Chapter Sixteen: The Custom Functions Menu

Overview of the Custom Functions Menu

Figure 16-1. The Custom Functions tab

The Custom Functions menu is structured a bit differently than menus we’ve seen thus far. Take a look at figure 16-3. This figure only shows the current setting for the Exposure Level Increments function; you cannot create a setting on this screen.

In the upper-right corner of the screen, notice the red-bordered box with arrowheads on each side that contains a numeric value. The numeric value identifies which one of several functions is available for adjustment.

In the lower-left corner are two rows of numerals, one above the other. The top row (digits 1 through 6 in figure 16-3) identifies the individual functions available on this C.Fn I: Exposure menu, while the lower row of values represents an index to a table of possible settings for each custom function. There will be a very small red line above the function identifier in the upper row (identifier 1 in figure 16-3), and the number of that marked identifier will agree with the value in the red-bordered box. To select a different function in a given Custom Function menu, scroll through the set with the Quick Control Dial or the Multi-controller.

With the correct function selected, press the SET button to open the setting menu for that function (see figure 16-4), and use either the Quick Control Dial or the Multi-controller to highlight the desired setting, then press SET. In figure 16-4, you can see a numeric value to the left of the colon associated with each setting. When you press SET, that numeric value—the index value—is placed in the bottom row of the current-setting screen, underneath the related function identifier.

On the very bottom of figure 16-4, you can see the INFO-button icon next to the word Help. Many of these function-setting screens do have a built-in help file. If there is a red line down the right side of the help screen, there is more text to be displayed. Use the Quick Control Dial or the Multi-controller to scroll through these screens. Press the INFO button again to return to the function-setting screen.

C.Fn I: Exposure

Figure 16-2. Selecting the Exposure option

Exposure Level Increments

When setting shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, flash exposure compensation, or auto exposure bracketing, the adjustments are made in fractional increments of a stop. The choice of one of these settings over the other is a personal one, influenced by the degree of control you wish to exert.

As an example of the difference, if this option is set to 1/3 stop, then available shutter speeds might be 1/15, 1/20, 1/25, 1/30, 1/40, 1/50, 1/60, 1/80, and 1/100. Compare that to the shutter speeds available when the option is set to 1/2 stop: 1/15, 1/20, 1/30, 1/45, 1/60, 1/90.

Figure 16-3. The status of the Exposure Level Increments setting

Figure 16-4. Choosing the Exposure Level Increments setting

Figure 16-5. The built-in help panel for Exposure Level Increments

ISO Speed Setting Increments

Figure 16-6. Choosing the ISO Speed Setting Increments setting

Figure 16-7. The ISO Speed Setting Increments help panel

Select the ISO Speed Setting Increments option if you would like to reduce the number of increments available for selecting ISO speed; the range of speeds is not diminished, just the size of each increment.

Figure 16-8. The lower end of available ISO values when increment size equals 1/3 stop, as accessed in the Quick Control screen

Figure 16-9. The lower end of available ISO values when increment size equals 1 stop, as accessed in the Quick Control screen

In figure 16-8, the panel shows in gray vertical marks all the ISO speeds available when the 1/3-stop increment is selected (assuming you have enabled the expanded range of settings available in the Shoot3 ISO Speed Settings menu), and figure 16-9 shows the ISO settings available when the one-stop increment is selected.

Note that you can see another example of an unusual use of a common button in the Quick Control screen: pressing the INFO button will not display a help panel, but will automatically select the AUTO ISO Speed setting.

Bracketing Auto Cancel

Auto Exposure Bracketing and White Balance Bracketing can be extremely valuable tools—until they become a major problem by bracketing even when you don’t want bracketing. Too often, we get caught up in the moment and lose track of what we need to undo.

Figure 16-10. Selecting the Bracketing Auto Cancel option

Figure 16-11. Choosing the Bracketing Auto Cancel setting

With Bracketing Auto Cancel set to Disable, the camera will remember the bracketing settings until you change them, even though you may not have used the camera for several hours (days, weeks?). By then, you may be working on an entirely different task, but have forgotten that bracketing was set when you last powered off the camera. If you select the Enable setting (which is the default), the camera will automatically release the bracketing settings when you power off the camera. Auto Exposure Bracketing will also be turned off if the flash is ready to fire, or if you switch to movie shooting.

