Custom Modes on cameras

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LancsMak

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So tomorrow I get my shiny new R6 Mk2 which is going to be a real treat and also a big learning curve in terms of the potential it opens up. One of the more basic things I've been pondering is the ability to have 3 custom modes set up. I know straight off how I'll have two of them (one for fast animal tracking, another for quick group photos of a team, lost count of the number of times I've wished for that) but I'm intrigued what people find the most useful things to be able to quickly switch between - if you could say why and what you're doing with it then hopefully this might be an interesting topic :).

As always, thanks.
 
with my R7 I have the first set for birds/squirrels, second set for landscapes/flowers and third for macro
 
I usually use aperture mode but use manual in lower light and also have custom modes set for face/eye detect.

Good luck with the new camera. I'm sure you'll enjoy it :D but remember not to read the manual and instead if you get stuck just ask strangers the internet for advice :D
 
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I'm developing five (so far):

PR
Graduation portraits
General portraits/Headshots
Sport Field (Rugby etc)
Sport Equestrian

Each has its own tweaks and variations in terms of capture mode, crop factor, recording format, shutter speed/aperture, image quality ,etc etc etc
 
I find by the time you changed custom mode and checked it is what you thought it was you might just as well change things manually, mind I am always in full manual anyway and hardly have to think about it.
 
4wd said:
I find by the time you changed custom mode and checked it is what you thought it was you might just as well change things manually, mind I am always in full manual anyway and hardly have to think about it.
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And the rest?

If you shoot multiple subject types and scenarios/genres it is invaluable.

If you don't, meh...
 
Plain Nev said:
I'd probably forget which was which. :D
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Which is why the latest Fuji's have a massive advantage in that you can custom name the presets.

Otherwise, yep. I've easily forgotten custom button functions in the past through lack of use.
 
DemiLion said:
Which is why the latest Fuji's have a massive advantage in that you can custom name the presets.

Otherwise, yep. I've easily forgotten custom button functions in the past through lack of use.
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Do they? I am thinking about a new Fuji at the moment. Although, I'm in the manual camp and have never used a preset.
 
3 custom modes on Sony dial. set them up as PAL, which even I can remember, Portrait, action and landscape
 
On my R5 I have got one custom mode for animal eye detect/tracking moving subjects, more because for me anyway it was complicated to set it up so once I got the settings that worked figured out I saved it to C2
I use C1 for macro work just to save time so I can quickly change from long lens , animals and birds to macro
 
4wd said:
I find by the time you changed custom mode and checked it is what you thought it was you might just as well change things manually, mind I am always in full manual anyway and hardly have to think about it.
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Always in manual? You must not get outside much :) Unfortunatley full manual isn't an option for a lot of us all the time ..
 
On the dial, C1 for 5 shot HDR, C2 for normal P mode (when in P mode on the dial, sharpening and NR is zero) and C3 bird eye tracking. C3-2 and C3-3 for settings wanted on a particular day
 
4wd said:
I find by the time you changed custom mode and checked it is what you thought it was you might just as well change things manually, mind I am always in full manual anyway and hardly have to think about it.
Click to expand...
I have a piece of gaffer tape stuck to the base of my cameras with a custom mode reminder written on it. :)
 
I have one for landscapes (Aperture Priority, f8, ISO 100, single shot, single point AF-C with BBF, wide metering), one for wildlife (manual mode, f2.8, 1/1000, auto ISO, AF-C single point tracking with animal/bird eye AF BBF, multi metering, continuous drive) and one for motorsports (shutter priority, f2.8, 1/50, auto ISO, AF-C single point BBF, multi metering, continuous drive).

I then have a custom button to reg custom shoot set which in essence is a quick way to quickly swap to temporarily swap to another custom mode without having to turn the mode dial. I have that set pretty much the same as my wildlife setting but with the shutter of 1/2000.
 
When I first got my A7 i set up a couple of custom modes, but they never got used after the first month.
:rolleyes:
 
I find them a real help and for me they save time, how much time is difficult to say but maybe 10-30 seconds depending on how quick your fingers can fly and if you need to move the camera away from your eye to look at buttons and dials or not. For me they take the camera from one known state (probably aperture priority) to another (face or eye detect with wide area focusing and wide open aperture in one custom mode and all the same but with a shutter speed of about 1/160 in another custom mode.)
 
I only have one set. It’s for flash and is Manual 200 iso and 1/125 5.6

Edit
I like to keep my focus settings uniform so I remember what I’m doing.
 
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