Do you have trouble getting your focus on just the area you want in your pictures? Is your focus accurate and consistent? If not, using the back focus button method might be the key ingredient you are looking for. Typically a camera is setup out of the box with using the shutter button for your focus. The photographer sets up the shot they want and presses the shutter button half way down and the lens focuses on what it thinks it needs to. Then the button is fully pressed and the picture is taken. With this method the photographer will probably notice that pictures aren’t quite focused on exactly what they wanted. The photographer might set up the shot again, and fiddle with the few focus points on the camera to get a rough rendition of the photograph they original set out to do.
Isn’t there a better way? How do I focus on exactly what I need?
Using the back button focus method switches from using the shutter button to control the focus, to using the back * button to control the focus. Once BBF (back button focus) is set up, you can hit the * button once and focus on exactly what you want. This will lock the focus exactly where you want it so you can recompose the shot and it will stay focused exactly where you originally wanted it. If the subject isn’t moving, you can continue to shoot without having to focus again.
If the subject is moving, the back button will help track the subject. Just hold in the back focus button (*), and it will continue focusing and tracking the subject while you continue to take your shots.
Advantages of using back button focusing
- Easier to lock focus
- Easier to focus exactly placed where you want
- Easier timing shots
- Less risk of focusing errors of moving subjects
- Easier macro and close-up focusing
- It separates the focus function from the exposure function
Here are the steps to set up using back button focusing.
For a Canon 5D Mark II:
1. Under C.FN IV: Operation/Others set #1 to “3:AE lock/Metering + AF start” and #2 to “1:Enable”
2. Turn your AF setting to AI Servo. Keep it on this setting and never take it off.
For a Canon 5D:
1. Go to custom function 4 and set it to setting 1. (setting 0 is default)
2. Turn your AF setting to AI Servo. Keep it on this setting and never take it off.
For Nikon users:
1. Go into your custom settings menu
2. Select A (autofocus)
3. Select A5 (AF Activation)
4. Choose AF-ON only
5. Use “AF-ON” button on the back of your camera to focus
Takeaways
It takes a little getting used to using the back button focusing method when you first start, but being dead-on with focusing makes it all worth it. Give it a try and show us some comments on how it goes with your photography! This focusing technique made a world of difference in my photography, and I’m not looking back.
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Tags: back button focus, back button focusing, camera focus, camera settings, focus