Custom Functions

[MarkBarbieri]

The thread on 40D custom settings got me to wondering. All the DSLRs and many of the P&S cameras have lots of custom functions or settings that you can change. I ignore most of them. Which ones do you change and why?


1) I switch mine from using the shutter button for focusing to using the Exp Lock button for focusing.
2) I sometimes use the custom function to turn on mirror lockup for sharper pictures.
3) I switched mine from 3 shot bracketing to 5 shot bracketing. "Film" is cheap and I find that 3 shots often doesn't cover the range I want or covers it in jumps that are too large. Sadly, this is a "personal function" and can only be set via computer, so I can't change it in the field. There are times when I'd like it to be 7 or 9 shots and others were I'd like it to be 3. 5 seems like the best compromise.
4) I set mine to not allow the shutter to fire without a memory card. I do this so that I don't start shooting and forget that I have no card in the camera.

 

[boBQuincy]

I set mine for 2nd curtain flash, along with some of the already mentioned settings.

 

[bostran1]

could someone explain what mirror lockup is and what it does? I'm always game for sharper images. Also, what is second citrin flash? Maybe these are subjects for a separate thread. I don't mean to highjack so feel free to reply in a new thread or I can start them up.

I guess I need to explore custom functions a bit more.

 

[skr8pn]

It took me forever to figure out what 2nd curtain flash was but eventually I got it. First curtain flash is what 99% of people use. That is, no matter how long the shutter stays open, the flash fires on the first of that time frame. 2nd curtain flash fires the flash at the end of that time frame. So if you're doing a long exposure night time portait type thing (like the Photopass photographers do in front of the castle) then you could use 2nd curtain flash. If you want to see how this works, crank your shutter speed to 30 seconds and take a normal shot out side at night with the flash on. Then move around afterward. It creates a ghost like effect. Somebody had a really cool picture of some trees that had on the board once before.

Mirror lockup, I'm not so fuzzy on. From my understanding, I don't know that it would help me much. If I understand it correctly it just keep the mirror locked up on focus so when you fire the shutter for the picture it keeps that small movement of the mirror effecting stillness of the picture.

Now, custom fucntion, I turn off the auto focus beam except when flash is used. In the evening i turn on the 2nd curtain flash but in hindsight I could just leave it on.

 

[jann1033]

i had a bunch on my old camera but not this one..i've tried the * for shutter which i kept forgetting i had done and thinking my camera was broken( simple mind and all) so i forgot trying that...i had the custom wb for snow...and i had one of the custom parameters a little sharper but other than that i don't remember...i have enough trouble remembering how to get only the center point to light up ( husband has to do it for me )

 

[Groucho]

I have a whole bunch of custom settings changed in my K100D...

Noise reduction off (to speed up recovery when taking long exposures)
1/3 exposure steps (instead of 1/2)
ISO sensitivty warning display (gives ISO warning in viewfinder at certain ISOs, default is off, I have it set to 800, which is what I have Auto set to go to)
Link AF point and AE (it will grab exposure from near the same place that it grabs focus)
Recordable image # (when I half-press the shutter, it will show the # of remaining continuous-shooting frames on the top LCD where # of remaining frames on memory card is usually displayed)
Focus indicator with screw-mount lens - this will beep and show focus light when it detects that you are in focus when using a screw-mount lens
Using aperture ring - this lets you shoot when the aperture ring is set to something other than "A" - default of off is fine for average new user with modern lenses, but older lenses with no "A" aperture setting require this
Preview method - stops down the lens rather than doing a digital preview (ie, taking a photo and showing it on the LCD)

I probably should also set it to do manual WB via spot metering rather than the whole screen, but I so rarely set manual WB that I haven't bothered.

I will definitely set second curtain flash when I have that option available. I do usually have my external flash set that way.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I set mine for 2nd curtain flash, along with some of the already mentioned settings.

