# EOS R5/R6 Customization Tips and Wishes



## YuengLinger (Oct 26, 2020)

Here's a catchall thread for customizing buttons and dials. Coming most recently from the R, I like having more buttons, but I'm a little surprised by a few limitations. Having used the 5DIV for three years before the R, I miss some of the default functions and the customizing.

One function that seems to have been demoted is Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC), which on the 5DIV shared a button with ISO. Now, on the R6, I'm seeing only two options for FEC. It can either be one of the items accessed by pressing M-Fn and then selecting FEC before adjusting, or it can be assigned to the lens dial, which I might come to like but seems a bit strange right now. No button can be dedicated to it.

Which brings up the forlorn RATE button, which might be very useful to some photographers, but I've never met one who uses it. I'd LOVE to see it customizable.

One thing that does look cool about the R5, it gains at least one customizable button with the little top-panel's LCD light button. 

Any sharing of your customization, or hopes for a FW update that might bring a few more options, would be very interesting!

I think this thread could also be helpful for sharing how we use the C1, C2, C3 custom shooting modes.


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## JPAZ (Oct 26, 2020)

Just digging into customizing this rig. Wonder if the "Lock" button is customizable? Never use it (nor did I use the lock lever on the 5Div). Will eventually set up some things on the C1,2,3.......maybe focus setups?


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## SteveC (Oct 26, 2020)

This is my favorite so far.






Essentially back button focus on the AF-On button, then putting eye focus (animal/human) on the * button.

(I need to work on being able to readily switch from animal to human priority. And put some thought into setting up the custom modes, which, perhaps would be a good way to do this.)


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## [email protected] (Oct 27, 2020)

R5 Gps settings to automatically connect to phone after it wakes up from standby mode without starting the ap on the phone.


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## YuengLinger (Oct 29, 2020)

Others here on CR have wished the number of shots taken per second with electronic shutter could be adjusted. I do to! Or at least some kind of limit, where we get, say, five shots at a time. Canon markets electronic shutter in various ways, and one is as a silent method of taking photos when needed. But it really is hard to take less than ten at a time, meaning the card if filling fast with redundant shots.

Also, I wish we had something more than the faint white lines and flickering to alert us to electronic shutter. This morning, in very dim light, I inadvertently took 70 shots of my barely awake kid--because I thought my AF wasn't engaging enough to let me take photos. (Right--I forgot I had switched to electronic the night before.) It would be nice if we had a beep or tone that we were allowed to activate, or better yet, a distinct fake shutter sound that is different from the mechanical and first curtain sounds. Just to alert us if we want to use electronic but don't need silence.


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## YuengLinger (Oct 29, 2020)

SteveC said:


> This is my favorite so far.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think having the shutter button do triple duty is great now that Servo AF is so reliable. In fact he does say that there is little reason to use One Shot now, so I think the need for back-button is less compelling. (I use the * button for AE LOCK HOLD, so once I have the desired exposure, it is really locked in until I'm ready to change it.) In any event, good presentation.

(In my experience, Servo AF is what helps mirrorless produce so many keepers, especially with narrow DoF shots. Whether it is me or the person being photographed swaying back and forth ever so slightly, Servo AF keeps focus spot on even for a sitting subject. So, unless using a tripod, I don't switch back to One Shot anymore.)

One thing he does not make clear is that with his set up, and all the others like this I've tried, we have to keep holding down the button for Eye AF; otherwise AF reverts right back to what it was before (1-Point AF. etc.) So it isn't a true toggle that turns it on and leaves it on--it only keeps Eye AF active while the button is being pressed. I don't like having my thumb stuck doing that--I want to be able to reposition the AF point on the screen or hit another button if needed.

So I really wish a FW update would allow us to use just one button to turn Eye AF off and on. Now it seems it can only be temporarily engaged with a button, or cycled to by selecting an AF method.


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## SteveC (Oct 29, 2020)

YuengLinger said:


> Others here on CR have wished the number of shots taken per second with electronic shutter could be adjusted. I do to! Or at least some kind of limit, where we get, say, five shots at a time. Canon markets electronic shutter in various ways, and one is as a silent method of taking photos when needed. But it really is hard to take less than ten at a time, meaning the card if filling fast with redundant shots.
> 
> Also, I wish we had something more than the faint white lines and flickering to alert us to electronic shutter. This morning, in very dim light, I inadvertently took 70 shots of my barely awake kid--because I thought my AF wasn't engaging enough to let me take photos. (Right--I forgot I had switched to electronic the night before.) It would be nice if we had a beep or tone that we were allowed to activate, or better yet, a distinct fake shutter sound that is different from the mechanical and first curtain sounds. Just to alert us if we want to use electronic but don't need silence.



I don't use the burst modes much, but I can see how these sorts of things would be aggravating...especially since most of the time when I _do_ actually use the modes I forget to turn it off. I did play with the electronic shutter once and yes, it's astounding how fast you can fill your card up without even realizing it. It should be adjustable for speed and there should be a way to make it at least just barely audible.


