GA shooter Loc: Rising Fawn, GA

I loved BBF with my Canon 5 D III as the button it was programmed to was large and easy to feel with the camera viewfinder up to my eye. The problem I have with my Fuji X T2 is the programmed button is small and slightly recessed and difficult to feel/find with my thumb. This is aggravated by some neuropathy in my fingers and decreased sense of feel. I wish there was some way to make the button more easy to locate/feel. Anyone have any suggestions?

nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

BBF is not a replacement for manual focusing. It is an alternative to having the shutter go off when you press the shutter button a little too hard, when all you want to do is meter or CHECK focus.

I use BBF because I found myself snapping the shutter a lot when I didn't want to, only wanting to see exposure settings and preview focus without taking the shot.

Using manual focus is a different matter entirely, when you have a reason to not autofocus at all, of which there could be many.

dwmoar Loc: Oregon, Willamette Valley

Those who are not scared to use it or that is not lazy to make use of it. Or maybe those who have lenses that are only manual focus.

What the hell did you do before auto focus lenses???

Bill_de Loc: US

My cameras are set for continuous focus, I use the shutter half press to activate focus since I always have to press that button to take picture anyway. I use the back button to lock focus. As long as you are set for continuous focus it is six of one, half dozen of the other.

Since my right thumb is always on the joystick (or 'D' pad if the camera has no joystick) to move the focus points, I don't want to take it off to press the back button.

I'm not sure why people prefer to keep exposure separate from focus. Most of the time I'm concerned with correct exposure on my subject, usually the thing I'm focused on.

To each their own.

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nadelewitz Loc: Ithaca NY

Well, you're right about "To each their own."

"Their own" could be because they have trouble with half-presses of the shutter button turning into full-presses when not wanted. Maybe because of physical problems.

Or they routinely want to check focus and exposure settings, but not take the picture.

So, we can all do what we prefer, for whatever reason we may have.

PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

Don

kenvan40

I have a Nikon D7100 and use the lower function button on the front of the camera, Easy to use and I don't have to dodge my glasses.

Saxguy Loc: Plano, TX

If I understand your question, from a creative perspective, BBF is easier as you can still use the auto focus but a 2 step process now allows you to assign a button to focus and use the shutter button strictly as a shutter. The reason this is used by many professional photographers is that you get the speed of auto focus, but by assigning the 2nd button, it allows you to focus on the scene where you want in focus, such as portrait photography on a person, or whatever, but then recompose the scene in the view finder and then snap the shot. The shutter button does not then automatically refocus at a new point and then activate the shutter. It means the difference of an amateur shooting a picture and everyone always being in the center of the view vs offset the person such as the use of the rule of thirds to create a better and more interesting picture.

Once you have tried this reassignment on your camera you should almost immediately see why this is used by professionals for better images. It takes about 60 seconds to adjust to doing a 2 step process but for me, I have never gone back.

SewClever

That's great to know! Thanks! Rita

SewClever

Thank you! (Nikon D3300) Rita

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

What a concept!

Gallopingphotog

I like it and use it almost exclusively unless the camera has problems finding the subject -- ie, a deer surrounded by a lot of foliage without a lot of contrast.

What makes me nuts is that I have two Pentax cameras, a 100D and a k-3 II. The latter has a dedicated (very small) button for BBF. On the 100D, it's part of the center dial. So I need to keep in mind which body I have. And at my age, that's a lot to keep in mind!

Tinkerbell Loc: Bethalto IL

Hi Rita! I Take studio photos of mostly newborns and children and once I learned to use it I really like it. Good luck! What do you photograph?

Bill_de Loc: US

I keep seeing this but it is not true. Us amateurs can use the back button to lock focus and recompose just as easily as you can press the back button to activate focus.

I have nothing against BBF, but the folks who promote it seldom tell the whole story.

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SewClever

😂😂😂