Use back focus button?

I received a 1D mark II recently and half press shutter focus was disabled and only the back focus button is enabled. I'm getting used to it but in just wondering is there any advantage to using that? Mainly shooting AFL with the 70-300 f4 IS USM.

Try it and you'll see the advantages. For me i like that the lens don't start hunting and trying to focus in low light when presseing shutter. I can also pre-focus and shoot like crazy without having to worry about OOF-photos and I can stop focus easier when shooting sports, moving objects etc. I general : More control of the focusing.

I prefer focus on the shutter button, old habits are hard to break.

For everyday photo I do too, but when I shoot sports or fast-moving subjects I go with the back button. It was hard to change but a lifesaver in many situations.

Hi. BBF takes a bit of getting used to but I wouldn't go back now. It also means that so
Done picking up your camera won't be able to use it effectively - grin

I think it depend on what you're shooting. I use the shutter button focus and I'm not missing shots because of it.

I use back button focus for everything, unless I hand my camera to someone else and throw it on automatic mode. I also turn off the full range focus search when the camera can't lock on. This way if you can't get focus for a few seconds you don't loose focus for a long time while the camera hunts for something. The only disadvantage is the camera will take the shot even if you are out of focus. If you use the regular button, the camera doesn't fire until there is focus confirmation. The only other disadvantage...if you use a remote cable release you loose the ability to remotely focus.

It is great for sports when players or coaches run in front of you or you want to lock focus on a very small area behind a busy group until a better view opens up.

If you never have to switch your lens to manual focus and never change from AI servo to one shot, the back focus button probably isn't going to do much for you. I'll sometimes pre-focus if I know where the action is going to occur, and in that case, I don't want the camera re-focusing on something else right before I take the shot. The back focus button works wonderfully for this. I also do a good amount of landscape shooting, where I'll often times focus manually, so it is nice that I don't have to switch to manual focus on the lens. It's not that I'm horribly lazy, just that I have a tendency to forget to switch back to auto focus before I go shoot a sporting event. Very quickly self-critiquing, but using the back focus button has eliminated this minor issue as well.

I use back button focus. A classic example of where it helps is shooting the front of a goal during a corner kick from the other half of the field during a soccer match. I focus on the keeper and then leave the focus where it is during the play to avoid having players in front of the goal change my focal length.

slimenta wrote in post #16071391
I use back button focus. A classic example of where it helps is shooting the front of a goal during a corner kick from the other half of the field during a soccer match. I focus on the keeper and then leave the focus where it is during the play to avoid having players in front of the goal change my focal length.

+1

I love using the back button for focusing. When I shoot sports like football I may focus on a single player. I will often follow the player while he executes the play. There are times when I notice another player will cross in front of the player I am tracking. When I use the back focus button I can release the button when the other player crosses in front of me. I lose focus lock on my original player, but the advantage is reestablishing a focus lock is much quicker.

I only use the back focus button. It took me a few sessions to get used to it. Now it is the only way I shoot.

Do you push and hold the back focus while shooting multiple shots or thumb the back focus to get the focus distance and just push the shutter button to get the shots letting your thumb off the back focus button? Thanks.

grizfilm wrote in post #16208862
Do you push and hold the back focus while shooting multiple shots or thumb the back focus to get the focus distance and just push the shutter button to get the shots letting your thumb off the back focus button? Thanks.

If the subject is moving you'll want to keep the button pressed. If the subject it not moving I'll lift my thumb. A good example is shooting pitchers. I'll close down my aperture to f/4, set the focus on the pitcher and release. Then shoot at 10fs follow the pitcher and all of the images are in focus. If I left the button depressed and my focus point moved off the pitcher it would focus on the first baseman or the fence. BBF is not the end all, but once it becomes second nature using it is a great tool

Maybe I'm lazy, but once I made the switch (and it did take a better part of a season to adjust and not have to think about it) I use if for everything. Even for portraits. It's nice that I can use the button to focus on the subject, left my thumb, re-compose the shot then capture the image. I'm a creature of habit and the less thinking I have to do the better.

Do you have to use it? Naaa Do what ever works best for you.

It took a few hours to get used to it but now it is a habit for most all of my photography. I learned when auto focus did not exist so separating image capture from focus makes sense to me.