Figure 16-12. The help panels for Bracketing Auto Cancel

Bracketing Sequence

The Bracketing Sequence option allows you to instruct the camera regarding the order in which these incremental pictures will be captured. If you are bracketing exposures in preparation for working with one of the HDR (high dynamic range) software packages, you will probably need to select the “–, 0, +” setting. (The built-in HDR feature has its own bracketing sequence, and always captures three images, using exposure bracketing that you specify as part of that HDR setup.)

Figure 16-13. Choosing a Bracketing Sequence setting

Figure 16-14. The help panels for Bracketing Sequence

Other than that, you should select a setting consistent with how you expect the series to be presented. The minus sign represents the underexposed segment of the bracketed series, and the plus sign represents the overexposed segment. The zero represents the normal exposure.

Number of Bracketed Shots

Heretofore, bracketing had been thought of as taking one correct exposure, one underexposure, and one overexposure. With the advent of sophisticated HDR software, the desire for more incremental images has led to the introduction of even more under- and overexposed images. With the Number of Bracketed Shots option, you can choose settings for five or seven images, in addition to the standard option for three images. There’s even a strange, two-image setting.

Figure 16-15. Choosing a Number of Bracketed Shots setting

For Auto Exposure Bracketing, you would normally use the Main Dial to establish the magnitude of variance on each side of the normal exposure, but with the two-image setting in this menu option, you use the Main Dial to determine not only the magnitude, but also the direction of variance from the normal exposure.

Figure 16-16. The help panels for Number of Bracketed Shots

Safety Shift

The Safety Shift option is of little, if any, value to the knees-and-elbows wildflower photographer, or to photographers who enjoy the luxury of being able to plan their shoots, and who have significant control of the environment in which they work. However, photojournalists, sports photographers, and possibly even wedding photographers on occasion, will appreciate this when-all-else-fails menu option. You can select the Disable option to ensure the camera will never override your well-considered settings, but if you need the security that this option offers, you have two choices:

Figure 16-17. Choosing the Safety Shift setting

• Shutter Speed/Aperture. If the subject’s brightness changes and a good exposure can’t be determined based on the current autoexposure settings, the camera will override the manually set shutter speed or aperture in order to obtain a good exposure.

• ISO Speed. If the subject’s brightness changes and a good exposure can’t be determined based on the current autoexposure settings, the camera will override the manually set ISO speed in order to obtain a good exposure.

Figure 16-18. The help panels for Safety Shift

C.Fn II: Autofocus

In this section, the initialism AF is used widely to represent autofocus, consistent with the use of the term in the Canon Instruction Manual.

Figure 16-19. Selecting the Autofocus custom function

Tracking Sensitivity

This function applies only when AF Operation, accessed from the AF button or from the Quick Control Dial, is set to AI Servo.

Often, while you are concentrating on tracking a mobile subject, another object enters the viewfinder’s image. Tracking Sensitivity attempts to let you predetermine how you want the autofocusing system to behave when that occurs.

Figure 16-20. Selecting the Tracking Sensitivity option

Figure 16-21. Choosing a Tracking Sensitivity setting

If you want the camera to attempt to ignore such an intrusion, such as when a seagull swoops past the pelican you have focused on, set the scale to the minus side. However, if you want to attempt to move the focus to the new subject, essentially ignoring the old subject (an example being a skier exploding over the crest of a snow bank when the camera is focused on the sky), set the scale to the plus side.

Figure 16-22. The help panels for Tracking Sensitivity

Accel./Decel. Tracking

This function applies only when AF Operation, accessed from the AF button or from the Quick Control Dial, is set to AI Servo.

There are two general classes of mobile subjects: those that are on a single course and moving at a consistent speed, and those that do not maintain a single course and/or erratically change speed. For smooth-moving subjects, such as a gliding heron or egret, set this value to 0.

Figure 16-23. Choosing an Accel./Decel. setting

Figure 16-24. The help panels for Accel./Decel. Tracking

However, if you’re trying to photograph a fox chasing a rabbit or if your subject is a basketball player in motion, then set the value to 1 or 2, depending on the degree of randomness in speed or direction.

AI Servo 1st Image Priority

This function applies only when AF Operation, accessed from the AF button or from the Quick Control Dial, is set to AI Servo.

