Back-Button Focus is STILL Relevant in Today's Mirrorless Cameras
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One of our readers, Anthony, was recently confused about the relevance of back-button focus (BBF). He had read an article on PetaPixel claiming that the technique is antiquated in modern mirrorless cameras. But he still found it incredibly useful. Was he missing something?
Nope!
What is back-button focus?
For those not familiar with BBF, this is a technique where you disconnect your camera's autofocus system from the shutter button. The shutter button now only releases the shutter, while you use another button on the back of the camera to command autofocus.
There are certainly merits to this technique, and many instances when it is advantageous. And there are times when it's not. Like everything else, it's a technique and not anything that separates amateurs from professionals.
You can read these articles about:
The concept is more or less the same across all of them; here's how to set up back-button focus in Fujifilm cameras:
- Program your shutter button to only release the shutter, not command AF lock.
- Program your camera's rear AF-L/AF-ON button to command Autofocus.
What about Auto Exposure (AE) Lock? Read this article about how to lock focus and exposure separately in Fujifilm cameras.
Why use back-button focus?
It just makes more sense to some people to have one button do only one thing - not to have one button do two things simultaneously (actually, three, because most shutter buttons also lock the exposure too as a default setting). You don't always want the camera's autofocus system to activate every time you press the shutter, no matter how fast or accurate these systems are today.
Sometimes the autofocus system struggles, especially with low contrast. If it struggles once, it's going to struggle every time you press the shutter in those situations. Wouldn't it be better just to get that difficult AF lock once, releasing the shutter as many times as you want after that, without AF engaging again?
And sometimes, even with advances in artificial intelligence, the AF will lock on the wrong thing, especially in busy scenes. Using BBF, you can aim the AF point directly over your subject, command the AF lock, and make several photos without worrying about an erroneous AF lock in subsequent photos.
This technique is commonly known as "focus and recompose." Leave the AF point in the center of your frame, place it over the subject, command the AF lock, and recompose over and over.
Just be sure you don't adjust your focal length if using a zoom lens; you'll have to command BBF again if you do that due to changes in your depth of field.
Still, it allows for a faster shutter release when your camera isn't activating AF every time you press the shutter.
When does back-button focus not work?
Some photographers prefer not to use this technique when tracking moving objects because it takes away the use of your thumb the entire time you're tracking. You're constantly smashing that AF button and unable to use your thumb for any other buttons.
And for others, it's just easier to keep the shutter release and AF lock tied together with the shutter button. That's how they've done it for years and they don't want to change it. There's no harm in that. It's all personal preference, and if using BBF is causing you to "forget" to focus and miss photos, go back to the way you used to do it.
The problem with saying back-button focus is outdated
While most of the comments in this PetaPixel article - as you would expect from the Internet - mostly all say something to the effect of "this author is dumb" or "BBF is KING" or "only amateurs use the shutter to focus" or other such nonsense, no one is really thinking about the two main flaws of this argument.
1 - Focus towards the center of your frame!
The author's main point is that, since modern mirrorless camera sensors have autofocus point coverage over the entire sensor, that you can just move your AF point over to the edge of the sensor and get equally accurate focus. No need to "focus and recompose." Just move the AF point with the joystick/pad instead.
It is true that the AF points on your sensor are equal in terms of their ability to focus a point of light, regardless of where they are in the frame.
But the same is not true for your lens.
Read any lens review on the Internet and one of the most discussed specifications is "edge softness." It's so important to photographers that some of them won't buy lenses at all if the lens displays too much softness around the edges. Yet no one seems to think about that phenomena when moving their focus point over to the edges.
Lenses will soften towards the edges - it'll never be sharp there. All popular lenses on the market will display this to some effect - even the expensive ones - and you've really gotta shell out some cash if you want this to be minimized at all.
You're not setting your AF system up for success when using light that is coming through the edges of your lens. Several different optical phenomena all add up to result in lower resolution and contrast, especially at wide-open apertures. How can it focus if it will never be able to bring that light to a point? This is a highly technical topic with many variables like field curvature, aberrations, and diffraction, but keep this generalization in mind.
Do we have to move our AF point over towards the edges sometimes? Absolutely.
But as a primary gameplan - if accuracy really does matter - saying, "I can just move the point to the edge" is not giving you accuracy. Keeping your AF point roughly towards the middle is a better option.
2 - Is it really faster?
My second point - pun intended - also has to do with the excessive number of AF points.
My Fujifilm X-T4 has 425 AF points on the sensor. Cool. Looks great in marketing materials.
Practically speaking though, I don't want that many AF points. I have it set to 117 points instead. That's more than enough to be accurate on the things I'm trying to focus on.
It takes time to move that AF point cursor around the frame. I can move that cursor around 117 points a lot faster than it takes to go through 425 points, but it's still time.
I would argue that it's faster to focus in the center of the frame (where the optics are the best) and recompose, than to move that little point around the screen.
Yeah, I know the LCD is also a touchscreen, but my big fat finger takes up several of those AF points. So we're back to the number of AF points being irrelevant for accuracy. It's only as accurate as the size of your finger.
I certainly do understand that some people just have their camera locked on a tripod and move that AF point around, maintaining precise control of their composition, but see Focus in the center of your frame!
Back-button focus is still relevant
Barring a few certain things, there is no one correct way to do things in photography. How you focus is up to you.
But it's important to consider the laws of physics and think in practical terms before dismissing something just because technology.
If your autofocus system is putting together a jigsaw puzzle, it's missing more and more pieces the further it gets from the center.
And until my camera can directly read my thoughts and know exactly what I want to focus on, and correct for optical aberrations, I will always continue to use back-button focus when it's appropriate.
Will you?
