Back button focus

[mysteryman44]

Hello Fellow photographers, Just wondered if back button focus is really necessary in city or landscape photo taking. I could see Wildlife for using this. I guess it’s ones preference.

 

[PLShutterbug]

Hello Fellow photographers, Just wondered if back button focus is really necessary in city or landscape photo taking. I could see Wildlife for using this. I guess it’s ones preference.

The real question is whether to use a shutter-button half-press or the back button. I never use the back button, I just use half-press.

 

[TheSoaringSprite]

Hello Fellow photographers, Just wondered if back button focus is really necessary in city or landscape photo taking. I could see Wildlife for using this. I guess it’s ones preference.

The argument I've heard used before is that the AF-ON button can act as AF-C or AF-S at your will. You can keep it pressed down while tracking a moving subject, or you can tap it once to get focus on a stationary subject and hit the shutter button to take the picture.

I like to separate the focusing and picture-taking functions, because then there's no accidentally pressing the shutter button too soon, or not soon enough. I use AF-ON for all my photography and it's worked out great so far. If I'm on a tripod doing landscape photography, I'll use that, or manual focus, depending on available light and all that.

 

[mysteryman44]

I mostly use the shutter. Just feels more comfortable.

 

[SeanESean]

I like BBF for most of my usage. It's not the holy grail but it sure does work for many instances. You have to try it and figure out how it fits into your photo needs. I shoot my family, sports, landscape, and lots of travel. I'm largely in BBF for my needs.

 

[bjn70]

Most rationale for BBF involves some form of sports or action. With BBF you can focus one time and it won't change then you can take one or more photos without worrying about focus. With shutter button focus you tell the camera to focus every time you take an image which might or might not introduce errors. For almost all of my photography I prefer shutter button focus, for action photography I use BBF. These days I have one body mostly dedicated to action so it stays set to BBF.

 

[NEO54321]

Most rationale for BBF involves some form of sports or action. With BBF you can focus one time and it won't change then you can take one or more photos without worrying about focus. With shutter button focus you tell the camera to focus every time you take an image which might or might not introduce errors. For almost all of my photography I prefer shutter button focus, for action photography I use BBF. These days I have one body mostly dedicated to action so it stays set to BBF.

I never understood the need for BBF until couple years ago. Now, it is the only way I focus. It was my third time trying. It has to do with shifting focus if I release the half-pressed shutter and then press the shutter again. It was very annoying. And I do landscape 90% of the time. I almost never do sport or bird photography.

 

[HarwoodF]

Just wondered if back button focus is really necessary in city or landscape photo taking.

I don't think it's necessary for any kind of photography. But some people find it highly preferable. I know I do. Years ago I moved focus to the back button just as an experiment. I quickly came to prefer it and never went back.

 

[mfinley]

Hello Fellow photographers, Just wondered if back button focus is really necessary in city or landscape photo taking. I could see Wildlife for using this. I guess it’s ones preference.

It's not necessary, it's just an extra goody that is preferred by many because it makes using your camera more pleasant in any genre of photography.

Half press is going to refocus and recalculate the exposure every time you pass through half-press to release. If you're never in a situation where this is a problem for you then BBF makes as much sense as owning a tripod for somebody that only shoots hand-held.

I personally would never go back to half-press because while it works fine most of the time, BBF works for every time.

 

[Bogie 1]

I use BBF 100% of the time, but I don't shoot a wide variety of genres. I'm pretty much just into landscape and portraits.

When I started with cameras I don't know if autofocus was yet available, maybe it was and I just couldn't afford it. I used the lens ring to focus and the shutter button to take the photo. So it seems natural to me that focusing and releasing the shutter should have 2 different controls. I never liked the idea of doing both with one button.

 

[Bill Ferris]

Back button focus is more a philosophy than a specific technique. If you like to have more than one autofocus mode readily available for use at the push of a button or if you like to have the option of not triggering focus acquisition when initiating a shutter actuation, moving focus activation off the shutter release to another programmable button will address those needs.

By contrast, if one autofocus mode meets your needs and if triggering focus acquisition with every press of the shutter release helps you to get consistently good results, back button focus doesn't offer any real benefit to how you shoot.

--
Bill Ferris Photography
Flagstaff, AZ

 

[Kumsal]

BBF has advantages, of course.
With BBF I set the focus point and have plenty of time for composition.
Otherwise I would have to keep the shutter button half-pressed the whole time.
In addition, if I set the focus point with BBF, I can wait a long time until the subject appears in the right place in the photo.

 

[Quarkcharmed]

Hello Fellow photographers, Just wondered if back button focus is really necessary in city or landscape photo taking. I could see Wildlife for using this. I guess it’s ones preference.

Half-press is my default mode for any action, back button for landscapes. I don't need the camera to refocus every time on static subjects. Moreover it would be spoiling some shots.

 

[Flowing Moments]

I always use back button focus. It is easier in that you don't have to ever keep a button pressed half way with the accidents that can lead to. If you want to focus and recompose it is easy and reliable. Just push the back button to focus, let it up to stop focusing and recompose then shoot.

 

[Jefenator]

I have come to prefer back button for static scenes. The benefits as I see them are:

• focus is isolated from other controls – but still very handy when I want it
• less distraction while exposing & composing
• MF ready to go by default when I suspect the AF might be missing (which happens all too often - especially on older cameras)
• can re-compose or shoot a whole different landscape w/o having to constantly reacquire the same focus distance (so it's actually faster!)

I still do the half-press for spray n pray action bursts. I may work back button up for that too eventually (if it ever became my bread & butter).

--

Jeff Addicott

Explore Jeff Addicott’s 600 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[GodSpeaks]

Hello Fellow photographers, Just wondered if back button focus is really necessary in city or landscape photo taking. I could see Wildlife for using this. I guess it’s ones preference.

The real question is whether to use a shutter-button half-press or the back button. I never use the back button, I just use half-press.

While I use BBF all the time on all my cameras. I have been using BBF so long, I have forgotten how long it's been, maybe 3 or even 4 decades.

 

[Gloomy1]

I am with you Jana. For landscapes: compose, decide where to focus, use back button focus, check, wait for the light/ action if any, take the image. ie compose adjust focus shoot. Separating focusing and taking ensures that the camera doesn't focus on the wrong thing or not focus properly. Ken

 

[Craig Gillette]

I like using it. In a "travel" situation, I'd want to be able to switch out and back quickly if handing the camera off to someone for them to take your picture. That's easier than trying to explain it to most folks who aren't " photographers."

 

[LumixCat]

I tried back button focus, but I didn't like it. I prefer to focus with a half press of the shutter. I like how Nikons have an AF lock button just to the right of the viewfinder. I have set one of the buttons on the back of my Panasonic ZS80 to do AF lock. On my Canon M6, I was able to set the * button to do AF lock, but it's so far at the right edge of the camera that I sometimes have trouble reaching it.

 

[mysteryman44]

Seems like using the back button focus on my Nikon z6 2 it seems to like lock on focus easier and my photos seem sharper. Iam going to continue using BBF. So far I like it.