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| I photographed a fun run today with the FZ1000. Of the 514 frames shot, I rate 88% as sharp and of these about 1/3 very (as in count-their-eyelashes) sharp, 10% a bit soft but OK for a small print or email, and 2% completely out of focus. This camera continues to surprise and impress. |
This was going to be a three part series on setting up the FZ1000 but has ended up with four parts as there is so much material to cover.
In this post I look at the Custom Menu This hosts a miscellaneous collection of items which don't readily fit into one of the other menus.
Cust. Set Mem. The process of registering Custom settings then using them is well described on Pages 120-121 of the Manual.
Silent Mode Page 186. This is one you might wish to allocate to the Q Menu. When On, the E-Shutter is used.
AF/AE-Lock Page 157. Here you decide which function will be performed by the AF/AE-L button. Individual preference and previous experience will likely have a substantial influence on the selection.
AF/AE-L Hold Page 158. Here you decide whether the button must be held pressed to hold the selected function or if it will be held after a short press.
Each of the available functions of this button can be very useful, depending on your established work practices. The default setting is for Exposure Lock although many users will find AF Lock more useful when using focus and recompose.
The Lock Hold option could be useful if you are making a series of photos of, say a model in the same pose.
I set the button to AF-ON so I can use it like the back focus button of a DSLR. I set the lock hold to Off so the action of the button ceases when I release it. If I set Hold On I will forget and the next series of photos will have the focus or exposure locked incorrectly.
Shutter AF Page 148. AF is initiated by half press of the shutter button. This is the behaviour which most people expect from a camera. But on the FZ1000 this can be disabled so half press of the shutter button just controls autoexposure. In this case you would initiate (and lock if required) AF with the AF/AE-L button. This separates AE form AF and is a strategy often used by professional photographers.
Now come three features designed to speed up camera operation.
Half Press Release The camera focusses, evaluates exposure and fires the shutter with half press of the shutter button. This might be a favourite with the hyperactive photographer. It certainly delivers superfast operation. I prefer to half press > confirm focus > then fully press the shutter button.
Quick AF Page 148. When On, the camera will hunt for focus continuously, the idea being that the subject under the AF box will already be in focus when you are ready to take the picture. The downside is increased battery drain.
Eye Sensor AF Page 58. The camera adjusts focus once, not continuously, when you look in the viewfinder.
Pinpoint AF Time Page 147. When Pinpoint Focus is set in the Autofocus Menu, the image preview is automatically magnified for a short period when you half press the shutter button, so you can check whether your subject is actually in focus. The choice is Long (1.5 sec), Mid (1 sec) or Short (0.5 sec). Take your pick. I use Mid.
AF Assist Lamp This toggles the assist lamp On/Off. Panasonic AF has become so fast, sensitive and accurate even in very low light that I have been switching the lamp Off for several generations of M43 cameras and have it Off for the FZ1000. The AF works, albeit at a special slower-than-usual "low light" rate even when light levels are so low I can barely see anything.
Direct Focus Area I discussed this in Part 1 of the FZ1000 setup series. I use and recommend On.
Focus /Release Priority I have this routinely set to On because I prefer my pictures in focus but need to experiment with Release priority when using AFC.
AF+MF This camera allows you to focus manually while Autofocus is active (and it also allows you to Autofocus when Manual Focus is set).
If AF+MF is On, then:
When AF Lock is on (achieved by half press and hold the shutter button in AFS Focus Mode, or pressing the AF/AE-L button configured for AF Lock) then you can touch up focus manually. MF assist and Peaking will operate if both are set On in the Custom Menu. Panasonic M43 cameras enable the same feature by simply rotating the focus ring on the lens. But the FZ1000 only has one ring on the lens which does double duty as zoom and focus actuator. So before the camera will MF you have to flick the Focus/Zoom switch down to the Focus position. Then flick it back up again later when you discover the lens won't zoom, or set the lever around the shutter button to zoom.
In practice and with practice this is much easier to do than to read about.
MF Assist Page 151. In manual focus (Focus Mode lever set to MF and Focus/Zoom lever on the lens set to Focus), the camera can automatically enlarge that part of the preview image which surrounds the MF box, which by the way is rectangular so you can immediately distinguish it from the AF box which is square. The amount of enlargement can be varied by turning the rear dial while the enlarged image is displayed.
