Manual vs Auto vs Back Button focus – Which should you use for landscapes?
Feb 11, 2021
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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I see people banging on about Back Button Focus in Facebook groups almost every day, extolling the virtues and benefits it offers for portrait photography. And, well, I just don’t get it, I really don’t. I’ve tried it several times and it often turns out to be more of a hindrance than a help. But when it comes to landscape photography, back button focus actually makes a lot of sense.
In this video, Mads Peter Iversen walks us through manual focus, regular autofocus and back button focusing and how each works for landscape photography. He explains how each method works and how you can use each of them while talking about the advantages and disadvantages of all three methods.
I still don’t think anybody will ever be able to convince me to use back button focus when shooting portraits. There’s just rarely a time when I or my subject are still enough from one shot to the next that they’d remain perfectly in the plane of focus – especially with a relatively shallow depth of field. And during those rare times when they are, it’s easy enough to flick a switch to go manual if needed.
For landscapes, though, where your camera’s typically locked off on a tripod and your subjects really aren’t moving – at least, not perpendicularly to the plane of focus – back button focus can let you hit your target very quickly and easily while you wait for the light to be just right and the final composition to appear.
In such a scenario, it offers the best of both worlds. It essentially acts like you’re manually focused when you just press the shutter button to shoot the photo, but you’ve also got autofocus there on the back button when you want it and need to act (and focus) quickly.
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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7 responses to “Manual vs Auto vs Back Button focus – Which should you use for landscapes?”
Generally the P mode due to lots of times taking pics from a moving vehicle with one hand.
Back button.
How can you compare BBF with AF? I don’t get it…
“There’s just rarely a time when I or my subject are still enough from one shot to the next that they’d remain perfectly in the plane of focus”
I just wonder : what does this consideration have to do with the usage or not of back button focus. I use it for wildlife… do you think birds just don’t move while flying ? (well, sometimes they are :D )…
Looks like no one explained you well how to use BBF…
Go on Steve Perry’s web site, I think you’ll learn something : https://backcountrygallery.com/free-back-button-af-guide-for-nikon/
In fact, you can use it all the time, as it is also a way to switch instantly from MF to AF without manipulating anything else, for instance. I wouldn’t even consider use any camera at any time or in any circumstance without BBF (if only EOS Ms have a way for fixing exposure on another button, I would use it on them too).
I think it even should be set this way by default and I’m still questioning about why manufacturers always want us to use this so annoying half press AF way, which is just so limitative, instead of separating triggering and AF on two buttons.
Wait are we comparing focus or just the Acronyms? Because who freaking cares?
You mean “What The Focus ?” ? … sorry :D
LIke OMG dude, I like go for the “P” mode for professional so I get the best pictures.
Seriously, staying focused, good video. I keep all my cameras on BBF. It is just habitual now. Use manual and auto as situational needs. Auto is only as good as it can perceive the contrast in a scene which in today’s cameras is about 99 percent. I am quite old school so still practice pre focus for BIF and sports.