1:00 if you shoot people, events, weddings, models or birds … you’ll find the back button AF absolutely indescribable! Anything that needs to be tracked and captured at the right time like dance for example, you hold the focus button and press shutter to capture at the right moment. You can be always ready by pre focusing and waiting for that moment and then lay off the shutter and go again when the moment is right. You don’t have to another Target acquisition like it happens when you have AF tied to shutter release. It can even to beneficial to real estate photographers who take multiple shots with various exposures to merge later. You set the focus once and use the release button without worrying about the camera focusing elsewhere on the scene and ruin your photo merge!!
Wow, I remember when I discovered back button focusing 10 years ago for my 6D MK I. When I upgraded to my R5, I fell back to the default settings, and now after 3 years, I realized that I was a fool, and all the frustration with AF came from my lack of - again, using my back buttons. Thanks Todd!! Feels like my workflow just got a step better again.
I just read this morning a professional wildlife photographer recommending back button auto focus. I've been shooting pretty much as my camera came out of the box 2 years with the R5. I photograph birds and in flight is what I want most, I miss a lot of shots! Interesting to hear you say it doesn't work for you, I'm not sure why this seemingly less convenient technique is better but thought I'd try it. Your video popped up when I was looking for how to set this. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! We'll see where this takes me...
Best explanation ever. Just bought the R6 and struggled the whole day trying to focus on the most engineer way. This set up will help me a lot! I hope. Thanks very much
Thanks. This is a very smart video you did. You didn't try to do everything; you focused (excuse the pun) on two specific buttons, which is important for those of us doing our best to set up our cameras to take the best photos possible. Very refreshing to see this type of video.
This has been one of the BIGGEST problems since I purchased my camera! Thank you! Also, while I love the concept of touchscreen focal points, it's just a huge pain for me. So in the video, you also helped me figure out how to disable that and turn on the button that moves the focal point around like Canon's DSLR models. Our camera settings are as unique as our photography, and customizing them to our personal liking is huge! Thanks so much! You gained a new follower today! Cheers!
After shooting 18 years with Olympus i decide to move on to a Full frame camera... I am new to Canon, recently i bought an R5 and these settings suits me just fine i should say (with the thumb of my right hand on the screen for moving the focus point) thanks a lot for the useful suggestions!!!
I have an even more customizable option for you. The problem with setting AF-On to toggle Servo->One-Shot is that both modes need to share the AF Method. (The type and size of box). So if using Servo you enjoy having a tracking option as default (denoted by "🙂+ tracking"), then when you toggle over to One-Shot it will use the same AF Method, which I think is pretty useless for One-Shot because it will pick from the entire screen. So intead of using Servo->One Shot as the setting, I use the "Detail Set" option under "Metering and AF Start." This allows you to specify One Shot or Servo, the AF Method and even Servo Characteristics. As an end result I have these options at my fingertips: Shutter alone: Servo with 🙂+ tracking set as the AF Method. This allows me to "grab" a subject within the box and it will track it all over the frame. It also picks up eyes AF-On: "Metering and AF Start" with DETAIL SET set to One-Shot and smallest box. This immediately gives me a single AF point that will not track or move, unless I move it with the joystick *: Eye-Detection AF Grid Button: "Switch to Registered AF Func." with DETAIL SET set to: Large Zone AF: Vertical. This gives me a vertical box that is roughly 1/3 the frame that has tracking inside of it. This is great for tracking a couple at a wedding coming up the aisle and not picking up random guests on the side. So that's 4 distinct focus modes- the bare shutter + 3 specialized buttons.
Jeff I was gonna say I have it the same as Todd plus also using the grid button - so I also have the back button focus as I liked to split it from the shutter in the recompose world (got my R6 recently still getting used to it) - but am going to pull out the camera and try your set up - many thanks!
this would work great for shooting birds in flight. You just gave me a great idea how to setup my C1 for birds in flight vs landing on a branch. Didnt see the detail option and what extra settings it offers on my R5. Great find.
These are great tips, thanks! Love the Detail option, which I also didn't know about. My only concern is, using the shutter button to focus may unintentionally shift my acquired focus at the time of exposure. I guess I'll see with experience.
Is it possible that this unfortunately isn't available on the original EOS R? I can't see a "Detail Set" under ""Metering and AF Start". I do agree it's a great setup. I will use on the R6.
I agree with you. I've tried Back Button Autofocus for two years, and still don't find it intuitive. Your suggestions for settings has made my R5 so much more comfortable and fun to use. You are a gifted teacher. Thank you.