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## YuengLinger (Oct 29, 2020)

SteveC said:


> I don't use the burst modes much, but I can see how these sorts of things would be aggravating...especially since most of the time when I _do_ actually use the modes I forget to turn it off. I did play with the electronic shutter once and yes, it's astounding how fast you can fill your card up without even realizing it. It should be adjustable for speed and there should be a way to make it at least just barely audible.


Thanks for mentioning burst mode, which I didn't. Yes, what I mean is that in any burst mode, regardless of the speed we choose, it's all or nothing.

I went back to my post and clarified.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Oct 29, 2020)

I'm trying very hard to use the default settings for the controls and learning to access functions. Since I used that method with my R, things are pretty familiar.

There are settings that virtually have to be done such as turning the joystick on, assigning functions to the control ring.

But, as far as changing the button functions from default, I'm still trying to use the defaults.

There are lots of settings not associated with buttons that are part of the setup and are left up to the user. I use standard Raw to CFexpress, jpg to SD. I limited slow shutter speeds and use FV most of the time. I've setup my own file naming and copywrite. I have setup pairing to my cell phone but don't use it. Instead, I use wi-fi to transfer raw images via FTP to my pc as soon as they are captured. That works well for just a few images. I tried to briefly measure the speed to transfer images. I shot 4 quick images with the high speed capture and timed the light from the time I clicked the shutter briefly until it stopped flickering. It took about 13 seconds for the 4 raw images that were averaging just over 50 MB to transfer, so ~3.25 seconds each? That's great for ordinary shooting where 20 or less photos are captured. There will be a point at which it becomes a time advantage to use a card reader, maybe 50 images in a group. If that takes 2.7 minutes, I would not go thru the hassle of using the card reader. If I'm taking photos every few seconds, there is no reason to ever use the card reader.

One thing I've noticed is that the camera often does not connect to FTP when I turn it on. I'm not sure if it is supposed to automatically connect or not. It does not appear to be automatically connecting to my access point on startup. I need to check that out so I understand it.


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## xps (Oct 29, 2020)

I´d like to see a second "register/recall shooting function". That would be great. To press one button and nearly everything changes to predefined values.
To set one on animal AF and one on spotAF with different timings and Isos. For sitting birds and BIF.

And an extra menu-point, where the eyesensor does not automatically switch to EVF when my hand is getting near the senor at adjusting something on the display.

And the possibility to switch off all battery consumption when the camera is off.


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## SteveC (Oct 29, 2020)

xps said:


> I´d like to see a second "register/recall shooting function". That would be great. To press one button and nearly everything changes to predefined values.
> To set one on animal AF and one on spotAF with different timings and Isos. For sitting birds and BIF.
> 
> And an extra menu-point, where the eyesensor does not automatically switch to EVF when my hand is getting near the senor at adjusting something on the display.
> ...



The first one, I think, may be covered by the custom modes. At least, that's what I thought they did.

And someone told me about a setting for the second one, but I can't remember who said so, or what it is.


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## Nemorino (Oct 29, 2020)

xps said:


> And an extra menu-point, where the eyesensor does not automatically switch to EVF when my hand is getting near the senor at adjusting something on the display.


I own only the Eos R but it should be also possible with the R5/6 or RP:
You can customize a button to switch between EVF and Diplay. I use the red Rec because I do not do any video.


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## SteveC (Oct 29, 2020)

Nemorino said:


> I own only the Eos R but it should be also possible with the R5/6 or RP:
> You can customize a button to switch between EVF and Diplay. I use the red Rec because I do not do any video.



I was overjoyed on some camera I owned years ago to realize that the trash can had NO use--I mean it was literally not assigned to _anything_--when not reviewing pictures. Free button to assign!!!


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## Nemorino (Oct 29, 2020)

I have to add you have to turn off the automatic switch. On the R it is the "wrench" menu card 4. Monitor control.


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## Nemorino (Oct 29, 2020)

SteveC said:


> Free button to assign!!!


This would be a dream! The R has not enough button for me.


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## H. Jones (Oct 29, 2020)

Personally, there's only two things I wish the EOS R5 had for customization. I wish shutter type(Mechanical, EFCS, Silent) was able to be attached to a button, as I'm petty often switching between mechanical for best bokeh, EFCS for general use, and silent shutter for when I need it. No reason I should have to go into a menu for this. I can tag crop mode to a button, so why not shutter type? 

I also wish that the the "switch between Servo/One-shot" customization had the ability to only change while the button is held down. I have my DOF button set to this on all of my cameras, and on my DSLRs, it switches to one-shot only when it's held down, whereas on the R5 it switches until I hit it again. Just a small annoyance, not the biggest deal.