A very good post, and I pretty much operate in the same way you do. One point of clarification, especially relevant to Fuji lenses because several of them have significant field curvature issues (most notably the 18-55 on the wide end), is that you can run into some trouble with center focus and recompose using BBF. So, I try to compose first by moving the focus point at least close to where I plan to have focus - at least when there is time to do so.
Thanks James, I have noticed that at times too. I didn't want to get too into the weeds here but I'll add the disclaimer in there. I certainly don't want to mislead people to "only" use the center point, just center-ish. Cheers.
BBF is very useful in a variety of situation. I use it for landscape, any still photography (products, still life, macro, night scapes, anytime on a tripod. Us it w C-focus for runners, bike races, kids playing. Shutter focus for weddings, some portraits, events, conferences etc. I do use the small ft button for BBF. back buttons are to close together and small for my hands. I used to use it for everything when I first learned about it. Now I know that is not the case. Only certain applications call for it.
As far as focus points I know that the center is the faster but I do move it to the edge or bottom vs focus and recompose on occasion. I never thought about the outer one rendering softer focus. I have not experienced that but I am not a pixel peeper so I will need to experiment and do some pixel peeping. Then there is Topaz AI DeNoise which also has a sharpener slider to help me along as all digital images need a bit of selective sharpening.
Yeah it all depends on the lens and more, and sometimes you may not notice it unless you're looking for it, but it's certainly food for thought!
Hmmm, interesting. I wonder what is the difference between BBF and C with burst and shutter button focus?
Hi Peter, with traditional AF-C in burst mode, you hold down the shutter and it focuses while doing the burst as long as you hold the shutter.
With BBF, it only focuses while you hold that back button down. If you want it to focus the entire time the burst is going, hold both the shutter and back button. If you want the focusing to stop at any time, release the back button. This method gives you both AF-S and AF-C in a single mode.
Great post. Funny I just moved away from BBF after doing it since 2002 or so. The reason why is that I feel the double tapping adds another point of movement in the camera which can introduce shake. I do miss BBF, but for now it’s out for me.
I would say that it depends on your use or goal...are you just capturing landscape, it has a major use (for me). People, moving objects bike races etc, no and yes, BIF NO or yes. People or events, no. I use it on and off depending on what I am capturing. It is not an all out no for me as I find it very useful. I use the small ft button for the so called BBF as the back ones are to small and awkward to use.
I was using it on in all situations, but decided I’d just move to one fluid motion & have seen good results. For now it’s a new in my own use. And don’t begrudge anyone that feels opposite at all. We all must work in the way we feel is best.
As I tell my students...there are several paths to a destination, and I'll show you one of them, but if you have a solid reason for taking a different path and it still leads to your destination, you're still doing it right.
Totally agree.
There is not one absolute right way to do anything...other than stop when the sign says stop. Not even...never blow highlights as that my be your intent....or crush black point..not sure why. Many different ways to accomplish the same thing. Good post.
How does this differ from recomposing with the shutter half depressed?
If you press your shutter halfway to focus, then recompose to make the photo, you have to do that for EVERY photo, even if it's the same composition. Using back-button focus, you only do that once for the first composition, then can make as many photos as you want for that composition without having to recompose for every photo. You don't have to move the camera for every photo.
To the above post - do you have to continue to depress the back button aft initial composing, or does it “lock” the focus, and you can take several shots after pressing and releasing the back button?
You can just press it once to lock the focus and release. Then you can take as many shots as you want with that focus, given you don't change your focal length or distance to the subject.
Some people also use the back button as a continuous autofocus button - it'll continue to focus on moving subjects for as long as you're holding the button.
As long as you have disabled the shutter button to focus, you can press once and lock focus (back button) and you do not change focus point(s)/area/move camera, take as many as you want. You might need to change exposure settings IF the light changes VERY fast. John will explain more I am sure-
I have set the Fn-2 button (front) for BBF and only for AF-S,
So now it is : Font Button Focus ????
When on AF-C it is just old school: Focus + Release , so not to miss anything (in case of moving objects)
I use the BBF but use the small Ft Button as a natural place to hold a the L-Btacket I have on it. I use it for moving subjects, landscape, real estate, and sometime portraits. Anytime I have the camera on a tripod....
Hi!
I have a X-T100 fuji. I don't find the BBF on It. ....found them on my Nikon cameras....Maybe such a possibility do not exist on the x-T100?
The X-T100 doesn't have a dedicated AFL/AFON button like many other cameras. The only option would be to program the Fn1 button on the top of the camera to the "Instant AF" function.
Thank you mister John....in a few months, I will buy a X100V, and then I will be OK to use the BBF.
I bought an X-T4 recently (moved from Canon) & am slowly getting familiar with my beautiful new gear. Great article and I have somehow gone down the same path as you describe using the BBF.
Enjoy that camera, it's an amazing machine!
Hallo John,
(Sony shooter - started out 2 years ago because of retirement)
I like to shoot birds a lot, especially flying birds, so my camera is set for action (Aperture priority, AF-C, AF aerea "Zone" or 'Wide', ISO auto limited to 6400 linked to min. shutterspeed of 1/2000,..) under number 2 on the top dial. I half-press the shutter to focus. When the bird comes down and flies in front of trees, I push my AF-ON button. It has under "Recall Custom Hold 1" the same settings but with Tracking 'Zone" or 'Expand flexible spot". When the bird is sitting down, I push my AEL button which has "Recall Custom Hold 2" with S shutter priority 1/500 and "Flexible spot S, so I can go looking for the sitting bird, even if it's sitting down amongst branches or whatever. This combination works fine for me. Hope my English is well enough.
I haven't used any of the newer Sony cameras (since the a6300) but I think I can follow what you're saying regarding the camera settings. Glad you found a setup that works well!