Giving the Set button an extra job
Normally, the main role of the Set button during shooting is to select items from the camera menus and Quick Control screens. When you shoot in the P, Tv, Av, or M exposure modes, though, you can set the button to perform one of several other tasks. Check out the possibilities by opening Setup Menu 4, choosing Custom Functions, and then choosing Custom Function 13, Assign Set Button.Setting shutter/AE Lock button actions
By default, you initiate autofocusing by pressing the shutter button halfway and lock autoexposure by pressing the AE Lock button. Custom Function 12, Shutter/AE Lock Button, enables you to switch things up. Along with the default setting, named AF/AE Lock, you can choosethe following three settings:
- AE Lock/AF:Pressing the shutter button halfway locks autoexposure; pressing the AE Lock button initiates autofocusing.
- AF/AF Lock, no AE Lock: Pressing the shutter button halfway initiates both autofocusing and exposure metering. Pressing the AE Lock button locks focus. Autoexposure lock isn't possible.
- AE/AF, no AE Lock:Pressing the shutter button halfway initiatesexposure metering; pressing the AE Lock button kick-starts autofocusing. Again, autoexposure lock isn't available.
Disabling the AF-assist beam
In dim lighting, your camera may emit an AF (autofocus)assist beam from the built‐in flash when you press the shutter button halfway — assuming that the flash unit is open, of course. This pulse of light helps the camera "see" its target better, improving autofocus performance.If you're shooting in a situation where the beam may be distracting, you can disable it — but again, only when using the P, Tv, Av, and M exposure modes. Make the change via Custom Function 5. Along with the basic Enable and Disable settings, you get two optionsrelated to using an external flash.Enable External Flash Only permits an external flash to emit the beam but prevents the built‐in flash from doing so.The other setting,IR AF Assist Beam Only, allows an external flash that has infrared (IR) AF‐assist to use only the IR beam, which is less noticeable than the regular light.
These and other external flash options work only with certain flash units; your camera manual provides specifics on compatible models.
Preventing shutter release without a memory card
By default, you can take a picture without any memory card in the camera. But the image you shoot is only temporary, appearing for a few seconds on the monitor and then dissolving into digital nothingness. The option is designed mainly for use in camera stores, enabling salespeople to demonstrate cameras without having to keep a memory card in every model. But for those of us not in that biz, leaving the option on only invites trouble. So open Shooting Menu 1 and set the Release Shutter without Card option to Off, as shown.Reducing the number of exposure stops
By default, major exposure‐related settings are based on one‐third stop adjustments. If you prefer, you can tell the camera to present exposure adjustments in half‐stop increments so that you don't have to cycle through as many settings each time you want to make a change. Make your preferences known via Custom Function 1, Exposure Level Increments. (You can get to the option only when using the P, Tv, Av, and M exposure modes.) Be aware that the exposure meter will reflect this change and thus appear differently than shown.Creating a custom menu
Through the My Menu feature, you can create a custom menu containing up to five tabs, each of which can hold six menu items. The idea is to enable you to group your favorite menu options together in a way that makes more sense to you than the standard menu organization. Here, for example, the first tab contains six exposure options that appear on separate tabs in the normal menu configuration.Having this kind of control may appeal after you're fully aware of how all your camera settings work and which features you use the most. But when you're just beginning, stick with the standard menu structure.
Two other issues to note about the My Menu feature: First, you can access it in the P, Tv, Av, and M exposure modes only. If you want to shoot in any other exposure mode, your custom menu doesn't appear, which means that you have to learn two sets of menu layouts instead of just one. You also have to switch from the default guided menus and displays to the standard versions, which you do via the Display Level menu.
Should you decide that you're ready to step up to a custom menu, check the section in the camera manual related to customizing the camera.
Adding custom folders
Normally, your camera automatically creates folders to store your images. The first folder has the name 100Canon; the second, 101Canon; and so on. Each folder can hold 9,999 photos. However, you can create a new folder before the existing one is full at any time. You might take this organizational step so that you can segregate work photos from personal photos, for example. To create the folder, open Setup Menu 1, choose Select Folder, and then choose Create Folder, as illustrated.The camera asks for permission to create the folder; choose OK and press Set. The folder is automatically assigned the next available folder number and is selected as the active folder — the one that will hold any new photos you shoot. Press the Set button or tap the Set icon to return to Setup Menu 1.
