# How do you have the buttons/dials set up on the EOS R?



## Kit Lens Jockey (Jan 28, 2019)

While I'd still like it if there were completely customizable buttons the way Sony does it (allowing any button to do any function, not limiting certain buttons to certain functions), there are still a bunch of ways to customize the EOS R buttons and dials. While I miss some of the buttons that the 5D4 has that the R did away with, it has forced me to really consider what I assign each button to on the R.

This is currently how I have the buttons set up that seems to let me use the camera the most easily. I'm curious about what everyone else has done with their buttons and dials. There are so many ways to set things up that I'm wondering if I'm missing any helpful button assignments.




Directional pad: Direct AF point selection. I usually use touch and drag for moving the autofocus point, but without coming up with another really good use for the D-pad, I just set it as a redundant way to move the AF point. I don't use it much, it's slow.

AF ON: I don't like back button autofocus, so I set this so that when I hold this down, it transforms the front dial (by the shutter button) into a dial that adjusts exposure compensation.

AE lock: I also don't use AE lock, so I set this button to toggle back and forth between one shot and servo AF. It's nice for those times when you quickly want to switch between the two.

Focus point selection: I set this to put the display to sleep for those times when I accidentally get something too close to the viewfinder so it wakes the camera up, and then wakes the display up when whatever was close to the viewfinder moves away from it. I really wish I didn't have to devote a whole button to this, but I end up accidentally waking up the camera way more than I intend to, and I don't want it to set there draining the battery.

Top screen illumination: I set this to actually illuminate the top screen with one press, none of this holding it down crap that it comes with by default. If I want to illuminate the top screen, I don't want to stand there holding a button down to do it.

Movie record button: I set this to change the AF point mode. I don't use it much because I usually just use single point AF, but as I remember the options for this button were pretty limited.

Control ring adapter: I set this to aperture because I don't really like the position of the rear dial, so this way I don't really have to use it for much.

Touch bar: I set this to focus magnification. I really don't like the touch bar, and the number of things you can set it to is limited, so I just set it to whatever seemed useful and I didn't already have an easy way to adjust.

I think that's about all I customized. The remaining buttons I think I left as a default.


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## Viggo (Jan 28, 2019)

Dir. pad:
I also have it for navigating menus and AF point, I use them to very finely adjust the AF point position. And Set button is to activate/deactivate touch’n drag.

AF-ON:
AF start, metering only on shutter.

AE lock:
Centers AF point since it sometimes is crushed against a side or corner and if I can’t see it quickly I use AE to center it to get a shot anyway.

Focus point selection? Is that the one under AE?

I have that one for directly choose a different AF method, for example single point, single point with expansion and face detect tracking. I have removed all the other zones etc.

Top screen illumination :
Switch between one shot and Servo, used mostly to engage and use MF with the arrow tool without having to switch the af/MF selector on the lens.

Movie record : movie record with preset custom mode.

Control ring:
Exposure compensation. And I really want the mode dial ring to do something else, but it’s lacking options for me.

Touch Bar:
Left touch Level, right touch Histogram, swipe WB .

Mf.n :

Run through drive mode, iso, WB etc.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 28, 2019)

I leave buttons setup by default, and learn to use the controls that way. Over the years, I've changed defaults, but that causes me to keep resetting up new camera models, so I finally gave up. I do tweak some settings, of course, bet leave controls assigned to default buttons. If I could save my settings like a 1 series camera, I might change my tune.


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## Kit Lens Jockey (Jan 28, 2019)

Viggo said:


> Control ring:
> Exposure compensation. And I really want the mode dial ring to do something else, but it’s lacking options for me.


I had the control ring set to exposure compensation until just recently. I like holding down the button and turning the dial better because when using the control ring, since it's always an active control, I could never quite tell when I was turning it if the metering readout in the viewfinder was what the exposure compensation is set at, or what the actual exposure that the photo was going to be taken at was. And those aren't always the same thing when you reach the limits of the automatic settings of whatever mode you're in.

With the method of holding down the button, you can immediately see that the metering readout is your exposure compensation setting whenever the button is pressed, then it immediately changes back to the actual exposure of the photo as soon as you let off the button.

