Back Button AF With Mirrorless: Yes Or No?

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Steve

Steve

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Once upon a time, when DSLRs roamed the land, Back Button AF was the automatic go-to for many - even most - photographers. However, with mirrorless taking over at a blistering pace, things are changing. Many are questioning the wisdom of using BBAF and, indeed, many have switched back to shutter release AF.

Should you?

In this video, we'll discuss why BBAF is less important for mirrorless shooters than it is for DSLR fans. We'll also talk about why it still might be the best option for some shooters - myself included.

Should you use BBAF with mirrorless? Let's find out!

 
Definitely a lot to think about. Good summary of the pros and cons.

I've gone back to BBAF after a fling with the hybrid of using shutter focus but also having a back button set to af-off for focus lock or manual focus with peaking.

Now I'm using triple bbf plus a button for af-off. One button for expanded area, one for spot, one to engage eye/tracking at whatever position the other left off. The reason for the af-off is my R5 won't focus peak in servo without it.
 
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Steve said:
Once upon a time, when DSLRs roamed the land, Back Button AF was the automatic go-to for many - even most - photographers. However, with mirrorless taking over at a blistering pace, things are changing. Many are questioning the wisdom of using BBAF and, indeed, many have switched back to shutter release AF.

Should you?

In this video, we'll discuss why BBAF is less important for mirrorless shooters than it is for DSLR fans. We'll also talk about why it still might be the best option for some shooters - myself included.

Should you use BBAF with mirrorless? Let's find out!

Click to expand...
Awesome video as always! With the DSLRs, I was always a BBAF user but with the Z9, I’m more into hybrid. I set my shutter af to auto with a lot of other AF options set to other buttons so that I can start with a wide mode and hand off to auto. I have configured my video button to quickly access my menu list in which shutter af vs bbaf is the second option that I can quickly turn off at the first sign of trouble with shutter AF.
 
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Thank for another thorough, lucid video.

I'm BBAF only, as it has been for many years. The custom hybrid-focus setups inaugurated in the D5 and D500 back in 2016 continues to work rather well with flagship MILCs, toggling between the AFMode on the BBAF button and alternative AFModes on Fn buttons.

Last but not least, the more powerful dextrous, opposable thumb evolved in the Genus Homo 2 millions years ago, at least... as a handy adaptation for makers and users of tools. This articulation between thumb and fingers continues to be extremely handy with our precision 21st century instruments.
 
fcotterill said:
Thank for another thorough, lucid video.

I'm BBAF only, as it has been for many years. The custom hybrid-focus setups inaugurated in the D5 and D500 back in 2016 continues to work rather well with flagship MILCs, toggling between the AFMode on the BBAF button and alternative AFModes on Fn buttons.

Last but not least, the more powerful dextrous, opposable thumb evolved in the Genus Homo 2 millions years ago, at least... as a handy adaptation for makers and users of tools. This articulation between thumb and fingers continues to be extremely handy with our precision 21st century instruments.
Click to expand...

Long before Homo.....

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First animal with opposable thumbs

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Great video. I still like and use BBAF even with mirrorless. To me it's a simple camera control choice. I want AF when I want AF and don't want the camera to initiate AF until I want it.

Basically I think about it as a manual focus camera with AF on demand and find that very handy for a wide variety of situations including those you mentioned and even things like astrophotography where sure I could turn off AF completely but BBAF means I don't have to.
 
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My (circa 2009) Olympus E-P1 is very upset at you, Steve, for calling mirrorless a fringe concept in 2014. ;)

Loved the outhouse graphic, too. I laughed!

On topic, I use my Z9 similar to how you use your A1: I have AFON set to area AF with subject detection. I have Fn1 set to 3D Tracking. I have Fn2 set to a small single point. Then, when shooting:
  • For people and animals I use area/subject 90% of the time, and 3D tracking if the camera gets confused or I want to prioritize a specific subject. I only use single-point to pre-focus (as a lazy person's way to avoid having to manually turn the focus ring).
  • For sports and landscapes I use 3D tracking to focus on my subject, and then focus/recompose.
  • For macro I use 3D tracking as well, but if I'm bumping against 1:1 it gets a little dicey, in which case I just set the camera to 1:1 and do it the old-fashioned way.
I use my Fuji cameras in the same way, but they don't allow me to set up multiple AF buttons, so I have to manually switch AF modes... I miss the occasional difficult shot as a result.
 
