Camera Settings Challenge - Back Button Focus

July 7th, 2015
Do some of the camera settings intimidate you? Do you want to learn how to develop your photography skills and learn how to use your camera effectively without always going back to the “auto” function? These challenges are for you!

These are designed for those experienced photographers to share their knowledge with others who are anxious to learn and improve their skills. This fortnight's challenge is...


Back Button Focus


Description and Basic Operation

In an earlier Camera Settings Challenge on Auto Focus (AF), we discussed a standard “Single Shot” method to choose where we want the camera to focus, using a shutter half-press. This week we will look at another way to set the Auto Focus without using the shutter. Since it is activated by pressing (and often holding) another button, frequently on the back of the camera, the method is known as Back Button Focus (BBF).

On the back of your camera you will find a button labeled something like AF-L or AF-ON. Sometimes, Nikon in particular, it will be a combined button labeled AE-L/AF-L. AE in this case stands for Auto Exposure, but don't worry about this just for now. The button is placed in easy reach of your right thumb so that you can press (and hold) it while your first finger is still ready over the shutter. In basic operation, you place the Auto Focus point selected over the subject you want, press and hold the “back” button, re-frame as required and then trip the shutter with your first finger. That's all there is to it!

“Why bother?” you may be asking. Most people who use the method, I am one, like the security of decoupling focus from the shutter and not running the risk of accidentally tripping the shutter prematurely. There are other reasons and we'll get to those in the remaining sections.

If you have never tried this before though, consider stopping for a moment and get comfortable with the basic operation before you decide to read more. Many people find sufficient value in just these basics.

Challenge

1. Shoot for a week with this basic back button focus method. Just your usual daily shots.

2. Tell us about your experiences. Please post any shots that might have worked easier for you with this method. Do you have any concerns with focusing this way? Do you think this a useful method for you?

3. If you have set the camera up for back button focus, the shutter half press will no longer function for focus. If this method is new to you, you might initially find it disconcerting if you have momentarily forgotten this. Don't panic!


Extra Options and Related Operations

From here to the end, we'll only be discussing variations and some added functions that you can incorporate, some details, operations and refinements you can graft on to the core operation.


Button Custom Placement

One word of warning: If you take your camera in for servicing, be sure either to return the default AF settings or tell the technician where you might have put the BBF, especially if it is in an odd place, like not where it "should" be. I fooled a whole staff of Nikon service techs who just couldn't get my auto focus to work and put in an urgent call to me to apologize that they had "broken" my camera's AF. :)

You can usually set the BBF function on other buttons on your camera. Why might you want to put it somewhere else than the default? Two main reasons...

The first is ergonomic. You may find the thumb press a little awkward and another button works better for you. This “preferred finger” is often the ring finger of the right hand, and the button is on the lower front of the camera, “front button focus” indeed. A number of camera manufacturers and camera models place an “Fn” or similarly labeled button there that can be redefined with this feature.
For one thing, we may want to lock the Auto Exposure before we trip the shutter, and at some time other than when we focus. “Spot” metering is a classic case. This is so useful in conjunction with BBF it demands its own discussion section, next.


Interaction with Auto Exposure

You may notice that, for some cameras, basic “Single Shot” action of the half press of the shutter will only lock the Auto Focus and not the Auto Exposure, assuming you are not shooting in “M” of course. We talked about this several sessions back in the Metering Modes CSC. Some cameras will have a dedicated AE-L (Auto Exposure Lock) button located on the back of the camera, often next to the AF-L button. But you only have one right thumb! Some cameras have a combined AF-L/AE-L button, and its default action is indeed to lock both focus and expose, but what if you do indeed want to separate them?

With all that said, you can now Lock Focus with the index finger, exposure with the thumb and shoot with the first finger. It sounds complicated, but really with a little practice it becomes second nature.


Press and Release - ON and Lock (Hold)

And there are even more options that can make the physical task even easier. Why should we have to keep the buttons pressed at all?

Many cameras will have an option for you to press and lock and then release the button and still have the function remain locked. It will remain locked until you press it again, or the lock timer expires. And you can even change that lock timer if you wish to. This “press and release” method is usually called AF-ON. Yes, I know, perhaps “lock” and “on” should semantically be the other way around, but...

