# Your Canon EOS-1D X user tips



## Bosman (Aug 16, 2012)

While I do not own a EOS-1D X, I would like to start two threads for the new EOS cameras. This thread is here for you to offer shooting tips be it lighting and exposures with the 1dx, focus points, Autofocus Case settings, Iso's, anything that you select in camera to get your best image captures for what you do. Please be generous with your tips, this will be a big help for all who own the camera!


----------



## Bosman (Aug 16, 2012)

I have included the Autofocus guide for the 1dx and 5dm3 for easy access to the info. They use the same system so the info provided can be used for both cameras. The file is 3.5 mg as opposed to 12.


----------



## bdunbar79 (Aug 16, 2012)

Set to Av Mode
ISO Safety shift = ON
Set aperture to say, f/6.3
Set Min shutter speed to 1/500
ISO = AUTO

Shoot away


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 17, 2012)

bdunbar79 said:


> Set to Av Mode
> ISO Safety shift = ON
> Set aperture to say, f/6.3
> Set Min shutter speed to 1/500
> ...



bdunbar,

Safety shift is not necessary with Auto ISO. In AV or TV mode, Safety shift is protection when you're using a fixed ISO. It's used to allow you to keep your ISO and noise low (as opposed to Auto ISO), but still offer exposure protection. 

Rich


----------



## bdunbar79 (Aug 17, 2012)

Richard Lane said:


> bdunbar79 said:
> 
> 
> > Set to Av Mode
> ...



Hmmm. The above is how I shoot auto ISO AND EC at the same time.


----------



## Virgil Quick (Aug 17, 2012)

*Autofocus guide*

Does Canon offer a printed and bound version of the revised autofocus guide linked above or is it just available in PDF?

Sure would like to have a printed and bound version to keep in my bag along with the camera owners manual.


----------



## bdunbar79 (Aug 17, 2012)

Richard Lane said:


> bdunbar79 said:
> 
> 
> > Set to Av Mode
> ...



Oh my Richard, I'm so sorry. I see I do have ISO set to AUTO in my settings above. Of course, I usually set my ISO in the gym to 1600 with either +1/3 or +2/3 EC with ISO safety shift ON. Sorry, I got you now


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 17, 2012)

bdunbar79 said:


> Richard Lane said:
> 
> 
> > bdunbar79 said:
> ...



ISO Safety shift only works for a fixed ISO. When you're shooting with the above settings and EC and the light is limited, then the EC is increasing the Auto ISO, up or down. The safety shift isn't doing anything.

However, lets say that you use your above settings; AV: f/6.3, Min. SS 1/500sec, but with a fixed ISO of 400 in order to keep your ISO and noise levels as low as possible, and then the light on the field starts to decrease, then once your Shutter-speed bottoms out to 1/500sec, then the ISO safety shift will kick in and raise your Fixed ISO from 400 to 640 or 800, or as high as is necessary to get the proper exposure.

Does that make sense?


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 17, 2012)

bdunbar79 said:


> Oh my Richard, I'm so sorry. I see I do have ISO set to AUTO in my settings above. Of course, I usually set my ISO in the gym to 1600 with either +1/3 or +2/3 EC with ISO safety shift ON. Sorry, I got you now


Sure, no problem, as I wasn't sure if you were aware of that. I would still keep your ISO Safety Shift set to on by default like you have it, otherwise, you may forget to put it back on again.


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 17, 2012)

*Re: Autofocus guide*



Virgil Quick said:


> Does Canon offer a printed and bound version of the revised autofocus guide linked above or is it just available in PDF?
> 
> Sure would like to have a printed and bound version to keep in my bag along with the camera owners manual.



You could print it out on your printer. I'm not sure if the same AF Guide is in the LCD Tutorials below, but there's a lot of them.

If anyone's interested here are some *1DX tutorials *that can be downloaded and played back on the Cameras LCD screen:

http://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/products/eos_1d_x/1dx_on_camera_tutorials_resource_list.shtml

Rich


----------



## Viggo (Aug 17, 2012)

*Re: Autofocus guide*



Richard Lane said:


> Virgil Quick said:
> 
> 
> > Does Canon offer a printed and bound version of the revised autofocus guide linked above or is it just available in PDF?
> ...



Thanks for tips here! I value that AF-guide and these tutorials. It's hard to just try different Cases when out shooting, because there are so many other factors. What I would like is an auto-switch between the cases, lol. 

For example shooting kids would require all of them within a split second timedifference.

I would very much appricate if someone had a better explanation of what does what when these three settings are combined. I feel Canon only says what one does over the other, but for instance with the mk4, if you chose that, than this had no effect and so on.

