dbgrizzzz

I liked it, I tried it, BUT....if you have been using the half press shutter button method for years, maybe decades, it is so ingrained into your mind that it is hard NOT to continue to use this method, even with the camera set to BBF--and so, you go to take a photo, quickly, you're not thinking, just acting as you have for years, snap the picture with just the shutter release--and you wind up with a blurry photo. This happened to me several times. I had no choice but to go back to the shutter release focus method. I cannot stop biting my fingernails after a lifetime of habit, nor can I re-train my brain to "remember" to press the AF button to focus. That is just me, and I imagine there are a lot of older guys just like me.

Bill_de Loc: US

You could do the same thing before by using the back button to lock focus.

The most important change people made when switching to BBF was to also make continuous focus the default, even for still subjects. After doing that the only difference is whether the back button is a start or stop button.

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foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

It's the ONLY way I focus

Riverrune

I do it all the time. It becomes habit and works well.

mawattsjr

Very handy setting when you are shooting a specific focal distance and have or want to shifting focal points . Such a a parade. BBF you can lock that focal distance and not worry about auto-focusing kicking in and changing your focal point. But be aware there will be times when you want to refocus quickly such as photographing a moving or multiple subjects.

AHK Loc: Lakewood Ranch, Fl.

It is a fine technique...both of my Canon cameras have been set up for.

Depending on your camera you should be able to set up a dedicated button

Mark7S

I shoot mostly wildlife (D500), AFC and also set one of the front Fn buttons to spot focus for stationary wildlife (with main set to group focus)

ggenova64

What's BIF?

Oldeio

I programmed my camera to two different bbf settings on two different buttons I also use a shudder release cord .Just preset your focal distance before hand great for birding.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

My camera, Sony a6300, has a manual fine-tuning of auto focus, so disabling auto-focus of the half-shutter button would be advantageous. But what button to assign auto-focus to and which auto-focus mode is my problem. And does the focus so achieved remain in force for subsequent shots?

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I've used BBF for nearly 20 years. I shoot sports and other action photography a lot, where it's particularly useful. But it works fine for almost any purpose.

Along with other things, BBF helps me achieve 95% or more shots in-focus most of the time. There's the occasional exception with extremely fast and erratic moving subjects, but on the whole I get far higher percentage of my shots acceptably within focus, thanks in large part to using BBF.

I don't know what Youtube video you watched, but one of the primary advantages of using BBF is that it allows you to use a continuous form of autofocus as your default mode (Canon AI Servo, Nikon AF-C, others ?). You normally can't do that, while the activation of AF is still linked to the shutter release button. There are situations and techniques (such as "focus and recompose") where using continuous focus without BBF would result in a lot of missed focus images.

However, with BBF you can pretty much leave the camera in a continuous focus mode all the time, using it for both moving and stationary subjects in a wide variety of situations. You don't have to pause to change focus modes if a subject starts or stops moving. In other words, you are "ready for almost anything", all the time.

BBF takes a little practice, but soon becomes second nature. It's more "work" for the photographer, who has to control when AF starts or stops.... but the results are so much better, it's worth it.

Another advantage of using BBF is that many lenses today are zooms and many modern AF zooms are "varifocal" designs that don't maintain focus when zoomed. That type of zoom is simpler and less costly to build, as well as more easily calibrated. With autofocus now the norm, manufacturers have made more and more varifocal designs. HOWEVER, if using a focus mode that's not continuous (Canon's One Shot, Nikon's AF-S, others ?), it's easy to get in trouble with varifocal zooms. With that mode with those lenses you MUST consciously make a point of re-focusing after any change in focal length with the zoom. But if you are using BBF and continuous focus (AI Servo/AF-C/etc.), the camera immediately and automatically corrects for the loss of focus during zooming. You don't even have to think about it.

All my cameras are set up for BBF all the time. The only time I ever switch a camera back to "standard" focusing mode using the shutter release "half-press" to start AF is if I'm lending a camera to someone who is unfamiliar with BBF and there isn't time to teach them to use it and for them to practice it.

The only down side to BBF is that there's no "Focus Confirmation". That's only possible with the non-continuous forms of AF, which achieve focus, then stop and lock, then give you the confirmation (such as lighting an LED, flashing an AF point or giving an audible "beep"). While it's possible use BBF with a non-continuous form of AF, it doesn't make a lot of sense to do so. And continuous AF never stops and "locks" after achieving focus... it just keeps updating focusing continuously... so there's nothing for Focus Confirmation to confirm. (Some cameras I use give you a visual indication that AF is running, but that's not the same as Focus Confirmation.)

Some people are very dependent on Focus Confirmation. They find it hard to shoot without that "reassurance". To use BBF and continuous focus, you have to learn to trust your camera and yourself. Once you do that, BBF becomes pretty comfortable.

By the way, I don't like the obnoxious Focus Confirmation "beep", but I leave it enabled anyway. When I hear it I'm alerted that my camera is in the non-continuous focus mode (which I still use occasionally for high precision focusing with stationary subjects, even with BBF). If I'm shooting moving subjects and my camera is beeping, I know immediately that it's in the wrong focus mode. I can switch it before taking a bunch of shots in the wrong mode and ending up with lots of mis-focused images. (Incidentally, I hear peoples' cameras beeping at them all the time at sporting events... and can guarantee you that a very high percentage of their images of moving subject will not be in focus. I'd also wager they'll blame the camera and lens, not themselves for using the wrong focus mode. They should have read the manual and learned how the camera works!)



I'm all a-quiver to hear about that!

Dwiggy Loc: Dunedin, FL

Glad I did it! Works great on my Canon 80D

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

Only drawback to BBF is if you forget to do the BBF before snapping the shutter. Takes getting used to.

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

I guess I'm old school like a few others here. I learned to hold the shutter button half way down to focus back in my P&S days. Later, with my SLR, I learned to hold the button down to lock focus, and then while still holding the release half way to recompose. Not hard to do, one button simplicity. My imaging flow goes like this; observe, asses the light, make several test images to evaluate exposure, focus lock, recompose and shoot. I really don't think it matters which button(s) you use as long as it works for you to make quality images.

DanielB Loc: San Diego, Ca

All my cameras are set for back button focus. Once you get used to it you won't want to change. For me it's most useful when shooting at lower shutter speeds - hand held.