The AE (Auto Exposure) press and release function is, confusingly, often not called “ON” but something like AE-Lock (Hold), so if you are interested in investigating, consult your manual, or the help system of your camera menus. If you are having trouble working out the options for your particular camera, let us know in a comment below and we wll answer you there, rather than cover the tens of permutations and options that we find between manufacturers, and yes, even between cameras from the same manufacturer.

Something to be aware of if you use these “ON” or “HOLD” or “LOCK” functions, some manufacturers will prevent you activating these from the default half shutter press. Once again, it defends on your manufacturer, and it can once again vary from camera to camera from the same manufacturer.


Auto Focus Tracking Initiation

If you now venture out of “S” or “Single Shot” mode into some tracking AF method, you can use the press and hold functions to initiate operation. For me this works beautifully as I pan to track, safe that I won't accidentally trip the shutter before I want to. Almost always, the “press and release” lock methods will not operate as you track, however.


Change these Options in the Camera Menu

You find these options in your Menu System, and almost invariably in a “Controls” or “Custom Controls” section. I hope you might investigate your own camera for interesting and hopefully useful combinations depending on your style of shooting.



We would be most interested to hear about your experiences with these features, and so would other readers of this thread. As always, if you have specific questions about your camera, or want some clarification specific its operation for this set of features, please leave us a note in a comment below, and we will do our best to help you out.

I hope you find this set of features interesting and as useful as I do. I use them consistently.

Good shooting!




July 7th, 2015
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July 7th, 2015
Thank you Frank. The Back Button is on my list!
July 7th, 2015
I've got these bookmarked to come back to them. I'm very far behind.
July 7th, 2015
I really love using the back button focus set-up. I highly recommend that anyone who wants to try it should try it for at least one or two weeks. It may be awkward at first. Also, I recommend that if you have an important photoshoot don't switch the settings the night before the shoot or you will do what I did - "something is wrong with my camera it is not focusing, it is not taking a picture! Then the light bulb goes on - oh yeah I switched to back button focus.
July 8th, 2015
I'm way behind with these. However they are all bookmarked and I am slowly working my way through them. They are proving invaluable lessons.
July 8th, 2015
@frankhymus

Thanks Frank, have posted my Flash-Night Portrait Challenge tonight, enjoyed it. Will look into the Back Button Focus.
July 8th, 2015
@frankhymus I've been using BBF for some time now and it very quickly becomes second nature. The way it works best for me is not specifically mentioned here: I set the AF mode on continuous focussing and the way the BBF works (on Nikon and Canon at least) is that if you hold the button down, the camera will continue to adjust focus in real time so that you can track a moving subject. If you simply press and release the button, the focus remains locked until you press the button again. You can switch from static to moving subjects without needing to touch any of the settings on your camera which gives maximum flexibility.
July 8th, 2015
I've been using back button focus for quite a while and it's become second nature, but I wanted to point out that on the Pentax, at least, if you want to initiate shake reduction, you must half press the shutter button for about a second or so before you take your shot.
July 8th, 2015
Sem
Back Button is one of the first things I set up on my camera, haven't looked back since.
July 9th, 2015
@vignouse Yep, I think the write up mentioned that, about AF-C, towards the bottom.

I don't use AF-C (or AF-A) for single shots for the sole reason that the focus coverage area is only about 35% of the whole frame for the D7100, a band in the center. Even narrower relatively on a full frame camera. It's one of the few niggles I have with the D750, even vis-à-vis the D810 which even is not great. If I want to focus on a point that ultimately will lie outside this band, AF-C/A runs out of room.

Also for Nikon currently anyway (a really big niggle with all their DSLRs) if you wander outside the center 15 focus points, you are outside the range of the cross-type points, which can be give you a problem with hunting if there are no strong vertical lines.
July 9th, 2015
@hamora Thanks for mentioning it!. Yes, other VR lenses/cameras similarly with the half press to initiate stabilization.
July 9th, 2015
@irene111 Hi Irene! I'll look in a minute. I just arrived back home in the USA a moment ago.
July 9th, 2015
I had to read thru this post several times and consult the manual but I think I have finally got my camera set up to use back button focus. I just did the first part of the challenge holding off on the fn button for now!! I'm shooting a softball tournament this weekend and wondering if I should go back to front focus for that? I'm thinking I may miss a lot of shots if I do back button. Thoughts or suggestions? I am excited to try this on my other shots in the next week or o though!!
July 9th, 2015
DbJ
Nice write-up. I hope many try it out and decide whether it works for them. I used back button focus exclusively for almost a year but recently switched back to standard half-press shutter operation. I found it:

