mflowe Loc: Port Deposit, MD

I hope someone can help me out because I've been pulling my hair out over this issue LOL. I've posted this question to a couple of Olympus forums so far no responses. My hopes here are kinda slim also but decided I'd try. Not that hoggers aren't knowledgable or helpful but I suspect the number of Olympus users here is quite small and the ones that use BBF would be even smaller.
I've been trying to set up BBF on my EM5 MK2, but with no success. I've watched every Youtube video on the subject and followed their directions.
Menu> Custom Menu> AEL/AFL> S-AF> Mode 3. I then set the FN1 button to be the BBF button.
I then check the shutter button by pressing halfway and it doesn't focus. So far so good. I press the FN1 button and it focuses. So far so good. I then press the shutter button to take the picture and if I've recomposed it tries to refocus. Not good. I've ended up with numerous blurry photos I've had to delete.
Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? Probably something obvious. Thanks for any help.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

It seems very unusual to me what you are experiencing. I do not have your Olympus model but in my other Olympus cameras I have no issues, at least I do not have the issues you are having.
Perhaps someone here could help but to me your best bet is to contact Olympus and tell them what is going on. They are very good when it comes to customer service.

satorifarm Loc: Stedman, NC

Hi. I always used BBF on my Nikon cameras. However I don’t use it on my new Olympus OMD 10 Mk IV. It’s too small and the button placement would make BBF very awkward.

jburlinson Loc: Austin, TX

In reading your step-by-step, it appears you've done things correctly. However, long experience with Olympus tells me that each and every step must be done perfectly or things don't happen as expected.

I have an EM-5 original and the following works fine for my camera. I can only assume it will work the same for your more up-to-date model.

1. Press the MENU button, scroll down to the Custom Menu (the Cogs) and select Custom Menu A “AF/MF”

2. Scroll down to ‘AEL/AFL’, press ►, select ‘S-AF’ and press ► again

3. Select ‘mode 3’. You will see that this assigns the AEL (auto exposure lock) and Exposure to the shutter release, and assigns S-AF (single auto focus) to the AEL/AFL button.

4. You can also change the C-AF to ‘mode 3’ to activate C-AF and C-AF Tr via the back button.

5. By default the Fn1 button is set to AEL/AFL, and that works fine for me. This puts the focus right under my right thumb for a traditional back-button focus setup. To be sure, check your setting by using the "Custom Menu -- Button/|Dial -- Button Function -- Fn1 button set to AEL/AFL.

6. If you would like to change the AF activation button, simply assign AEL/AFL to any Fn button you like.

FWIW, although this works on my camera, I don't use it often because the Fn1 button is too difficult for me to press. This is the downside of the small form factor, which I generally love -- just not this feature.

I hope this helps.

mflowe Loc: Port Deposit, MD

Thanks for the response. I'll probably end up contacting Olympus.

mflowe Loc: Port Deposit, MD

Thanks for the reply. You are correct about the button placement being very awkward. When I get it working, I think I will assign it to the DOF preview button which is easier to access.

mflowe Loc: Port Deposit, MD

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, those are the steps I have followed to no avail.

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

I set up bbl on my em-5 which I don’t use anymore I switched to Fuji try this website https://robknightphotography.com/back-button-focus-on-the-olympus-om-d-e-m5/

Also look at
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9115179666/user-guide-getting-the-most-out-of-the-olympus-e-m5

mflowe Loc: Port Deposit, MD

Thanks I will check it out.

leftj Loc: Texas

BBF is not worth the effort. It's primarily an elitist concept. I've tried it twice and it is a PITA. I follow numerous landscape/portrait/street photographers on Youtube and none of them use BBF.

Peteso Loc: Blacks Hills

In Daryl Young's book, Mastering the Olympus OM-D EM-M1 Mark II (1st ed.), he lays this out on page 409 under "Back-Button Focus Using the AEL/AFL Button."

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

While it may not be for everyone I hardly think of BBF as an elitist concept. Maybe your landscape/portrait/street photographers don’t use it but many wildlife/sports/action photographers do. And once I got the hang of it for wildlife it became second nature for other types of photography too.

leftj Loc: Texas

Yeah, I know Steve Perry is an advocate of BBF and he is my go to source on all things Nikon except BBF. LOL

mflowe Loc: Port Deposit, MD

Thanks for your useless input. You know what they say about opinions. They're just like ###holes, everybody has one.

leftj Loc: Texas

So we know what your's is worth don't we.