EOS 1DX series fast selection of two setups

[wq9nsc]

A camera feature I should have figured out earlier is how to instantly toggle between two camera exposure setups.  I primarily shoot sports and the majority of images are taken at high shutter speed with a fast lens at maximum aperture but there are times when you instantly need a setup that will allow greater depth of field.  A common example is a post-score celebration.  Due to lighting, it is generally necessary to change both aperture for depth of field and also shutter speed to avoid ISO climbing too high for conditions.

The following gives you instant change back and forth between two discrete setups for the 1DX family, I am not sure which other Canon EOS series bodies provide this capability.  To utilize:

1.  Restrict shooting modes to allow only one of the available C1 through C3 custom memory locations, I use C1.

2.  Reassign "Switch to custom shooting mode function" to the m-fn button

3.  Set up your alternate set of exposure parameters  (i.e. f4.5, 1/250) and save these to C1

4.  Return to your typical exposure parameters (i.e. f2.8, 1/800)

Now every time you press the m-fn button, the setup will toggle from your standard setting to the C1 saved set and then back to the standard setting with another push of the m-fn button.

Note that I shoot sports in manual mode with auto ISO, this is the parameter I allow to "float" to create a standard exposure.  With this setup, I can photograph a touchdown being scored then tap the m-fn button to catch a couple of celebration photos and then tap m-fn again to go back to my shooting setup to capture a PAT or two point conversion attempt.  It is much faster and far less subject to error than trying to use dials to move several steps for either aperture or shutter speed and then returning to a prior setup.

Not sure why I shot for several seasons without discovering this capability of the 1DX series bodies but it is a really useful feature.  I had been through the operator's manual before but never realized how to accomplish this task which involves pulling together several of the custom capabilities.

Rodger

[rs-eos]

That's really cool!

I don't think this is doable on a 5D IV (and probably not on any 5D or 6D series either) as there's no way I can see to restrict to a single custom memory location.  So these may very well be something only doable in the 1-series line.

[jrhoffman75]

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@rs-eos wrote:

That's really cool!

I don't think this is doable on a 5D IV (and probably not on any 5D or 6D series either) as there's no way I can see to restrict to a single custom memory location.  So these may very well be something only doable in the 1-series line.

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I haven't explored using this option, but a number of cameras (5D IV for one) have a Register/Recall camera settings custom setting.

Register recall function: Canon EOS-1D / 5D / 6D Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.co...

[wq9nsc]

John,

That is a good find and works very similarly to the 1DX function except with the 5D4 and others you need to keep the button depressed.  That isn't quite as convenient as the 1 series bodies but still much better than switching setups using other methods.  I rarely used the three setup memories with my 1DX bodies but now that I figured out how to use this to best advantage for sports, all three of my 1DX series are configured for 1 memory setting only for rapid setup switching between two scenarios and this setup is saved to one of their memory cards.

These are the sorts of features that a lot of users would find quite valuable if they were a bit easier to find and use.  Canon documentation is far from terrible but I do find it more difficult to use compared to really good technical documentation (see Tektronix test and measurement equipment manuals for example).  Tektronix manual organization and information clarity is excellent and they also include an applications section in most manuals which is where setups like these would appear making them quick and simple to implement.

Rodger