* worked fabulously for tripod-mounted landscape photography, but
* in all other shooting conditions, it did not work well for me:
- I often 'missed' focus when shooting quickly for event and street work
- I did not hold the camera as stable due to holding down at least 2 buttons down per exposure (back button & shutter), vs 1 button per exposure (shutter) and if using exposure lock for the exposure that required holding down 3 buttons (back button, AE-L, & shutter)
- it was the least convenient when needing to track movement (sports and events such as fashion, music, dance, etc).

But these experiences are personal and subjective, so I would still encourage all to give it a try, and especially landscape shooters (if not using manual focus from the get-go).
July 10th, 2015
@dbj I understand your concern about moving your thumb and losing stability,

You can option your D610 for exposure lock on the shutter half button press, custom setting c1. This is often a good setting for beginners to use even if using the shutter for AF-Lock too. I never quite understood why it is not the Nikon default.

And then the Fn button on the front of the camera in easy reach of my right ring finger for AF-Lock, custom setting f2. Or as I do, AF-ON instead, so I can press and release, return the ring finger to holding the camera if you like, and still have focus locked. All your fingers firmly on the camera body, and exposure and focus locked independently, and all independent of the shitter. But as you say, whatever suits one personally.

And remember what Hamora @hamora said above too, the half press of the shutter is needed with a VR lens to lock that in too. An immediate full press can beat the VR mechanism.
July 10th, 2015
@dianen If you don't have much experience and you have an important event, then by all means don't commit to a new way of shooting.

Although I find "back button" (lower front button for me, the Fn Nikon button) makes locking and then potentially re-locking focus again before firing the shutter another plus over slower (for me) and more sensitive release of the shutter half press and then a (careful) second half press. In the heat of battle, I have been known to knock the shutter prematurely that way. And remember, you can option the shutter just to lock exposure, I think custom menu item c1 on your D5000 still, just as I said above for the D610 menus.

All the best. It takes a little acclimatization I know, but now, I find the "classic" shutter way awkward and clumsy and never use it except in a beginning "know your DSLR" class for the first basic focus lesson after you take the camera out of AUTO.
July 10th, 2015
@dianen I agree with what Frank said - for the event and if you need quick reaction to get important shots stick with what you are comfortable for that event but then do give it a try (for a minimum of 1 week of photography, to give it a fair go at it). I also agree that after you change you will most likely like it and will make it easier for you in the future.
July 11th, 2015


This is shot using the 'Back Focus Button' for the Camera Settings Challenge. I was a bit hit & miss with it. I had to set the button using my custom menu. I have a choice of assigning the AE-Lock (default) or Focus.

It was a bit strange to use. My biggest problem is that the button is directly to the left of another button - the size of my hand, location of the buttons & how I hold the camera means that I kept pressing the other button, which was driving me bonkers!

I will keep practicing as I can see times where this will come in handy, but because of the location I probably won't use this as a day to day function.
July 11th, 2015
@jennymallett Hi Jenny. I do agree with you that it is a little clumsy to have to reach over the "Select Focus Point" button with your thumb to find the "*" button, which is the only option the Canon 1100D (T3 in the USA) provides for BBF. I guess Canon thinks that the target market users would rather change the focus point selection easier than BBF. To me that makes no sense at all. For "single shot" you should be using the center point and moving the camera after focus is locked and not changing it in real time while shooting. But then Canon didn't ask me...

Someone asked me once "Why are there multiple focus points, if you advise us never to use anything but the center one?" Good question, and my answer is that the other focus points are there for "tracking auto focus," for the camera to be able to "lock on" should the subject move from the initial (center) point. For camera automatic use, not the user.

And there are not other buttons you can re-define for BBF, so you are stuck with the Canon single choice, and have to train yourself to jump over the first button. If you want to use BBF at all, that is...

Good luck however you decide to proceed...

Cool shot of the birds though. It seemed like you did nail the focus!
July 15th, 2015
I'm very late to this discussion, but I wanted to chime in and say that I've been using BBF for almost this entire calendar year and absolutely love it. Since I do focus and recompose almost all of the time (with the center point manually selected), assuming my subject stays on the same plane, I can focus once and shoot a few frames.

