Custom Functions need more attention to making them perfecto

[Bosman]

So I am addicted to Nailing down my custom functions and its cool but why oh why does Canon get shortsighted sometimes? I want Speedlight controls on my Custom Functions dang it! 
All my custom functions have everything else dialed in i am just explaining what flash settings below
CF1 Shoot with flash in normal lighting with bride hi speed sync flash if you end up outdoors 1/3 under exposed evaluative flash
CF2 shoot Receptions second curtain sync flash for light trails if i set the manual to slower shutter than regular speeds
CF3 no flash but use the flashes meter to pick up focus if needed when flash is still on the camera and turned on else all manual auto iso

I hope they come up with some updates that relate to that, why make it half baked??
Also, i want to be able to record all my functions to a card and transfer all the c1,c2,c3 functions to another 5dm3...I havent seen a way to do that unless i am missing something or is that a 1D only feature....because i have that on my 1DM3.

[RedEye]

What steps do you go through to get the custom functions to record to each C* setting?  I've read the manual a dozen times and I cannot get anything to stay with the settings.   I set up the camera, click over to the custom setting, and then set it in the menu.  Turn camera off, turn on, and the C* setting shows no change.  Ay tips on how to do this?

Thanks from Michigan!

[V8Beast]

I really like the convenience of the Custom settings, but my beef is that every time the camera shuts off by itself, once you turn it back on, the settings go back to your defaults. So if I have my default ISO set at 100, and shutter speed set at 1/15, and change them to say, 400 and 1/30, they will change back to my default settings.

[Bosman]

I really like the convenience of the Custom settings, but my beef is that every time the camera shuts off by itself, once you turn it back on, the settings go back to your defaults. So if I have my default ISO set at 100, and shutter speed set at 1/15, and change them to say, 400 and 1/30, they will change back to my default settings.

V8, there is a way to have them update as you use a function so its not going back to your default. It is within the Custom Functions menus. Thats how i did it till i liked what i had, then i turned the update as i go feature. Sorry don't have it in front of me.

[PeterJ]

I really like the convenience of the Custom settings, but my beef is that every time the camera shuts off by itself, once you turn it back on, the settings go back to your defaults. So if I have my default ISO set at 100, and shutter speed set at 1/15, and change them to say, 400 and 1/30, they will change back to my default settings.

V8, there is a way to have them update as you use a function so its not going back to your default. It is within the Custom Functions menus. Thats how i did it till i liked what i had, then i turned the update as i go feature. Sorry don't have it in front of me.

It's on page 332 of the 5D3 manual, a menu item called 'automatic updating' when you register the functions. Unfortunately no equivalent on the Mk2 or 7D and the manual is the only part of a Mk3 I have thus far .

[PeterJ]

What steps do you go through to get the custom functions to record to each C* setting?  I've read the manual a dozen times and I cannot get anything to stay with the settings.   I set up the camera, click over to the custom setting, and then set it in the menu.  Turn camera off, turn on, and the C* setting shows no change.  Ay tips on how to do this?

Normally you start off in a 'normal' mode and once you've made the changes then go to the menu to register it against a particular C* setting. It sounds like you're changing the dial first, that will load up whatever settings are there by default and lose your changes.

[neuroanatomist]

What steps do you go through to get the custom functions to record to each C* setting?  I've read the manual a dozen times and I cannot get anything to stay with the settings.   I set up the camera, click over to the custom setting, and then set it in the menu.  Turn camera off, turn on, and the C* setting shows no change.  Ay tips on how to do this?

Thanks from Michigan!

That's the problem, right there - don't move the mode dial.  Set it up as you want it in Av, Tv, or M (or P, I suppose, but then, why?  ), then go into the menu and register the current state to the C# of your choice.

[RC]

What steps do you go through to get the custom functions to record to each C* setting?  I've read the manual a dozen times and I cannot get anything to stay with the settings.   I set up the camera, click over to the custom setting, and then set it in the menu.  Turn camera off, turn on, and the C* setting shows no change.  Ay tips on how to do this?

Thanks from Michigan!

It sounds like you are turning the mode dial to a C position before registering those settings. 

1.  Set up your camera they way you want it. 
2.  Without changing your mode dial, go into menu settings 3 (on 7D) "camera user settings", "register", then pick "mode dial : Cx", then select set to save your settings. 
3.  Now you can move your mode dial to the C position you saved to and all those settings will be applied. 

