sagittariansrock said:
I think you will find Marsu has AF on the shutter button and the AF-On button set to AF Off, that means if he wants to manual focus he just pushes the AF-On button (that turns AF off).
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Back-button focus?
- Thread starter tayassu
- Start date
I think you will find Marsu has AF on the shutter button and the AF-On button set to AF Off, that means if he wants to manual focus he just pushes the AF-On button (that turns AF off).
privatebydesign said:
Oh, I understand his set up
What I could not understand is why he can't set AF-On on the back button, and no AF function on the shutter button, essentially making it AF off-hold until and unless he presses the back button (since he was wishing for an AF off- hold scenario).
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sagittariansrock said:privatebydesign said:
Oh, I understand his set up
What I could not understand is why he can't set AF-On on the back button, and no AF function on the shutter button, essentially making it AF off-hold until and unless he presses the back button (since he was wishing for an AF off- hold scenario).
Because many people find needing to use their finger and thumb to AF and expose inefficient, especially if you regularly move AF point with the joystick or work EC with the back dial, or if you are in M mode adjust aperture with the back dial. I tend to use my thumb for other stuff and found I got thumb fatigue with BBF, I really like the AF-On button set to AF off, I find it works well for me and the other stuff I want to do with my thumb.
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privatebydesign said:sagittariansrock said:privatebydesign said:
Oh, I understand his set up
What I could not understand is why he can't set AF-On on the back button, and no AF function on the shutter button, essentially making it AF off-hold until and unless he presses the back button (since he was wishing for an AF off- hold scenario).
Because many people find needing to use their finger and thumb to AF and expose inefficient, especially if you regularly move AF point with the joystick or work EC with the back dial, or if you are in M mode adjust aperture with the back dial. I tend to use my thumb for other stuff and found I got thumb fatigue with BBF, I really like the AF-On button set to AF off, I find it works well for me and the other stuff I want to do with my thumb.
Ah, got it. Thanks!
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sagittariansrock said:
Thanks all for explaining
. Indeed I do ec correction with the back dial all the time, and even change af points even with the 6d - so my thumb is allocated elsewhere. That's also the reason why I use expo lock (hold) on the * key. BBF would be overkill since I af 95% of the time for wildlife.
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Northstar said:
The thing I like most about it is the ability to leave my camera in AI Servo mode, and stopping focus by just releasing the button. I find I never have to switch to one shot focusing mode anymore.
I own and shoot the 5D3, 7D, and occasionally, the T3i, which is a great little travel camera.
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I have been using BBF for some time on 6D. Now I have 5D3 and trying to learn some BIF techniques using Ai focus.amfoto1 said:tayassu said:I watched a video about back-button focus recently. Seems great... Are there any negatives whilst using it, e.g. not locking focus properly on near still subjects? Are you using BBF? Thanks for any input!
BBF is particularly useful if you shoot a lot of moving subjects and often have your camera in AI Servo focus mode. BBF is the only way to be able to do "focus & recompose" technique in AI Servo, for example. It also makes easy "dodging" any sort of object that's momentarily between you and a subject that you're tracking.
BBF isn't the answer for everyone, and it does take a little time to get used to it. But once learned, it's hard to think of going back to the default method.
It can be used with either AI Servo or One Shot. But once you have learned BBF you likely will find yourself using One Shot a lot less. You can stop or "lock focus" on a subject while still in AI Servo, simply by lifting your thumb off the button... very similar to what's done by One Shot.
One advantage to BBF is when using any varifocal zoom... Many modern zooms are this design (it's cheaper and easier to build). They don't maintain focus when you change the focal length. Continuously holding down the button with your thumb, with the camera in AI Servo, will continuously correct focus while changing the focal length of a varifocal lens. (Same thing can be done using the standard button assignments, but if using One Shot you have to remember to lift pressure and reapply it, to cause the camera to refocus, after making any change to the focal length of a varifocal zoom.)
I see you have 7D...
On 7D (and most other current models I'm aware of)... to set up BBF you don't have to enable anything. It's already assigned to the AF-On button on the back of the camera. Instead you go in and disable AF from the shutter release button.