I typically keep mine in 1st curtain sync mode unless I specifically want to use 2nd curtain sync. I was going to give a good reason for this, but I can't really think of one. I guess 90% of the time it doesn't matter. When it does, 90% of the time I'd prefer 2nd curtain. So I guess I should switch my default position.

could someone explain what mirror lockup is and what it does?

Why you look through the viewfinder, you are looking through a mirror that is bouncing the light up from the lens to the viewfinder. With almost all SLR and DSLR cameras, the mirror moves out of the way the moment you take the picture and then swings back down when the picture is finished. Mirror lockup causes the mirror to swing out of the way the first time you press the shutter. The second time you press it, the picture is taken.

This is done because the motion of the mirror (sometimes called "mirror slap") causes vibration. The effect is small. If you are shooting on a tripod with a remote shutter release, you are probably trying to get the sharpest possible picture. In that case, using mirror lockup is appropriate.

From tests I've seen, the effects are only noticeable on shutter speeds between 1/30 and 4 seconds. Anything faster than that and the vibrations haven't really had time to effect the picutre. Anything slower than that and the vibrations are present for such a short portion of the pictures duration that they are unnoticeable.

Noise reduction off (to speed up recovery when taking long exposures)

I default mine to "on" unless I'm taking fireworks shots or some other shots that require rapid long exposures.

1/3 exposure steps (instead of 1/2)

Mine defaulted to 1/3. I experimented with 1/2 because I thought it would be quicker and I don't really need that fine control. I gave up because I'm just too used to 1/3 steps. Starting from scratch, I'd probaby go with 1/2.

Some other settings that I use:
1) ISO Expansion is ON so I can use ISO 50 and ISO 3200.
2) RGB Historgram ON
3) Highlight alert ON
4) Auto power off 1 minute
5) File numbering Continuous
6) Backup from SD to CF card while shooting
7) Backeting sequence set to -, 0, + rather than the default 0, -, +

 

[AndrewWG]

I have a whole bunch of custom settings changed in my K100D...

Link AF point and AE (it will grab exposure from near the same place that it grabs focus)

This sounds like a nice feature. I don't think it is a Canon function (at least I haven't heard of it before). I have the worst time with exposure not being right for my subject. I have alot to learn in that respect.

 

[bostran1]

Thank you, everyone for answering my questions. I suppose it is time for me to experiment with custom functions.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

This sounds like a nice feature. I don't think it is a Canon function (at least I haven't heard of it before). I have the worst time with exposure not being right for my subject. I have alot to learn in that respect.

My CF-13 on my Canon is "Number of AF points/Spot Metering"
0:45/Center AF point
1:11/Active AF point
2:11/Center AF point
3: 9/Active AF point

 

[AndrewWG]

My CF-13 on my Canon is "Number of AF points/Spot Metering"
0:45/Center AF point
1:11/Active AF point
2:11/Center AF point
3: 9/Active AF point

That doesn't seem to be available on the 30D. I've looked through all the cf's and not found one like that. Too bad. Seems useful. I use the following cf's:

cf04- Shutter/AE lock button - turns the shutter when pressed half way into the AE lock and the AE lock * button into the AF. I just recently started using this and am not sure I really like it.

cf08- ISO exapnsion - ON- Allows you to shoot up to ISO 3200 but unfortunately it still doesn't go below 100.

cf13- AF point selection method - Set to Multi controller direct. This allows me to change which AF point I want on the fly rather than hitting 2 buttons to get it to do that.

That is all I use so far. I have used Mirror lockup as well, but certainly not all the time. All the rest are just set to factory defaults.

 

[JR6ooo4]

I set mine for 2nd curtain flash, along with some of the already mentioned settings.

 

[Groucho]

Hmm, I only listed the ones on the Custom menu itself. Other non-standard ones...

RAW (of course!)
Center-weighted metering
Spot focus
On quick review, show histogram and blink blown-out areas

I think that's about it. The others are all the way I'd like them "out of the box", so no fiddling done.