AF-C all the time

E

egosbar

Senior Member
i have back button focus on user one and two , pretty sure if i switch to auto it focuses with the shutter so good for handing over the camera. ill have to go confirm this though
 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
canuck257 said:
Guys, a little help here please. I want to try this with my D5300 but am unsure what item to select in the options menu. Do I go with "AF Lock Only" or "AF On"?

On edit: What are the pro's and cons of 9 point focus? Is it likely to degrade sharpness?
Click to expand...

Set the "f" custom control to AF-On and then Auto Focus to AF-C It works great. I have been using it on my 5300 for a while now and love it.

I think the 9 point focus vs other settings depends on what you are shooting. Birds in flight, I usually set it to Single Point. For some other situations I use 9 point or matrix. Single Point you are either on or off. 9 point can have difficulty focusing if the scene is cluttered with other things ie a bird in a semi-thick bush with lots of branches. (Others with much more knowledge than I will answer this part better, I'm sure. Ha!)
 
M

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Just been out on the front to try it on cars coming towards me and recomposing flower pictures after focus lock,i think ime going to like it. :D
 
canuck257

canuck257

Senior Member
mikew said:
Just been out on the front to try it on cars coming towards me and recomposing flower pictures after focus lock,i think ime going to like it. :D
Click to expand...

I guess we must have had a similar upbringing Mike. When I was a kid in Norfolk my Mum used to tell me to go play with the traffic in the street but I had to do it without a camera!
 
R

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
FredKingston said:
You should look at the back-button focus videos... Back-button is AF-S when you press the button, but switches to AF-C when you hold the back-button in... and then goes AF-S when you release it...

Best of both worlds without all the menu fumblin'...

edit to fix typo
Click to expand...

Guess I know what I'm doing this weekend. :) Thanks y'all!
 
V

vindex1963

Senior Member
So unless it went right over my head the consensuses is Af-C using the back focus button, so in the simplest terms
constant focus is where most of you shoot? I like the back button but I have it set for exposure lock so when I'm
shooting and get a subject overexposed/underexposed I can expose one area, compose the shot in another and get the exposure I'm looking for.
Works great for landscape.

Seems like with this method you've moved the 1/2 shutter focus to the back and I can see that is a specialized shoot but for general shooting
now I'm pressing the back button and the shutter button when one will do both.
 
Fred Kingston_RIP

Fred Kingston_RIP

Senior Member
No... The camera is set to AF-C... but is NOT actively or continuously focusing. The focusing is only activated when the back button is pressed... If you press and release the button, it AF-Ss... If you pressANDHold then it AF-C until you release the button...
 
V

vindex1963

Senior Member
FredKingston said:
No... The camera is set to AF-C... but is NOT actively or continuously focusing. The focusing is only activated when the back button is pressed... If you press and release the button, it AF-Ss... If you pressANDHold then it AF-C until you release the button...
Click to expand...

I get that I just don't see why, now I'm pressing the back button and then pressing the shutter button and I'm loosing my exposure lock
and that seems way more beneficial.

I guess it's all in preference and I prefer exposure lock.

My origional question was lost along the way.
 
Fred Kingston_RIP

Fred Kingston_RIP

Senior Member
You need to change the Shutter button to Shutter ONLY...

Press the back button to focus the camera, and press the shutter to fire the shutter Only and and you don't loose the focus.
 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
vindex1963 said:
I get that I just don't see why, now I'm pressing the back button and then pressing the shutter button and I'm loosing my exposure lock
and that seems way more beneficial.

I guess it's all in preference and I prefer exposure lock.

My origional question was lost along the way.
Click to expand...

I see what you are saying (I think). You are wanting to be able to lock in your exposure setting which you feel you are losing by setting the AE-L/AF-L button to BBF. In one way you are, but then again you really aren't if shooting in "M" mode. If I understand you, it is possible to set your exposure setting all manually (f-stop, Shutter Speed and ISO fixed not auto). Set it for the condition you want. Then once it is set you can use BBF.

I realize you are wanting to lock the exposure with the AE-L and then let the shutter button focus when taking the photo. That works and may really be the best case scenario for the way you shoot.

We have to determine what works best for the situations we are shooting in. I don't know if BBF will benefit your shooting scenarios and I see your dilemma and can't tell you what benefit one method will have over another.
 
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Fred Kingston_RIP

Fred Kingston_RIP

Senior Member
menu option C1 "Shutter-release button AE-L" set to ON should set the shutter to Exposure lock...

Now... you can use back-button focus to focus the camera, and pressing the Shutter button, instead of re-focusing should Lock the exposure...

The back-button focus's biggest benefit is that it puts the option of AF-S or AF-C within the reach of the same button, without looking away from the view-finder to reset the focus modes via the LCD screen or Menu...
 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
FredKingston said:
menu option C1 "Shutter-release button AE-L" set to ON should set the shutter to Exposure lock...

Now... you can use back-button focus to focus the camera, and pressing the Shutter button, instead of re-focusing should Lock the exposure...

The back-button focus's biggest benefit is that it puts the option of AF-S or AF-C within the reach of the same button, without looking away from the view-finder to reset the focus modes via the LCD screen or Menu...
Click to expand...

So Fred, help me get the sequence of using this setup for getting the picture as the OP seems to want. With Shutter-release AE-L ON you will need to actuate the shutter 1/2 way to set the exposure to a preferred area and then move your camera to the point you want to focus on using BBF and then finish actuating the shutter (Press shutter button the rest of the way). ???
 
V

vindex1963

Senior Member
cwgrizz said:
So Fred, help me get the sequence of using this setup for getting the picture as the OP seems to want. With Shutter-release AE-L ON you will need to actuate the shutter 1/2 way to set the exposure to a preferred area and then move your camera to the point you want to focus on using BBF and then finish actuating the shutter (Press shutter button the rest of the way). ???
Click to expand...

Looks like back button to set focus and shutter button to take the photo.

I never wanted this read my original question.
 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Or I suppose you could reverse the order and BBF on the subject you want, relase it and then point to the exposure area you want, 1/2 press shutter, move camera back to focus point and finish activating shutter button.
 
Fred Kingston_RIP

Fred Kingston_RIP

Senior Member
I shoot in manual mode with auto-iso... so I manually set my aperture & speed first... I then focus, and shoot... Same work flow if I've turned off auto-iso... I never shoot auto, A,P,S... well, almost never...
 
cwgrizz

cwgrizz

Senior Member
Challenge Team
vindex1963 said:
Shouldn't continues focus with focus lock guarantee sharp shots all the time? No need for AF-S except in special situations?
Click to expand...
Yes. My only problem with BBF AF-C is that I don't always catch that fast flying bird at the focus point when I bang the shutter. Ha!
 
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