I feel like I can't really get the hang of something to fit shoot running kids. They are often but not always erradic, often stops and skips to the side, then run again. I tried the erradic setting but found I loose focus much more than with Case 1. I like to use 4 or 8 surrounding points, mostly 4, it works very well for normal movement, but when things happen right left really fast I would like to adjust to improve, any hints are greatly appriciated!

Ps. I tried Zone AF and ALL 61 and found it to be as useless as the previous 1d's ;D


----------



## Bosman (Aug 17, 2012)

I will have to try the safety shift since it now includes iso. My 5d & 1DM3 don't have it so its new to me. I remember trying it in 2007 and found at the time if it was underexposed at least i can work with it but if its blurry its useless. I shot Aperture priority then but use manual for most my work now.
Viggo, i thought the guide was pretty good at explaining it plus in camera you can check info for each setting and it will explain what it does. If you guys go to like an office supplies place it can be printed but i would use the 12mg version of this document because i downsized this one for posting. I'd try case 5 or 6 for kids! 
For instance i wanted bikes case 3 for shooting bikes @ triathlons, when you select the case the info button explains its use then when you go to adjust tracking sensitivity, Accel./decel tracking, or af point auto switching you can press and hold the info button and it further explains what changes to the sensitivities will mean. I kept it the same but changed the accel/decel to zero from 1 because i wanted it to track better than switch subjects. This setting means quick refocussing for each new subject but hold the tracking down so as not to end up focusing on another bike without your intent if the focus point moves slightly off your subject.


----------



## Bosman (Aug 17, 2012)

safety shift isnt idea for me. It only really worked the way id want it to in Shutter priority but if i want to keep my aperture higher then i'd have to set the limit of say F4 in camera but then i'd hate to forget i did that! lol. Not sure i have a use for it. I prefer shooting manually. I only wish auto iso let you choose to expose +1 stop when using it.


----------



## bdunbar79 (Aug 17, 2012)

Bosman said:


> safety shift isnt idea for me. It only really worked the way id want it to in Shutter priority but if i want to keep my aperture higher then i'd have to set the limit of say F4 in camera but then i'd hate to forget i did that! lol. Not sure i have a use for it. I prefer shooting manually. I only wish auto iso let you choose to expose +1 stop when using it.



Yeah, that was one of the new features the 1D4 had that the 1D3 didn't. I usually shoot basketball with auto ISO on, in Av mode with a minimum shutter of 1/500. If I hate the lighting conditions, I use ISO 1600, min shutter 1/500, with ISO safety shift ON, and then shoot +EC. Instead of moving ISO around, I just dial EC back and forth. It's just a personal preference and neither way is better or worse. Of course it works well if you are spot metering off either the jersey or face, depending on exposure needs.


----------



## Viggo (Aug 17, 2012)

Bosman said:


> I will have to try the safety shift since it now includes iso. My 5d & 1DM3 don't have it so its new to me. I remember trying it in 2007 and found at the time if it was underexposed at least i can work with it but if its blurry its useless. I shot Aperture priority then but use manual for most my work now.
> Viggo, i thought the guide was pretty good at explaining it plus in camera you can check info for each setting and it will explain what it does. If you guys go to like an office supplies place it can be printed but i would use the 12mg version of this document because i downsized this one for posting. I'd try case 5 or 6 for kids!
> For instance i wanted bikes case 3 for shooting bikes @ triathlons, when you select the case the info button explains its use then when you go to adjust tracking sensitivity, Accel./decel tracking, or af point auto switching you can press and hold the info button and it further explains what changes to the sensitivities will mean. I kept it the same but changed the accel/decel to zero from 1 because i wanted it to track better than switch subjects. This setting means quick refocussing for each new subject but hold the tracking down so as not to end up focusing on another bike without your intent if the focus point moves slightly off your subject.



Thanks, I just watched the video, I didn't have time to read the AF-guide through yet. But the info on the display is okay I guess, but I feel like I'm just trying stuff and going back to case 1 as that gives the best results, however it doesn't work when there's a very sudden change of speed or direction. I'll give the other cases a more thorough try and read through the guide.

On a happy sidenot I shot my son indoor in okay, but not great light with the 85 L II, and shot off 8 pictures at 12 fps and it tracked his face hidden under a cap VERY nicely! All of them same level sharp.







Middle of the burst, I liked this one because of the mid air capture and his face being a victim to gravity


----------



## wycmfdm (Aug 17, 2012)

bdunbar79 said:


> Set to Av Mode
> ISO Safety shift = ON
> Set aperture to say, f/6.3
> Set Min shutter speed to 1/500
> ...