Thank you so much Todd! I've been trying to get used to the new way of focusing with my R5 and thanks to your explanation I think it's finally sunk in!!!
I also never got used to this back button focus thing and what you just explained is what works for me. As usual, video and audio on your video is top notch, it's very enjoyable to watch your videos because you seem to care about your audience.
Okay got one for ya. Instead of one shot/servo on, use AF-OFF or AF stop. Then when shooting once you find your focus and want to adjust your framing you just hold that button down and the camera will fire when ever you like. It’s essentially the same thing as the eye tracking toggle trick he suggests (which I love and is a game changer) it’s basically making the camera go to one shot mode but it’s not a toggle. I personally feel like I would forget to toggle it back and fourth when things get moving fast so this just eliminates that from happening for me. I originally figured this out with my old 5d ii which didn’t have the best low light focusing so I would use it to tell my camera to stop focus hunting once I saw it was close enough to sharp.
Thank you for this very comprehensive video. As someone very new to my camera, I need complete and thorough explanations. This made me feel so much more confident!
Just bought the R6.. very happy with my choice. You Todd are my 'go to' guy to help me with this new beast.. I do more video than photography, but am enjoying learning more in that space. Thank you..
Thanks for the touch and drag information! I've seen a ton of videos on back button focus and that's all I ever use but I've never seen anyone talk about the touch and drag option. What a great tip! Thanks a gizillion!
Hi Todd, a variation for you, I also shoot front button servo with face detect tracking and as a result find this to be the most accurate way to select who I want to focus on 90% of the time as a wedding photographer. I have my back button (AF-On) set to eye detect and use this for portraits only. However my * button is set to One Shot with the expanded AF square so that if I need to shoot through a crowd and focus on one face or an item, I can position the focus point manually by the touch screen or joystick and be sure its not going to jump to something else. For weddings, I also use AF Case 2 which continues to track subjects ignoring possible obstacles. These are what I have found to be the best settings and most comfortable to use. Back button focus when you are shooting a 10 hour wedding means your thumb aches and its less comfortable than the front button method. I am lucky as I have big hands but anyone with smaller hands I am sure this can be a factor. There is one thing which I love that I don't think many Canon users know about. Try this, it is amazing when I first discovered it. Set the front Depth of Field button which nobody uses anymore to Magnify on playback. When you take an image press this and it punches into the area in the frame that it focused on to check its sharp. You dont have to scan around the image. Press again to zoom out to full preview. This shows in the viewfinder and on the rear screen so while shooting you can check you have focus very quickly without appearing to be chimping all the time like an amateur. Works on R5 and R6. Hope thats useful.
I can’t get on with the toggles. I left the EOS R specifically and only because of the toggles- the half second it took to glance at which focusing mode I was in, or the mental calories it took to remember which mode I left it in, drove me crazy. The 5Diii had a “registered AF point, which could be recalled instantly with a back button and one shot to servo could be switched by holding or releasing the DOF preview button, resulting in sort of “combo presses” to instantly recall whatever focusing methods you wanted (no checking, no toggling, no trying to remember which mode you left it in). When I owned the EOS R and borrowed an R5 I found the “Info/detail set” sub menu under the “AF ON” option for the back buttons and I realized each button could be assigned to ALWAYS use a specific AF mode/method. For that functionality alone I bought an R6 immediately. Now my AF ON button is always set to tracking/servo, my * button is always a single point in one shot, and the AF Point selection button is set to “recall shooting function” with auto iso and auto white balance selected (my “oh crap, the scene changed faster than I can figure out the proper settings” button). No toggles, no looking at the camera, no menus.
I used to be a rear button focus person, but that was in days long ago when the only really accurate focus point was the centre. But nowadays with modern mirrorless cameras you can accurately move the focus points from a vast selection via the toggle.... Good video - thanks
commenting half way through watching - the eye detect assign is a gamechanger. being able to keep center or another af mode, and easily engage eye detect by holding it is perfect !
Excellent video Todd. I have watched a number of these as I am trying to get up to speed with the 6R mark II focusing. Yours is the best I’ve seen so far. Well done! Thanks!
The only reason I used BBF on my DSLR was because if the limited autofocus points, now I can spot focus anywhere in the frame and move the focus point super quickly. Instead, I use the AF-ON as my Eye-AF button and otherwise am in spot autofocus. This is optimal setup for general shooting I have found. The * button then becomes a second MENU button which is awesome. It’s much faster to use since I can do everything to control the camera with the shooting hand while keeping the supporting hand to control the lens. It also allows me to quickly move through the MENU while looking through the EVF. This has been for me the first thing to change on a new camera. Highly recommended!
