The One Camera Setting You Need to Change!

[@ian_worth]

If you already use this awesome technique, be sure to let me know your tips below and if you are interested in how I compose my landscape photos, here's a link to my ebook on composition - www.iworthphotos.com/store/composition-ebook

[@tomheim9516]

People who have switched to Fuji often say this brand of camera is a joy to use and motivates them to get out more often and shoot. And while I agree, I think watching one of Ian's videos is another great way to be inspired to get out and shoot!

[@georgedavall9449]

❤ @ 02:32 Ian, “You came, You saw, You conquered!” Splendid image Sir! Excellent tutorial on focusing techniques, and the use of BBF, for anyone starting out. After so many years, I have recently started to use Continuous Focus most of the time, rather than just for action/ moving type shots, and it makes a huge difference. Glad You made it back safe! Cheers!

[@ian_worth]

Many thanks!

[@BernhardSchwarz-xs8kp]

Who do you focus with an eye piece in bright daylight?

[@georgedavall9449]

@@BernhardSchwarz-xs8kp what the $%*& ?

[@allanroza3839]

Stunning imagery. Your approach, topics covered and genuine enthusiasm are all a breath of fresh air that help you stand out on KZbin. Best

[@cbimage]

Love that Milky Way photo!

[@mvo5720]

Wow, what a shot of the Milky Way.👏👏🍷

[@johngrant5448]

You're right Ian, back button focussing makes life so much easier.

[@ian_worth]

Absolutely agree

[@aderadnor261]

Great video. That milky way shot was superb. Thanks for the tips as always. 👌

[@petergodden4139]

Wonderful shot Ian!

[@ian_worth]

Thanks so much 👍

[@rdallen9211]

Great information!! Thanks so much for sharing.

[@ian_worth]

I'm glad it was helpful 👍

[@MurphyGreg]

Awesome info. Gotta say, I always love the mood or atmosphere you create in all your images. 🙌

[@ian_worth]

Thanks, that means a lot 👍

[@godzuks]

Great video, fabulous milky way photo.. stunning

[@ian_worth]

Thanks buddy 👍

[@donnakeeley4531]

Really helpful. I plan to go try the back button focus. Thanks Ian

[@ian_worth]

Go for it!, it takes some time to get used to, but it's well worth it 👍

[@dennismurray703]

What an amazing and at times beautifully moody place you live in Ian, and always so brilliantly captured in your images. And wow that incredible astro shot to finish with. You are both creative and have a complete mastery of landscape technique, and it shows! Great advice on back button focus also which can assist with even the casual landscapes I take.

[@ChrisBrogan]

This is really interesting! I never thought much about that. Very cool!

[@ian_worth]

Thank you!

[@kqschwarz]

I finally understand the value of back-button focus. I will try it. Thank you!

[@anthonyroberts7987]

Great video and congratulations on the final image! I'm going to drop the word "nebulosity" into conversations today!

[@ian_worth]

what a word, its definitely the first time I've ever said it. lol

[@MrBusby]

Thanks for sharing. Great image.

[@ian_worth]

Cheers buddy 👍

[@michael195b]

Excellent shot

[@ian_worth]

Thanks

[@lynsmith1096]

Some great shots

[@luxdalet]

Fantastic photo! I hope to someday make similar captures, with the time and travel opportunity showing up. Cheers!

[@ian_worth]

Thanks so much, happy shooting

[@ianpullinger4785]

What an awesome image Ian. it would be great to see a walkthrough of your workflow for creating the image. I have never really delved into focus stacking, so it would be interesting to see the process. You are lucky to live somewhere with minimal light pollution.

[@johnwheeler5271]

Lovely capture Ian of Milky Way

[@ian_worth]

Thanks so much 👍

[@sarahbatsford4791]

Been using back button for some time, I love it❤

[@ian_worth]

Thats great 👍

[@mariamullin4031]

Beautiful shot of the milky way

[@mbongisenidlamini1538]

Lovely video Ian, many thanks for sharing it. The astro shot is stunning, its a thing of beauty! I could look at it for ages, its simply stunning. Request : could you please do another video explaining your process of acquiring the astro shot? Including how you captured & combined the 16 shots, as well as editing the image. Cheers

[@davidfrost3770]

Great final image. Sounds like a long process to get it but certainly worthwhile.

[@ian_worth]

yeah, astro certainly requires some patience, thats for sure 👍

[@OliverReinhard]

Ever since I‘ve fully come to terms with how my 2023-model Sony cameras acquire auto focus - and then reliably track focus from that point on - I see absolutely no need for the backbutton technique. Thanks to Mark Galer for the insight through his deep tutorials!

[@colinyoung9432]

Cracking milky-way 🌌 shot Ian, only ever tried astro once before, difficult staying up so late at my age though.... Well done, Colin Devon Uk.

