Help needed from experinced BBF users
May 27, 2015 08:53:12 #
jerryc41 wrote:
A smaller aperture will make a larger area appear to be in sharp focus, but since you'd be swinging in an arc to capture the moving deer, the distance would increase from straight ahead. As others have said, continuous focus would be good in this situation.
Good advice, thank you.
May 27, 2015 08:59:32 #
streetmarty wrote:
Hi, I have been using BBF for a little while but s... (show quote)
Marty, thanks for the wake-up call and then the chuckle!!!
I've just got out of bed, not even six o'clock yet; reading the above, I'm thinking: Who has he (Steve Perry) been BS'ing now? He doesn't even know how to turn on a camera, much less what a focal plane is.... Being a hunter, he knows plenty about deer, elk, moose, BS'ing....
OK, wake-up time: You're not talking about my youngest son, you're talking about another Steve Perry ;-)
May 27, 2015 09:59:02 #
Morning Star wrote:
Marty, thanks for the wake-up call and then the chuckle!!!
I've just got out of bed, not even six o'clock yet; reading the above, I'm thinking: Who has he (Steve Perry) been BS'ing now? He doesn't even know how to turn on a camera, much less what a focal plane is.... Being a hunter, he knows plenty about deer, elk, moose, BS'ing....
OK, wake-up time: You're not talking about my youngest son, you're talking about another Steve Perry ;-)
I've just got out of bed, not even six o'clock yet; reading the above, I'm thinking: Who has he (Steve Perry) been BS'ing now? He doesn't even know how to turn on a camera, much less what a focal plane is.... Being a hunter, he knows plenty about deer, elk, moose, BS'ing....
OK, wake-up time: You're not talking about my youngest son, you're talking about another Steve Perry ;-)
THAT is pretty funny!!
May 27, 2015 10:34:24 #
Mogul wrote:
Short answer: it depends......
Shooting with an APS-C camera with a 200mm lens, sunny 16,
If it's a spooky Kansas white tail deer, it's going to be at 100 yards, so your DOF will be 937 feet. No problem.
If it's an Oregon black tail deer, just walk up to him, give him a hug and shoot a selfie together. Again no problem.
May 27, 2015 11:07:02 #
streetmarty wrote:
I can draw a pretty big circle. Are you referring to what I see through the view finder as my drawn circle? Pretend I'm 6 years old instead of 60. LOL Thanks Jim
You could say that. Lets say you are focused at 100 yards. Now turn completely around. You just made a circle which would be at a 100 yard radius. Anything that was 100 yards away would have been in focus. Doesn't matter which way you turned as long as it is 100 yards away it will be in focus. The + or _ is your DOF which will vary according to your settings. See:
http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
When tracking say a BIF I will often tap the BB causing the camera to refocus every time I tap that button.
May 27, 2015 11:49:43 #
Rich1939 wrote:
While you are tracking your subject hold the back button in and continue to hold it while you press (release) the shutter. Shutter actuation will override the focus at the instant of actually recording the image, hopefully giving you the most accurate focus. As a side benefit it will have you in position for a follow up shot.
Rich,
This depends on how you have your shutter button set. I disable focus off of the shutter button so it can't focus. I figure if I am going to leave focus on the shutter why bother with the BBF?
One of the big advantages of BBF is the camera is already focused when I trip the shutter. The camera does not need to take the time to recalculate and then refocus, it is already done.
Jim
May 27, 2015 12:07:59 #
oldtool2 wrote:
You could say that. Lets say you are focused at 1... (show quote)
This is very interesting thank you. I went to this site. Please correct me if Im wrong. 200mm f/4 at 1000 feet, I can set hyperfocal distance to 1641 feet. I do have a range finder so Id have no problem measuring the 1641 feet.By doing so my sharp depth of field goes from 820.5 feet to infinity. So if that is the case the deer, or whatever, can move toward me 180 feet or away from me x amount of feet and still be sharp? Why do I feel that's to good to be true.
May 27, 2015 12:22:37 #
Psergel wrote:
Unless you are in AI Servo mode and keep the focus button depressed, the deer will be out of focus as soon as the distance from you changes. How much out of focus would depend on DOF which in turn depends on focal length, distance to subject and aperture.
If you are not in AI Servo mode (focus tracking), the only way the deer would stay in perfect focus is if it were running around you in a perfect circle with you in the center while you kept turning to face it.
If you are not in AI Servo mode (focus tracking), the only way the deer would stay in perfect focus is if it were running around you in a perfect circle with you in the center while you kept turning to face it.
IMHO this is one of those endless discussions with too many variables. My answer: Use A1-Servo, keep the button depressed half way, and try to keep the deer within the outer dots in the viewfinder; take your shot--and hope for the best..High speed multiple settings may help, but nothing is guaranteed. :-D You may end up with just an out of focus shot of the background! :thumbdown:
May 27, 2015 12:25:03 #
The back button focus doesn't hold any parameters. When you release the BBF it simply stops focusing - period. So if your subject doesn't move farther or closer to your lens, in theory your focus should be fine. But if your hand is touching the focus ring, or your f/stop is such that you have a shallow DOF, then you might experience out of focus shots. You have to know what you DOF is, and you must know for sure that your subject hasn't moved closer or farther. The good news is that you thumb should be resting on the BBF so you can just press it if you see a change. Keep practicing.
streetmarty wrote:
Hi, I have been using BBF for a little while but s... (show quote)
May 27, 2015 12:37:07 #
streetmarty wrote:
This is very interesting thank you. I went to this site. Please correct me if Im wrong. 200mm f/4 at 1000 feet, I can set hyperfocal distance to 1641 feet. I do have a range finder so Id have no problem measuring the 1641 feet.By doing so my sharp depth of field goes from 820.5 feet to infinity. So if that is the case the deer, or whatever, can move toward me 180 feet or away from me x amount of feet and still be sharp? Why do I feel that's to good to be true.