The setup I've been running is similar to yours, except my AF-ON button is always ONE SHOT focusing on my current focus point, while my half press is always SERVO with lock-on tracking. This works quite well, since I can then use the AF-ON button for "focus-and-recompose".
@Tom - ah, holding the AF-ON button to override the shutter setting was the missing puzzle piece when I was reading various AF configuration strategies.
Wow, just found your channel, only watched this one and the clog3 exposure one so far but both are fantastic and have extremely useful info, can't wait to watch more!
Hey Todd ran across your video and I have made the changes you have shown. I will look at that touch and drag part but for now out shooting with the back button changes!
Haven't tried it, but we could potentially use servo while still recomposing off subject - by using the rear screen and thumb to quickly move the focus point from shot to shot. Oh.. he mentions this.
Interesting suggestions, I'm wondering how do you engage eye detection and move the focus point, it seems that with the left hand. I'll give it a try but it does not sound very promising!
Great Idea! I’m like you, I have used the half press on the shutter button for way to long. I don’t think I could change now. But I like your idea on this video. I am going to try it. Thanks, Jim
With my R6 I have tracking with eye AF enabled all the time on the front button. I have my AF-on button set to single point auto focus when I need to choose the subject. I think I will try that asterisk button eye-af toggle and see if I like that also. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and best of luck to you!
I agree I don’t understand how back button focusers don’t see how much more convenient it is to half press shutter button than to back button focus. I’ve tried back button focus and it is extremely unnecessary for me and very counterintuitive in my opinion.
It depends on your needs. With back button focus you can frame, focus, and reframe while keeping that focus locked. With half-press you can’t do that, unless you press and hold a “hold AF” button, which in that case back button would be better
@@GuillePozzi Not entirely true. You're assuming people are using servo and not one shot AF; for decades I've rarely used servo, so in one shot, I can easily half-press, meter and focus, hold it, recompose and complete the shot.
You could set both to different modes as well. I've been trying to switch to BBF and there are some growing pains as well as some cases where half shutter would be better. Naturally, it's a tradeoff. But ultimately BBF means more control.
I found your tips in this video to be excellent. I'm still lost for finding how I can turn on the toggle button to also control my focus position. Is it possible to have your drag and move AF on while looking through the view finder and have the toggle active for AF positioning for when Im looking at my back screen or through viewfinder?
I agree that I cannot get used to back button focus. I also don’t like moving the focus point with the screen. Instead, in the AF5 menu, see initial focus point to first option (NOT auto). Set camera to SERVO. Leave Eye Detect on. Look in viewfinder and place center box over your subject - this can be a face or not. Half press shutter. Recompose while shutter half oressed. Focus will remain where you wanted. If this is a face (animal or person, depending on your menu setting), focus will grab eye. If not, it won’t - no problem. Simple!
Great video. The idea of toggling the one shot vs servo will serve me well I think. Like you, I used the half pressed shutter release for focus, always have and that will not change. I just subscribed and feel that I am going to learn a lot by watching your videos. Thanks!
The AF is so powerful in these cameras that you can rely on the subject tracking 95% of the time, and single point AF for the other 5%, and basically forget about the area focusing options. This means I only use two buttons for focusing: AF-on button: Servo AF with eye detection. I also set "Initial servo AF point for 🙂+ tracking" to "AF pt set for □", this lets me select where I want AF to start, rather than having the automatic floating boxes around subjects which can be annoying to select when there are multiple faces in your composition. Star (*) button: One shot AF with spot focus point, used for still scenes or if I know where action is going to be. The AF point can be moved around using the multi-controller or touchscreen/touch-and-drag. Shutter button half press: Metering only (no focus or AE lock, I have AE lock set to the * button if I need it).
sounds great idea; I set my R5 like what you did "AF 🙂+ tracking & eye detection", then "Initial Servo AF pt set for □". Still, I have problem to keep the auto focus boxe"s" floating around away from the □. Pls advise was there any step I missed. Thanks
@@omgomb6520 Hi, I'm not sure what you mean. If you select the "AF pt set for [ ]" option, you should not see any floating boxes around eyes when you are pointing the camera at them.
BACK BUTTON FOCUS - You are shooting a wide landscape shot and it is a deep shot also, and you want to focus on a certain spot midway, but then you want to reframe the center of the shot to a different location. When you do, the light gets brighter and overexposes your shot. You can then press the shutter button to re-meter the light without the camera refocusing. You can focus stack also, but it depends on what you are shooting. I find it works great on birds.
