back button focusing: Hogs, what is back button focusing, my camera is Nikon d7000. Help me please...

K.V.Rajasingham

Hogs, what is back button focusing, my camera is Nikon d7000. Help me please

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

BBF is where you assign a button, usually for your right thumb, to focus the camera instead of the half press of your shutter. This way you can focus by pressing your thumb, release your thumb, then you can press your shutter without the camera refocusing. Great for recomposing your shots.

RaydancePhoto

jeep_daddy wrote:

BBF is where you assign a button, usually for your right thumb, to focus the camera instead of the half press of your shutter. This way you can focus by pressing your thumb, release your thumb, then you can press your shutter without the camera refocusing. Great for recomposing your shots.

I have been on UHH for quite a while, lots of people seem to use back button focus, is there really an advantage to this, I have never used it. I can focus by holding the shutter button 1/2 way, wait for lock, then recompose the shot. I don't see the advantage of BBF.

Burt Hollen Loc: King of Prussia, Pa

I have a Canon 70D and it has a dedicated back focus button and it has really changed, in a good way, the way I take photos. Love it.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

RaydancePhoto wrote:

I have been on UHH for quite a while, lots of people seem to use back button focus, is there really an advantage to this, I have never used it. I can focus by holding the shutter button 1/2 way, wait for lock, then recompose the shot. I don't see the advantage of BBF.

Huge advantage if you have grandkids that seem to be made of quicksilver. By the time your camera focuses with the half-press, especially if there are no clear contrasts in the area, the kids are gone! As I wrote in another thread on BBF, I try and have the depth of field from at least the front to the back of the trampoline, and focus with the back button. I still try and anticipate how they're going to jump or do their summersaults, but I now do not have to wait for the camera/lens to hunt for the focus - I just take the pictures with one press of the shutter release button.
Same for the 4-legged kids. There were 3 new babies on Monday, and more coming. Within two weeks they will be jumping on top of a huge rock in their meadow, and pushing each other off. Focus on the rock with the back button, and just take the pictures with one press of the shutter release button.
This method has given me many more keepers than I had before I learned about BBF.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Back button has another advantage - you are never in the wrong focus mode - AF Continuous vs AF Single Servo, The only reason to switch to servo is to hear the focus acquistion "beep" which I find completely annoying, so I keep it turned off.

With back button focus you keep the camera in Continuous AF mode. If you need single shot focus - momentarily depress the back button to get focus, then take your shot. If you need continuous focus tracking for a moving subject, then you keep your thumb on the button. You will never miss focus on a moving subject because you had it in single servo mode.

Macronaut Loc: Redondo Beach,Ca.

K.V.Rajasingham wrote:

Hogs, what is back button focusing, my camera is Nikon d7000. Help me please

Others have explained the what, here's how....

Go to menu, find "buttons", choose "AE-L AF-L" button to focus.

I'm still getting used to it but, so far I really like it.

amehta Loc: Boston

K.V.Rajasingham wrote:

Hogs, what is back button focusing, my camera is Nikon d7000. Help me please

BBF is about two things:
* when do you want to AF
* when do you not want to AF

In AF-C, it lets you recompose after setting the focus, temporarily giving you the effect of AF-S mode. In AF-S, it lets you focus, recompose, and shoot a series of pictures, which otherwise you would have to switch to manual mode for. Basically, it eliminates the need to ever move the AF-C/AF-S/M switch, if you are also using the "AF-S" lenses (sorry, it's a different AF-S!).

amehta Loc: Boston

RaydancePhoto wrote:

I have been on UHH for quite a while, lots of people seem to use back button focus, is there really an advantage to this, I have never used it. I can focus by holding the shutter button 1/2 way, wait for lock, then recompose the shot. I don't see the advantage of BBF.

If you are shooting in single servo, you are right. If you are shooting in continuous AF servo, then the camera will continue to focus as you recompose.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

RaydancePhoto wrote:

I have been on UHH for quite a while, lots of people seem to use back button focus, is there really an advantage to this, I have never used it. I can focus by holding the shutter button 1/2 way, wait for lock, then recompose the shot. I don't see the advantage of BBF.

One thing you can do is manual focus and press the shutter without the autofocus overriding the manual focus you just set. You can also focus, recompose then shoot. Lift your finger, shoot again, lift finger, shoot again, over and over without it autofocusing again and again.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

RaydancePhoto wrote:

I have been on UHH for quite a while, lots of people seem to use back button focus, is there really an advantage to this, I have never used it. I can focus by holding the shutter button 1/2 way, wait for lock, then recompose the shot. I don't see the advantage of BBF.

Back button focusing is very useful if you have a lens with full time manual focus and focus manually a lot. That's something macro shooters often take advantage of.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

mwsilvers wrote:

Back button focusing is very useful if you have a lens with full time manual focus and focus manually a lot.

Huh? You use a button to manually focus??

amehta Loc: Boston

mcveed wrote:

Huh? You use a button to manually focus??

I think the point was that the BBF lets you autofocus, and you can also manually focus without moving any switches, as the situation dictates.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

mcveed wrote:

Huh? You use a button to manually focus??

The back button is used for auto focus. By removing the auto focus functionality from the shutter button it's easier to focus manually when you have a lens that supports full time manual focus.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

amehta wrote:

I think the point was that the BBF lets you autofocus, and you can also manually focus without moving any switches, as the situation dictates.

Thanks for clearing that up.