CUSTOM BUTTONS
As camera menu systems get deeper and more advanced, so do the possibilities of options that can be added to camera custom buttons. Richard Sibley offers some suggestions for different types of photography
If you aren’t changing your camera’s custom buttons, are you missing out? Many photographers will leave these extra buttons set to whatever the manufacturer has set them to be by default. Still, regardless of your photography type, there is almost certainly a way to get more out of custom buttons than merely allow them access to an exposure or basic shooting setting.
As camera menus have become more complex and offer many different, often obscure settings, it is possible to tailor a camera to your shooting needs. However, it can be a challenge to find that setting again when you need to change it quickly; this is where custom buttons come into play.
In many cameras, the buttons can be used to change almost any of the settings found in the menu, allowing photographers to assign one or more buttons to their particular type of photography. Wildlife photographers could quickly change the AF area or shooting rate, so when that lion goes from stalking to attacking, they can react just as speedily. Wedding photographers can quickly switch on eye-detection autofocus, videographers can turn zebra patterning on and off to check exposure settings, and event photographers can switch to a silent, electronic shutter during speeches – there are many possibilities.
Which button to use
It’s impossible to recommend which custom button you should use without going through each camera, but there are some common places on a camera where custom buttons are located.
Usually, you will find one or two on the camera’s top plate, possibly one or two on the camera’s rear, and some cameras will also have one on the front, close to the handgrip; even the AF button found on lenses can usually be customised. Many manufacturers will also let you override the default buttons, with things like AF-ON, AEL, and even the cursor control buttons often being customisable – you’ll just need to remember that they will no longer operate as indicated on their label.
Logically, you should assign a feature that you need quickly to a button you can access quickly. If you are a wildlife or sports photographer where things can change rapidly, you want to avoid fumbling around trying to find a button and having to take your eye away from the viewfinder. Put the main custom feature on a button you can find instantly. If you don’t shoot video, this could be the video record button, which is often close to the shutter button (you can always assign the shutter button to start video recording when in movie shooting mode). Similarly, the AF button on a telephoto lens is an excellent choice