How do you set min shutter speed to 1/500? Under auto ISO I saw the min speed is 1/250?


----------



## Viggo (Aug 17, 2012)

wycmfdm said:


> bdunbar79 said:
> 
> 
> > Set to Av Mode
> ...



Cn.f 2: Exposure Set shutterspeed range.


----------



## bdunbar79 (Aug 17, 2012)

Thank you Viggo. Yes, it's under a Custom function, not the main menu min shutter speed. You must register this setting.


----------



## Viggo (Aug 17, 2012)

Reikan Focal with 1d X support released (version 1.6)


----------



## neuroanatomist (Aug 17, 2012)

Viggo said:


> Reikan Focal with 1d X support released (version 1.6)



Excellent, thanks for the update!! 

FWIW, just like the 5DIII you need to use the MSC mode, fully automatic calibration isn't available.


----------



## Bosman (Aug 17, 2012)

Viggo said:


> Bosman said:
> 
> 
> > I will have to try the safety shift since it now includes iso. My 5d & 1DM3 don't have it so its new to me. I remember trying it in 2007 and found at the time if it was underexposed at least i can work with it but if its blurry its useless. I shot Aperture priority then but use manual for most my work now.
> ...


I dig the photo Vig!


----------



## Viggo (Aug 17, 2012)

Bosman said:


> Viggo said:
> 
> 
> > Bosman said:
> ...


Thanks! Just a snapshot really, but the 1d X is like the first time I watched "Time Warp" , I catch moments I haven't seen in my pictures before... Loving it!

The edge of the cap is blurry and his ears are blurry at f1,6, but eyes sharp, I think that is pretty incredible, he was running fast and was very close to me.


----------



## Bosman (Aug 17, 2012)

Viggo said:


> Bosman said:
> 
> 
> > Viggo said:
> ...


 Dad is a paparazzi!


----------



## neuroanatomist (Aug 17, 2012)

Viggo said:


> ...the 1d X is like the first time I watched "Time Warp" , I catch moments I haven't seen in my pictures before...



+1 - I really love those key moments captured at 12 fps that would have been between frames with most other cameras.




EOS 1D X, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ 70mm, 1/200 s, f/2.8, ISO 100


----------



## Bosman (Aug 17, 2012)

Impecable shot Neuro! dont you love how well the camera renders color? I have the 5dm3 and if its anything like that the colors are pretty accurate most the time!


----------



## Bosman (Aug 17, 2012)

Ok i am highjacking because mine is bigger.


----------



## Viggo (Aug 17, 2012)

Awesome shots, and very inspiring!

I'm going to a Wakeboard contest tomorrow, now, take a wild guess if I miss my 300 f2,8 for that!

I'll at least go and see how close I can get with the 135. 

Which case would be the best? I mean they move kind of crazy around their own axis, but they get pulled by boat or wire and keep a pretty constant movement forward, although going up and down.

I'm thinking 8 surrounded and case 5 or 6?

"dad is a paparazzi" I think I can document my kids life by the minute in pictures, ;D


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 18, 2012)

Viggo said:


> I'm going to a Wakeboard contest tomorrow, now, take a wild guess if I miss my 300 f2,8 for that!
> 
> Which case would be the best? I mean they move kind of crazy around their own axis, but they get pulled by boat or wire and keep a pretty constant movement forward, although going up and down.
> 
> I'm thinking 8 surrounded and case 5 or 6?



That's a total bummer about about the 300 f/2.8. I would agree with you that Case 5 or 6, sounds about right. It seems that the only difference between 5 and 6 is the accel/decel setting. Case 5 provides for a more steady speed and Case 6 appears to be better for changes in speed.

Case 5 example has a skateboarder and a figure skater.
Case 6 example has a Rhythmic Gymnast.

Although wake-boarders are pulled by the boat, they can generate a lot of acceleration when jumping across the wake while pulling on the rope. Then when they land they do slow down a bit as they hit the water. They can also generate some acceleration by turning sharply and cutting behind the boat. Since I think the wakeboarder can generate more accel/decel than the skateboarder, I would probably try case 6 first. 

I would agree with you that AF point expansion 8 surrounding points should be good.

Just some logical thinking here and no real experience, since the camera is so new.

Good Luck,
Rich


----------



## Viggo (Aug 18, 2012)

Richard Lane said:


> Viggo said:
> 
> 
> > I'm going to a Wakeboard contest tomorrow, now, take a wild guess if I miss my 300 f2,8 for that!
> ...



