Autofocus with the back button is even better on mirrorless cameras and here’s why

As a photography instructor, one of the most common questions I get from students is about the back focus button. It’s easy to shadow it to keep things simple for new users, but doing so on the latest generation of mirrorless cameras leaves a lot of useful features on the table. It’s worth learning.

I’ve seen plenty of explanations over the years, but Canadian wildlife photographer Simon d’Entremont has the best explanation for this often overlooked feature of most mid-range cameras. and above (and, hallelujah, even entry level Canon Rebel T8i there’s finally a dedicated AF-On button, so there’s no need to use auto exposure lock anymore

to assign to what I consider an important camera function).

Years ago, I discovered the importance of focusing with the back button when using focus and recomposition techniques, mainly due to the cameras I was using (original Canon EOS 5D, later). it was the 5D Mark II, and later the 6D) had lousy outer focus points, and so I would focus with the center crosshair AF point, then recompose by moving Move the camera slightly. This makes it impossible to work with a very shallow depth of field, because at something like f/1.4 you’re still slightly out of focus this way, but it’s better for the camera to lose focus completely with each shutter button presses. With the original 5D, I had to reassign the AEL button for this purpose, but Canon wisely added a dedicated AF-On button to later models. I also find it useful for more precise control over my focus when shooting sports.

In fact, about the only time I turn this off is when I’m taking pictures around friends and family and I know I want to join a photo. No one can understand the concept of back button focus, and so it would be easier to have a button that both focuses and shoots at the same time for the uninitiated. All that said, even if you’re a longtime user of the back button autofocus, you’ll want to watch this video. As a longtime DSLR user, where eye autofocus isn’t even a thing, when I bought Canon EOS R6 (and this applies to R5

user), I immediately set it up with back-button autofocus like my 10-year-old 6D. These newer cameras have face and eye detection autofocus; however, I find it difficult to switch between these and traditional autofocus modes, where I have more control over the area. I find myself frequently using my shiny new camera without its advanced eye tracking because it’s too cumbersome to drill down into the menus. d’Entremont shows you a way to configure the autofocus on your back button to get around this so you can eat the cake and eat it, as well as get the back button focus you’ve been working on. familiar while also having quick access to eye detection. I know my mind was blown when I saw this, so even if you’ve been shooting pro forever, you should watch until the end of the video to check out d’Entremont’s setup. He does the setup steps for newer mirrorless models as well as older DSLRs.