significantly better. One group that does typically rely on manual focus is shooters who use diopters. Diopters are one creative tool that often perform better with manual focus.
Even on compacts, MF is still possible if the camera supports it. The MF is usually controlled by the buttons on the back or by the ring control around the lens, which housings usually support.
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