Thanks! This seems very much like what I was thinking, but better !


----------



## WesternGuy (Aug 18, 2012)

I would like to thank Borman for the reference to AF Manual and Richard Lane for the references to the online tutorials. They will help me learn the ins and outs of my new 1D X. 

WesternGuy


----------



## Viggo (Aug 18, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> Viggo said:
> 
> 
> > Reikan Focal with 1d X support released (version 1.6)
> ...



Did you get it to work at all?

Mine won't recognize the camera half the time, then not restore settings, then error trying to set it up, and when it finally managed to run a whole test, the distance to target was set at 3,5 meters,but FoCal said 6,9 meters, and the adjustment was WAY off, -5 while I had mine at +2. The Light was 10,4 EV outdoors. Evenly lit and all that.


----------



## neuroanatomist (Aug 18, 2012)

Haven't tried it yet. No real need, since I did almost all my lenses already with full manual. The only calibrations I haven't done are the 70-200 II with the TCs (and actually, I just sold my 1.4x II and ordered a 1.4x III that hasn't shipped yet). I'll probably give it a try within a couple of weeks. 

Question - once you got it to work, how long did a single run take you? Taking the 83 shots I capture for a full manual set takes me about 10 min.


----------



## Viggo (Aug 18, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> Haven't tried it yet. No real need, since I did almost all my lenses already with full manual. The only calibrations I haven't done are the 70-200 II with the TCs (and actually, I just sold my 1.4x II and ordered a 1.4x III that hasn't shipped yet). I'll probably give it a try within a couple of weeks.
> 
> Question - once you got it to work, how long did a single run take you? Taking the 83 shots I capture for a full manual set takes me about 10 min.



Yeah it took at least 10 minutes, but even then the results is useless, so I don't know when it works properly. I 've tried three computers with different windows now.

When I validate target it says Distance is 10,3 meters now, but I measured my self, and it's 3,2 meters!


----------



## neuroanatomist (Aug 18, 2012)

Did you measure the line on the target and enter that value in the optimization setup? 

With the 7D and 5DII, the distance wasn't that accurate either, but the results were valid.


----------



## Viggo (Aug 18, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> Did you measure the line on the target and enter that value in the optimization setup?
> 
> With the 7D and 5DII, the distance wasn't that accurate either, but the results were valid.



Yeah, no I didn't, well, actually I did, but I measured wrong, because I was dumb enough to begin with this before I had my first coffee.

I have printed a few different verisons today and got something that worked. I had to use a lamp eventually because the daylight never came above 7,5 ev today, I don't what's going on with this "summer".

But now all lenses are done, and I also checked AF consistency and it turns out the 50 L is 97,9 and everything else is 99,5. I 'm pretty shocked. BTW is "Quality of focus" the same as overall sharpness? Or how do I read that?

I'm also surprised that the 50 L is sharper at 1,8 than 2.0-2.2. I have always used it at 1,2 and 1,8 or at 5,6 for sharpness. The sharpest was f5.0.

It couldn't calibrate my 100 L IS for some reason, but only the misses uses it anyway ;D


----------



## kaihp (Aug 18, 2012)

Viggo said:


> But now all lenses are done, and I also checked AF consistency and it turns out the 50 L is 97,9 and everything else is 99,5. I 'm pretty shocked. BTW is "Quality of focus" the same as overall sharpness? Or how do I read that?


If it's the quality measure of the AF consistency test, then it's 100*Qbest/Qmean (actually, manual says (Qbest/Qmean*100)-100.0, but that is obviously wrong). I did not find the "Quality of Focus" measure for an individual shot defined anywhere in the manuals.


----------



## Aaron78 (Aug 18, 2012)

Don't mean to butt in on this post, but does anyone that owns the 1dx have anything they don't like so far? I sold my 5dII to get one, and really loved the sharpness from it but wanted an updated system. Can you crop photos as well with the 1dx as, say, the 5dII and 5dIII and be still super sharp? How does everyone feel about the dynamic range? Thank you


----------



## bdunbar79 (Aug 18, 2012)

Aaron78 said:


> Don't mean to butt in on this post, but does anyone that owns the 1dx have anything they don't like so far? I sold my 5dII to get one, and really loved the sharpness from it but wanted an updated system. Can you crop photos as well with the 1dx as, say, the 5dII and 5dIII and be still super sharp? How does everyone feel about the dynamic range? Thank you



I can say that the exposure is more accurate and the colors are more accurate, on the 1DX vs either 5D's. You cannot quite crop as far on the 1DX as you can on the 5D3. It's not a huge difference, just be careful about lens choice vs. object you are shooting to ensure that you don't have to do a ton of cropping. For most typical crops, the 1DX is just great. The pictures from the 1DX tend to look a bit better than the 5D3.


