MANUAL FOCUS or AUTOFOCUS or BACK BUTTON FOCUS for Landscape Photography?

Is manual focus, autofocus, or back-button focus preferable for landscape photography? In this video, I show the difference and pros and cons of MF, AF, and BBF, as for you to make a decision on, which kind of focus you prefer. Camera focus and what mode to use will differ based on different conditions, so after watching this video, you will have to try and see for yourself what makes the most sense.
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0:00 - Mood!
1:00 - False dichotomies
1:46 - Manual Focus
3:33 - Focus Peaking
4:44 - Autofocus
6:36 - Where to focus?
9:10 - Back Button focus
12:03 - AF vs BBF?
12:35 - Quick fix and more focus
13:05 - 100000 subs!
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[@joernsbilderwelt]

Congratulations, Mads! One of my favourite channels on KZbin. Your videos are always excellent! As well as your two ebooks. I like them a lot!

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you so much, Jörn! :D

[@brysentitan3811]

You all probably dont care at all but does anyone know a trick to get back into an instagram account..? I stupidly forgot my password. I would love any tricks you can give me.

[@matteoomari7739]

@Brysen Titan Instablaster :)

[@brysentitan3811]

@Matteo Omari i really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and Im trying it out atm. Takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.

[@brysentitan3811]

@Matteo Omari it worked and I actually got access to my account again. I am so happy:D Thanks so much, you really help me out !

[@NigelDanson]

100,000 subs!!! well done Mads and so well deserved. One of the best landscape channels on KZbin and deserves so many more... Next stop 1M.

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you so much, Nigel! By my calculations that'll be 36 years... I guess a pension will be well deserved by that time 🤣

[@nogroove3819]

Agreed

[@nogroove3819]

Ha. Sorry. I was agreeing to the first comment. I hope not 36 years. I really enjoy and get a lot out of this channel.

[@velikanas1]

Simple tutorial without useless talking. Great!

[@GulliNL]

When I first started photographing I followed FroKnowsPhoto for the gear reviews, and later Matt Granger for the technical tips in general (also his educating Tina series was really great). Later on when I discovered I liked landscape photography most I switched around to Thomas Heaton and yourself. Lately it seems Thomas is a little depressed and I don't enjoy his videos as I did in the beginning (I really hope he comes around, he seems like a nice fellow and I wish him well). But you Mads, you have been positive and likeable from the get go, I think you only had a 1000 subs when I discovered you and look at you now. You are still the same Mads, enthousiastic but also chill to listen to and a real expert in your field. All this time I have enjoyed watching your every video and I hope to do so for years to come. Thank you Mads for taking us along on your journey and teaching us valuable knowledge! Stay awesome and congrats on the 100k!

[@craigpiferphotography]

Your tip about checking focus in the field is an important one. I ended up coming home from a shoot to find that the photos, which I manually focused, were very soft. It was very disappointing. I was using an older DSLR that didn't have focus peaking or any fancy features like that, but I should have zoomed in on the live view before taking the shot. Lesson learned. I've use back button focusing for years now. I had initially shied away from it, thinking it wasn't useful or was too complicated. I love it for that fact that I can manually adjust the lens and not have to worry about it trying to focus again when I press the shutter button. It works great for all type of images, in my experience.

[@michakrowiarz9382]

Congratulations Mads! I love your videos, I've learned a lot and developed a lot as a photographer as well.

[@steinilux]

Congrats on the 100.000 ... Great video as always ... thank you!

[@Elmgreen81]

Sådan. Congratulations 🍾 Been following you for a year - and you were an amazing inspiration for my Iceland tour in august. ⭐️👍🇩🇰

[@GrahamtheWood1]

Congratulations on 100k Mads Well done, you deserve all the best luck in the future. Keep the great videos coming.

[@NotOKiPromise]

Many congratulations Mads, thank you for the inspiration you give me and for making such excellent videos...I always look forward to a new one and often go back over older ones. One of my favourite KZbin channels...congrats again, well deserved!

[@rosssayer6524]

Mads, congratulations on reaching that milestone it is well deserved, it all comes back what your provide on your channel and that my friend is of a very high standard, Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@jimcooke5590]

That was brilliant Mads, i've learnt a lot again from you and congratulations on your 100k subs

[@TheWasatchGearReview]

You deserve the following, my friend! Thank you for all you have taught me. 🍻

[@richardvick9390]

Congrats on the 100k subscribers, Mads! Great work, really well done. 👊🏻

[@eazyeldie]

Love your channel and your photos Mads! Keep up the good work and congratulations on reaching 100k!