As its name implies, the AI Servo 1st Image Priority option applies to the first exposure in a continuous shooting situation. The AI Servo 2nd Image Priority option applies to the second exposure and all subsequent exposures while the Shutter button is held down.

This option has three choices. Equal Priority attempts to ensure a balance between release timing and achieving focus. Release Priority allows the shutter to operate even if the camera is not focused. Focus Priority requires that focus be achieved before the shutter will be released; with a subject that is flitting across the viewfinder in an unpredictable manner, you may never achieve focus.

Figure 16-25. Choosing an AI Servo 1st Image Priority setting

Figure 16-26. The help panels for AI Servo 1st Image Priority

AI Servo 2nd Image Priority

This function applies only when AF Operation, accessed from the AF button or from the Quick Control Dial, is set to AI Servo.

With this option, you can specify what priority to give to the second and subsequent exposures when using continuous shooting. Equal Priority and Focus Priority function here just as they do in the 1st Image Priority setting, but the Release Priority has been replaced with a Speed Priority setting (as is necessary with continuous shooting). When you select Speed Priority, the camera will maintain the speed of continuous shooting, regardless of focus.

Figure 16-27. Choosing an AI Servo 2nd Image Priority setting

If I wanted to capture a sequence of photos that clearly identified a competitor as he was breathlessly approaching the finish line, but I also needed a shot of that competitor crossing the finish line, then I would probably set up AI Servo 1st Image Priority to use Focus Priority. It would give me a sharp photo of the competitor, regardless of his immediate place on the course. I would set the AI Servo 2nd Image Priority to use Speed Priority to ensure that somewhere in that string of continuously shot pictures there would be one showing the competitor crossing the finish line, regardless of just how sharp the image would be.

Figure 16-28. The help panels for AI Servo 2nd Image Priority

AF-Assist Beam Firing

Most Canon Speedlites have the ability to generate a brief series of lowpower flashes that can be used to assist the camera in focusing. By default, the Enable choice is set. However, there are times and places where this burst of light would be inappropriate. That is when you choose the Disable setting. There are some Speedlites that also have an infrared (IR) beam that can be used for AF assist. With the IR AF Assist Beam Only setting selected, there will be no visible-light flashes for AF assist.

Figure 16-29. Choosing an AF-Assist Beam Firing setting

Figure 16-30. The help panels for AF-Assist Beam Firing

Lens Drive When AF Impossible

Not often, but frequently enough to be a real bother, you may focus on an object that the autofocus system just cannot resolve. This can happen when you are shooting a bamboo forest, a box of soda straws, or anything that has no significant horizontal lines, and you have chosen a focus point that is not sensitive to vertical lines (in that case, it’s easy to simply move the focus point to use one of the vertical-line-sensitive focus sensors or the cross-type focus sensor—see figure 6-2 to locate them). Or, you may have the focus point on a subject that has a smooth, uniform texture and color, so that there is insufficient detail or contrast for the autofocus system to work. You might simply be too close to your subject for the lens that is currently mounted. The typical result is that the lens oscillates between its focusing limits, trying to find a reasonable object on which to focus.

Figure 16-31. Choosing the Lens Drive When AF Impossible setting

This option has two settings. With the Continue Focus Search setting, the lens will continue to try to find focus; that’s good if the problem is one that you can resolve by changing the focus point. However, if you know the autofocus system is not going to be able to find focus, select the Stop Focus Search setting and use manual focus. The Stop Focus Search is commonly set when using very long telephoto lenses; otherwise, the lens can spend an inordinate amount of time attempting to achieve focus.

Figure 16-32. The help panels for Lens Drive When AF Impossible

Orientation Linked AF Point

The Orientation Linked AF Point option is an interesting feature; I’m still trying to decide whether I’ll bother with using it, but for some, it could be a very nice extension of the autofocus capabilities of the camera. When the camera comes from the factory, this option is set to Same for Both Vertic./Horiz., which is what most of us have used for a considerable time. But certain photographers, such as wildlife photographers, find that while the majority of their photos are shot in landscape orientation, the best shots are those serendipitous portrait-orientation shots they’re able to capture as they encounter their subject head-on. Too many of those types of shots are lost because the camera requires adjustments for the portrait-orientation photo. The subject has long since departed the scene by the time the photographer sets the focus mode and selects the focus point.