Todd, probably the reason why BBAF never caught on with you is that you primarily do landscape photography, which means much more time in composing while in wildlife and bird photography the need to quickly change settings means the difference between getting the shot or not... the new mirrorless cameras have changed the game on this though, even for us wildlife guys...
Thanks for the video explaining this setting. Just one question, when just on servo mode (not eye detect)do we press the Af back button entire time to focus and take a shot or just half press front button? Thanks
Best video I have watched in a long time!! Well explained. i have been a back button focus person for over 10 years and now I am going to try this out for my wildlife and other genres of photography. Have not been able to master the settings for all genres and I think that this is going to work for me! Thank you! @utubewatcher486 you have also made some decent suggestions and I am going to give that a try too! Thanks guys!
I have a question. In the way you have set up the shutter button, when you use any of the back buttons to choose One Shot or Servo or AF Eye Mode... If you don't disconnect the half-press focus on the shutter button, does the camera try to focus again? The video is very instructive and simple. Thank you, Carlos.
Great video. I wish there was a way to map a button on the R6 to toggling continuous AF. (I know servo AF is continuous AF while the AF-On or shutter button is pressed/half-pressed.) When my lens is continuous racking focus, it can be a bit distracting.
My R6 is constantly in servo, and I use back-button-focusing: AF-ON is normal, single point focusing, and * (asterisk) is for eye/face detect, so depending which button I tap or hold, it will use that for focusing. I find it the fastest way for my workflow.
Hi Todd, i still use the rear button to focusing, then i came from 7D Mark II, i will try to go back to the standard solution. The rest of the buttons are like yours.
This is great! Recently I forgot the 👁 focus on and I almost went insane. The camera was struggling and I wasn’t getting why… with this button configuration I hope not to make the same mistake again. How do you configure these buttons for video?
Todd thanks for this video I'm using a Canon R5 for the last two months. I'm trying to figure out shooting in manual mode sometimes the ISO is in 800 and then I notice minutes later that ISO changed to Auto do you know what bottom I might be clicking or need to disable to change that function, if its available in any bottom that by error I might be pressing. Thanks What I need to look for to disable in the custom bottom functions.
Todd the touch and drag AF setting suggestion is a game changer for me! I never bothered to learn about it and I’m so glad I watched this video.
1:00 if you shoot people, events, weddings, models or birds … you’ll find the back button AF absolutely indescribable!
Anything that needs to be tracked and captured at the right time like dance for example, you hold the focus button and press shutter to capture at the right moment.
You can be always ready by pre focusing and waiting for that moment and then lay off the shutter and go again when the moment is right.
You don’t have to another Target acquisition like it happens when you have AF tied to shutter release.
It can even to beneficial to real estate photographers who take multiple shots with various exposures to merge later. You set the focus once and use the release button without worrying about the camera focusing elsewhere on the scene and ruin your photo merge!!
Hallelujah - FINALLY - the penny has dropped and I’ve found a setup that I can relate to. Thank you for your clear and concise explanation!!!!
Wow, I remember when I discovered back button focusing 10 years ago for my 6D MK I. When I upgraded to my R5, I fell back to the default settings, and now after 3 years, I realized that I was a fool, and all the frustration with AF came from my lack of - again, using my back buttons. Thanks Todd!! Feels like my workflow just got a step better again.
I just read this morning a professional wildlife photographer recommending back button auto focus. I've been shooting pretty much as my camera came out of the box 2 years with the R5. I photograph birds and in flight is what I want most, I miss a lot of shots! Interesting to hear you say it doesn't work for you, I'm not sure why this seemingly less convenient technique is better but thought I'd try it. Your video popped up when I was looking for how to set this. Thanks for sharing your knowledge! We'll see where this takes me...
Best explanation ever. Just bought the R6 and struggled the whole day trying to focus on the most engineer way. This set up will help me a lot! I hope. Thanks very much
I've tested this settings for two months and they changed my experience with the R5. Thank you! 😊
Mine as well! Glad it was helpful.
Thanks. This is a very smart video you did. You didn't try to do everything; you focused (excuse the pun) on two specific buttons, which is important for those of us doing our best to set up our cameras to take the best photos possible. Very refreshing to see this type of video.
This has been one of the BIGGEST problems since I purchased my camera! Thank you! Also, while I love the concept of touchscreen focal points, it's just a huge pain for me. So in the video, you also helped me figure out how to disable that and turn on the button that moves the focal point around like Canon's DSLR models. Our camera settings are as unique as our photography, and customizing them to our personal liking is huge! Thanks so much! You gained a new follower today! Cheers!