[@willemakit48]

Wow! Congratulations on your 100,000 milestone Mads!!! 🎊🎉👌

[@georgecarpenter4126]

Really good info here. I seem to always struggle with focus so this will help. Stay safe and best wishes.

[@rlfisher]

Congrats on 100K subscribers. The best is yet to come!

[@bobcat6653]

Congratulations to you Mads, I do love your videos and your photos and all the tips you share and and the place that you take us! Thanks!!!

[@HarvesteR21]

Congrats on the 100k! Please keep doing what you're doing!

[@chrishall6364]

Useful revision, thank you Mads! Congratulations on achieving 100000 subscribers; long may your videos keep coming!

[@paulsahota1773]

More good information as usual. Thanks Mads. 100k looks great on you. Congratulations!

[@andrewmckinney3053]

Congrats, Mads!! I enjoy your vids. very much!

[@garretmurtagh748]

Congratulations on the 100k subscribers...well deserved Mads!! Keep up the good work! 👌

[@lisabradley9288]

Congratulations on 100,000 subs Mads. I really do enjoy your content and find your photography work inspiring 🙂 plus a great teacher of this subject.

[@gaetanoscalfidi]

Thanks for being such a great inspiration and congratulations on your (first) 100k subscribers!

[@lootbird]

Thanks for putting yourself out there!! Great videos!

[@jamiemaxwell9649]

Congratulations on the well deserved success! I really enjoy and get a lot out of your channel. Thanks!

[@matssandquist9258]

Congrats to 100' subscribers. You are well worth it. I appreciate all the work you put in to the videos and thankfull for all the knowledge you generously share. I see you have got some winter as well. We are steady on -8 to -10c for the moment which is a bit unusual on the west coast. I have used the back button for some years now and I found it very pratical, I could not live without it. I use manual focusing now and then but for the most part I think the autofocusing works well.

[@andy_crane]

Congratulations on your 100k subscribers, very well deserved. Your channel is full of amazing inspiration and fantastic education. Back button focus and occasional manual focus for me (without focus peeking as not available in my camera). Took me a while to get used to back button focus when I first started to use it but I can't go back now. I even tend to leave it in continuous focus, saving me the need to switch from continuous > single as obviously the continuous focus only works when holding down the focus button.

[@barryobrien1890]

Congratulations on your 100k achievement. You are very much deserving of this level. Keep up the excellent work. I also tend to use back button af in continuous af so I can track a subject with the button pressed. I rarely change except for astro. I guess it's what you get used to and then you don't tend to make as many mistakes

[@joannaz68]

Congratulations Mads! And thanks for all the excellent tips and ideas. Let me say, your photos are stunning!

[@karlratcliff1205]

Fantastic news on reaching the 100,000 mark. I always loom forward to your videos. A great source of information and inspiration !

[@markwayne8502]

So happy to hear you reached 100 thousand subscribers! You are one of my favorite KZbin channels and have provided me so much information and instruction. Thank you!

[@davidburchettephotography6513]

Congratulations on the 100k Mads! You deserve it.

[@lusl1094]

Congrats on the 100K. I have learned so much from you.

[@garthkipping2755]

Mads, congratulations on passing 100k subscribers. Always informative and spectacular scenery.

[@bobrutan4735]

Congratulations Mads! Enjoy watching your channel each week.

[@LeePelling]

Well done on the channel mate, really well deserved , loved the images in this one, and for me i have been using back button af and cant see me ever going back to regular AF/shutter, Personal preference i guess.

[@victormultanen1981]

The tips you just gave are so generous! thank you for sharing!

[@MadsPeterIversen]

So happy to hear that, Victor :)

[@edmundkleinelanghorst9094]

Congratulations, Mads! One of my favourite channels on KZbin. Thank you for your videos.

[@CharlesPalmerPhotography]

Congrats on the 100k subscribers, well done :D I've used BBF for gig photography, but not landscapes. I'll try it out when i'm able to get out of lockdown here in the UK.

[@andycook8139]

Congrats on the 100k, your channel is fantastic

[@ProfMary]

Congratulations on passing 100K subscribers, Mads! You provide good content so I imagine you will pass 150K in no time. Good info about focusing. I personally use BBF all the time and it works for me. I do wildlife as well as landscapes using BBF and I am happy with my results. The BBF works especially well with animals that move fast. It locks onto the animal and keeps the focus.

[@anthonyplancherel8274]

Another great explanation. Thank you Mads!

[@andyblessett1282]

Congrats on your 100k Mads, well deserved.

[@MichaelB-84]

Congratulations Mads! Been following you for some time now and have really taken advantage of your knowledge in photography. First class content!