Figure 16-33. Choosing the Orientation Linked AF Point setting

That scenario is precisely the situation the Select Separate AF Points setting is for. Once this setting is established, you can establish an AF area selection mode and an AF point for each of three orientations: normal landscape mode, portrait mode with the grip at the top, and portrait mode with the grip at the bottom. Simply rotating the camera will automatically recall the settings from the last time they were selected for that particular orientation and make them active. Fortunately, Canon has determined that the body must rotate about 50 degrees before the change occurs, eliminating false starts caused by too sensitive a rotation sensor.

Figure 16-34. The help panels for Orientation Linked AF Point

Superimposed Display

This is a function that enables a feature that some photographers greatly appreciate, while others want nothing to do with it. When enabled, it will cause the AF points in the viewfinder to appear in bright red when focus is achieved. That can be a very quick confirmation of correct focal point selection as well as a confirmation of focus, but some folks find the superimposed red squares to be distracting.

Figure 16-35. Choosing a Superimposed Display setting

Figure 16-36. The help panels for Superimposed Display

AF Microadjustment

Even Canon recognizes that nothing is perfect. With great attention to manufacturing processes, equipment, and materials, there can still be minor imperfections in camera bodies and lenses. Sometimes an imperfection in a body will cancel out an imperfection in a lens, but in other instances, the imperfections can have a cumulative effect, creating an observable problem.

Figure 16-37. Choosing an AF Microadjustment setting

AF Microadjustment is intended to allow the camera to compensate for some degree of error in focusing. With a prime lens (a lens with a single focal length), it gives you the ability to adjust the focus point either closer to or further from the camera. With a zoom lens, it lets you make such an adjustment at each end of the zoom range. For this to work well, you really need to mount the camera on a tripod and use a well-defined target at a constant distance. You may find that a focus calibration system such as one from LensAlign further enhances this process.

Figure 16-38. Choosing an All By Same Amount setting

Figure 16-39. Choosing an Adjust By Lens setting

If you determine that there is sufficient error to warrant using this function to effect some degree of correction, you may want to switch lenses and camera bodies in an effort to identify the source. When the error is found to be in the camera body, you will likely choose to use the All By Same Amount option (figure 16-38), thereby allowing any lens mounted to the body to inherit the correction. If the problem is found in a lens, you’ll choose the Adjust By Lens option (figure 16-39), allowing a different correction to be created for each lens. Note that this function will recognize most lenses by serial number, and for those lenses that cannot be recognized, you can enter the lens’s serial number manually. That allows you to customize the adjustment for every lens if you wish, and to ensure that the correct adjustment is applied for each lens.

Figure 16-40. The help panels for AF Microadjustment

C.Fn III: Operation/Others

Figure 16-41. Selecting the Operation/Others custom function

Dial Direction During Tv/Av

The Main Dial is used to set the aperture when in Av (Aperture-Priority AE) mode, or the shutter speed when in Tv (Shutter-Priority) mode. The Normal setting lets you increase the aperture or shutter-speed setting when the Main Dial is rotated clockwise (as viewed from the back of the camera), and decrease the aperture or shutter-speed setting by rotating the Main Dial counterclockwise. Some camera manufacturers use the opposite convention, and if you happen to be using one of those cameras as well as an EOS 6D, you may want to select the Reverse Direction setting to reduce the potential for confusion.

Figure 16-42. Choosing a Dial Direction during Tv/Av setting

Figure 16-43. The help panels for Dial Direction during Tv/Av

Focusing Screen

The EOS 6D has the ability to accept one of three different focusing screens:

• The Eg-A II Focusing Screen from Canon is an interchangeable focusing screen compatible with the EOS 6D. This standard precision screen is a replacement for the original screen that comes supplied with the camera. It is designed to maximize viewfinder brightness and clarity for better focus, and it works with all AF lenses.

• The Canon Eg-D Precision Matte Focusing Screen With Grid is an interchangeable focusing screen compatible with the EOS 5D Mark II and 6D cameras. This grid screen provides a three-line (horizontal) by five-line (vertical) etched grid, which facilitates composition and horizon alignment. All the camera’s AF points remain fully visible. This screen is ideal for architectural use, close-up and copy work, and wide-angle outdoor photography.