Optionally you can swap the function of that button with the * (AE Lock) button. I do this, because the * button is larger and more prominent, not to mention closer to my thumb. I focus every single shot, so it makes more sense to me, to have the * button serve that purpose, and to reassign the less frequently used AE Lock function to the AF-On button.
Do you constantly hold the BBF down while tracking a BIF (using 61 pt AF or another setting?)?
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langdonb said:
I'd stick with AI Servo for BIF. The idea behind AI Focus is that if you start with a still subject it uses One Shot, then tries to detect when the subject starts moving and switches to AI Servo. IMO, it doesn't do that very well. The 1-series bodies have One Shot and AI Servo, but no AI Focus...there's a reason for that.
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HankMD said:
I've been using BBF for several years now and can't see ever going back to shutter release focus. The times that I am using cable release, my camera is on a tripod and I've locked focus either in live view or through the viewfinder with BBF after composing my capture and then firing off the cable release. All of those pictures are static landscape or portrait type pictures. I am not sure why someone would have or of a problem with using the cable release with either shutter button focus or BBF.
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I really like back button focus it gives so much more control on camera. Basically on 7D I changed that it only meters on shutter and focuses only from that AF button.
Single shot for stills (landscapes)
Servo for moving objects for sports is just amazing.
For example if you are taking pictures of baseball you can use servo through whole session. First to use it focus to a batter so it locks on to him when batting, when he starts to go to first base you can just press AF button to start tracking him down the field.
Single shot for stills (landscapes)
Servo for moving objects for sports is just amazing.
For example if you are taking pictures of baseball you can use servo through whole session. First to use it focus to a batter so it locks on to him when batting, when he starts to go to first base you can just press AF button to start tracking him down the field.
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langdonb said:
Yes, keep holding the AF-ON button while tracking and shooting. However, depending of the flight direction of the bird, you may want to look into a technique referred to as 'bump focus'.
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neuroanatomist said:
Thanks Neuro, I looked that up and have actually used that technique in the past...
What do you prefer as to AF point selection for moving objects? Auto zone, 61 pt AF or??
Thanks for your posts, I read them often on any subject. You have helped me many times!!i
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langdonb said:
Depends on the subject. For birds, I usually use 1+8 expansion. For people, I do use 61-pt auto.
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Ever since I heard about BBF I have been using it. Absolutely love the idea of disconnecting the AF from all other processes. I use it on my 7D, 5DII and even the SL1. I do have to say though that I don't have big hands, and it is certainly not a comfortable grip/motion. Very painful after a long day of shooting. It puzzles me why Canon won't put a customizable button a little further down. It would make it so much ergonomic to use...
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michi said:
With Magic Lantern, you could switch keys and put the SET function on AF-ON and vice versa. If you use BBF a lot, SET might be easier to reach, at least on some camera bodies. It's not included in the standard ML distribution, but there are other key swtiching/simulation functions already there and you'd only have to copy/paste the code.
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Marsu42 said:
really? didnt know that
can you program the rate button to activate AEB like a 1D does with its button press?
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wickidwombat said:
I'd say yes, the RATE button can be intercepted by ML (see /platform/5D3.113/gui.h) and any other possible function can be performed. This includes simulating other keys or directly accessing Canon DryOS functions that have been discovered. Activating Canon AEB (and setting it to different spacings/settings on consecutive keypresses if you want it) should be among them.
If you want this implemented and cannot hack together a module yourself after looking at the sample code, do a detailed feature request in the ML forum and explain why this is important to a broader userbase. It should be pretty easy to do, I changed several buttons on my personal 6d ML build. ML is nearly feature-overloaded as it is so adding yet another one might need some persuasion: your request is rather specific and the ML guys prefer their own bracketing over Canon's version.
http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?board=24.0
ML badly needs a button manager for these things, but it's a lot of gui work so no one has had the enthusiasm yet. You also might get the reply that this isn't something to be added in C code, but by user scripting - but afaik this is wip and doesn't work atm (yeah, 3 internet geek abbreviations in one sentence :->).
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michi said:
Interesting... I thought people with longer fingers had problems with BBF. I have short ones, and the distal joint of my thumb naturally rests on the button in case of the 5Dc (less ideal, but works) and the tip sits naturally on the button on my 5DIII. I would think it would be tiresome to bend the thumb back to a button that is placed lower.
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