That said, I absolutely hated it and couldn't understand why anyone would do it for the first few days...so definitely try it for a week before giving up!

The only issue I have with it now is handing off my camera to other people. I've trained my immediate family, but if I want a random person to take a group shot of my whole family, I have to dig through the menus to switch it back first!
July 15th, 2015
@sarahsthreads Thanks for your reinforcement Sarah. I certainly hope people will try it and get to appreciate the benefits as you and I do.

A story about handing the camera off to others, I mentioned it in the original write up I think. I had my camera and two of my lenses in for a "free" service at the camera super store event - credit given for a purchase so yes, indeed free - and then went to a workshop/class while I waited. I was called out of the class by the engineers who thought they had broken my camera's Auto Focus! They had even tried the obvious AE-L/AF-L button and no good. I had put it on the Fn button on the bottom front for my right ring finger to access. They didn't think to look there, and there's no way to find out *which* button a feature is defined as. I suggested to Nikon later that it might be a good "feature" to add to the menus, to reference where the custom features are...
July 16th, 2015


My first try at Back Button Focus,I felt comfortable holding the camera in this way and felt it easier to hold the camera. My second day into the Challenge and I'm sure I'll stay. Thanks...
July 16th, 2015
Well, after my first week using the back button focus, I think I will stick with it. It's great alternative to focusing and then switching to manual, in order to lock focus.

However I do encounter some difficulties. Like DbJ, I also sometimes accidentally shake the camera the moment I press the shutter button, cause I am not used yet into having an extra finger pressing something on the camera. I am sure that I will get used to the slightly different balance though.
July 16th, 2015
Sue


Here is my first go at BBF. I found it a little awkward, and I don't think I would use it on a shoot. On the FZ200, using the AF/AE lock button, it works fine, but you have to press it again to un-enable it so you can focus on something else. But for just one photo at a time I think I will use this more now.
July 16th, 2015
@frankhymus That's pretty funny about the camera store thinking they'd broken your autofocus. I let my brother borrow my T2i body for a while, and when I was showing him the basic functions I couldn't figure out why the half-shutter-press focus wasn't working...I forgot I'd initially tried out BBF on that body before I got my SL1. My only excuse is that I'm getting old and my memory is going. :)
July 16th, 2015
@irene111 Lovely cat! AT least you know about it, BBF that is, and can work out if it suits you. I shoot with it exclusively, except if I am set up on a tripod with lots of time and I will go for manual focus anyway, macros mostly. Glad you are trying it.
July 16th, 2015
@nitrogene I understand completely. I do find the right thumb press awkward too. It's why I have used the Fn button on the right front of the camera where my ring finger can reach it so my grip, the thumb is a key part of that, is not compromised. Such luxury is not available on almost all "entry level" DSLRs, even up to the D5500 and all the Rebels I think...
July 16th, 2015
@sioux Glad you are trying it. The "second press" to focus again doesn't bother me, since I would have to (half) press the shutter anyway. The nice thing that BBF does buy you is that if you want to take multiple shots at that same focus distance, nothing more to have to do or worry about.
July 17th, 2015

@frankhymus
And thanks for the opportunity!!
July 20th, 2015
@camerasavvy So I have been using the back focus button for about 2 weeks now...and I really like it. Can't really give a concrete reason way but once I got used to it, it almost seems more natural than the half shutter release! So, thanks for highlighting this technique!
July 21st, 2015
@dianen Glad you tried it and liked it!
July 23rd, 2015
@frankhymus @camerasavvy So here's question for you. As I said I've been using back button focus and I really like it. But on my Nikon d5000 the ae-l/af-l button is also the button to protect pictures. I'm finding that many of the photos have been protected even when I don't want them to be (I hardly ever use the protection button). It's kind of driving me crazy. I looked thru my manual but cannot find anything about turning off the protection or reassigning it....any ideas?
July 23rd, 2015
@dianen Annoying, isn't it? It operates that way while the previous image is in replay I think? Or you actively press the replay button. So you can dismiss that before the timer expires with, guess what with, a half shutter press, which will activate the metering system. Also, you can define the half shutter press to Lock Exposure, Custom Menu item c1 ON, as well as it activating the meter.
July 24th, 2015
Yeah! It's annoying! I was hoping there was some trick around it...guess not! :(
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