• The Canon Eg-S Super Precision Matte Focusing Screen is an interchangeable focusing screen compatible with the EOS 5D Mark II and 6D. The Super Precision Matte screen makes it easier to focus manually, but is not recommended for use with lenses slower than f/2.8. With slower lenses, the viewfinder will actually look darker than the standard Eg-A II screen.

Be aware that if you choose to change the focusing screen, you need to come to this custom function to tell the camera which focusing screen is installed. Failure to do so will certainly cause focusing problems.

Figure 16-44. Choosing a Focusing Screen setting

Figure 16-45. Example of Focusing Screen being set to type Eg-S

Figure 16-46. The help panel for Focusing Screen

Figure 16-45 can be a bit disconcerting. What it is actually trying to communicate is that the third option (which has an index of two, relative to the first index, which is zero) is being set. That would be the setting for the Eg-S Focusing Screen.

Multi Function Lock

If you find that some of the controls on the camera seem to have a mind of their own and randomly change to new values (surely, swinging along on your shoulder, rubbing against your body, couldn’t cause that…), you can eliminate a good deal of the problem by disabling one or more of three controls. Select the Multi Function Lock option and press SET. For each of the controls that you want to be able to temporarily disable, use the Quick Control Dial or the Multi-controller to select the control, and then press the SET button. Repeat as necessary to select all that you wish to enable. Finally, select OK and press the SET button.

Figure 16-47. Choosing a Multi Function Lock setting

Notice in figure 16-47 that the silhouette of the camera uses a red rectangle to show the position of the control associated with the red-bordered box around the currently selected setting; checkmarks show which settings are currently active.

Now, when you press the Multi Function Lock switch (just below the Quick Control Dial) to the right, the functions of the selected controls have been disabled, but the control will still rotate or move. There will be no unexpected changes to settings caused by accidental movement of those controls. When you need the function of the control, simply slide the switch to the left, restoring all the controls’ operations.

Camera functions that require pressing a button prior to using one of these controls are not affected by the setting of this custom function.

Figure 16-48. The help panels for Multi Function Lock

Warnings in Viewfinder

The EOS 6D provides many situation-specific tools. Some are essentially oneshot applications, while others remain active for a much longer time. Four of these are different enough from the norm that Canon has provided a visual reminder that such a specific tool is currently active.

Figure 16-49. Choosing a Warnings In Viewfinder setting

Select the Warnings In Viewfinder option, and then for each condition that you would like to be accompanied by the exclamation-point warning icon appearing at the left edge of the viewfinder, select the condition and press SET. When you have completed your selections, select OK and press SET.

Figure 16-50. The help screens for Warnings in Viewfinder

Custom Controls

There are a total of 44 settings available under this menu option, allowing you significant flexibility in developing the most efficient system based on how you choose to work.

After selecting the Custom Controls menu option, press SET to see the icons (and their current settings), and the full spectrum of customizable buttons, dials, and other controls, as shown in figure 16-51. Use either the Quick Control Dial or the Multi-controller to select an icon for customization, press SET, and then use either the Quick Control Dial or the Multi-controller to select a setting to associate with that icon and press SET. Repeat the process to customize additional icons. When you’re finished, press MENU to return to the C.Fn III menu.

Figure 16-51. Choosing a Custom Control setting

Figure 16-52. Choosing a function for the Depth-of-Field Preview button

As you scroll through the functions available for some of the icons, keep an eye out for instructions on how to use a function with its new customization. For example, if you choose to customize the SET button to set ISO speed, the text above the display of available settings reads “Set ISO speed (hold btn, turn)”, in which the word “btn” refers to the SET button.

Clear All Custom Func. (C.Fn)

If you’re confused about how some custom functions relate to other custom functions, it may be time to clear all the custom functions and recreate the set, watching closely to determine when an apparent incompatibility is introduced. The Clear All Custom Func. (C.Fn) option will clear all the custom functions except for the Custom Controls option and the Focusing Screen option on the C.Fn III menu. (The Custom Controls can be deleted, or more accurately, reset to their default values by pressing the Erase button while on the Custom Controls screen, selecting OK, and pressing the SET button.)

Figure 16-53. Selecting the Clear All Custom Func. (C.Fn) option

Figure 16-54. Warning screen before clearing all custom functions