After shooting 18 years with Olympus i decide to move on to a Full frame camera... I am new to Canon, recently i bought an R5 and these settings suits me just fine i should say (with the thumb of my right hand on the screen for moving the focus point) thanks a lot for the useful suggestions!!!
Great. just got my R5 today. Im a little overwhelmed but this video helps a lot. THANKS!!
I have an even more customizable option for you. The problem with setting AF-On to toggle Servo->One-Shot is that both modes need to share the AF Method. (The type and size of box). So if using Servo you enjoy having a tracking option as default (denoted by "🙂+ tracking"), then when you toggle over to One-Shot it will use the same AF Method, which I think is pretty useless for One-Shot because it will pick from the entire screen. So intead of using Servo->One Shot as the setting, I use the "Detail Set" option under "Metering and AF Start." This allows you to specify One Shot or Servo, the AF Method and even Servo Characteristics. As an end result I have these options at my fingertips:
Shutter alone: Servo with 🙂+ tracking set as the AF Method. This allows me to "grab" a subject within the box and it will track it all over the frame. It also picks up eyes
AF-On: "Metering and AF Start" with DETAIL SET set to One-Shot and smallest box. This immediately gives me a single AF point that will not track or move, unless I move it with the joystick
*: Eye-Detection AF
Grid Button: "Switch to Registered AF Func." with DETAIL SET set to: Large Zone AF: Vertical. This gives me a vertical box that is roughly 1/3 the frame that has tracking inside of it. This is great for tracking a couple at a wedding coming up the aisle and not picking up random guests on the side.
So that's 4 distinct focus modes- the bare shutter + 3 specialized buttons.
Jeff I was gonna say I have it the same as Todd plus also using the grid button - so I also have the back button focus as I liked to split it from the shutter in the recompose world (got my R6 recently still getting used to it) - but am going to pull out the camera and try your set up - many thanks!
this would work great for shooting birds in flight. You just gave me a great idea how to setup my C1 for birds in flight vs landing on a branch. Didnt see the detail option and what extra settings it offers on my R5. Great find.
These are great tips, thanks! Love the Detail option, which I also didn't know about. My only concern is, using the shutter button to focus may unintentionally shift my acquired focus at the time of exposure. I guess I'll see with experience.
Jeff it would be great if you make a small video about it 👍. I am new to R5 and going through learning process... Recently switched from M50 to R5
Is it possible that this unfortunately isn't available on the original EOS R? I can't see a "Detail Set" under ""Metering and AF Start". I do agree it's a great setup. I will use on the R6.
I agree with you. I've tried Back Button Autofocus for two years, and still don't find it intuitive. Your suggestions for settings has made my R5 so much more comfortable and fun to use. You are a gifted teacher. Thank you.
Thank you so much Todd! I've been trying to get used to the new way of focusing with my R5 and thanks to your explanation I think it's finally sunk in!!!
Most useful tips ever Sir. Thank you! These three things were my 3 biggest gripes and this fixed them perfectly.
Atlast someone explaining a way to configure these Buttons in a good way! ❤
I also never got used to this back button focus thing and what you just explained is what works for me. As usual, video and audio on your video is top notch, it's very enjoyable to watch your videos because you seem to care about your audience.
Okay got one for ya. Instead of one shot/servo on, use AF-OFF or AF stop.
Then when shooting once you find your focus and want to adjust your framing you just hold that button down and the camera will fire when ever you like.
It’s essentially the same thing as the eye tracking toggle trick he suggests (which I love and is a game changer) it’s basically making the camera go to one shot mode but it’s not a toggle. I personally feel like I would forget to toggle it back and fourth when things get moving fast so this just eliminates that from happening for me.
I originally figured this out with my old 5d ii which didn’t have the best low light focusing so I would use it to tell my camera to stop focus hunting once I saw it was close enough to sharp.
This was brilliant. Absolutely love this seat up. Just programmed this into my R6 Mk ii
Thank you for this very comprehensive video. As someone very new to my camera, I need complete and thorough explanations. This made me feel so much more confident!
Just bought the R6.. very happy with my choice. You Todd are my 'go to' guy to help me with this new beast.. I do more video than photography, but am enjoying learning more in that space. Thank you..
Thanks for the touch and drag information! I've seen a ton of videos on back button focus and that's all I ever use but I've never seen anyone talk about the touch and drag option. What a great tip! Thanks a gizillion!
