Back button focusing

[Denis]

I have tried but cannot find the right answer to this.

What is back button focusing, and how can I implement it on a D5300 if it is possible.

Laymans terms please!

[Hatter]

I had a brief tutorial on this recently from my camera club chairman.  I've given it a go and I do think it's useful. 
Not sure about the D5300 but on my Canon, I have a button on the back that sets the focus, exactly the same as half-pressing the shutter button.
As a default, that's not a lot of use because pressing the shutter button sets the focus again.
However, in the custom controls, you can turn off the shutter button setting the focus.  That makes the back button a lot more useful.

Typically, I was always setting the focus by half-pressing the shutter button, then keeping the button half-pressed while I recomposed the shot.  It's obviously necessary to do that for every shot.
But if you focus with the back button, the focus stays set until you change it again, so if you're taking several shots of the same thing, you only need to focus once.  It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you do, I think it's worthwhile.

 

 

[johntwo]

As Gareth Points out, for some cameras you can deliberately set the camera to only measure exposure when you half press the shutter button.  Auto focus can then be linked to one of the function buttons on the camera those on the back of the camera usually within reach of your thumb,  being the most convenient.  This allows you to set the exposure for the general scene using the half press and then separately focus on a specific object using the function button. Useful where the area around your subject might give you a false reading for the scene as a whole.  It is particularly useful for moving subjects where you can't lock focus immediately but you do want to preset a suitable exposure.  Hence, back button focusing is very popular with wildlife photographers where for instance you might want to set exposure to avoid a bleached out sky but have to wait until a flying bird is in the right place before you lock focus.  When I had Nikon cameras (D7000/7100), that was achieved through a set of dedicated adjustment that you could select in the menus.  I would be surprised if the D5300 was any different but your manual should tell you. It is achieved differently in the Fuji cameras that I now use where you have the ability to set a function button to  instantly switch from manual focus to autofocus.  With the half press only setting exposure and selecting manual focus, I can achieve the same end.  Hope this helps.

Edited July 25, 2019 by johntwo

[Nikonmike]

Go to about 6min in this vid, i think your camera will be the same.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qUebpQeclY

[johntwo]

2 hours ago, Panasonicmike said:

Go to about 6min in this vid, i think your camera will be the same.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qUebpQeclY

A particularly clear "How To" description.  Worth Sharing.