Do You 'Back Button' Autofocus?

I remember finding using the AF-On button for focusing only quite awkward to begin with, but got used to it after a few shoots. It's quite natural now and the tip above about leaving the cam in continuous focus mode is a gem.
 
I've finally had a chance to look into this, on my 5D2 the "AF-ON" button already focuses when pressed, what I cant work out is how to stop the shutter button half press focusing, i've read the manual, but cant see the option. :(

Can anyone advise?

Thanks!
 
Look at page 182 of the manual. You need to set CFn IV-1 to either 2 or 3.
 
tdodd said:
Look at page 182 of the manual. You need to set CFn IV-1 to either 2 or 3.
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Thanks for that, option 2 seems to give me the effect I was expecting.

I think i'm now going to have to switch the "AF-ON" and "*" buttons, as i've got little hands :( have thumb ache after 10 mins playing (ooo err) lol.
 
Went out and tried this this morning. To be honest it was second nature pressing the AF-On button after a few shots. I'm just importing into Lightroom now and will see how the images came out once I've viewed them on screen (they seem okay on the D300's LCD but you can never tell for sure).
 
gotta say I tried it before and didn't get along with but tried again yesterday and found it to be a success. Only thing I would say is don't forget that you have the camera set up that way as I went to focus after switching bodies, used the shutter button and took a series of frames that obviously were completely out of focus.
 
Given this a go on my D90, but for me the button is in the wrong position. It was very awkward for me, although it might be the arthritis in my fingers that is not helping.

If it was the LV button that did this, I would be able to use it.
 
Bendihossan said:
Aah, now it makes sense. I'll give this a go on my 5D later however I can't see it giving me much advantage for shooting landscapes though it makes sense for most other scenarios. :)
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If you're using a cable / remote release (and if not, why aren't you) it could be useful as it saves you using manual focus. As the remote isn't activating the AF anymore.
 
I have found the button on my S9600 to do this! it is useful, but will take a little getting used t0.
 
well i never !!! you learn something new everyday, as they say.

I will deffo give this a try.

as above, thx to everyone for taking a lot of time to explain it all, shows what a helpful forum this really is :)
 
Been looking for this thread all afternoon, thanks for posting it in the first place, gonna have to start using it. :)
 
I've read this thread with great interest and it seems more useful to use the AF-ON button (on my 50D) for focus lock along with the centre focus point, ie focus on the part of the scene you want in focus, lock focus, recompose, shoot. Or did I misunderstand something? (which I probably did:bonk:):)
 
Jayst84 said:
If you're using a cable / remote release (and if not, why aren't you) it could be useful as it saves you using manual focus. As the remote isn't activating the AF anymore.
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Ah, but when I shoot landscapes I nearly always manually focus by choice and use the DoF Preview button to check the hyperfocal distance. So from a personal standpoint back-button AF is useful for everyday shooting but not for how I shoot landscapes.

And yes, I'm using a cable release :thumbs:
 
Just jumped on the BBF bandwagon myself.

I was reading about it a few weeks ago and your article got me fired up on it. I can see it being really useful at sporting events which I want to try my hand at this year as well as landscapes since I can use the FTM focus on the lens to adjust if necessary.

Thanks for the insightful article Andrew! :thumbs:
 
LJR said:
I've looked in the Nikon D300 manual - where does it say that it disables VR functionality?
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It doesn't. It tells you that in the manual for Nikkor lenses that have VR.
 
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