Wildlife Photography across the Water: Back Button Focusing

Monday, 12 September 2011

Back Button Focusing

I have covered this before but i think its worth going over again as i see it come up time and time again on forums, The last few years have seen cameras coming out with an AF-ON button on the back of the camera, This is so you can focus by using your thumb and use your shutter button just to take images when the time is right rather than have one button do all so to speak, Before the AF-ON button appeared many people would use the AE-L/AF-L button on the back of a camera and reprogramme it for AF using the custom functions and this is what i have had to do to the Nikon D7000 as the body is too small for the extra button, If you use AE-L/AF-L button then you can reprogramme another button for that feature, I used to use the back button focus when i shot Canon but when i first started using Nikon for some reason i stayed with the traditional way of using the shutter button for everything but for the past 2 years or more i have converted back to back button focusing, I prefer it for various reasons, One being that my camera is pretty much set to continuous focusing all the time, If i want to focus and recompose which is rare as i prefer to move the AF point i can simply focus using the back button then take my thumb off of the button and recompose and take an image with the shutter button, if the subject moves i can quickly hit the back button and focus is quickly regained, So in essence you have continuous focus and single shot all in one, People new to photography may find it a strange way of doing things but once you get used to using the camera in this way you wont go back, Just remember when handing your camera to somebody else to take a shot to explain how to focus, One feature that i liked from my Canon days is that the image stabiliser is activated using the back focus AF-ON button but for some reason on the Nikon its not, You have to lightly tough the shutter button, Its no big deal but i would really like Nikon to change it or at least give the photographer the choice in the custom functions and whilst i am at it can Mr Nikon please add the blinkies to the histogram image just like Canon and not have to move to a different screen shot, So if you have not yet tried shooting using back focus then we highly recommend it

Dave

1 comment:

PedroS15 September 2011 at 16:55
I'm also using the back focus button, and again as a Nikon user a slight touch on the shutter release engages VR.
Can't this feature be upgradable in a new firmware? Crossing fingers
Thanks
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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.