----------



## bdunbar79 (Aug 18, 2012)

This is an exposure out of cam. As you can see, it is high sun overhead, but I couldn't control the time of the parade, so I went with the 1DX because I KNEW it would meter in auto ISO better than the 5D3. I shot this at 70mm, with a 70-200L II IS lens, 1/500s, f/11, ISO 500 (auto ISO), with CWA metering. The 5D3 probably would have pushed the histogram to the right more, but not with the 1DX.


----------



## Viggo (Aug 18, 2012)

+1 the exposure doesn't seem like a big selling point, but my God it is!!! The 1d X is almost completely perfect and 100% consistent.


----------



## Aaron78 (Aug 18, 2012)

bdunbar79 said:


> Aaron78 said:
> 
> 
> > Don't mean to butt in on this post, but does anyone that owns the 1dx have anything they don't like so far? I sold my 5dII to get one, and really loved the sharpness from it but wanted an updated system. Can you crop photos as well with the 1dx as, say, the 5dII and 5dIII and be still super sharp? How does everyone feel about the dynamic range? Thank you
> ...



I would never crop if i didn't need to, but small birds can be tough and i can't quite afford a 600mm f4 at the moment so it may be required from time to time. Thanks for the feedback.


----------



## Viggo (Aug 19, 2012)

So I thought it was the Wakeboard finals today, but no, it was only wakesurf, yesterday was wakeBOARD. Wakesurf are for chilli'n and when you're hung over, so very little to watch and try camerawise.

Completely flat but bright (backlit) made it even worse.

I used Case 6 and bakced off the auto-switch one step, seemed to work great. What an AF system this is!

Here's an example. Had to use gradients to not end up with suuperfalt light like the raw was.


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 19, 2012)

Glad you're happy with the results. It certainly looks like it nailed focus.

Now, we all need longer lenses again!


----------



## Viggo (Aug 19, 2012)

Richard Lane said:


> Glad you're happy with the results. It certainly looks like it nailed focus.
> 
> Now, we all need longer lenses again!



Yeah, every shot was pretty much as sharp as they come with the 135. I struggled a bit with the MA, my FoCal software said -9, but I had it at -7 before and went back and forth on those, ending up on the last shots at -8. Came home and calibrated again with way longer distance to target, and ended up with -8 

The diffcult thing was to keep the surfer focused when the waves came up between me and the surfer. I couldn't use Case 2 as this would lead to a lot of OOF pictures. I backed down the auto switch, as mentioned, and it helped a great deal. 

Any other hints for both tracking erradic movement AND ignoring subjects that momentarely block my subject? I used 8 pt surrounding, and I must say, it worked way better than anything I have ever tried (I had a 5d3 and 1d4)


----------



## bdunbar79 (Aug 19, 2012)

Viggo,

I fire a 3-4 shot burst on every shot I take. That way at least 1 or 2 will be spot on. If you depend on one shot in any Canon DSLR's AI Servo mode, the hit rate with something this challenging will be less than 70%, in my experience. So switch to AI Servo, "L" burst rate, which is 3 max. Or you can select "H" and shoot say, 4 shot bursts. I've found this to be superior to tracking cases and hit rates.


----------



## Viggo (Aug 19, 2012)

bdunbar79 said:


> Viggo,
> 
> I fire a 3-4 shot burst on every shot I take. That way at least 1 or 2 will be spot on. If you depend on one shot in any Canon DSLR's AI Servo mode, the hit rate with something this challenging will be less than 70%, in my experience. So switch to AI Servo, "L" burst rate, which is 3 max. Or you can select "H" and shoot say, 4 shot bursts. I've found this to be superior to tracking cases and hit rates.



Yeah, I have it at 12fps, and I would usually shoot off 2-4 shots of a small event, like a surf-trick, but I like to get better at tracking and understand really how to set up the gear and how to track for best possible results. And many of the shots from today were just ONE shot, and they were still perfectly focused, and with the shortened relase-lag , it's hard to miss with this incredible camera. But I can always improve!


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 19, 2012)

Viggo said:


> The diffcult thing was to keep the surfer focused when the waves came up between me and the surfer.


I was looking for a setting for this as well. On the MKIV, there is a setting with 2 horizontal points only, without any lower or upper expansion points. It's commonly used for tennis, so that the lower point doesn't hit the net, but I found that it worked with surfing too, in order to not have the lower point hit the bottom portion of the wave or backwash. I don't see this setting on the 1DX. 