I don't know what camera you are using. With a Canon5D III using your setting (200mm, f4.0, 100 feet) anything that is 477.5 feet in front to infinity behind will be in focus. From 522.5 feet on out you would maintain focus. Keep in mind that would not be your best setting but those are the numbers.
Jim D
May 27, 2015 12:53:20 #
jeep_daddy wrote:
The back button focus doesn't hold any parameters.... (show quote)
I always liked the second base explanation.
You are at a ballgame and you know the guy on first I going to steal second. Using BBF you focus on second base and wait As he starts to slide you fire your shutter for 10 to 15 frames at between 6 to 10 fps, depending on your camera. It is a fairly good bet you will get him as his foot hits the plate, in focus. Of course using a shutter release would be a big help.
If you try this with the shutter focusing it is a good bet you will miss the shot as the camera tries to adjust and focs.
Jim D
May 27, 2015 13:25:13 #
streetmarty wrote:
Hi, I have been using BBF for a little while but s... (show quote)
On my D7100, the BBF keeps continuously focused on the target as long as I hold the button (AF-C), until I press the shutter. It locks focus when I release the BB, then releases when I press the shutter.
May 27, 2015 14:22:21 #
I always read these BBF conversations with a bit of interest AND with a grain of salt!
TOO many of these conversations start to sound like those of the manual mode shooters, as if BBF is somehow inherently better.
As with a lot of this, BBF is better for some shooting but not for others.
I of course only know how this relates to Canons, and higher end Canons at that.
To start with, unless you have actually set some custom functions, the BB and the Shutter Button(SB) are exactly the same. The BB doesn't do ANYTHING any different than the SB.
For me personally, I have found that if I have a 1/4 of a second to pick up my camera and get a shot I can find my SB way faster than my BB and much more likely to actually land that shot! The SB is just WAY more ergo, more than 3/8 " in dia. and the ONLY button on the front of the camera versus that tiny row of 1/8" buttons along the back of the camera.
To use BB means you are using TWO buttons which WILL double your rate of error, since you HAVE to use the shutter button as well in conjunction with BB.
I find that FOR ME it's way easier to use the shutter button with smaller lenses, say up to a 100-400, then using the BB with bigger lenses as they get harder to handle!
My conclusion is that just as with priority modes, which and how I set up my BB depends on what I'm shooting and how I'm shooting it! And I can set up my preferred BB situation on my Custom Modes so I can switch it in and out as I switch lenses.
As to the CoC question, that's a whole nother BBQ! ;-)
SS
TOO many of these conversations start to sound like those of the manual mode shooters, as if BBF is somehow inherently better.
As with a lot of this, BBF is better for some shooting but not for others.
I of course only know how this relates to Canons, and higher end Canons at that.
To start with, unless you have actually set some custom functions, the BB and the Shutter Button(SB) are exactly the same. The BB doesn't do ANYTHING any different than the SB.
For me personally, I have found that if I have a 1/4 of a second to pick up my camera and get a shot I can find my SB way faster than my BB and much more likely to actually land that shot! The SB is just WAY more ergo, more than 3/8 " in dia. and the ONLY button on the front of the camera versus that tiny row of 1/8" buttons along the back of the camera.
To use BB means you are using TWO buttons which WILL double your rate of error, since you HAVE to use the shutter button as well in conjunction with BB.
I find that FOR ME it's way easier to use the shutter button with smaller lenses, say up to a 100-400, then using the BB with bigger lenses as they get harder to handle!
My conclusion is that just as with priority modes, which and how I set up my BB depends on what I'm shooting and how I'm shooting it! And I can set up my preferred BB situation on my Custom Modes so I can switch it in and out as I switch lenses.
As to the CoC question, that's a whole nother BBQ! ;-)
SS
May 27, 2015 23:40:48 #
Bram boy
Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada
Gene51 wrote:
There is no exposure "locking" unless you keep the BB pressed in - in which case the camera tracks the subject. If it moves and the subject to camera distance does not change, you won't have to reacquire focus. so your other assumptions are 100% correct.
On a moving object bif . if it's a bird sitting on a pole you BB once . Then you can take your finger of BB and shoot the bird on the the pole all day without any more focusing . But if it takes off, hit your BB and leave finger pressed on it while spraying and praying with other finger on shutter . That is
What I do . And your good as long as your in the bird . It's so easy that it's
The way you will shoot BB all time . I never set it back to tickle the shutter
Once I tried this . Both my cameras are set for BB shooting and I have never changed them .
May 27, 2015 23:45:14 #
SharpShooter wrote:
I always read these BBF conversations with a bit o... (show quote)
SS,
As usual much of what you post is true. Bottom line to each their own. I find BBF very convenient, mainly because of my neuropathy I have in my right hand. I find it hard to get the shutter at 1/2 way to focus because I can
t feel it.
As for the shutter button not doing anything different you and I know that can be changed such as disabling focus on that button. The only time I don't disable it is if I am using a remote release.
Jim D
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