Hi Todd, a variation for you, I also shoot front button servo with face detect tracking and as a result find this to be the most accurate way to select who I want to focus on 90% of the time as a wedding photographer. I have my back button (AF-On) set to eye detect and use this for portraits only. However my * button is set to One Shot with the expanded AF square so that if I need to shoot through a crowd and focus on one face or an item, I can position the focus point manually by the touch screen or joystick and be sure its not going to jump to something else. For weddings, I also use AF Case 2 which continues to track subjects ignoring possible obstacles. These are what I have found to be the best settings and most comfortable to use. Back button focus when you are shooting a 10 hour wedding means your thumb aches and its less comfortable than the front button method. I am lucky as I have big hands but anyone with smaller hands I am sure this can be a factor. There is one thing which I love that I don't think many Canon users know about. Try this, it is amazing when I first discovered it. Set the front Depth of Field button which nobody uses anymore to Magnify on playback. When you take an image press this and it punches into the area in the frame that it focused on to check its sharp. You dont have to scan around the image. Press again to zoom out to full preview. This shows in the viewfinder and on the rear screen so while shooting you can check you have focus very quickly without appearing to be chimping all the time like an amateur. Works on R5 and R6. Hope thats useful.
Thank you soooooo much for this! I got this camera not too long ago and this will be so incredibly helpful!
I can’t get on with the toggles. I left the EOS R specifically and only because of the toggles- the half second it took to glance at which focusing mode I was in, or the mental calories it took to remember which mode I left it in, drove me crazy. The 5Diii had a “registered AF point, which could be recalled instantly with a back button and one shot to servo could be switched by holding or releasing the DOF preview button, resulting in sort of “combo presses” to instantly recall whatever focusing methods you wanted (no checking, no toggling, no trying to remember which mode you left it in). When I owned the EOS R and borrowed an R5 I found the “Info/detail set” sub menu under the “AF ON” option for the back buttons and I realized each button could be assigned to ALWAYS use a specific AF mode/method. For that functionality alone I bought an R6 immediately. Now my AF ON button is always set to tracking/servo, my * button is always a single point in one shot, and the AF Point selection button is set to “recall shooting function” with auto iso and auto white balance selected (my “oh crap, the scene changed faster than I can figure out the proper settings” button). No toggles, no looking at the camera, no menus.
I used to be a rear button focus person, but that was in days long ago when the only really accurate focus point was the centre. But nowadays with modern mirrorless cameras you can accurately move the focus points from a vast selection via the toggle.... Good video - thanks
commenting half way through watching - the eye detect assign is a gamechanger. being able to keep center or another af mode, and easily engage eye detect by holding it is perfect !
Back button autofocus made the most sense to me, then I saw your video. Thank you for this !!
Great video. I liked the option to use the AF-ON button to toggle between One Shot and Servo. I'll definitely be using that one!
Excellent video Todd. I have watched a number of these as I am trying to get up to speed with the 6R mark II focusing. Yours is the best I’ve seen so far. Well done! Thanks!
Hi Jeff Just found this vlog altered some other buttons to suit my photography style this helped no end thank you so so much
just brilliant .
I just got the R5 and I'm used manually toggling my focus. I've made the changes & will see how it works out. Thanks!
The only reason I used BBF on my DSLR was because if the limited autofocus points, now I can spot focus anywhere in the frame and move the focus point super quickly. Instead, I use the AF-ON as my Eye-AF button and otherwise am in spot autofocus. This is optimal setup for general shooting I have found. The * button then becomes a second MENU button which is awesome. It’s much faster to use since I can do everything to control the camera with the shooting hand while keeping the supporting hand to control the lens. It also allows me to quickly move through the MENU while looking through the EVF. This has been for me the first thing to change on a new camera. Highly recommended!
This was amazing! Thank you. I struggled recently during a photoshoot, and this would have been great. So now I know!
Thanks for the simple presentation to help with the focus options of the R5.
The setup I've been running is similar to yours, except my AF-ON button is always ONE SHOT focusing on my current focus point, while my half press is always SERVO with lock-on tracking. This works quite well, since I can then use the AF-ON button for "focus-and-recompose".
That sounds good. Question though, don't you activate servo when fully pressing the shutter during One Shot?
@@richjane77 no you don't, as long as you hold the af-on button and take the shot.
@Tom - ah, holding the AF-ON button to override the shutter setting was the missing puzzle piece when I was reading various AF configuration strategies.
Thanks, my man. You showed me somethings I changed on my R5.