The other thing you could do, is change to only 4 expansion points instead of 8, so this way you'll have 2 less lower points.

Of course, you could also raise the entire expansion point configuration higher in the frame, or use single point which makes tracking more difficult.



Viggo said:


> Any other hints for both tracking erradic movement AND ignoring subjects that momentarely block my subject? I used 8 pt surrounding, and I must say, it worked way better than anything I have ever tried (I had a 5d3 and 1d4)



To avoid obstructions, you just have to lower the Tracking Sensitivity from Zero to -1/2 or -1. 

The lower it is the longer it will ignore the obstruction. Set it too low and it will delay locking onto a new target. To change to a new target quickly, you can just take your finger off of the AF button and then re-lock your AF onto the new target, without waiting for the tracking sensitivity to let go of the previous target.

Rich


----------



## bdunbar79 (Aug 19, 2012)

Viggo said:


> bdunbar79 said:
> 
> 
> > Viggo,
> ...



Yes and you are also shooting in very difficult situations. Even field sports it's tough to get every shot in focus and often times impossible, especially at night. I liked my keeper rate with the 1DX at night vs. the 1D4. Although, during the state track meet last year I didn't have one OOF shot with the 1D4 and looking at my RAW files, I had shot 1579 shots! If the 1DX can do that at night, well then that would be quite an improvement in itself.


----------



## smi (Aug 20, 2012)

Has anyone tried to configure the automatic ONE SHOT to AI SERVO switching functionality in any of the allowed buttons? According to page 339 of the manual, if you are in One-Shot AF mode and you press the configured button the camera switches to AI Servo and you dont have to hold down the button. It seems it only works if you keep holding the button...


----------



## neuroanatomist (Aug 20, 2012)

smi said:


> According to page 339 of the manual, if you are in One-Shot AF mode and you press the configured button the camera switches to AI Servo and you *dont have to hold down the button*. It seems it only works if you keep holding the button...



You might want to re-read that page. Hold ≠ press. Nowhere does it say when you _press_ the button. FWIW, I have this assigned to my M.Fn2 button, and it's quite handy - I can hold it down with my ring finger easily while shooting.


----------



## smi (Aug 20, 2012)

Warm thanks for the clarification Neuro. I guess I misread the instruction. I have also assigned this function to M-Fn2 button. I guess I have to try to see how easy is to use it in action. May I also ask what is your preferred buttons configuration? Warm thanks. I am thinking of assigning RAW/JPEG switch to DOF, and ISO setting to the SET button... I have also assigned *H to the * button.


----------



## neuroanatomist (Aug 20, 2012)

smi said:


> May I also ask what is your preferred buttons configuration? Warm thanks. I am thinking of assigning RAW/JPEG switch to DOF, and ISO setting to the SET button... I have also assigned *H to the * button.



Most of mine are default - I actually use AE Lock and DoF Preview as intended reasonably often. I do have back-button AF set up, direct AF point selection with the multicontroller, and my M.Fn1 button is set to "C" (successive presses cycle between the C# settings, thanks Rich for the suggestion!).


----------



## charlesa (Aug 20, 2012)

Neuro have you ever managed to get the multi spot metering function to work? I saw a Canon tutorial video to assign FEL to a button on the back, and after pressing said FEL button, can take several spot meter readings from several AF points to give a global exposure...


----------



## neuroanatomist (Aug 20, 2012)

Yes, I've tried the multi-spot metering, although I don't use it routinely...


----------



## Viggo (Aug 20, 2012)

I've started to use the AF-ON button as AF-ON and not OFF lately, and it takes a lot of stress off my triggerfinger. But wasn't there an option on the mk4 where the shutterbutton would only take the picture and not (also) AF? The way I have the 1d X set up now is so that both the AF-ON and the shutterbutton do AF. I kind of like that way if I just press the shutter (old habit VERY hard to turn) I still have normal AF operation.

I have the dof button to stop AF and the m***f***n button no.2 to switch to One Shot. Do you guys have it primarly set to Ai or One shot?


----------



## neuroanatomist (Aug 20, 2012)

Viggo said:


> But wasn't there an option on the mk4 where the shutterbutton would only take the picture and not (also) AF?



Yep, on all recent cameras, even the Rebels. That's back-button AF, and I use it routinely. You set the shutter to metering start only, AF-ON to autofocus + metering start.


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 21, 2012)

Viggo said:


> The way I have the 1d X set up now is so that both the AF-ON and the shutterbutton do AF. I kind of like that way if I just press the shutter (old habit VERY hard to turn) I still have normal AF operation.
> 
> I have the dof button to stop AF and the m***f***n button no.2 to switch to One Shot. Do you guys have it primarly set to Ai or One shot?