Sure wish Canon would add 2 more C positions.   


Edit:    Oops see that Neuro already answered while I was posting.   

[D.Sim]

What steps do you go through to get the custom functions to record to each C* setting?  I've read the manual a dozen times and I cannot get anything to stay with the settings.   I set up the camera, click over to the custom setting, and then set it in the menu.  Turn camera off, turn on, and the C* setting shows no change.  Ay tips on how to do this?

Thanks from Michigan!

Don;t click over.

Chose your mode - M, Av, Tv, whatever, (Personally mine are all on M - easier to make minor changes whenever I switch over), twiddle to whatever shooting style you want, then set it.

I'd love for canon to give a few extra Custom functions instead of the auto modes on my 50D... I've tried scratching out the remaining images on the mode dial but its annoying =(

[stakx]

I'm totally going to get panned for sharing a tip from Ken Rockwell... but here goes:

In response to PeterJ and V8Beast and those with cameras without auto updating custom functions (e.g., 7D)

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/7d/users-guide/
To Make a Longer Change to a Stored Setting

The 7D system allows all sorts of ways to make things easier.

As we just learned, if you change something in a C mode, after the camera resets in usually about a minute, all your temporary settings are reset.

What if you want to keep using slightly different settings for a longer period of time?

Easy!

If you want to save your temporary settings for up to about a half-hour or so, while in a C setting, press:

MENU > WRENCH • > Auto Power Off > (select longer time period) > SET.

Now the 7D will work in your C mode in your new settings for that period of time after you make your last shot, and then after that time (30 minutes maximum), automatically reverts to whatever you saved in that C setting. (If you leave that C setting and return, it also resets instantly.)

Here's the clever part: you keep that setting for 30 minutes, and when the 7D resets to your saved C setting, the time-out period also reverts to whatever you saved before, probably one minute! Thus you can alter a C setting for a while, it won't change, and when you're done, Voilà!, the 7D gets you back to where you wanted to be automatically!

[D.Sim]

That seems like such a convoluted method... usually I set the custom settings on location - to whats needed, especially if there are several different lighting conditions. then just twiddle settings as you would on manual. not much difference.

[frisk]

I wonder why it is not permitted to use one of the custom settings for in-camera HDR shooting.  I don't use it much, but it is kind-of fun when you want to show the camera off a bit - when I get asked "so, what can your new camera do", its fun to demonstrate the in-camera HDR processing (with the "vivid" setting, as for some reason the people asking this kind of question seem to be really impressed with oversaturated photos).....but - I have to go into the menu each time to shoot a single HDR photo - why am I not allowed to assign this to C3, for example?

[V8Beast]

I really like the convenience of the Custom settings, but my beef is that every time the camera shuts off by itself, once you turn it back on, the settings go back to your defaults. So if I have my default ISO set at 100, and shutter speed set at 1/15, and change them to say, 400 and 1/30, they will change back to my default settings.

V8, there is a way to have them update as you use a function so its not going back to your default. It is within the Custom Functions menus. Thats how i did it till i liked what i had, then i turned the update as i go feature. Sorry don't have it in front of me.

It's on page 332 of the 5D3 manual, a menu item called 'automatic updating' when you register the functions. Unfortunately no equivalent on the Mk2 or 7D and the manual is the only part of a Mk3 I have thus far .

Bosman and PeterJ, thanks for the tip!

[Bosman]

Your welcome V8.

[PeterJ]

I'm totally going to get panned for sharing a tip from Ken Rockwell... but here goes:

In response to PeterJ and V8Beast and those with cameras without auto updating custom functions (e.g., 7D)

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/7d/users-guide/
To Make a Longer Change to a Stored Setting

Thanks for that, finally a Ken Rockwell tip I found useful . I'd never thought to check if the custom functions saved the power off settings, I always thought it was only exposure related settings. So apart from Ken's suggestion of 'temporary' settings that sort of solves it for me because I can just use a different power-off setting for my custom function.

Specifically I use C1 for amateur food photography and often set the rough exposure before finishing off / plating and don't care much about battery life, so I've just set that to 30 minutes power off and it reverts back to the shorter settings in the modes I use for "out and about" photography.