EOS Utility and Mode Dial

[Davoud]

5D III, 6D. Can the function of the Mode Dial (P, Tv, Av, M, B, &c.) be changed from within EOS Utility version 3.4? It seems to me that I used to do this with earlier versions of EU, but it has been a couple of years since I used DPP or EU. The mode selected on the camera is shown, but it is grayed out in the software, not selectable as other camera settings are.

Thanks!

Davud Illig

[Waddizzle]

On the 6D there are two custom shooting modes on the dial, which are user defined.

I am not aware of being able to modify these settings through the EOS Utility.

[Davoud]

Thanks for taking time to reply.

Did that. Doesn't seem to have any effect on EOS Utility. The Mode (at M in this screen capture) is still not selectable.

[Waddizzle]

"Did that. Doesn't seem to have any effect on EOS Utility. The Mode (at M in this screen capture) is still not selectable."

I don't have my camera at hand to test it out, but why should the shooting mode be "selectable"?  The mode switch is a hardware switch setting, not a programmable soft switch that could conceivably be remotely configured.

Can you change the state of the AF/MF switch?

[Davoud]

why should the shooting mode be "selectable"?  The mode switch is a hardware switch setting, not a programmable soft switch that could conceivably be remotely configured

It isn't a hardware switch in the sense that it connects to cams, levers, gears, and what-not. It's an electronic switch that connects to the camera's processor just as the switches on the touch-screen do. The reason it has a mechanical aspect is that is a legacy of an important camera control from the early days of 35mm cameras.

Can you change the state of the AF/MF switch?

Yes, and if one selects MF one may focus manually using EOS Utility. Here's the AF/MF switch next to the shutter release button (another physical button on the camera that is a software switch in EOS Utility).

[Davoud]

Can you change the state of the AF/MF switch?

Yes, and if one selects MF one may focus manually using EOS Utility. Here's the AF/MF switch next to the shutter release button (another physical button on the camera that is a software switch in EOS Utility).

[Waddizzle]

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@Davoud wrote:

why should the shooting mode be "selectable"?  The mode switch is a hardware switch setting, not a programmable soft switch that could conceivably be remotely configured

It isn't a hardware switch in the sense that it connects to cams, levers, gears, and what-not. It's an electronic switch that connects to the camera's processor just as the switches on the touch-screen do. The reason it has a mechanical aspect is that is a legacy of an important camera control from the early days of 35mm cameras.

Can you change the state of the AF/MF switch?

Yes, and if one selects MF one may focus manually using EOS Utility. Here's the AF/MF switch next to the shutter release button (another physical button on the camera that is a software switch in EOS Utility).

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Okay, but with what lens, though? 

I think the functionality of that AF/MF switch may depend upon the lens.  If the lens does not have manual focus override of the AF switch, then I am not certain if that switch would have any effect.

At any rate, the switch is what it currently is.  The switch is inarguably a mechanized, electrical switch on the camera, one with a mechanical lockout to prevent accidental changes in its' setting. 

If software could change the mode setting, then what happens to the position indication of the on-camera mode switch?   

[Waddizzle]

Can you change the state of the AF/MF switch?

Yes, and if one selects MF one may focus manually using EOS Utility. Here's the AF/MF switch next to the shutter release button (another physical button on the camera that is a software switch in EOS Utility).

[Davoud]

If software could change the mode setting, then what happens to the position indication of the on-camera mode switch?

Purely hypothetical, as it seems you are correct and the Mode Dial cannot be controled remotely. If I were designing it? Well, suppose the Mode Dial was set to M but the remote user chose Av in software. The mechanical dial on the camera would then be displaying the wrong mode, but so what? This is remote operation and the photographer sees the setting as it really is on her display, and can't see the camera, which is at some distance from the computer. When she quits EOS Utility the camera reverts to the M setting that it had before the photographer changed it in software. Again, that's entirely\ hypothetical, the way it would be if I had designed the software.

[kvbarkley]

And it is clear that the C1 and C2 modes can set any of the modes, so it is under program control, not hard linked to the mode dial.

[Waddizzle]

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@kvbarkley wrote:

And it is clear that the C1 and C2 modes can set any of the modes, so it is under program control, not hard linked to the mode dial.

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Good call.  That was my whole point from my earlier post.

[RobertTheFat]

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@kvbarkley wrote:

And it is clear that the C1 and C2 modes can set any of the modes, so it is under program control, not hard linked to the mode dial.

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So what the OP is looking for, I guess, is the ability to use EOSU to set several of the shooting parameters simultaneously with one mouse click. E.g., "Now use the parameters specified in the C1 user mode" or "Now use the settings I previously saved in a file".Sounds like a worthwhile idea, although probably beyond EOSU's capability today. But as long as the parameters under consideration are settable by EOSU (and some obviously are), the capability could presumably be implemented entirely in software, without any modification of the camera's hardware or firmware.