And yes, I know you can also make it so the control ring doesn't adjust until you hold down a button, but that just feels weird to me for some reason.


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## Jethro (Jan 29, 2019)

Kit Lens Jockey said:


> While I'd still like it if there were completely customizable buttons the way Sony does it (allowing any button to do any function, not limiting certain buttons to certain functions), there are still a bunch of ways to customize the EOS R buttons and dials. While I miss some of the buttons that the 5D4 has that the R did away with, it has forced me to really consider what I assign each button to on the R.
> 
> This is currently how I have the buttons set up that seems to let me use the camera the most easily. I'm curious about what everyone else has done with their buttons and dials. There are so many ways to set things up that I'm wondering if I'm missing any helpful button assignments.
> 
> ...


Gee - that's really close to where I have got to with customisation! Plus Viggo's on the AE Lock.


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## Viggo (Jan 29, 2019)

Kit Lens Jockey said:


> I had the control ring set to exposure compensation until just recently. I like holding down the button and turning the dial better because when using the control ring, since it's always an active control, I could never quite tell when I was turning it if the metering readout in the viewfinder was what the exposure compensation is set at, or what the actual exposure that the photo was going to be taken at was. And those aren't always the same thing when you reach the limits of the automatic settings of whatever mode you're in.
> 
> With the method of holding down the button, you can immediately see that the metering readout is your exposure compensation setting whenever the button is pressed, then it immediately changes back to the actual exposure of the photo as soon as you let off the button.
> 
> And yes, I know you can also make it so the control ring doesn't adjust until you hold down a button, but that just feels weird to me for some reason.


You can also choose to have the metering engaged before the control ring is active, which is the way I have it setup. The control ring does nothing without halfpress


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## Reeperbahn (Jan 29, 2019)

Since I always shoot in M, I don't need a lot of extra functions - so I have ISO on the adaptor-ring. 

"AF-on" is back button focus. Shutter is metering start only. 

Touch-bar is for zoom and does work on display and in the viewfinder. Love it for that function. 

AF-Point-selection starts pairing with my phone (need that very often for sending out pictures to newspapers)

AE-lock: Sleep for the display. 

I would really appreciate the possibility to disable the display. I need it for AF point selection (touch/drag), so I can not "close it in turnaround mode". But waiting for the next shot with the glowing display showing a unfocussed image of my feet is annoying sometimes, and eats too much battery.


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## Viggo (Jan 29, 2019)

Reeperbahn said:


> Since I always shoot in M, I don't need a lot of extra functions - so I have ISO on the adaptor-ring.
> 
> "AF-on" is back button focus. Shutter is metering start only.
> 
> ...


I use ECO mode and then the display goes dark in 15 seconds .


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## Reeperbahn (Jan 29, 2019)

Viggo said:


> I use ECO mode and then the display goes dark in 15 seconds .



but is does wake up if you have something close to the viewfinder-sensor? Or wouldn't it?


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## Viggo (Jan 29, 2019)

Reeperbahn said:


> but is does wake up if you have something close to the viewfinder-sensor? Or wouldn't it?


No, only when touching a button after it’s asleep.


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## Reeperbahn (Jan 29, 2019)

great - just tried it, not in eco-mode, but in menue "power saving": 

If I set display-off to 15s and camera-off to 3min, the viewfinder-sensor is still active between display-shutdown and camera-sleep. It is inactive after camera goes to sleep also, which is visible on the top-display.

If I set display-off and camera-sleep to 15s, Viggo is correct: the R seems to sleep soundly immediately ;-) 

Thank you Viggo!


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## Viggo (Jan 29, 2019)

Reeperbahn said:


> great - just tried it, not in eco-mode, but in menue "power saving":
> 
> If I set display-off to 15s and camera-off to 3min, the viewfinder-sensor is still active between display-shutdown and camera-sleep. It is inactive after camera goes to sleep also, which is visible on the top-display.
> 
> ...


No worries! Glad it worked out


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## Larsskv (Jan 29, 2019)

A quick tip for the Touch Bar. I set it to “rate” in playback mode. I constantly rate my photos so that I don’t have to go through every one of them on my computer - especially helpful if you are on travel and don’t empty the memory card often.


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