There are several ways by which this enlargement can be activated. Selection between them is made at this menu item. You select between rotating the lens ring or pressing the left cursor key, unless Direct Focus Area is set in which case the cursor keys directly move either the AF box or the MF box.
I have Direct Focus Area set so I select [Enlarge by rotating the manual ring] at this menu item.
MF Guide This is a horizontal analogue scale which pops onto the lower part of the preview screen when MF is activated. There is a mountain symbol (representing infinity) on the left side and flower symbol (representing close up) on the right side. It can prompt you as to which direction you should turn the MF ring. Unfortunately it does not display actual distance so you cannot preset manual focus distance by scale using this guide. I set it On anyway as I find it of some use.
Peaking Page 152. I find this feature genuinely useful when focussing manually. When a part of the subject is in sharp focus subject elements with contrast edges become surrounded by a colored halo indicating maximum edge contrast which = in focus.
Enter the Peaking tab and you find three sub tabs, On, Off and Set.
Enter the Set tab and you find two more tabs, Detect Level and Display Color.
You might wish to experiment with Detect Level. The Manual says that when High is set portions to be highlighted are reduced allowing more precise focus. I find with this camera setting High can result in insufficient peaking color for effective operation. So I set Low. But on the GH4 I had to set High.
As to Display Color On the Low setting you can have blue, orange or white. On the High setting you can have cyan, yellow or green.
I set blue. I suggest you spend time experimenting with both the Detect Level and Color. Some practice with peaking is recommended for familiarity and best results.
Histogram Page 66. A preview histogram is a graphical display of brightness along the horizontal axis and the number of pixels at each brightness level on the vertical axis. It is a monochrome representation of the camera's JPG output. By the way a histogram of the unconverted RAW output from the camera would look completely different.
If you select ON for the histogram in the Custom Menu, then half press the shutter button, the histogram will appear on the monitor with a yellow bounding box and arrows. In this state it can be moved around the screen with the Cursor Keys. To clear it off the screen press the Disp button repeatedly until you come to a display without the histogram.
To move the histogram to a different position on the screen, go back into the menu. select Histogram Off then On again, half press the shutter button and the yellow bounding box is back up around the histogram box.
Is it useful ? Some contributors to user forums say yes, others are indifferent. I find the histogram just clutters up the preview screen without telling me what I want to know, which is: will I get blown out highlights at the current exposure ?
Guide Line Page 66. This feature definitely is useful. The choice is between thirds, "union jack" and single horizontal/single vertical. I have the latter set and use it all the time with both lines running through the center. It is particularly useful for guidance on holding the camera vertical, especially with architectural subjects. Vertical lines in the subject are lined up with the vertical guide line.
Center Marker I find this useful and have it On. It just seems to make composition and framing easier.
Highlight (a.k.a. "Blinkies") I have no idea why this feature appears in the Custom Menu as it works in Playback. Anyway, here it is. If set to On, overexposed highlights blink black/white on the review image. If the opportunity presents, highlights blinking would indicate a reshoot with negative exposure compensation or stronger i-Dynamic setting or both. I set Highlight On.
Zebra Pattern Page 193. I first encountered this feature in still photography on the G4 and now we see it on the FZ1000. Zebras is the preview equivalent of blinkies. Both are designed to indicate over exposed highlights.
Zebras is a bit more complicated than blinkies.
Zebra 1 lines run from 8 o'clock to 2 o'clock. Zebra 2 lines run from 10 o'clock to 4 o'clock. Take your pick. I don't know why they provide two versions. They provide the same information.
Now you need to set the sensitivity. I have been experimenting with this over the last few weeks. I have found that a level of 100% or 105% gives a reasonable balance between information and visual clutter. If the level is set any lower you get zebras all over the preview image.
I was initially sceptical of zebras but now believe they are definitely useful especially for JPG capture where the possibility of highlight recovery in Photoshop is minimal.
I live in Sydney where bright sunlight and clear skies are common leading to subjects with high brightness range. In these conditions the FZ1000 has a moderate tendency to blow out highlights with JPG capture.