You should definitely set it up as Neuro suggested. The way you have it now, the final AF will happen at the shutter-button, so essentially the AF-On has very little relevance in your set-up. Once you detach AF from the Shutter button then you wont need AF stop anymore, since all you will have to do to stop AF, will be to remove your finger from the AF-on button. It will take a little getting used to, but I find it a lot better to track and AF with one button (as opposed to a half shutter press) and then when I see the shot that I like, just fire away on the shutter button. You should switch it now for practice and not right before an event, because otherwise I guarantee you that you will forget to AF and you will have OOF shots, everyone does it when they first switch.

90% of the time I'm in AI Servo. I will switch with the AI Servo<-->One Shot Button for perched birds, and switch with the AF mode button for portraits and landscapes.


----------



## neuroanatomist (Aug 21, 2012)

Richard Lane said:


> 90% of the time I'm in AI Servo. I will switch with the AI Servo<-->One Shot Button for perched birds, and switch with the AF mode button for portraits and landscapes.



Can different selection modes be associated with the press-and-hold toggle between AI Servo and One Shot? For example, in servo I'm using 61-pt auto selection a subject can be tracked right across the frame and so iTR can be used, but when I press M.Fn2, I _don't_ want 61-pt auto selection. I suspect the answer is no, but maybe I missed something?


----------



## Viggo (Aug 21, 2012)

@Richard: Are you sure the "last AF is on the shutter" ? Because if I aim at something white and the AF-light strobes and the AF just sits there and I press the shutter, it does NOTHING, but if I release the AF-ON in the same no-af possible situation, it tries again. Same thing in One Shot, if I lock with either button the other doesn't do anything as long as the first is pressed. SO if the AF-ON has priority then I can keep AF on both buttons for reasons mentioned below.

Ah, okay... So I set the shutterbutton to meter when pressed.. Yeeeeah, well then I guess it might not be for me then, just because, If I want to shoot a shot in One shot, I first have to press the m...f..n button to switch to One Shot from Ai, then push the AF-ON button on the back, hold them and then push the shutter. To me, using three buttons to take a picture is ridicolous.

In Ai though, it's pretty great! Canon should do a combo, where I can have One shot at the shutter button alone, and then Ai on the AF-ON button, so when it's pushed it's Ai on the AF-on and only release on the shutter, and if I just want one shot release the AF-ON and take shot like you always have (with One Shot focus).


----------



## nightbreath (Aug 21, 2012)

Viggo said:


> Canon should do a combo, where I can have One shot at the shutter button alone, and then Ai on the AF-ON button, so when it's pushed it's Ai on the AF-on and only release on the shutter, and if I just want one shot release the AF-ON and take shot like you always have (with One Shot focus).


Good idea


----------



## neuroanatomist (Aug 21, 2012)

Viggo said:


> In Ai though, it's pretty great! Canon should do a combo, where I can have One shot at the shutter button alone, and then Ai on the AF-ON button, so when it's pushed it's Ai on the AF-on and only release on the shutter, and if I just want one shot release the AF-ON and take shot like you always have (with One Shot focus).



You could set up two C# settings, one with One Shot and shutter button AF, another with AI Servo and back button AF. 

Personally, I like back button AF for One Shot portraits (people and perched birds), too. If subject distance isn't changing, I can avoid the (very) slight delay due to AF, and more accurately time the shutter release.


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 21, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> Can different selection modes be associated with the press-and-hold toggle between AI Servo and One Shot? For example, in servo I'm using 61-pt auto selection a subject can be tracked right across the frame and so iTR can be used, but when I press M.Fn2, I _don't_ want 61-pt auto selection. I suspect the answer is no, but maybe I missed something?



No, they can't. But if you program the "Register/Recall Shooting function" in Custom Controls (I chose the AE* Button) then you can select your AF Area Selection method. That's why I like this new 1DX feature that we discussed in the other thread. Here's the link:

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=8585.0

The one thing that you can't do with the Register/Recall Shooting function is switch from One Shot to AI Servo, but this weekend I was experimenting and I realized that I can press the AE* recall shooting button, which also Auto-focuses (just like AF-ON) and then also press the M-fn2 button to switch from One Shot to AI Servo and then press the shutter button (yes, that's 3 buttons at once) to take the shot.

I was actually in One Shot Mode (not common for me, but nothing was going on and I didn't feel like holding in the One Shot<--> AI Servo button, and then the bird took off so out of instinct I guess, I figured out that you could press all 3 buttons and get the desired function by accident.


