Back button focus (Page 7): Back button focusing for a Nikon means pressing the button located to the right of the viewfinder that is labeled "AF-on". If there is no "AF-on" button...

tomcat

Iankahler wrote:

I have read everything in this thread and it i... (show quote)

Back button focusing for a Nikon means pressing the button located to the right of the viewfinder that is labeled "AF-on". If there is no "AF-on" button, then that "AF-on" function could be found in the Custom menus, depending upon the model of Nikon. My D750 does not have an AF-on button, but I can use the FN button to activate the AF function. If you have some other brand, then check out your owner's manual.

Bill_de Loc: US

tomcat wrote:

Back button focusing for a Nikon means pressing the button located to the right of the viewfinder that is labeled "AF-on". If there is no "AF-on" button, then that "AF-on" function could be found in the Custom menus, depending upon the model of Nikon. My D750 does not have an AF-on button, but I can use the FN button to activate the AF function. If you have some other brand, then check out your owner's manual.

The AE-L/AF-L button should be programmable as an AF-On button.

Nikon just changed the label and the out of the box default. On cameras with an AF-on button, it can be programmed as an AE-L/AF-L button.

My D300 had two buttons.

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Iankahler Loc: Seattle WA

THANK YOU Tomcat! Finally someone who can say it in plain English!
Yes... my Nikon does have a button on the back of the camera to the right of the viewfinder.... and it is AE-L/AF-L and yes I can select program the function in the menu. Some of you guys could have said that rather than all this BBL nonsense that sounds like a secret handshake or something :)

srt101fan

Iankahler wrote:

I have read everything in this thread and it i... (show quote)

Go to backcountrygallery.com and download Steve Perry's free "Back Button AF Guide for Nikon". Steve is a fellow "Hog" and an expert on this subject.

tomcat

Bill_de wrote:

The AE-L/AF-L button should be programmable as an AF-On button.

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Yes, it is. But I am left-eyed, so I had to do the FBF thing. Also, I found that using the BBF on my D500 was causing me to subtly move the camera away from my forehead, giving it a slight rock and causing many OOF images. Then when I switched to FBF, that problem went away, I suppose because when pressing a front button, the camera is being pressed against my forehead and giving it more stability. It sounds very plausible to me.....

Bill_de Loc: US

Iankahler wrote:

THANK YOU Tomcat! Finally someone who can say it in plain English!
Yes... my Nikon does have a button on the back of the camera to the right of the viewfinder.... and it is AE-L/AF-L and yes I can select program the function in the menu. Some of you guys could have said that rather than all this BBL nonsense that sounds like a secret handshake or something :)

Some people have never seen an AE-L/AF-L button. On many cameras it is labeled AF-on. If they referred to that you would still be looking. BBF, not BBL as you said, simply means Back Button Focus. It isn't nonsense, it is commonly recognized and accepted as such. It just happens that you were one of the few who didn't, but going forward you will, recognize it for what it is.

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Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Bill_de wrote:

Some people have never seen an AE-L/AF-L button. On many cameras it is labeled AF-on. If they referred to that you would still be looking. BBF, not BBL as you said, simply means Back Button Focus. It isn't nonsense, it is commonly recognized and accepted as such. It just happens that you were one of the few who didn't, but going forward you will, recognize it for what it is.

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(Not BBAF either.)

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Tracy B. wrote:

Once I used BBF I never went back.

Yea me too. Then I tried again, under duress, and I never went back after that.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

tomcat wrote:

Back button focusing for a Nikon means pressing the button located to the right of the viewfinder that is labeled "AF-on". If there is no "AF-on" button, then that "AF-on" function could be found in the Custom menus, depending upon the model of Nikon. My D750 does not have an AF-on button, but I can use the FN button to activate the AF function. If you have some other brand, then check out your owner's manual.

You can program other buttons as AF-ON as well on the D750.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

JD750 wrote:

Yea me too. Then I tried again, under duress, and I never went back after that.

Back to what? BBF or normal mode.

BigGWells Loc: Olympia, WA

anytime I turn my cameras on...its BBF.

RonM12 Loc: Washington State

I’ve been using BBF for the last year and a half and use it for everything from landscape to action photography. The only thing I had be mindful of when focusing and re-composing was to not move the camera too much forward or backwards so depending upon my depth of field, my subject would still be in focus. With anything, it just take practice. I’ve never considered going back to shutter focus.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Longshadow wrote:

Back to what? BBF or normal mode.

I went to BBF I have not looked back.

Eric Bornstein Loc: Toronto Canada

I use BBF. I have used it 100% since I 'saw the light'. I use a Nikon D500 with Nikor lenses. I do shoot amateur sport and have had great success with the clarity/sharpness of the images. Truly, it took me a couple of hours to be comfortable with the change. I won.t go back to the shutter release button system.

MtManMD Loc: Beaverton, Oregon

I've used it for years for almost everything. I have both Canon cameras set to BBF as default. I also set and regularly use the Custom Program settings. C1 & C2 are set with BBF, and each with various other settings for specific types of shooting I typically do. C3 is what I refer to as my BIF custom mode. In C3, I do not use BBF, but rather the shutter button focus and with a wider focus pattern than the other two modes.

My brain and fingers have it down naturally now. As long as you can do two things at once, using thumb and index finger in unison, there is no downside.