To make a different folder the active folder, choose Select Folder again, choose the folder you want to use, and press or tap Set.
Turning off the Shooting Settings screen
When you turn on your camera, the monitor automatically displays the screen that shows shooting settings for normal, through-the-viewfinder photography. If you prefer not to see the display upon startup, set the Mode dial to P, Tv, Av, or M, select Custom Functions from Setup Menu 4, and bring up Custom Function 14. Change the setting from the default, Display On, to Previous Display Status.The setting name reflects the fact that the camera remembers the current display status when you turn the camera off. Then it returns to that previous status the next time you turn the camera on. So if you don't want the display to appear on startup, press the DISP button to shut off the display before powering down the camera.
Although disabling the automatic display saves battery power, having to remember to turn the display off each time you shut down the camera is a pain. So I stick with the default setting and then press the DISP button to toggle the screen on an off if the battery is running low. Also note that if the camera is set to any of the Basic Zone modes when you turn on the camera, the display appears regardless of the setting you choose for the Custom Function.Embedding copyright notices
If you sell your photography (or hope to), this is one customization feature definitely worth enabling. You can embed a copyright notice into the metadata — hidden text data — that's included in every photo or movie you capture. Anyone who views your picture in a program that can display metadata can see your copyright notice.You can enter copyright data only when the camera is set to P, Tv, Av, or M exposure mode, but the information you enter is added to all new files you create, regardless of which exposure mode you used to capture them.
Follow these steps to create your copyright notice:- Open Setup Menu 4 and choose Copyright Information, as shown on the left.
Enter your name and other copyright information that you want tagged to your images.
You see the screen shown on the right.
- Choose Enter Author's Name to display the digital keyboard shown.
Enter the text you want to include in your copyright notice.
- Enter your name.
The easiest option is to use the touchscreen: Just tap the letters you want to enter; the characters you select appear in the text box above the keyboard. Tap the symbol labeled "Change keyboard" in the figure to cycle the keyboard display from all uppercase letters, to all lowercase letters, and then to numbers and symbols.
To move the cursor in the text box, tap inside the box or tap the arrows at the end of the text box. To erase the character to the left of the cursor, tap the Erase icon, labeled Delete character in the figure.
If you prefer button pushing to touchscreen tapping, press the Q button to toggle between the keyboard and the text box. When the keyboard is active, use the cross keys or Main dial to highlight a character and press the Set button to enter that character in the text box. To delete a character, press the Q button to activate the text box, move the cursor in front of the character you want to delete, and press the Erase button. Press Q again to jump back to the keyboard.
- Tap the Menu icon or press the Menu button to return to the main setup screen. Then select OK.
- Choose Enter Copyright Details to return to the keyboard and add any additional data you think necessary. You might want to add the year or your email address, for example. (You don't need to enter the word Copyright — it's added automatically.)
- Tap the Menu icon or press the Menu button once to exit the setup screen and choose OK again to complete the process.
Adding cleaning instructions to images
If small spots appear consistently on your images — and you know that dirt on your lens isn't the cause — your sensor may need cleaning. The Dust Delete Data feature, designed for use with Canon Digital Photo Professional 4, provides a stop-gap measure until you can take the camera to a service shop for sensor cleaning.You start by recording a data file that maps the location of the dust spots on the sensor. To do this, you need a white piece of paper and a lens that offers a focal length of 50mm or longer. Put the camera in the P, Tv, Av, or M exposure mode, set the lens to manual focusing, and then set the focus distance at infinity. (If you're holding the camera in the horizontal position, turn the lens focusing ring counter‐clockwise until it stops.) Next, open Shooting Menu 4, choose Dust Delete Data, and then select OK.
Position the paper 8 to 12 inches from the camera, make sure that the paper fills the viewfinder, and then press the shutter button all the way. No picture is taken; the camera just records the Dust Delete Data in its internal memory. When you see the message "Data obtained," choose OK.The current date appears on the initial Dust Delete Data screen.
After you create your Dust Delete Data file, the camera attaches the data to every image you shoot.To clean a photo in Digital Photo Professional 4, select the image thumbnail, open the Adjustment menu, and then click Apply Dust Delete Data. The program's instruction manual, available for download from the Canon website, offers additional details.