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you very much, Michael!

[@matthewpatterson9184]

Absolutely love the wide images in this video, Mads. So atmospheric and beautiful. Excellent and informative video as always.

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thanks a lot, Matthew! Yes, they turned out lovely :)

[@japanclaude1]

Congratulations Peter , looking forward to another 100K 👏

[@mozzamhosein6476]

Congrats on reaching 100k subscribers. Excellent video. Love the tips.

[@valk-photography]

Congratulations Mads with the 100 k Subscriptions !!! You deserve many more !!!! You keep me focused ;) Personally I use manual focus for 90% for my landscapes on tripod and back button when I shoot wildlife (not as often) or handhold landscape. Thank you for all the useful tips, education in your videos, e-books and courses ...... hope there is many more to come in the future.

[@ChrisPattonPhotography]

Well done Mads very well deserved, really enjoy watching your videos and I've definitely learnt a lot over the last couple of years. Loved the tree images in this weeks video 👍

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you very much, Chris! :D

[@roncraig6486]

Well done video in the harshness of winter. Love minimalism in winter scenes. And back focus manual settings is very helpful. Cheers from Canada.

[@JohnPaul-ii]

100,000 subscribers 🤩, fantastic Mads. Congratulations 🥳. Having recently moved up to the EOS R5 with it’s multiple focus options plus the ability to eye focus for people or animals I have two back buttons setup to choose from. One of the landscape and the other for people/animals. And of course the manual option is always right there if required. Thanks for sharing again Mads. Stay safe.

[@JorgeGomez-rw9zt]

Thanks Mads! Continue with the great work! Im following you for a few years already. Hopefully for many more!

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you, Jorge! I really appreciate it :)

[@stevenverhaegen7552]

Congrats on 100K! Well deserved!

[@cheryllsterkenburg3348]

Congratulations. You really deserve it. Your videos are always well put together and beautifully produced. Your superb photos and positive outlook make it one of the best You Tube channels ever. I thoroughly enjoy every one of your inspirational videos. Thank you very much for taking the time to make them 🙏😊

[@cwitt8280]

Great job Mads! BBF is quite useful at times when the photographer can't not move, but the subject is static. But I've never heard how to do it more clearly explained. Invaluble! Thanks so much!

[@seanroche6720]

Oh , that crunchy snow sound...great video.

[@kilimeruimages3967]

I was one of those photographers that used focus straight out of the box, but changed to back button focusing about 4 months ago - it helped me improve my image sharpness. Another great video. Thanks.

[@thedachmo]

Congratulations on passing 100k. Arbitrary maybe, but still an impressive achievement, and well deserved. Doing it because you enjoy it is a fantastic reason to continue, so glad you do

[@roberthennessey128]

Congrats on the milestone 100k....thanks for this vlog it was awesome.

[@terrylstarks]

Well done Mass well done! Cheers and here’s to the next 100,000!!!!!

[@emilebaudot904]

Thank you Mads.... Another gem! I have been using b-b focus for sometime now & employ the camera’s focus lock. I’ve found it the most reliable.. my eyesight isn’t so good anymore, so I also use focus peaking...

[@Stillfilm1]

Congratulations on your hundred thousand subscribers Mads. Here's to the next hundred thousand! Another great video and helpful information on focusing.

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thanks a lot :)

[@lindahenderson2113]

Wow! Congratulations, MADS. It’s been an enlightening journey for me by subscribing to your channel. I am so happy to see that you are increasing the size of your audience. It is a testimony to the quality of work that you produce and of course, your personality. And, a big thanks to Sophie for her modeling scenes!

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you so much, Linda! I am so happy you find it enlightening! And yes, Sophie is the best :D

[@mattcampbell5359]

Congratulations Mads, love the channel 📸👍🏻👌

[@PeterLariviere1]

Congratulations on hitting the 100k mark. I not only love the technical aspects of your channel but also the travel, both outside and in Denmark. Your enthusiasm is also always great to watch...helps rekindle the love of photography when my own photography isn't going well. Finally lyour two ebooks are fantastic and everyone should own a copy of both.

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Peter, I really appreciate it 😊

[@davemacdonald3804]

Congratulations Mads on surpassing 100k subscribers! Very exciting news. I have no doubt that you will soon surpass 200k in the not too distant future. Your videos are first-rate in all aspects and you are greatly responsible for a significant improvement in my own photography. Always enjoyable to see a new post from you. Carry on the good work Mads.