Wow, just found your channel, only watched this one and the clog3 exposure one so far but both are fantastic and have extremely useful info, can't wait to watch more!
those are the ones I also saw first! subscribed
I could never go around using BBF, not my cup of tea :) using your setup is just brilliant, works for me like a charm. Thank you
Thanks!
Thank you for valuable tips!
Greetings from Brazil!
You've made my life so much easier.. thank you 🥲
Very nice presentation and usefull videos.....Thanks Todd. Iam from INDIA.
I love these changes, I can see that they are al ready going to help me!
Perfect timing Todd! I was just doing research and watching many other videos about best recommendations for these buttons. Thanks!
Best AF setup I’ve seen. Many thanks!
Amazing info! I subscribed because this was very good. Thank you 😊
Just got my R6 mkll and will give them all a try. Being new to Canon it should be interesting.
Hey Todd ran across your video and I have made the changes you have shown. I will look at that touch and drag part but for now out shooting with the back button changes!
Thank you , makes focusing that much easier.
This is super helpful Todd, thanks so much! Can't believe how useful the touch and drag is.
Awesome! It's been really helpful for me too.
Excellent video and tips. Havent seen these suggestions before, so I'll give them a try.
Haven't tried it, but we could potentially use servo while still recomposing off subject - by using the rear screen and thumb to quickly move the focus point from shot to shot.
Oh.. he mentions this.
GAME CHANGER for me Todd! Thank you!!!!
Awesome! It's so much better.
Interesting suggestions, I'm wondering how do you engage eye detection and move the focus point, it seems that with the left hand. I'll give it a try but it does not sound very promising!
Great Idea! I’m like you, I have used the half press on the shutter button for way to long. I don’t think I could change now. But I like your idea on this video. I am going to try it. Thanks, Jim
Super helpful tip - will implement on my R6 immediately. Thanks Todd!
With my R6 I have tracking with eye AF enabled all the time on the front button. I have my AF-on button set to single point auto focus when I need to choose the subject. I think I will try that asterisk button eye-af toggle and see if I like that also. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and best of luck to you!
Thank you so much! this changed definitely the way I work!
Massive usability improvement - thank you!
Great video Todd.
Well done.
Another great video by you Todd, I look forward to more useful tips. Keep up the good work.
I guess we think alike - I have been using this setup since the R - works like a charm for my photo style.
Thank you for this information about changing to AF on the fly.
Thank you so much for making this video I will try it out with my R.
I agree I don’t understand how back button focusers don’t see how much more convenient it is to half press shutter button than to back button focus. I’ve tried back button focus and it is extremely unnecessary for me and very counterintuitive in my opinion.
It depends on your needs. With back button focus you can frame, focus, and reframe while keeping that focus locked.
With half-press you can’t do that, unless you press and hold a “hold AF” button, which in that case back button would be better
@@GuillePozzi Not entirely true. You're assuming people are using servo and not one shot AF; for decades I've rarely used servo, so in one shot, I can easily half-press, meter and focus, hold it, recompose and complete the shot.
You could set both to different modes as well. I've been trying to switch to BBF and there are some growing pains as well as some cases where half shutter would be better. Naturally, it's a tradeoff. But ultimately BBF means more control.
I found your tips in this video to be excellent. I'm still lost for finding how I can turn on the toggle button to also control my focus position. Is it possible to have your drag and move AF on while looking through the view finder and have the toggle active for AF positioning for when Im looking at my back screen or through viewfinder?
I agree that I cannot get used to back button focus. I also don’t like moving the focus point with the screen.
Instead, in the AF5 menu, see initial focus point to first option (NOT auto). Set camera to SERVO. Leave Eye Detect on. Look in viewfinder and place center box over your subject - this can be a face or not. Half press shutter. Recompose while shutter half oressed. Focus will remain where you wanted. If this is a face (animal or person, depending on your menu setting), focus will grab eye. If not, it won’t - no problem. Simple!
Very helpful and informative videos. Love the setup and your style.
Great video. The idea of toggling the one shot vs servo will serve me well I think. Like you, I used the half pressed shutter release for focus, always have and that will not change. I just subscribed and feel that I am going to learn a lot by watching your videos. Thanks!
Great, That worked for me. Much appreciated it Todd.
The AF is so powerful in these cameras that you can rely on the subject tracking 95% of the time, and single point AF for the other 5%, and basically forget about the area focusing options. This means I only use two buttons for focusing:
AF-on button: Servo AF with eye detection. I also set "Initial servo AF point for 🙂+ tracking" to "AF pt set for □", this lets me select where I want AF to start, rather than having the automatic floating boxes around subjects which can be annoying to select when there are multiple faces in your composition.
