Ultimate guide to Back Button focusing | Why and How With Canon EOS M50
Is Back Button Focus a complete game changer? Is it better than shutter focus? Is it really the power of Single Shot autofocus combined with Continuous autofocus?
I've been testing Back Button Focusing for a couple of months now, and here's what I think of it and how to setup your Canon M50 to use it.
Another good camera hack photography tip!
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Пікірлер: 69
Cleared it up for me. Thanks. Great clear explanation with examples.
Thanks
Learned a lot. A new way of focusing. thanks
Thank you brother now i can shoot a subject with one hand 👏
Best M50 Channel 💯
Pro tip . Thanks
Thank you, this is the kind of explanation I've been looking for.
Hope this will be the same for my M6 Mark II . Thanks a great video indeed !
ty
You're a creative 🤞🔥
Cimer mec! Je vais tenter ça sur mon Canon 🤗
@Tvennet
3 жыл бұрын
Le tester, c’est l’adopter!!!! Fonce!
hi, i love the videos! can you do a tutorial video for the correct settings for manual Photography please?
Thanks. Very useful tips. Sir. Rajesh from kolkata india.
I may try this for a while
@Tvennet
3 жыл бұрын
You should definetly give it a try! But most important, give me your feedback, I’m really curious what your experience was!
Just got my canon m50 and I totally love it I also made a video about it
Thank you for this advice, does these settings work with video also?
@Tvennet
Жыл бұрын
Not sure you’d like to use it for video. I’d go manual focus in that case.
I guess, this technique would help a ton while shooting panning, sliding shots.
What about AE Lock that is native to the * button , can that be reassigned to another button or do you loose that option when set up BBF
@BLACKOUTID
5 ай бұрын
Same question.
But why assign it to another button? When that feature is assigned to the shutter button, you press it halfway down and it locks focus. Then you can recompose it all you want until you have the shot framed how you want it, then press the shutter button down the rest of the way to take the picture. That way it’s all in one place instead of in two different buttons.
@Tvennet
3 жыл бұрын
That’s only true if you’re only using single shot autofocus. If you’re in continuous, it will keep tracking or focusing wherever you recompose your shot. Moving it to another button simply gives you both. Like I explained. Not just one or the other. If you hold the button down, it pauses the focus and goes into single shot. Release it and it’s in continuous. On Sony, it’s the other way. Hold it and you’re in continuous AF, press and release and your focus is locked. You can’t do that with the shutter.
@moinm007
3 жыл бұрын
I agree. It's only needed if you're in continuous AF which anyway uses a lot of battery, so it's better to use single point AF. I think sony has it better. Continuous AF triggering on BBF rather than by default.
@jiteshpujari1
2 жыл бұрын
I believe this function is more useful in panaromic shots where you have to fix focus on one frame and carry that focus to other frames. But I am not sure if this tutorial is really a back button focus tutorial. I have to give it a try myself
@theurbanartist775
Жыл бұрын
@@jiteshpujari1what did you come up with?
not sure how you switched from the * focus you assigned that button to continuous focus... I am new to back button focus but much prefer it. Also - does that mean that once you assign the focus function to * it no longer performs its previous function? thank you!!
Decent McConaughey my dude. 😅
@Tvennet
3 жыл бұрын
Next time : Owen Wilson 😂
@iamjasonthompson
3 жыл бұрын
@@Tvennet 😂
Hi! I need to know which memory card I should buy, I'm going to shoot in 1080p 25fps but most people are referring to cards which would be useful for 4k!
@Tvennet
3 жыл бұрын
I only use Sandisk Extreme Pro 128go SD cards, with a 170mbps writing speed. They’re fast, reliable, never had any issue. amzn.to/39lsqPD If you want something a bit more overkill, Prograde 128Go with 250mbps writing speed. amzn.to/3fgrW0X
@stephenmuir5030
2 жыл бұрын
According to the M50 "Help Guide", recording 1080p at 25fps (or 23.98fps or 29.97fps) writes approx 3750 KB of data per second to the card, so, I think you're right -- it would be pretty difficult to find any card that CAN'T handle that sort of data rate! No need to look for particularly fast cards! Interestingly, for the M50 Mark II, the figure is shown as 30 Mbps, but that doesn't change the essential message.
So do you keep holding the * button while you recompose and then take the picture? OR do you set it for single shot, press the * button, release the *, recompose and then take the image? I need clarification on this because I cannot get good images using this method. Thank you.
