BBAF Alternatives for Mirrorless

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bleirer

Bill, Cleveland OH.
Supporting Member
Marketplace
I shoot Canon, but the idea is the same for all brands. Instead of the usual bbaf setup I use this alternative for mirrorless and find several advantages. It wasn't my idea. I first saw it on a youtube video and Steve covered the idea.

I keep the focus mode on servo/continuous at all times just like regular bbaf, but unlike regular bbf I keep the shutter half press active and set the af-on button to turn autofocusing off while being held down.

It took a little getting used to but now I am always focusing with the shutter half press in whatever tracking mode or with whatever focus points, but if I want to lock focus to recompose or focus manually I press the af-on button but it is now turning autofocus off while I hold it so I can recompose with locked focus or manually focus with focus peaking. So the mirror image of regular bbf.

This is where the quirks of the camera come into play. The advantage with my mirrorless camera is that when I press af-on I can now immediately have manual focus with focus peaking. Since the focus points are everywhere and easy to slide around I find it easier to always be actively in servo/continuous except for when I want to lock focus or use manual focus with peaking.

Mirrorless shooters, do you use regular bbf or have you found other alternatives?
 
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Thanks for the tip. Im going to experiment with this when I get my Alpha 1. To be able to easily switch to manual focus with focus peaking can be advantageous. This method has actually been around for a while as an alternative to the back buton focus method as a mean to always be ready for either still or action photography. I never tried it though.
 
Thanks for the tip. Im going to experiment with this when I get my Alpha 1. To be able to easily switch to manual focus with focus peaking can be advantageous. This method has actually been around for a while as an alternative to the back buton focus method as a mean to always be ready for either still or action photography. I never tried it though.
I think you have to see how the camera engages manual focus. My Canon has full time manual focusing anytime but for some reason it doesn't play nice with the servo/continuous mode and peaking using regular bbaf. Takes a little getting used to. I just think of pressing the af-on button as 'manual focus on.'
 
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