Star (*) button: One shot AF with spot focus point, used for still scenes or if I know where action is going to be. The AF point can be moved around using the multi-controller or touchscreen/touch-and-drag.
Shutter button half press: Metering only (no focus or AE lock, I have AE lock set to the * button if I need it).
sounds great idea;
I set my R5 like what you did "AF 🙂+ tracking & eye detection", then "Initial Servo AF pt set for □". Still, I have problem to keep the auto focus boxe"s" floating around away from the □. Pls advise was there any step I missed. Thanks
@@omgomb6520 Hi, I'm not sure what you mean. If you select the "AF pt set for [ ]" option, you should not see any floating boxes around eyes when you are pointing the camera at them.
Going to try these settings on my R5 Mk II.
Super clear and useful, thank you!
BACK BUTTON FOCUS - You are shooting a wide landscape shot and it is a deep shot also, and you want to focus on a certain spot midway, but then you want to reframe the center of the shot to a different location. When you do, the light gets brighter and overexposes your shot. You can then press the shutter button to re-meter the light without the camera refocusing. You can focus stack also, but it depends on what you are shooting. I find it works great on birds.
Or you can use the * button as originally intended to lock your exposure before you recompose.
Todd, probably the reason why BBAF never caught on with you is that you primarily do landscape photography, which means much more time in composing while in wildlife and bird photography the need to quickly change settings means the difference between getting the shot or not... the new mirrorless cameras have changed the game on this though, even for us wildlife guys...
Hi Todd, quick question, are all cannon camera menu's similar?
Thanks so much! Your sharings are much appreciated. Subbed!
Thank you very much 😊so helpful.
Great info another way of looking at it .Good video. Thank you
Great video, I have just changed my M6 Mark II to these convenient settings. THANKS! I will do the same on my R7 (If it ever ships 😆 )
I use the AF button for Zebras, and the 2 thumb buttons for Manual focus guide and Focus Peaking.
This was very helpful! Thank you!
could you make a video about to how make useful asssigments of video autotocus functions to the bottons "AF-ON" and asterisk (*) ?
i like it ,your video was very helpful. Thank you so much .
Thanks for the video explaining this setting. Just one question, when just on servo mode (not eye detect)do we press the Af back button entire time to focus and take a shot or just half press front button? Thanks
Thanks mate, that was just right in setup info
Best video I have watched in a long time!! Well explained. i have been a back button focus person for over 10 years and now I am going to try this out for my wildlife and other genres of photography. Have not been able to master the settings for all genres and I think that this is going to work for me! Thank you! @utubewatcher486 you have also made some decent suggestions and I am going to give that a try too! Thanks guys!
I have a question. In the way you have set up the shutter button, when you use any of the back buttons to choose One Shot or Servo or AF Eye Mode... If you don't disconnect the half-press focus on the shutter button, does the camera try to focus again? The video is very instructive and simple. Thank you, Carlos.
Also just wondering, what is the best setting and way to use autofocus when i am filming groups of people.
It was very helpful, thank you!
Great video. I wish there was a way to map a button on the R6 to toggling continuous AF. (I know servo AF is continuous AF while the AF-On or shutter button is pressed/half-pressed.)
When my lens is continuous racking focus, it can be a bit distracting.
Wonderful recommendations, thank you 🙏🏽
My R6 is constantly in servo, and I use back-button-focusing: AF-ON is normal, single point focusing, and * (asterisk) is for eye/face detect, so depending which button I tap or hold, it will use that for focusing. I find it the fastest way for my workflow.
Hi Todd, i still use the rear button to focusing, then i came from 7D Mark II, i will try to go back to the standard solution. The rest of the buttons are like yours.
nice tip #2 to move the af pts w thumb. Thank you! Can we custom set a button to shift between zone AF and single point af?
This is great! Recently I forgot the 👁 focus on and I almost went insane. The camera was struggling and I wasn’t getting why… with this button configuration I hope not to make the same mistake again.
How do you configure these buttons for video?
Thany for the nice AF - Tipp, i will try it out on my EOS R - Greetings from Düsseldorf Grermany
Brett Carlsen also has a sweet setup for these buttons... 🤟🏼
Todd thanks for this video I'm using a Canon R5 for the last two months. I'm trying to figure out shooting in manual mode sometimes the ISO is in 800 and then I notice minutes later that ISO changed to Auto do you know what bottom I might be clicking or need to disable to change that function, if its available in any bottom that by error I might be pressing. Thanks
What I need to look for to disable in the custom bottom functions.