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 21, 2012)

Viggo said:


> @Richard: Are you sure the "last AF is on the shutter" ? Because if I aim at something white and the AF-light strobes and the AF just sits there and I press the shutter, it does NOTHING, but if I release the AF-ON in the same no-af possible situation, it tries again.


Yes, if you have them both set to Auto-Focus (AF-On, not AF-Off) then release AF-On, then the last button that you press (Shutter Button) will set the final focus. If your white target didn't move then the shutter button press had no reason to change focus. Try focusing on something else to test it.



Viggo said:


> Ah, okay... So I set the shutterbutton to meter when pressed.. Yeeeeah, well then I guess it might not be for me then, just because, If I want to shoot a shot in One shot, I first have to press the m...f..n button to switch to One Shot from Ai, then push the AF-ON button on the back, hold them and then push the shutter. To me, using three buttons to take a picture is ridicolous.



You can just press and release AF-On to stop focus for a stationary photo. So, you don't have to switch out of AI Servo every time. if you would like the AF beep and confirmation then you would have to switch to One Shot. You could also set up different Custom Shooting Functions for One Shot and AI Servo. Personally, I wouldn't let One Shot be the reason that you don't use AF-On for tracking and the shutter button for image capture. I'm rarely in a rush when I use One Shot and you could always change the setting via AF Mode, so no need to hold any extra buttons in if you don't want to. But, do what you feel comfortable with.


----------



## Viggo (Aug 25, 2012)

Richard Lane said:


> Viggo said:
> 
> 
> > @Richard: Are you sure the "last AF is on the shutter" ? Because if I aim at something white and the AF-light strobes and the AF just sits there and I press the shutter, it does NOTHING, but if I release the AF-ON in the same no-af possible situation, it tries again.
> ...



I took your advice and tried the AF-ON for AF and remove AF from the shutter (just metering). And now it's second nature. And focus and recompose just with releasing the button eliminated the need for One Shot for me.

Awesome advice, thanks!!


----------



## Richard Lane (Aug 26, 2012)

Glad you're liking the new set-up!

Heres the link for the Online Video Tutorials for the 1DX, instead of downloading the Zip Files:

http://learn.usa.canon.com/galleries/galleries/tutorials/eos_1dx_tutorials.shtml


----------



## Viggo (Aug 26, 2012)

If you like HDR, here's my tip:

Set C1 to bracketing with 5 images. Use LV and 2 sec self timer, that way it blasts off all images at 12 fps without mirror in between, and you don't move the camera by pushing the shutter. Be sure to use One Shot 

Works great when you don't want to use a tripod, and very quick to find.


----------



## neuroanatomist (Sep 9, 2012)

The 1-series cameras can save the current camera settings to a card, up to 10 sets, and load them on demand. The 1D X is the first 1-series body to feature Camera User Settings (C#). The combination makes for a powerful way to manage groups of settings, since the C# settings are saved and loaded along with other settings. 

For example, I have one Outdoors set, where C1 is for landscapes, C2 for static birds/wildlife, and C3 for BIF. I've got a Family set, C1 for tripod shots (10 s timer), C2 is for static shooting (min 1/125 s, manual AF point selection), C3 for moving kids (1/250 s min shutter, 61-pt AI Servo), etc. Another set for manual AFMA with the FoCal settings. 

I store them all on an old 2 GB CF card carried in the pocket of my Blackrapid RS-4 strap, with a backup on my computer.


----------



## smi (Sep 9, 2012)

What do you mean by another set for manual AMFA with FoCal settings Neuro?


----------



## Richard Lane (Sep 30, 2012)

Since Canon choose to bring out all of the custom functions into sub-menus, I'm finding that there are a lot of sub-menus to click through in order to get to the next main menu tab.

*A new Tip!*

When in the Menu Screen, if you press the Q Button, then the menu will jump to the next Main Menu Tab directly for each press of the Q button, instead of clicking through all of the individual sub-menus with the multi-controller.

Rich


----------



## neuroanatomist (Oct 1, 2012)

smi said:


> What do you mean by another set for manual AMFA with FoCal settings Neuro?



FoCal specifies certainl settings like spot metering, +1 EC, etc., and the shots need to be JPG (and is the only time I don't shoot RAW). That's for taking the shots yourself and having FoCal do the analysis on the images, rather than driving the camera. That was before the 1D X was supported at all. Fortuantely, FoCal for Mac supports full auto calibration now, which will come in handy the next time I do an AFMA (which will be very soon).


----------