I'll throw this over from a comment I made a few months ago, regarding my set-up for my R5. Nothing has changed since then, I've found this set-up to be perfect for my needs. I *love* having the lens control wheel set to change AF modes.

*Custom Buttons*

Shutter button: Default, Metering and AF start
Video button: Default, video start
Mode button: Default, mode


AF-ON: AF-off, I've always done this, I know people like back-button focus, but I photograph a lot of sudden, unexpected action at breaking news and I like knowing that the shutter is always linked to autofocusing, so that I don't end up hitting the shutter before focusing. Instead of back-button focus, I use the AF-ON button to turn off focus for times when I need a similar autofocus stop that you'd get using backbutton focus on a shot.


AE Lock: Cropping/aspect ratio, I love that this makes it as easy as pressing a button to get the 17 megapixel 1.6x digital teleconverter mode. I've loved using the crop mode on wildlife so far, and setting it to a button makes it easier to switch in a second if the subject gets closer. Lot easier than digging through a menu.


AF point button: Drive mode, with the different restrictions on FPS and bit-rate in drive modes in the R5 I find myself changing the drive more often, so I wanted a button dedicated to that.


DOF preview button: One-Shot / Servo AF, I've always had this set like this on all of my Canon cameras. There's just certain situations where you want the confirmation of knowing your focus is locked, and this is a lot quicker for sudden situations where servo focus won't work. Normally, on other cameras, I have it only use one-shot when it's held down, but the R5 doesn't offer the condition that it only switches when the button is held, unfortunately. That just means I have to remember to click it twice to get back to Servo focus.


Lens: Default, AF stop


My favorite: M-FN Button: Switch to Custom Shooting Mode, set to C1 only, other C modes turned off. C1: Shutter Priority, 1/1000th, 12 FPS, Spot meter, auto ISO. Again photographing breaking news means things can go very badly in an instant. I like this button as my "emergency" button, all I have to do is hit M-FN and I instantly know I'll have a high enough shutter speed and automatic exposure to get an image of whatever is in front of the camera. That gives me more freedom to use slower shutter speeds when there's not much going on, knowing that in an instant I can have the camera properly exposed at 1/1000th if something blows up.


LCD panel button: LCD illumination, I switched it to this because I never use the secondary display it offers by default, and this makes the button act more like the LCD light button on DSLRS.


SET: ISO, hold button turn shutter, I've always done this on all of my Canon cameras, I always hated having to fish for the ISO button to change ISO, so this makes it a lot faster to do. I know the R5 has a dial just for ISO now, but I've left this button as ISO because it's stuck in my muscle memory and I find myself doing this instinctively anyway. If I get used to the dial, this might find a new use.


Multicontroller, AF point selection
*Custom Dials*

Main dial, default, Shutter
Top dial(Quick Control Dial 2), ISO speed
Rear dial(Quick Control Dial 1), Aperture setting


Lens Control Wheel: Select AF method, this has been a new favorite of mine. I love the Subject detection tracking autofocus mode on the R5, it works awesome and finds eyes/people/birds/everything very well and lets me reframe as much as I want, or lets a bird fly through the frame while being tracked. The issue is, sometimes this mode gets wonky in weird conditions, and if you change to One-Shot focus, it uses the whole sensor as an automatic detect one-shot mode. That's super annoying, I wish it was still based off of your initial focus point for one-shot. I don't have time when I'm taking a photo to change focus settings to switch to one-shot mode, so the moment I need one-shot or the tracking focus isn't working well, I can quickly hit the dial on the lens left or right and switch between the AF point focus or tracking focus. I disabled most of the AF modes except subject detection, default point, and expanded point focus, which makes it even easier to switch. I'll also add that the nice thing with the direct method is that it has "hard stops" on the left and right ends of the settings list, so if I roll the wheel left it'll always stop at AF tracking, and if I roll the wheel right it'll always stop at expanded AF point. Super intuitive to me and I love this set up a lot.


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## YuengLinger (Nov 1, 2020)

Has anybody found a way to show the MENU first thing when the MENU button is pushed? Mine goes first to the INFO screen, and then I need to push the MENU button a second time to get to MENU. Note: This happens when the camera has timed out after being inactive--and it happens often because I mostly have ECO mode on.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Nov 2, 2020)

YuengLinger said:


> Has anybody found a way to show the MENU first thing when the MENU button is pushed? Mine goes first to the INFO screen, and then I need to push the MENU button a second time to get to MENU. Note: This happens when the camera has timed out after being inactive--and it happens often because I mostly have ECO mode on.


I usually turn my camera off to avoid the wi-fi using battery but I'll let it sleep and see. I half press the shutter button to wake it and its in shooting mode with the info overlay showing as I set it. I'd expect that pressing other buttons to wake it will have the same result. I just tried pressing Q and it woke the camera to the shooting mode. 

I let it sleep again and pressed the menu button and it opened in shooting mode. I doubt if there is a setting to open a sleeping camera in other than shooting mode.


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