If, as is often the case, I see the preview image showing lots of zebras, I apply negative exposure compensation until most but not quite all the zebras have disappeared. Sometimes a few isolated over exposed highlights can be left in place.
I have the zoom lever (around the shutter button) set up for Exposure [+/-] so I can quickly apply negative exposure compensation if required.
I also have i-Dynamic set to Auto for every JPG exposure. Even with this in place I quite often need to apply negative exposure compensation when subject brightness range is high.
Monochrome Live View This feature actually has a purpose. With manual focus the peaking color is easier to see on a monochrome preview image. The recorded image is still in color of course.
Constant Preview If you apply exposure compensation in P,A or S Modes, the effect will be previewed on the live view screen (monitor or EVF), whether Constant Preview is On or Off.
In M Mode, If Constant Preview is Off the live view screen looks the same regardless of aperture and shutter speed settings. This can be useful in studio settings where flash will be the main light source. You need to be able to see the preview clearly even when the ambient light will not be enough for adequate exposure.
In M Mode if Constant Preview is On the live view screen shows the effect of changes in aperture and/or shutter speed. Use this setting when natural light will be used for the exposure.
Expo. Meter This is a big fat analogue display relating aperture to shutter speed and indicating alternate combinations which will give the same effective exposure. It only appears on one of the Display screen options. To see Expo. Meter, set it On in the Custom Menu then press Disp until the appropriate screen comes into view. If you also have histogram set there is hardly any space for the preview image amongst all the clutter of technical data. I definitely set Expo. Meter Off and would be quite happy if Panasonic removed it from the list.
Dial Guide Page 19. When On a little window pops up in the lower right corner of the live view screen when the rear dial is pressed in. This indicates something about dial function and rotation. I got confused with it on so I leave it Off.
LVF Disp Style and Monitor Disp Style As I indicated in Part 1 of this Setup series I recommend "viewfinder" style for both LVF and Monitor, with key camera data on a black strip beneath the image preview.
Monitor Info. Disp. This camera has the option to display a screen which gives the current status of 19 camera indicators. If set to [On] the screen can be displayed by repeatedly pressing the Disp button. It is just an information screen, not a portal through which changes to settings can be made. Some people might find it useful, others might feel it just clutters up the user interface.
Rec Area This selects whether the live view screen will show the field of view for video or stills capture.
Remaining Disp. Shows number of exposures (for stills) or time (for video) remaining on the memory card.
Auto Review If you like to chimp every photo immediately after capture, set Auto Review On for 1-5 seconds or Hold, in which case normal operation is regained with a half press of the shutter button. Some photographers prefer to review their photos some other place and time so they set Auto Review Off.
There is one reason that even photographers who hate Auto Review might consider switching it On/Hold. The FZ1000 has an irritating glitch built into it's current firmware.
If the Playback button is pressed post capture to review a shot, the lens retracts, to the photographer's great annoyance as any framing and focussing are lost. But if Auto Review/Hold is set normal capture operation can be restored with a half press of the shutter button without triggering the dreaded lens retract.
This could be included in a Custom Mode.
Fn Button Set I dealt with this in Part 2 of this series.
Zoom Lever and Manual Ring (Zoom) were discussed in Part 1 of this series.
Zoom Resume This is very much a personal preference choice. Do you want the lens to zoom to the default E25mm position when the camera starts or resumes from sleep or do you want it to resume the last set focal length before switching off or going to sleep ? You decide.
Q Menu was discussed in Part 2 of this series.
Video Button If like me, you do not do video you can disable the button to prevent inadvertent activation. Unfortunately the button function cannot be reassigned. I would like the option to use the red button as another Fn button.
Eye Sensor I discussed this in Part 1 of this setup series.
Menu Guide This is a little scrolling mini explanation of each menu item as it is highlighted. I recommend newcomers to the FZ1000 leave it On at first then switch it Off when they feel more familiar with the menu system.
Thats all folks, my 4 part FZ1000 setup guide for still photos is finished. More interesting stuff will come with the next post.
Please don't ask me to do a setup guide for video, which I find arcane and mysterious, beyond my comprehension. Bitrate ? Codec ? AVCHD ? .................It's all too much...........
