[clackers]

Good morning all. I found out my wife thinks I don't give her enough privacy.

At least that's what she says in her diary.

We're off to see that new Marvel film tomorrow night, 'Aluminum Man'.

As a superhero, he's different. Iron Man stops the bad guys, apparently Aluminum Man just foils their plans.

This week I want to talk about Back Button Focus, that I have set now on all my Pentaxes.

When the finger is at times focusing half way down and at others taking the shot, it's possible to make mistakes, when taking a sequence of a couple of shots as a runner approaches a bend, couple more as they hit the bend and pass someone, then a couple more as they run towards you. The wrong fingering and you may never recover.

With Back Button Focus, the tasks are now completely separated. The thumb operates the focus only, and the shutter by the index finger only.

Even if you shoot single shots of stationary subjects with focus and recompose to get the proportions you like in the image, the camera will not fight you as you centre it, it won't annoyingly try to reacquire. If you keep your thumb off, it's like the focus has been locked into what you previously decided.

In recent bodies, you go to the menus and in Button Customization, then AF/AE-L, then choose Enable AF2.

If you're like me, you'll find it takes a while to get used to, then you never want to go back, and shooting with someone else's camera, you'll have to restrain yourself going into their settings and changing them.

To finish with, there's the story of the big city lawyer who went duck hunting.

He shot a bird, but it fell into a field on the other side of a fence.

As he climbed over, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing.

The lawyer responded: "I shot a duck and it fell in this field and I'm going to retrieve it."

The old farmer replied: "This is my property and you're not coming over here."

"Look, I'm one of the best trial lawyers in the country, and if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue and take everything you own."

The old farmer smiled and said, "Apparently you don't know how disputes are resolved in the outback. We settle small disagreements like this with the Three Kick Rule."

The lawyer asked: "What's the Three Kick Rule?"

"Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, I go first. I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on, back and forth until someone gives up."

The lawyer quickly thought he could easily take on the old codger, and agreed to abide by the local custom.

The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the barrister. His first kick planted the tip of his steel toed work boot into his groin and dropped him to his knees.

His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer's last meal gushing from his mouth. He was on all fours when the third kick to his rear sent him tumbling.

Summoning every bit of his will and remaining strength, he very slowly managed to get to his feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, "Okay, you old fart. Now it's my turn."

The old farmer smiled and said: "Nah, I give up. You can have the duck."

Next Week in Beginners Tips: Conjunction

Find the rest of the series here: Clackers' Beginners Tips (Collected) - PentaxForums.com

---

Last edited by clackers; 05-31-2023 at 06:53 PM.

[pepperberry farm]

love love love back-button focusing.....

it's one of the first things I set up on a new camera body....

[Mooncatt]

I loved it on my last camera, but I never set it up on my K3 mkII. So there goes your suggestion that once you go BBF, you never go back. Lol

[Sir Nameless]

BBF is great, I've used it a lot, but then I very recently re-discovered Catch In Focus, which I really like using with my MF lenses, but doesn't play nice with BBF. So now I use the back button for AF Cancel
* AF lens, half press to focus as usual. To focus and recompose, half press, back button to AF Cancel, recompose, shoot.
* MF lens, full press and focus and let the shutter fire when it finds the focus. This works great when close focusing and you can just ease the whole camera in to the focus point. To focus on something off center, back button to AF Cancel, focus by eye, shoot when ready.
* Need to turn off CIF when doing something special like working off a tripod with a remote release. (I think? I haven't actually tried it yet.)


Plus I can hand my camera to someone else and they don't get all confused.

[clackers]

I loved it on my last camera, but I never set it up on my K3 mkII. So there goes your suggestion that once you go BBF, you never go back. Lol

Of course, if you lent it to me, when it gets returned you're going to have to undo the BBF!

[Mooncatt]

Of course, if you lent it to me, when it gets returned you're going to have to undo the BBF!

Your first mistake is assuming I'd lend it to you.

So now I use the back button for AF Cancel
* AF lens, half press to focus as usual. To focus and recompose, half press, back button to AF Cancel, recompose, shoot.

That's the method I now use with my KP because (due to glaucoma wrecking my right eye) I have to use my left eye for shooting and my nose and thumb seemed to be in conflict when using BBF.
*I might just have a big nose and a very aggressive thumb*

[clackers]

Your first mistake is assuming I'd lend it to you.

C'mon, Mooncatt, you're not a sociopath, I'm sure you'd help a Pentaxian brother if it came to it.

[wadge22]

Definitely count me as another back button focus proselyte.
Since I am so used to shooting manual focus lenses, this setting really feels natural for me with my autofocus lenses, assuming (and always wishing) that they have quickshift. I feel very in control of when the camera is changing focus this way.
Before I discovered BBF I often wound up with garbage shots due to my 'focus-and-recompose-and-misfocus-and-shoot' method, for which I have a natural knack.

[Michail_P]

I don't mind half-pressing, but the story was hilarious....

[Astropaps]

I think I should try that technique! I’ve had the KP for years and am just beginning to learn all of its capabilities.

[Sandy Hancock]

Worth it for the second joke.
But I'm totally on Team BBF

[3by2]

I was not and am still not a bbf. It's like my thumb is not actually being controlled by my own brain. As my brain makes the effort to swop between BBF and press the shutter , my tongue comes out. I reckon if you can pat your head and stroke your stomach you can bbf, if not, you can't.

[35mmfilmfan]

I was not and am still not a bbf. It's like my thumb is not actually being controlled by my own brain. As my brain makes the effort to swop between BBF and press the shutter , my tongue comes out. I reckon if you can pat your head and stroke your stomach you can bbf, if not, you can't.

Not only can I do that, I can do it with either hand (apparently a much rarer accomplishment). Still trip over my feet when walking, though.

[pres589]

I've never gotten along with BBF either. It's just never felt very natural. I can totally understand why it would be nice, especially with lenses that offer Quick Shift and working in situations where the camera + lens is not finding proper focus.