samander

12 hours ago, andrew_dotdot said:

I also miss that from Canon. I took the opposite approach to get a similar functionality -- using the AF-lock function. Make sure to set the AF-L button to work in S (switch) mode, in the button/dial setting menu. (Otherwise it's only locked while you hold the button down.) 

Set the camera to AF-C, then lock the focus when it's where you need it. (A little blue AF-L will appear on the screen.) If you need to adjust focus, press the AF-lock button and let it re-acquire focus, then lock it back up again. This is how I shoot -- keeps it from hunting unnecessarily.

Thanks very much. Yes, this is probably as close as it's going to get. It's just unfortunate that I can't fine tune the focus manually when it is locked, but I usually set a pretty deep depth of field if I am using AF anyway.

I am a first-time poster but a long-time reader. These forums and this thread in particular has been a real service, so many thanks to you all.

I love my X-T3, but there are a few things that I cannot seem to configure that keep me from turning to it for most of my video. One of them is single-button autofocus ("one button AF" or "instant AF" or maybe "back button focus" for video). On my Canon C100 with dual-pixel AF, I can keep the camera on manual focus for most of my shoot, then press and hold one button to activate continuous autofocus when events start moving quickly and I know I cannot keep up, then release the button and go right back to manual focus. It seems like I should be able to do the same with the X-T3, but I've tried everything I can think of and am stumped. One of the downsides of having so many focusing options is that I am probably overlooking something, or two settings might be cancelling each other out. The closest I can get is:

• Setting up back button focus in AF-M mode. This works when the camera is not recording, but poorly: the exposure briefly shifts and the focus hunts at random (maybe using contrast-detect AF?). And once I start recording video, the button is disabled.
• Using AF-Lock in AF-S or AF-C mode. This is the reverse of what I am looking for, since autofocus is the default. Plus, manual focus seems to be disabled even during AF-Lock.
• Simply switching between AF-M and AF-C. Fine, but then I am switching back and forth and have to think about which one is active at all times; it is easier to just press and hold a button when I need AF. Plus the switch is designed such that it is pretty much impossible to activate without shaking the camera, so I cannot really change it within a shot. Using one of the Fn buttons would be better.

Any ideas on this? Thanks again for all your insights over the past months.