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Two ways to Back Button Focus on X-T2


mvlow

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Trying to use BBF on the X-T2 has been driving me crazy because the button AE-L and AF-L buttons are so small. After doing some research and playing around with the camera I have discovered there are two different ways of setting up BBF on the X-T2, with pro's and cons to both. 

For anyone interested here are the two ways, with the pros and cons (IMHO) to both.

1. Go to your Setup menu - Button/Dial Setting -Fn/AE-L/AF-L Button Setting, and assign either the AE-L or AF-L button to "AF-On." Use whichever button is the most natural fit for your thumb. Then in your Button/Dial settings go to "Shutter AF" and set it to "Off."

This will set your camera up in traditional BBF where your BBF is permanently set to either the AE-L button or the AF-L button. The pros to this set-up are you can use BBF for your all of your AF modes including Zone and Wide Tracking. The con is you always have to use the AE-L or AF-L back button to focus, which is extremely tiny and can be difficult to press especially ifs you are coming from a DSLR (which I have.)

2. This second set-up is apparently the one that people have used on the X-T1 and might actually be preferable for me.

In you menu go to AF/MF setting - Instant AF Setting, and set to AF-C or AF-S. whichever is your preference (traditional BBF would be AF-C), In your Button/Dial Setting ensure that "Shutter AF" is set to on, which is different from method 1. 

Now your camera will focus in all modes normally by using the Shutter release when in Single or continuos AF modes, however when you switch to manual focus, you are able to press the AF-L button to continuously AF or Single AF depending on which "Instant AF" setting you chose in the previous step. As a bonus, you can go into your Button/Dial Setting menu - An/AE-L/AF-L ButtonSetting and assign your AE-L to be your AF-L button and your AF-L to be your AE-L button. The benefit to reversing the buttons is that you can use the AE-L button as you Instant BBF button which for a lot of people will be a more comfortable place to rest your thumb.

The benefit to this system is you instantly have access to BBF whenever you need it by simply switching over to manual focus, but when you don't need it you can switch back to Single or Continuous Focus and traditionally focus using the shutter button. Another benefit, is you can view the Manual focus, focus peaking screen and instantly manual focus if you want while in this mode. As I am not sure if I always want to use the extremely small AE-L button to focus, this might end up being my preferred BBF method after I have played with it for a while.

The cons to this method are that you have to learn two focusing methods, using the shutter button and using BBF. Also, it seems you cannot use Zone or Wide Tracking focus in this method while in Manual Focus mode as the option to change focus methods while in Manual focus disappears. 

These options may appear confusing at first, but if you play with each one, I think you will find one that fits your individual shooting needs. Sometimes with this Fuji camera, I think we have too many choices and it can be a little overwhelming to learn until you settle on the one that works best for you.

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