[@PhotographyByRune]

Been using that for years, and works well. The only problem is that I focus, shoot my exposures to make sure I nail it, then when I change location, or just adjust my composition....I forget to re-focus, lol

[@ian_worth]

you should stick a note on the back of your screen to say re-focus, lol

[@robertdavis1255]

Thanks Ian for an interesting video...I don't use back button focus but maybe I should give it a go.... maybe it's just habit....nice pics... cheers from Australia 🦘🦘😊

[@ian_worth]

Go for it! 👍

[@CarloPiana]

I'm using it too.

[@mauriciogarfield7122]

It's not your first video about b-b focus and I have adopted it with great pleasure! The only thi ng is I am not photographing all time and just forget about it many times, so....be careful

[@KevinBlake4580]

It's the "old dog new tricks" problem with me. I have tried BB focus and found it frustrating after decades of half-press muscle memory ingrained in my brain.

[@basementstudio7574]

Same here.

[@buckybucky8596]

Agree. I'm in the school of thought that the recent BBF craze is a bit overrated. Everything has it place, including BBF, but generallyI prefer to use the back button as an exposure lock.

[@gmh3839]

Would be interested to see a super nerdy vid of that Milky Way edit! I've been dabbling with Sequator with a little success, but not sure if I should be applying some universal edits to the RAW files before stacking or leaving it to the end. I also need darker skies! That was a super foreground 👌

[@MLodge]

On the minority of occasions when I need to fix focus, I just put the camera in manual focus mode and use the AE-L button on the back of my X-T5. Many “pros” use back button focus because auto-exposure is so often wrong. I just use manual exposure all the time, which is much faster/easier than fighting auto exposure algorithms.

[@kenhenley7599]

The photo of the Milky Way is, quite simply, superb. Do you use any Apps to help you plan for such shots and, if so, which? Cheers.

[@TedSchade88]

Ian, I think you missed the fact that, with back-button (b-b) focus, a half-press of the shutter button only sets exposure. If you want to hold both focus and exposure for a shot to recompose, you press the b-b to set focus, half-press the shutter for exposure, then press the exposure lock (* on Canon). You are then free to fine-tune composition without changing focus or exposure. Sounds complicated, but it becomes second nature.

[@ashleyb66]

Half press of the shutter button on my Fuji, with b/b focus set up, does nothing. It's only function is to take the photo on a full press.

[@lucianoadami7231]

Complimenti molto belle 👏👍

[@randyschwager84]

Back Button is the only way to go!

[@BernhardSchwarz-xs8kp]

The problem I struggle the most in photography is the issue with not being able to see details on the LCD in bright sun light - not to mention in an environment like a bright sandy beach.

[@richardstorier6172]

Great shot Ian, is the Milky Way visible with the naked eye?

[@matejmataic9061]

I have always had a feeling that when using back-button focusing the whole autofocus system worked a smidge faster and better. I don't know if it's down to the fact that on a button there is no delay, whereas, pressing the front button takes that little bit of time that's needed for it to reach the half-pressed position... anyways...

[@ian_worth]

I agree, I think the back button with it being one press feels more responsive than the shutter button. I guess it's impossible to test, but it certainly feels that way. 👍

[@nomadictimbo9185]

Awesome shot of the milky way Ian!Since using back button focus, I've never gone back. For sports and wildlife the hit rate has been great and reliable while using it and I agree with you on it being good for landscape too.

[@ian_worth]

Thats awesome 👍

[@barrycooper5989]

Super video and great shots. Just getting into BBF. Did I understand correctly that the camera should be set to continuing focus. Presumably this would happen if you kept the button pressed but by releasing the button you lock the focus thus ending the continuing focus or am I misunderstanding. Thanks in advance for any helpful replies and thanks Ian for such a great video.

[@Anadrolus]

I prefer to use a button to disable or enable auto focus.

[@ian_worth]

awesome 👍

[@rookie4619]

Knew it would be this feature from the title!

[@ian_worth]

ahh, I gave it away, 😂

[@michaelrocharde]

Ian, thanks for a very interesting video. I never knew you could do that so it was an eye-opener. I have a Sony A6700 and was able, eventually, to set one of the back buttons to Focus standard which is great. However, pressing the Shutter button still focuses. Any idea how/where I would change that? BTW I bought your Landscape photography book which I'm really looking forward to reading. Spectacular Milky Way shot also.

[@rosacarravilla6208]

Se te olvido decir como se configura.?gracias por el vídeo yo tengo una fuji xt5,

[@kevindickinson1541]

Hi Ian Am I missing something. You mentioned the BBF will hold focus while you shoot. Especially on moving subjects. But if the subject is moving wouldn't it not be in focus if the original focus is locked in. Just a little confused.

[@RiccardoGabarriniKazeatari]

Bbf is af-on, not af hold. Meaning it doesn't hold focus, it focuses, that's it. If you use afc it will keep focusing even if the subject is moving. It's still useful if you don't want the camera to refocus every time (for example it's on a tripod and you're shooting a landscape), but if you use af continuous with af tracking you don't really need it

[@timrosenburgh8597]

I enjoyed the video as usual Ian. I use back button focus all the time, it makes life easy. Absolutely stunning shot of the milky way. Catch you on the next one mate.

