To BBF or to Shutter button that is the question? Poll

I mostly shoot birds and imho AI servo is so good and birds rarely keep still I find it the best -that said I will change to 1 shot if a bird is perched and staying still but only use the shutter button.

Rob.

Mark Kemp wrote in post #17585258
Never had an issue using the shutter button half way and my poor old brain is too used it to change now anyway.

I guess my poor old brain looked at things the other way. I came from the manual film camera world, where the shutter button activated the meter and released the shutter. My first digital camera was a mystery to me. "What kind of imbecile decided that focus and shutter release go on the same button?" To me, BBAF is just easier; my right index finger already knew how to operate a real camera.

I've been using BBF for the last couple weeks to see what it's all about, but I think I'll switch back to 'standard' soon. Sometimes I forget and often I have to be so quick to get the kids at what they're doing that the shutter button is faster. I might use BBF occasionally for some things, but in general I'm not convinced it's for me.

phantelope wrote in post #17585635
I've been using BBF for the last couple weeks to see what it's all about, but I think I'll switch back to 'standard' soon. Sometimes I forget and often I have to be so quick to get the kids at what they're doing that the shutter button is faster. I might use BBF occasionally for some things, but in general I'm not convinced it's for me.

If you want to be really fast (and if you have an appropriate lens type), try manual focusing. In the olden days, when autofocus was only a pipe dream, I'd follow all sorts of fast action that was coming toward me or going away from me and manually focus each shot. Mind you, that was sometimes getting nearly two shots per second and I was manually advancing the film as well as following the subject with the focus ring while moving to keep the subject framed. My subjects were often race cars or motorcycles and I was usually right up trackside with press passes.

SkipD wrote in post #17585726
If you want to be really fast (and if you have an appropriate lens type), try manual focusing. In the olden days, when autofocus was only a pipe dream, I'd follow all sorts of fast action that was coming toward me or going away from me and manually focus each shot. Mind you, that was sometimes getting nearly two shots per second and I was manually advancing the film as well as following the subject with the focus ring while moving to keep the subject framed. My subjects were often race cars or motorcycles and I was usually right up trackside with press passes.

Oh, Pish-Posh! Race cars and motorcycles move in a predictable (more or less) pattern. Not even a little bit difficult. I used that same camera set up on amateur and semi-pro soccer, where things are as predictable as earthquakes. And I had to walk two miles to school in the dead of winter, with no shoes, and it was uphill, both ways. It is getting difficult to believe that everyone focused manually at one time.

Shutter button for me.

GeoKras1989 wrote in post #17585756
Oh, Pish-Posh! Race cars and motorcycles move in a predictable (more or less) pattern. Not even a little bit difficult. I used that same camera set up on amateur and semi-pro soccer, where things are as predictable as earthquakes. And I had to walk two miles to school in the dead of winter, with no shoes, and it was uphill, both ways. It is getting difficult to believe that everyone focused manually at one time.

Yeah, you'd have to swallow the BS that viewfinders were once meant for focusing, not this somewhat bright but small thing that has little value for focus accuracy and mostly useful for framing the zoom lens during 5 fps bursts.

seldom hear questions today...

• "'Pre-focus', whazzat?"
  
• "Zone focus, whazzat?"
  
• "'parfocal lenses', why would you want that?"
  

• "center-only focus aid , doesn't that cause focus-recompose error all the time?"
  

Wilt wrote in post #17585765
Yeah, you'd have to swallow the BS that viewfinders were once meant for focusing, not this somewhat bright but small thing that has little value for focus accuracy and mostly useful for framing the zoom lens during 5 fps bursts.

seldom hear questions today...

• "'Pre-focus', whazzat?"
  
• "Zone focus, whazzat?"
  
• "'parfocal lenses', why would you want that?"
  

Instead you hear about the focus-recompose monster...

• "center-only focus aid , doesn't that cause focus-recompose error all the time?"
  

Ahh, memories. When I got my first digital camera, it blew me away that I had to PUT a focus point on a subject. Whaaa...?? I was used to looking/focusing; it did not matter where in the frame the subject was. If I was looking at it, that is what I focused on. And then there was the split prism and ring, which occupied the center 1/3 of the VF. It was pretty easy to put that on a target. My right index finger had nothing to do with the process.

Naturally left handed with a partially disabled thumb on right hand so bbf is a pita. I find it just takes discipline and sensitivity not to just jam your finger down on the shutter button. After all, it has the ability to activate IS and focussing before the shutter is released, so that is how I use it. As for focus and recompose, why (other than metering) when you can choose any of the 64 focus points to put on your subject?

Try taking a photo without continuous focusing when set to Servo AF, and you'll see the problem. Sometimes you want to interrupt the focusing, but still take photos.

BBF for me.

BBF for me since the 7D and now the 6D. Recently got an SL1 as a backup and can't use BBF comfortably since it's not located where my thumb naturally rests. I wish I could CF the Live View button as BBF

Also, on the 6D, I usually use spot metering and I CF'd the DOF button as my AI-Servo. So when I need to take pics of a subject moving towards me, I just hold the DOF button and it activates the AI-Servo. Neat!

mfunnell wrote in post #17584652
Same here, though somewhat differently now with my 7D2. I have the shutter release set up for single point focus in one shot mode and the back button set up for AI servo with multi-point tracking so I can change easily between modes without having to change a setting. I'm finding that very convenient in my experimentation so far. (I have different custom settings again for things such as macro.)

Unlurking just to say I read your comment on Friday night, realised I had missed this little gem from the 7D Mk II instructions so tried it on Saturday - it's a great way to set things up! I love my new 7D2 but coming from a 40D the learning curve has been pretty steep to say the least...

I actually bought one of the very first high quality zooms for my old Minolta; while primes weren't a big deal to focus while shooting, having two parameters to adjust at once, with one hand (and sometimes in opposite directions), was taxing. How nice that with modern cameras you can concentrate on zooming while telling the camera when to focus, and on what - just using your thumb. I missed a lot of shots with manual focus: you either depended on the rough indication of the ground glass portion of the screen if your target was off center, or tried to keep the split-image peaked while making sure the subject was still salvageable through framing. I didn't do a lot of sports because I wasn't good with the combination of skills needed.

It's nice to have manual focus for still, tricky objects but I wouldn't give up autofocus for the world. And decoupling the focus from the shutter release button is exactly what I need, especially with the release being so sensitive on many cameras. You have to maintain a careful, constant pressure with your finger while moving the camera around and possibly shifting your grip if you're moving too; putting that function entirely on a separate button is much easier to deal with.

I am surprised at two things with this poll. The first is that so few people are voting. The second is that 17% of people use the shutter button exclusively. I can understand going back and forth between shutter and back button. I only use the front button when using a remote, so I can get focus. I just switch to Green Box when handing my camera to someone else to grab a snap. I guess that amounts to shutter button.

What stands out to me is the 0% of folks who have tried BBAF and then gone back to the shutter button. This suggests (anecdotally) that the 17% of people who use the shutter button exclusively have never tried BBAF, because those who try it obviously, to my way of thinking, do not go back. Error in my logic? Too small a response to tell? Too specialized an audience to be valid? Any comments?