@stephenmuir5030
2 жыл бұрын
I can understand your confusion! I almost fell off my chair when I saw the camera did NOT refocus when the thumb was pressing the * button, but DID when the button was released! This is the exact opposite of what I was expecting. I think the video is OK as far as it goes, but it either glosses over, or does not explain, (or perhaps confuses) some other settings which need to be made. As far as I can see, though, Thomas is one of only two people to have tackled this subject for the M50 (be it original or Mark II), apart from someone whose video was really a textual explanation. So, credit is due for giving it a go! I think the further explanation I would make is to point out: 1. Settings must be made with the Mode Dial (the big dial on top of the camera) set to one of the options P, Tv, Av or M, otherwise the various menu settings needed won't be presented. 2. In addition to changing the functions of the shutter button half-press and the * button (Set Up5 menu, Custom Functions(C.Fn)) some other changes need to be made: 3. "Focus Mode" (Shoot6 on M50, Shoot4 on M50 II) had better be set to "AF", not "MF", as you want the camera to autofocus! I think all Canon EF-M lenses have "full time manual focusing", so you can turn the focus ring at any time to take manual control, although you don't want to be fighting the servo autofocus (see next). 4. Set "AF Operation" (Shoot6 on M50, Shoot4 on M50 II) to "Servo". This means that when the focusing button (now the * button) is pressed, the camera will keep focusing. When it's in focus the relevant focus point will turn blue. (If you set AF Operation to "Single Shot" instead, the AF points in focus turn green, so you can tell from their colour, whether you've set single shot or servo. Servo is what you want here.) This means that, if you are following a moving subject, you keep your thumb on the * button to keep adjusting its focus as the subject moves. Conversely, if the subject is stationary (or moving very little), you take your thumb off the * button, so the camera no longer changes its focus -- the focus is now locked at this setting until you press the button again. If you press the shutter button, the half-press performs exposure metering, but does NOT change any focus setting, the full press takes the shot. Pressing the shutter button again takes another shot, but again (unless you press the * button), the focus does not change. So the camera does not have to go through focus operations (possibly getting it wrong, or choosing a different focus point) every time you press the shutter, which is what happens if shutter-button focusing is set. 5. Set "Continuous AF" (Shoot6 on M50, Shoot4 on M50 II) to "Disabled". Setting this to "Enabled" is the cause of the battery drain some other people have mentioned (and, I suspect the comment about Sony's system being better) and, I believe, why, when Thomas takes his thumb OFF the * button, the camera THEN focuses (whereas I expected it to STOP focusing when the * button is released). "Continuous AF" is NOT what other camera manufacturers call "AF-C", and neither is it the same as what Canon calls "Servo" (in the "AF Operation" setting). "Servo" in "AF Operation" means that, as long as the focus button is held down, the camera will keep performing focus operations (the equivalent of what other manufacturers call AF-C). "Continuous AF" (set to enabled), makes the camera focus all the time, even when the focus button is not pressed, as long as the camera has not gone into sleep mode. The idea behind it was that, even when you're not looking through the viewfinder or the screen to set up a shot, the camera would be busy focusing so that, when you do come to take the shot, it's already pretty much focused anyway and that final "perfect focus" takes only a split second. 6. You might also wish to consider which "AF Method" (again, Shoot6 on M50, Shoot4 on M50 II) to use. If you set "Face + Tracking" the camera will use pretty much the whole frame to find subjects and will track them should they move (focus button down, servo AF Operation set). You can use the touch screen to specify the subject to track. And, with setting, the "Eye Detection" setting, on the same menu page, will be settable. With the others, you choose a point or zone, which, again. The M50 II has two sizes of "point" ("Spot" or "1-Point"), whereas the M50 has just 1-Point, but has a separate option on the Shoot6 screen for you to specify whether the 1-point "AF Frame Size" should be "normal" or "small". You can move the point or zone using touch or the D-pad (look at your "Touch & Drag" settings). The Face and Zone options contain multiple AF points and, when you press the focus button (now the * button) any of these which are in focus will turn blue, hence the reason why there were loads of squares on Thomas's video. Spot and 1-Point are a single point, so there's only one "square" which can turn blue. 7. Finally, a comment about manual focus. When you stop pressing the * button, the camera will stop auto-focusing, so you have the option to turn the focus ring and adjust the focus manually. "MF Peaking Settings" can be used to assist with manual focus". 8. And, of course, if you do manually focus and do not press the * button again, that focus setting will be retained, no matter how many times you press the shutter button! 9. So, in discussing Back-Button-Focus, we've discussed auto-focus, moving subjects, stationary or almost-stationary subjects, and manual focus, all in one go!
@RoadTales
Жыл бұрын
@@stephenmuir5030 Thank you mate for such detailed explanation. but now im clearly confused!!! Thankfully will figure it out by practice.
@themountaintopjoinersshop8422
Жыл бұрын
@@stephenmuir5030 Thanks for taking the time to spell this out. I was wondering why BBF wasn't working the way I was lead to expect.
@themountaintopjoinersshop8422
Жыл бұрын
@@stephenmuir5030 One thing I notice after setting up as described is my focus peaking no longer works despite being turned on in the menu. Any ideas?
@stephenmuir5030
Жыл бұрын
@@themountaintopjoinersshop8422 You've exposed a bit of over-egging of the pudding on my part! The "MF" in "MF Peaking", of course, stands for "Manual Focus", so "MF Peaking" only applies when you're using Manual Focus, not in Auto Focus, which is what we're using with Back-Button Focus (BBF). (Though, strangely, even in AF, I do occasionally see the red focus highlighting, but I think that's just a quirk.) I do find that the "permanent manual focus" does work, though, with BBF, in that, you can turn the focus ring and the focus will change (not pressing the * button at the same time!). However, if you want to use focus peaking, you'd have to press the left arrow button on the D-pad, to slip into manual focus. At that point, you could also use the focus magnifier feature (press that button below the * button, then the Info button to choose the degree of magnification (1x, 5x, 10x), the D-pad to move the area you're looking at, and the focus ring to adjust focus; then press Set to return to normal view). After you've made any manual adjustments, slipping back to autofocus, by using another left press on the D-pad, won't change the focus, unless you again press the * button.
