E-M1 Custom settings

[David Morison]

As the E-M1 has been in the hands of quite a few of us (apologies to those who haven't yet received theirs) I thought it useful to start a thread on the various ways in which we have customised our cameras. I know customisation has come up in a number of other threads, especially referring to BIFs, but thought it would be useful to put it all together in one thread. I received my camera on October 4th, just before I went on a week's vacation in Northern Corfu. I obviously had a fair bit of spare time to get used to the camera during that break but as I was situated next to a nature reserve my concentration was on photographing wild things and not general use. I must admit that my first couple of weeks with the camera didn't go quite as I'd hoped, having owned an E-M5 for over a year I imagined it would be plain sailing - not so! However now seven weeks down the line I have ironed out most of my difficulties, most of which were probably OE, and feel I've now customised my camera to suit most of my needs. For those who haven't already realised, my main interest is in bird photography with a smattering of landscape and macro thrown in, so a lot of my settings are with these subjects in mind - but I thought worth sharing nevertheless. I realise of course that there are many who would do things very differently and this is what then thread is about. So give us your settings and ideas - we can all learn from each other.

Here goes:

Exposure setting

I use Centre weighted for almost everything.

AF settings:

Mode
I use S-AF only now as my results with C-AF have not been very successful for my chosen subjects, although I am starting to use C-AF Tr for some Landscape work.

Area
I use Single target small area (AF Home) for most of my subjects but for fast movers I use either centre 9 or Single target magnified (5x).

Burst rate
For static or slow movers I use "L" set to 4 fps, for fast movers I use "H" at 10fps.

Mode settings
For most static subjects I will use "A" mode but for wildlife other than macro (unless the wind is blowing the subject around) I will use "S" mode, as even with a static bird for instance, feathers can move with the wind and spoil a shot.

Button function settings

These are my current button assignments:

Fn1 - My1 (for BIFs against the sky)
Fn2 - My2 (for BIFs against a solid background)
Record button - x2 DTC
AEL/AFL Button - Focus Peaking
Lens mount top button - Magnify
Lens mount lower button - AF area home
Arrow right - Flash control
Arrow down - ISO

Dial setting

Rear dial
In "A" mode - Aperture setting
In "S" mode - Shutter setting
In "M" mode - Shutter setting

Front dial
In "A" mode - Exposure compensation
In "S" mode - Exposure compensation
In "M" mode - Aperture setting

Lever setting

Position 1 - mode5
Position 2 - Off, but I use this to enable MF in all modes

Mysets

My1 - For BIFS against the sky:
"S" mode 1/1250th, LSF( but will eventually go to RAW), S-AF centre 9, "H" burst rate, Vivid, Exposure compensation + 1.7. I will sometimes enable magnify single target 5x for some subjects and change the exposure compensation.

My2 - For BIFs against solid background
Same as My1 but without any exposure compensation.

Well I think I've exhausted everything there, including my brain, but if I think of anything else I'll post.

David

[Ian]

Re: E-M1 Custom settings

At last I have an E-M1 once again - after being the only person with an E-M1 in the UK originally and having to disguise it in public before the launch I have been without one after my early sample was recalled in mid-September!

Ian