Saving Back Button Focus?
- Thread starter Zev
- Start date
Fred Kingston
Senior Member
Short answer to your question is, "Yes"...
Yes, I have U2 set for Back Button Focus, Manual Mode with Auto ISO, AF-C, with a cap of ISO 4000 and a minimum ISO of 100. Just be aware however you set your shutter speed, aperture, and the +/- button, when you save the values, those specific settings will be saved.
When I switch to Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual Mode, the shutter button is used for focusing and the body is in AF-S if. When I go back to U2, my saved values of f/8, 1/1600", and +0.7 are programmed in along with everything I listed above. BUT...when I use U2 and change values to f/5.6 with a shutter speed of 1/1000", if I don't switch to one of the other modes and simply turn off the body, then whatever values I last used will still be dialed in.
EDIT: Don't forgot to decide what type of focus point you wish to use. It can be single point, dynamic, group, 3D - there are several from which to choose. Whatever focus point you are using will be saved as well.
When I switch to Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual Mode, the shutter button is used for focusing and the body is in AF-S if. When I go back to U2, my saved values of f/8, 1/1600", and +0.7 are programmed in along with everything I listed above. BUT...when I use U2 and change values to f/5.6 with a shutter speed of 1/1000", if I don't switch to one of the other modes and simply turn off the body, then whatever values I last used will still be dialed in.
EDIT: Don't forgot to decide what type of focus point you wish to use. It can be single point, dynamic, group, 3D - there are several from which to choose. Whatever focus point you are using will be saved as well.
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Yes. Just be sure you change everything back. In the post I just wrote, I included all the setting changes I save when in Back Button Focus. For me, it isn't just BBF that I use. I'm in Manual Mode, the ISO minimum and max caps, AF-C instead of AF-S and whatever shutter/aperture I want to be my default. Then I save it to U1 or U2. Then I have to undo all those changes including resetting back to AF-S to go back to using the shutter button for focusing.
Thanks for those answers. Though I've been pro Nikon user since the F3 days, and had my D7200 for 2 years, I've never used the U1 & U2 feature. However, I've just now set up the camera the way I like it, and saved the settings in U1. What a great feature! U1 is now my "landscape shooting" mode, and I can very quickly reset the camera back to my default mode for general shooting. Just goes to show that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!
You're welcome. Something to note - if you are in your default mode and decide to change the Picture Control to something else (maybe to Vivid or something), that change won't affect your U1 Picture Control settings. Once your U1 settings are saved, if you wish to change something within U1, you'd need to set the body to U1 then make the changes there. Be sure to save. My point is you won't have to go back through the entire process all over again, but you do need to apply any future changes directly to both U1 AND your default mode if you want the new settings to be applied to everything you shoot. I hope I'm making sense.
I'm not a fan of the U's. I keep mine set for emergency settings. I use bbf full time. So I set one U for my basic bbf settings. In case Bigfoot/Yowie/Nessie appears 
, I have some reasonable settings quickly available. The other U is set for basic automatic mode shutter button focus settings in case I hand the camera to someone else to take a shot. I gave up using U's for everyday shooting. Too confusing for me to remember if I saved a change to U or saved it to the body or maybe I didn't save it at all. There was always something showing up disappearing because I saved or didn't save.
Now for bbf. For a time, I did exactly what you plan to try. It was big failure for me. As muscle memory developed, I missed too many shots because my fingers got confused on how I was focusing. So I'm fully in for bbf all the time. I never use shutter button anymore. I took me a year to get to that point. I loved/hated bbf and changed back and forth but eventually it just felt 'right' to me.
A little more babble... as Cindy said above, you need to save changes to your U's while in the U mode and changes to your body when you are not in U mode. If you are in U1 and make a change, it sort of sticks around but not saved. If you turn the camera off and back on without leaving U1, the change will still be there, but if switch away from U1 and then come back to U1, its gone. So you have to remember to do the 'save'. But maybe you don't want the save, lol. It just made me crazy keeping track. I tweak too much so for me the best use of the U's is for quick access to basic 'emergency' settings.
, I have some reasonable settings quickly available. The other U is set for basic automatic mode shutter button focus settings in case I hand the camera to someone else to take a shot. I gave up using U's for everyday shooting. Too confusing for me to remember if I saved a change to U or saved it to the body or maybe I didn't save it at all. There was always something showing up disappearing because I saved or didn't save. Now for bbf. For a time, I did exactly what you plan to try. It was big failure for me. As muscle memory developed, I missed too many shots because my fingers got confused on how I was focusing. So I'm fully in for bbf all the time. I never use shutter button anymore. I took me a year to get to that point. I loved/hated bbf and changed back and forth but eventually it just felt 'right' to me.
A little more babble... as Cindy said above, you need to save changes to your U's while in the U mode and changes to your body when you are not in U mode. If you are in U1 and make a change, it sort of sticks around but not saved. If you turn the camera off and back on without leaving U1, the change will still be there, but if switch away from U1 and then come back to U1, its gone. So you have to remember to do the 'save'. But maybe you don't want the save, lol. It just made me crazy keeping track. I tweak too much so for me the best use of the U's is for quick access to basic 'emergency' settings.
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