My M50 seems to have to button function on page 1 of the menu, and have different options available to select. Is your M50 a Mark 2?
@Tvennet
3 жыл бұрын
No I have a mk1.
@Range-Report
3 жыл бұрын
@@Tvennet it's odd that we both have the same model, yet the menus are different. Thanks for the quick reply Thomas .
@031instudio2
3 жыл бұрын
Same problem
@stephenmuir5030
2 жыл бұрын
Be aware that the menus on Canon cameras are context sensitive. That is to say that, which menu pages you see, and which options are active (not greyed-out), or even visible, depends on the setting of the mode dial (the big dial on the top of the camera). You need to have it set to one of the so-called "Creative Zone" positions (P, Tv, Av, M) to see all the pages/options. When set to any of the "Basic Zone" positions (the remaining positions of the dial -- with the exception of the Movie setting), the camera takes control of certain settings, irrespective of what you might have set for when you're using the camera in a creative zone setting, so it makes sense that those options do not appear in the menus. When set to Movie, you will be able to set 4K (UHD) recording, for example, but when set to one of the Creative Zones, although you can set Movie recording resolution, 4K does not appear -- you can only record in 4K if the mode dial is set to Movie; if you press the Movie record button when the dial is in some other position, you will record whatever was set in the menus when the mode dial was NOT on "Movie". Anyway, that's a bit of an aside. The point is, to see the Custom Functions(C.Fn) option, the mode dial MUST be in a Creative Zone position. (And then you'll find it on the "Set Up.5" menu on both the EOS M50 and EOS M50 II -- top option on M50, second option on M50 II).
So no matter how I set this up the camera will ALWAYS auto focus on whatever object It is pointing at even if I am holding down the BBF buttton.
Is back button focusing good for photographing birds or butterflies in flight ? Thanks for the great tutorial.
@Tvennet
3 жыл бұрын
Well…I could see it working. You have the tracking when it’s moving, then you have the single focus when it’s on a flower for example…it’s probably a bit of practice but I see it working
Tried this method. Unfortunately, unlike big DSLR cams, I will not recommend back focusing with Eos M50. Why? Because of ergonomics, everytime you push that asterisk button, the cam swings a little to the right because it's so light hence you will not be able to hold it in place when back focusing.
@Tvennet
2 жыл бұрын
I’m just telling people how to set it up you know. I’m not forcing anyone to use this method. I’ve used it, and didn’t have issues with the weight of the camera…but maybe because I was using a heavier lens. But thanks for sharing your experience ;)
@stephenmuir5030
2 жыл бұрын
I can understand your position to some extent. As Thomas says, the camera is "entry level", so it does not have a plethora of buttons to deal with (and the * is the only one to which AF-ON can be assigned, other than the shutter button). However, it seems to me, if you're going to complain that the camera is so light that when you press the * button, the camera "swings a little to the right", should you not also complain that it's so light that when you push the shutter button, "it twists a little down on that side"!
in my canon m50 mark2, in the wrench, there's no 5 page, only 4. wtf
Would this technique work when the camera is set to Manual Mode?
@Tvennet
2 жыл бұрын
It works in all modes. The only way to not make it not work is to set your focus in manual.
@stephenwill9792
2 жыл бұрын
Many thanks for taking the time to reply and sharing your knowledge!
didnt understand the benefit over half pressing shutter button to do the same
I am using canon m50 mark 2..this button not in my camera
@Tvennet
2 жыл бұрын
Really? Because I just Google and watched videos of the m50 mark 2 and that button is still there.
@Tvennet
2 жыл бұрын
Yep…3 videos about it, and that button is still on the camera…
@stephenmuir5030
2 жыл бұрын
You need to have the Mode Dial set to one of the "Creative Zone" entries (P, Tv, Av, or M). The Custom Functions(C.Fn) settings will then be on the Set Up5 menu page. But see also "Shoot4" for AF Operation, Continouous AF and other settings you should adjust.
I can't get this to work. I dont see the green squares.
@stephenmuir5030
2 жыл бұрын
Green squares implies AF Operation is set to "Single Shot". For Back Button Focus, you need to set AF Operation to "Servo", which means autofocus points which are in focus will turn blue, not green (and if you have 1-Point set and autofocus cannot be achieved, it will go orange, regardless of the setting of AF Operation) And, set "Continuous AF" to "Disabled".
This does not work on my M50, there is no focus lock either holding the button or releaseing it.😏
@Tvennet
10 ай бұрын
Try harder because it works 🤷🏻♂️
@cyalden1
10 ай бұрын
I think you might have to disable "Continous AF"
What is BBF? Raises hand. Oh I know this. Pick me, pick me. Lol
Dazed and confused