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Initially I switched to shutter button AF when I went mirrorless with the Z9 but for the reasons Steve discusses will switch back to BBAF even though I lose a programmable button in the process that I had been using for Recall Settings.
 
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I could never get good results with BBAF after coming to digital from the film days where the focus button activated the light meter on my Nikon Ftn and Nikon F3. Shutter focus seems more natural for me. It is hard to re-train muscle memory after all these years. I use what works for me.
 
On the R5 and I'm sure any camera I find oddball buttons that can be programmed to replace a function that used to be under a back button. For example exposure lock. Who knew that there was a button to turn on a light for the mode dial? That little lightbulb button is now exposure lock toggle on/off. Or if you don't shoot much video, the REC button while in still shooting can be anything else. And the MF button can be customized with 5 choices. The list goes on.

There is no reason not to have the camera how you like it.
 
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I think that BBF is more "muscle friendly" for my hand muscles on Nikon cameras. I can use thumb for a long time comfortably, but more often than not I am prone to accidentally pushing the trigger button with my index finger.
Hence BBF is the method I use, since the time when I first heard about it in an old Steve's video. The reasons mentioned in the recent one are valid too.
 
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I’ve used BBF for a long time and have not changed with a move to mirrorless bodies. I prefer to have focus separated from the act of taking the image and being able to keep my focus mode on AFC all the time.
 
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I switched from being a dedicated BBF DSLR shooter to Shutter AF when I bought my first high end MILC (Sony A9) in 2018. My motivation to switch was while shooting swallows and other fast birds I wanted to have just a single button to concentrate on while I tracked with AF and then fired the shot. Then for perched birds I had the excellent Real-Time Tracking so I didn't need to focus and recompose anymore and could still leave the camera in AF-C 100% of the time.
The only thing that I can't do with shutter AF is to MF in and then fire without engaging AF again. But I really never do that. As long as my lenses allow for DMF I can typically manual focus and then engage a small AF point with Tracking and not have any need to release the shutter without having AF engaged.
 
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Great video Steve. I watched your BBAF video years ago and tried it on my Nikon DSLRs. I thought it worked great and I haven’t looked back. I now shoot with a Z9 but still use BBAF. I did try shutter release for several weeks but went right back to BBAF. Part of it is I still use a DSLR as a backup body and so try to keep some things as similar as I can. Plus it’s just works for me.
 
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I still use BBF, I like to keep the focus separate from the shutter, it is just easier. I can take my finger off the shutter without worrying it will refocus when I don't want it to.

The one exception is for street photography where sometimes I want to "shoot from the hip" and just let the eye autofocus do its thing. Trying to hit the back button in that case is inconvenient.
 
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Interesting video @Steve. With my D500, I set up for BBAF. I tried it for almost 18 months and never bonded with the methodology and went back. Now that I am shooting with a mirrorless (Canon R7), I use the shutter half press for AF. I use the Star back button to engage full frame AF when I'm shooting a scene where it is useful like birds in flight and spot focus as my default. I may change that up sometime as I get more familiar with the camera.

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer here it is a matter of what works best for the photographer. It is useful to try things that others find useful to see if it works for me. If, after a while, it doesn't then I go back.

Again, another good and thought provoking video.
Jeff
 
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Still a BBAF person..but I kinda like Hudson Henry’s hybrid approach…he uses in action situations auto area AF on the shutter for approaching subjects and then hands off to 3D on the back button. Haven’t switched to that yet…but it is a thing I’m thinking about.
 
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Depends, I have A6 set on "My Menu". I turn on/off BBAF as needed. There are time when BBAF makes no sense. The first situation that comes to mind is "Hummingbirds".
 
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I use the BBAF but I think I use it too much. I have to feel secure and once I got a focus don't use it again just too be more safe. If nothing change don't overfocus and take the risk to loose a good focus, Like once Steve focus on the lion's face, just wait for the grass to swept away and forget abour being nervous on the BBAF.
 
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