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you so, so much, Dave! Very kind words from you! :D

[@stevebennettphotography]

Congrats on the 100k but it’s an indictment of the system that you’ve not got many more. You hit the ground running with high production value videos and have been remarkably consistent since 👏

[@josteinhisen75]

Thanks for all video you make. Im just start to take landscapefoto. And i Learning a lott to look att your videos.

[@wimscheenen3535]

Nice video and congrats on passing 100k subscribers. Well deserved!

[@scotty4418]

Mads for the past 4 years your channel has been a source of inspiration, education, and entertainment, therefore I am absolutely delighted to see you pass this milestone and i truly wish your channel continued success for the future. I enjoyed your discussion today and your images. I utilise BBF the majority of times when using a tripod although I will also use this in combination of using the magnify function to double check my focus.

[@MadsPeterIversen]

I think you must be my top-commenter, Jim! I truly appreciate the dedication. Thank you so much for all the support. I can't do this stuff without you :D

[@gordroberts53]

Another great video Mads. Congratulations on passing the 100k mark! Cheers from BC !

[@CiroPerez]

Congratulations Mads!! When I met you couple of years ago in Iceland you were on the 20k mark. Really happy to see your perseverance has paid! Keep going and teaching, your a great instructor! Big hug!

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you so very much, Ciro! It feels like such a long time ago, but it was a great tour we had 😁

[@peterbaylis8631]

Hi Mads congratulations on 100,000 subs. Well done.

[@sharonhaasbroek7464]

Keep making these amazing videos. I learn so much.

[@domhaughton6809]

Congratulations Mads on 100,000 subscribers. It's very well deserved after all the hard work you put in, helping people like me 👍

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you so very much! ☺️

[@jacksnepvangers5025]

Great video again Mads. Here in the Netherlands we had similar circumstances and enjoyed it to go out for shooting nice pictures.

[@stevietec]

Really enjoyed the video Marc, it makes me feel like I’m out on the shoot with you, it’s a really good vibe.

[@sarahbatsford4791]

Congratulations. Always love your video's & wonderful tips.

[@10mansa]

Congratulations, Mads, for the first 100.000! Your videos are my favourites on youtube, I think there’s a kind of “same spirit.... “ - best wishes Manfred

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you so, so much! That says a lot! :D

[@bradzaruba9686]

Congratulations, I've been with you since your west coast is the United States road trip. A huge thank you to you!

[@MadsPeterIversen]

Thank you so much, Brad! It feels like such a long time ago, but was indeed a lifechanging experience :D

[@juliegill3334]

Thank you Mads for all those VDOs you are posting. They are very clear, practical, and inspirational. I am learning a lot from you and look forward to joining one of your workshops one day

[@MadsPeterIversen]

I am happy to hear that, Julie! :)

[@JaypeaFoto]

Well presented video, certainly lots of opinions on this topic. Having watched your video from the start to now congratulations on getting 100,000 subscribers. As of this video I see you are well on your way to 200,000 subscribers.

[@ThePurpleHarpoon]

When focusing manually, there is usually an indication within the viewfinder that your target is focused, so .... even those who don't trust their eye-sight to focus can use manual focusing. Focusing manually saves battery power, which could be vital for a landscape photographer.

[@steveamurray59]

Congratulations on your achievement. Thanks for your vids, always learning, stay warm 🍺🇦🇺✌

[@morris2793]

Congratulations, looking forward to more excellent videos.

[@franciscomeseguergarcia8186]

Very useful video as usual on you channel. Congratulations!!!

[@DA-yd2ny]

Congratulations on your 100k subscribers. You deserve it ..... and much more. Keep your great work flowing 🥂🍾

[@DalsPhotography]

wow Beautiful photos!!!! I loved them, we are in summer in Uruguay, yet with rains everyday, and lockdown measures. After watching your whole video, I want a Sony Camera lol and you to teach me how to use it :) Excellent video Mads!

[@nevcartledge]

Great video and some really cool shots there Mads.

[@69horatioh]

Great tips. Love it. Learnd a lot👍

[@robertwhitemoto]

Congrats Mads... well deserved subscribers.

[@CookedLight]

Congratulations…you earned the 100k with great content and personality 👍🏻

[@jackielarena-lacayo9884]

Congrats on the 100k milestone!

[@kevins8575]

I'm glad you're enjoying the channel as much as I am.

[@grahamegannon9708]

100,000 is a great landmark, your videos are very informative with plenty of practical examples. Thanks Mads. I tend to use manual focusing more than auto as it is a good way for me to understand focusing so I am now quite good at it.

[@DflyDude]

Good tips- thanks! Recently changed to Sony, this is quite helpful.

[@mariamccormick7879]

Love your advice. Congratulations 👏