Back button focus on the Canon R50

The shutter-release button on a camera serves two functions out of the box— Focus/exposure lock, and taking the picture. The internet abounds with recommendations to split these functions and use back-button focussing¹ instead. New higher-end cameras come with a button specific to that purpose. The Canon R50 does not and requires a bit of button assignment dexterity to achieve the same effect. Refer to the camera manual for guidance on reassigning buttons.

1. Set Shutter butt. half-press to Metering start. This disables auto-focus on the button.
2. Set AE Lock Button [*] to Metering and AF start . This enables [*] as the back AF button. It’s really the only choice available without taking other functions away.
3. Select AF Operation to Servo (Menu AF/1). This allows you to hold the [*] button while moving the camera and it will lock focus when released.
4. Disable Preview AF (Menu AF/2)² to prevent the viewfinder/screen from updating focus if moved. “This function keeps subjects generally in focus. The camera is ready to focus immediately when you press the shutter button halfway.”³

Footnotes

1. Bredahl (2023), The Essential Guide to Back Button Focus ↩

2. Questions about Back Button Focus on R50: Canon EOS R Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review ↩

3. Canon : Product Manual : EOS R50 : Preview AF ↩