Do you: BBF, AI Servo, Continuous

[Jonathan Brady]

On a different sub-forum, the topic of Back Button Focusing came up and someone asked what it was. I was in the dark about it, and it's advantages for quite some time and then switched to it exclusively a couple of years ago and LOVE IT. I'm just curious to know if many others use this technique, along with a couple of other settings to maximize the number of in-focus shots, especially of moving subjects...

So, do you use:
-BBF (Back Button Focusing)
-AI Servo focus (it never really "locks on" focus, but instead continuously adjusts in the tiniest increments in case the camera and/or subject moves)
-Continuous shooting (camera keeps taking pictures as long as the shutter is held down)

For me, I use all 3 of these in concert with one another and LOVE this approach. It's SO versatile and allows me to do whatever I want. The only time I change any of these settings is when I hand the camera to someone else.

If there are any other gems that you use and love, please feel free to share!

Oh... If possible, let's leave out all of the mirrorless discussion and stick to DSLR cameras, unless you're using these settings on your mirrorless camera. I understand that focus peaking with manual lenses is amazing and all, and us penta-viewers are living in the dark ages (sometimes literally), but it's not relevant to this discussion (nor many of the others that it seems to get injected into).

 

[Mike_PEAT]

So, do you use:
-BBF (Back Button Focusing)

Only BBF when focus distance doesn't change often, like in a studio shoot.

-AI Servo focus (it never really "locks on" focus, but instead continuously adjusts in the tiniest increments in case the camera and/or subject moves)

Continuous focus, only when doing action like birds in flight.

-Continuous shooting (camera keeps taking pictures as long as the shutter is held down)

When tracking a fast moving subject, combined with continuous focus.

Oh... If possible, let's leave out all of the mirrorless discussion and stick to DSLR cameras, unless you're using these settings on your mirrorless camera.

I HAVE used these setting on BOTH mirrorless and dSLRs. The camera makes no difference.

 

[AceP]

Yes on BBF.

No question it is the fastest way to:

1. autofocus and lock focus

2. Change to continuous servo mode

3. Change back to single shot focus mode.

4. Track with predictive autofocus

It does all that with ONE BUTTON!

 

[Boomanbb]

On a different sub-forum, the topic of Back Button Focusing came up and someone asked what it was. I was in the dark about it, and it's advantages for quite some time and then switched to it exclusively a couple of years ago and LOVE IT. I'm just curious to know if many others use this technique, along with a couple of other settings to maximize the number of in-focus shots, especially of moving subjects...

So, do you use:
-BBF (Back Button Focusing)
-AI Servo focus (it never really "locks on" focus, but instead continuously adjusts in the tiniest increments in case the camera and/or subject moves)
-Continuous shooting (camera keeps taking pictures as long as the shutter is held down)

For me, I use all 3 of these in concert with one another and LOVE this approach. It's SO versatile and allows me to do whatever I want. The only time I change any of these settings is when I hand the camera to someone else.

If there are any other gems that you use and love, please feel free to share!

Oh... If possible, let's leave out all of the mirrorless discussion and stick to DSLR cameras, unless you're using these settings on your mirrorless camera. I understand that focus peaking with manual lenses is amazing and all, and us penta-viewers are living in the dark ages (sometimes literally), but it's not relevant to this discussion (nor many of the others that it seems to get injected into).

All three are very useful when shooting cheer competitions where I have very limited time to catch every athlete doing something interesting. I might add that a vertical grip goes a long way in reducing strain in your wrist and is as important to me as continuous shooting.

Ben

 

[buybuybuy]

Speaking of BBF, how many AF points does the 6D have, again? Are they more or fewer in number than the $300 entry-level Nikon D3300?

 

[Tom_Bruno]

Yes, I back button focus. I've been doing it for years.

That locks the focus for fixed subjects like portraits, and prevents hunting and missed focus shot to shot. Also, when I'm shooting brackets of 3 or five exposures, BBF prevents one or more of the shots from having a wandering focus.

I don't currently shoot action or motion, so right now I don't need tracking. Or I'd use that too.

Switching to back button focus was one of the best things I did for my picture taking.
---------------
Tom B

 

[Beachcomber Joe]

I shoot a great deal of subjects in motion; birds in flight, rodeos, swamp buggy races, car races, sports, and airshows. For me, all three are indispensable.

 

[Dan Marchant]

Continuous I use occasionally but for the most part I prefer to actively pick the shot rather than spray and pray.

 

[fishy wishy]

Back-button-focus is one of those status tricks people try to pull on forums. Like you're with the pros when you use it, unlike the great unwashed who only know the shutter button.

Even on a monopod I don't bother with it for continuous action shooting. There's no real advantage to me because my thumb is slower, using the button robs me of part of my grip, and I have the camera set up for release priority so a full press of the shutter button would override AF anyway.

Maybe people who prefocus or really need to stop AF movement and separate it from the shutter button need BBF but for tracking I don't.

 

[Boomanbb]

Continuous I use occasionally but for the most part I prefer to actively pick the shot rather than spray and pray.

 

[Dan Marchant]

Continuous I use occasionally but for the most part I prefer to actively pick the shot rather than spray and pray.

 

[Mike CH]

I have set my camera to use BBF, too, so that focus and shutter are seperate operations.

I only use continouos when I shoot exposure brackets.

I don't use it for tracking, tough. The speed at which landscapes move is not high enough to make tracking necessary. But I do like being sure that the focus stays where I've put it

Regards, Mike

--
Wait and see...
I hardly ever speak for anybody but myself. In the cases where I do mean to speak generally the statements are likely to be marked as such.

 

[ShootMeAlready]

I think a better way to discuss this is straight on when to use AF vs Manual.

I notice that AF tends to work when decent lighting, & decent contrast. A fast shutter is as important as the AF system, as it can overcome wonky AIservo behaviour. This means you need a decent body. However the lens, consider the canon 50mm nifty-fifty, its f1.8, but its a notorious poor AF, so in AF its p**s poor. This means you need decent glass.

Now to me focus peaking vs AF, is really the same thing. Focus peaking only works when AF works, as they both need decent light & decent contrast to lock. But focus peaking gets you away from AF setting the focus plane, and lets you manually set it (and depending on the size/resolution of your display with some confidence, which by the way explains why LCD live view focus is better than OVF at least to my eyes). So in a round about way I will also say your view screen is really important if you want to set/check your AF focus point. BTW Magic Lantern can get you focus peaks on your Canon DSLR, and yes it in MF can solve wandering AF points.

Now after wading through a number of crucial points on AF, lets talk about BBF, and to me its a technique, but not a make or break as any of the points above. Meaning if it works for you great, but solve the above crucial issues and you will get great AF without BBF, just by pressing the shutter.

--
"Shoot Long and Prosper"

 

[GodSpeaks]

The back button focus is the only AF activation I use on my DSLR.

On my Panasonic (mirrorless) however, Panasonic has it all botched up. My preference would be BBF and no AF on half press, but when I switch to video Panasonic deactivates the BBF (Why Panasonic? Why?) and with half press AF off, there is no way to activate AF. This forces me to have half press AF on, in which case there is no real use for haveing BBF activated, as pressing the shutter release actives AF.

This is a serious issue that Panasonic needs to address ASAP.

 

[M H S]

Speaking of BBF, how many AF points does the 6D have, again? Are they more or fewer in number than the $300 entry-level Nikon D3300?

Troll much?

 

[sportyaccordy]

Speaking of BBF, how many AF points does the 6D have, again? Are they more or fewer in number than the $300 entry-level Nikon D3300?

Troll much?

Ignore him.