Comments on: 84 — Back (rear) button autofocusing

By: Aseguin

Aseguin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:35:54 +0000

Nice tip. I heard this mentioned before, but I thought it was only for higher end cameras that had a back af button. I just changed it on my camera and really enjoy it. Much easier. I use to hate it when I would hold my shutter release half way and by mistake I would press to hard and release the shutter.

Awesome.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:26:45 +0000

Thanks for another great podcast,

I leave my camera with BB focus on all the time now as it suits my shooting style. It does confuse the hell out of any unsuspecting person who picks up my camera with out asking me first and then wonders why all their shots are out of focus.

One easy way around this on my 450D is…

if you put the camera into an Auto mode it temporarily disables the rear button focus, and then re-enables it when you switch back to manual, or Av Tv mode etc.

By: admin

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:18:47 +0000

Thanks for the comments guys! Excellent extra info there F8!

By: f8&Bthere

f8&Bthere — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:44:39 +0000

Another very good discussion in a podcast is by the Nikonian Image Doctors:
http://blog.nikonians.org/archives/2008/05/id67_the_image.html
I don’t shoot so much sports and wildlife, but I’ve been using the technique exclusively for almost a few years now and the big thing for me is how easy it makes focus and re-compose. I usually like to shoot with the AF set to center point. But having the AF “tied” to the shutter button just makes me uncomfortable– I guess it’s my own lack of dexterity, I just think getting that half-press and hold thing right doesn’t work for me. I’m always tripping the shutter or releasing pressure causing the AF to refocus when I don’t want it to. The AF-on technique solves all that for me, and I could never go back now. For example, when portrait shooting I can put the AF point right over my subject’s eye, hit the AF-on button, then re-compose as desired not worrying about the shutter button messing up my focus. So it’s not only great for moving subjects in dynamic AF mode.
One last important point for Nikon shooters using VR lenses (not sure if it applies to Canon IS or others). On current Nikon bodies, the AF-on button will not engage VR. Only the shutter button can do that. And since it takes a brief moment for the VR system to engage, the time that a normal AF shooter would half-press the shutter to grab focus, a AF-on shooter using VR may have to just give a quick light press to the shutter button prior to snapping.

By: RobvE

RobvE — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 09:53:11 +0000

Heard about this technique a while back, tried it, and now use it all the time. Ideal combo between single shot focus and continues tracking.
Only change when I want somebody else to take pic with my camera. Have the setting in the quickmenu.