[@ian_worth]

Cheers buddy 👍

[@petemellows]

Another benefit of back button focus is you don't need to switch to manual focus ever again. I'll happily use the focus ring knowing I won't accidentally re-focus. Just make sure your touch screen is disabled!

[@mne9476]

I only use BBF in SF mode. And I make sure the camera does not change position. I guess my hands are too small to hold two buttons at the same time when I am tracking something in CAF. I think there is too much hype with BBF.

[@stephenschmid492]

Ian, at 5:10 you said for landscapes you leave your focus mode in manual, and then use back button focus. You lost me there - if you use manual focus, I thought the button wouldn't have any effect any more. Am I missing something?

[@ianforber]

It might be specific to the Fuji system but if you are using manual focus you can press the AF-On button on the back of the camera and it will temporarily take over and focus the lens. The focus point then won’t move unless you twist the focus ring on the lens or press the AF-On button at a different point. That is how it works regardless of whether you’ve set the camera up for back button focus or not - I don’t use BBF on my XT-50 and switching to manual focus disables the shutter release from focusing but not the AF-On button. I think the idea is that people using MF might struggle to achieve focus and not know which way to twist the focus ring to quickly get it so a quick press of the AF-On button helps them.

[@stephenschmid492]

@@ianforber Okay, thank you for explaining that!

[@petrub27]

what weather app is that? free or paid? thanks

[@robertgrenader858]

It's Clear Outside from First Light Optics. I downloaded it from the App Store for free, I believe. I use it all the time to schedule astrophotography.

[@ian_worth]

yeah, clear outside, its free. The other one was weather and radar, thats free as well but there's a lot of adverts on it.

[@GordonRunklePhoto]

Back-button focus honestly should be the default - it's so much more powerful and flexible. Spectacular photos, too! 👍

[@ian_worth]

Thank you 🙏

[@MLodge]

If you set exposure manually there is far less need to do this, and on many cameras you don’t even need to change a setting if you instead switch to manual focus.

[@michaelhale416]

Hi Ian, I have been using back button focus for a while and it has served me very well. What a beautiful shot of the Milky Way. Absolutely stunning. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. You have a great channel. Cheers.

[@PeterACasanave]

I have never had a camera capable of reassigning buttons. What words do I look for in the specs?

[@hillscp]

I still don't understand why back button is better than half press. I tried it for a while but I have been doing half press for so long I didn't see the advantage.

[@petercollins7848]

Please watch the video a few more times, it is clear if you listen carefully. By half pressing the shutter button you are re-focussing every time. By back button focussing the focus stays fixed and you can concentrate on the other parameters of making a photo. It is especially useful when using the 2 second timer for instance to avoid camera shake.

[@richardwhitehand5414]

I tend to agree that this is no big deal in many situations. I also tried it for a while but went back to half-press. I happily acquire focus and recompose if necessary whilst maintaining half-press, which is almost simpler if shooting handheld. On a tripod I always use manual focus anyway. Then what isn't touched on here are the situations where half-press can be advantageous, but of course much depends on the nature of one's photography so there is no absolute right or wrong answer.

[@ian_worth]

I think it really does depend on what you shoot, but having tried both methods for many years, I would say BBF gives you more options and can have a better success rate once you get used to it.

[@richardwhitehand5414]

@@ian_worth I think it is a question of how as well as what. For instance I shoot a lot handheld and have been employing the handheld 2-shot focus stack technique you demonstrated some time ago - if you use half-press then it is much smoother as you acquire focus for the first frame, hold it, recompose and simply squeeze the shutter for two shots without needing to press anything else and risk movement (for the second the camera will refocus). I also, from time to time, do street photography and similar where I'm shooting rapidly 'from the hip'. Last but not least, I do a lot of handheld winter landscape photography here in Sweden (where it can be pretty chilly) - the back button approach is extra hassle with gloves (even photo gloves) given its small size and position. Whilst I can fully agree that back button focus has clear advantages in some of the cases you name, one can't sometimes use one technique and sometimes the other as it will inevitably lead to mistakes (believing you have focused when you haven't) so I think if half-press works for what one does / how one does it then it is best to go with the flow...

[@ianforber]

@@petercollins7848 I don’t use BBF but I hadn’t thought of it in relation to the 2sec timer. I’ll need to test it - do you keep the back button pressed throughout the timer and exposure? I only use the timer when the camera is on a tripod and I always use manual focus for that but are you talking about hand held photography?

[@nevvanclarke9225]

I don't use it.I'm a cable releas guy. Yes, for wildlife photography. Is a major benefit for it, but I don't do wildlife photography and I shoot weddings as well and people are moving about too much to use it as well. Maybe I'm just traditional but I locked the way the camera is out of the box I don't change much.

[@ian_worth]

Thanks Nev, I think it would be really helpful for weddings, hold the button and autofocus will track the subject and you can take as many shots as you wish without re focusing. might be worth a try 👍

[@timwhite-timwhite]

'Quite pleased.'? You should be absolutely thrilled, Ian. So much drama in that composition. Thanks for your back button observations also.

[@recreationalplutonium]

spoiler: it's back button focus