Digital Camera Home > Digital Camera Reviews > Canon Digital Cameras > Canon EOS-5D

Canon EOS-5D By: Dave Etchells Slightly smaller and lighter upgrade brings greater speed and ease of use along with higher res and lower image noise. Select a topic Reference: Datasheet E5D Sample Images E5D Imatest Results Canon EOS-5D Photo Gallery --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Field Test 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion 13. Guest Review by Sean Reid --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments on E5D Review --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Operation & User Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Image Storage & Interface>> Page 9:Camera Modes & Menus Review First Posted: 04/02/2006

Camera Modes and Menus

Full Automatic Mode: Indicated on the Mode dial by a green rectangular outline, this mode puts the camera in charge of all exposure decisions with the exception of image quality. Autofocus mode is set to AI Focus. (AI Focus evaluates subject movement, automatically sets either one-shot AF or AI Servo AF automatically.) Drive mode is set to Single Shot, and the metering mode is set to Evaluative.


Program AE: Next on the Mode Dial, Program AE works similarly to the Full Automatic exposure mode, but allows more control over the exposure variables. Aperture and shutter speed are automatically selected by the camera, but you can bias the exposure to larger or smaller apertures by turning the Main control dial, which will change the combination of aperture and shutter speed so as to maintain the same exposure value, but with a different choice of aperture/shutter speed. Turning the Quick Control dial in this mode adjusts the exposure compensation setting, to increase or decrease overall exposure.


Shutter-Priority AE: This mode allows you to manually set the shutter speed anywhere from 1/8,000 to 30 seconds, while the camera chooses the best corresponding aperture setting. You have control over all other exposure variables, including exposure compensation.


Aperture-Priority AE: The opposite of Shutter-Priority mode, Aperture-Priority AE allows you to set the lens aperture (with available ranges depending on the lens in use), while the camera selects the most appropriate shutter speed. Again, you have control over all other exposure variables, including exposure compensation.


Manual Exposure: This mode provides the same range of exposure control as the other Creative Zone exposure modes (except for exposure compensation), but lets you control both shutter speed and lens aperture independently. A display in the top LCD panel reports whether the camera thinks your settings will result in under, over, or correctly exposed photos.


Bulb Mode: Indicated by a "B" on the Mode dial, this mode provides complete exposure control, but allows the shutter to stay open as long as 999 seconds. (I highly recommend that you use Canon's RS-80N3 remote switch in Bulb mode, to avoid jiggling the camera with your shutter finger during the long exposure.)

Custom Mode: The final position on the Mode dial, this mode lets you recall previously saved camera settings, registered via the Register Camera Settings option of the LCD menu.

Playback Mode: This mode is entered by pressing the Play button on the back panel. Playback mode lets you erase images, protect them, or set them up for printing on DPOF/PictBridge compatible devices. You can also view images in an index display, enlarge images to 10x, view a slide show of all captured images, or rotate an image. The Info button activates an information display, which reports the exposure settings for the image and graphs the exposure values on a small histogram.

Operating Menu: This menu is available in all of the camera modes, though a few of the capture-related options are only available in the Creative Zone (P, Tv, Av, and M exposure modes). Pressing the Menu button calls up the Operating menu.

• Quality: Sets the image size and the compression ratio. Options are Large/Fine (4,368 x 2,912 pixels), Large/Normal (4,368 x 2,912 pixels), Medium/Fine (3,168 x 2,112 pixels), Medium/Normal (3,168 x 2,112 pixels), Small/Fine (2,496 x 1,664 pixels), Small/Normal (2,496 x 1,664 pixels), and RAW (4,368 x 2,912 pixels, with lossless compression). Also available are RAW + JPEG combinations for each resolution and quality setting.
• Beep: Turns the camera's beep sounds on or off.
• Shoot w/o card: Allows firing of the shutter without a CompactFlash card in the camera.
• AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing): Sets the bracketing range for Auto Exposure Bracketing in increments of 1/3 or 1/2 EV from -2 to +2 EV (P, Tv, Av, and M exposure modes only).
• WB SHIFT/BKT (White Balance Shift/Bracketing): Adjusts the white balance bracketing series, in arbitrary units from -3 to +3 in full-stop increments, also allows sophisticated biasing between Green/Magenta and Blue Amber. (secondary screen)
• Custom WB: Lets you manually establish the white value by referencing a shot of a white card (Creative Zone only). (This mode on the 5D is a little different from the implementation used by other camera makers, in that it makes use of a previously-shot image of a white card, allowing you to store several white-point references on the camera's memory card and switch between them. It also allows a white reference to be shared between multiple photographers shooting the same event, simply by putting the same white reference image on each of their memory cards. Very handy!)
• Color Temp.: Sets the color temperature in degrees Kelvin for the Kelvin white balance option. Choices range from 2,800 to 10,000 Kelvin in 100-Kelvin degree increments.
• Color Space: Switches between sRGB and Adobe RGB capture. This is a nice addition, because it allows the user to modify Picture Style parameters (see the next menu item) independently of color space choice.
• Picture Style: Accesses preset parameters for specific shooting situations. Presets include Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, and Monochrome, with three User Defined settings for custom parameters. A secondary screen lets you modify the detailed sharpness, contrast, saturation, and color tone settings for any of the six standard or three user-defined Picture Styles.)
  
  
  
• Protect: Protects the currently displayed image against accidental deletion, apart from card formatting.
• Rotate: Rotates the currently displayed image 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.
• Print Order: Allows you to set up images for printing on any DPOF compatible device. Print options include setting the number of prints, and whether or not the date and/or file number is printed as well. (secondary screen)
• Auto Play: Automatically plays captured images in sequential order as a slide show.
• Review Time: When the Review function is set to On or On (Info), this setting controls the amount of time that images are displayed in the review, with options of two, four, or eight seconds, or Hold (which displays the image until the Set button is pressed, or the Shutter button is halfway pressed).
• AF Points: Specifies whether the AF point(s) used to capture an image are displayed in the shooting information screen. Choices are Display and Not display.
• Histogram: Sets the type of histogram display to Bright or RGB. In Bright mode, the histogram graphs the tonal distribution for the image. RGB mode graphs the distribution for each color channel separately.
  
  
  
• Auto Power Off: Sets power down time to between 1 and 30 minutes or to Off for no automatic shutoff.
• Auto Rotate: When enabled, records the camera orientation information with the image. This makes portrait-format images to appear right-side up on the camera's LCD screen, but doesn't affect the picture data itself in the camera's JPEG or RAW-format files.
• LCD Brightness: Adjusts the LCD brightness.
• Date/Time: Sets the camera's internal date and time.
• File Numbering: Extends consecutive file numbering between media cards or resets numbering with each new card.
• Select Folder: Selects the image folder for playback and storage.
• Language: Sets the menu language to one of 12 languages.
• Video System: Selects either NTSC or PAL video timing formats
• Communication: Sets camera to work with a computer (PC Connect) or Printer/PTP.
• Format: Reformats the CompactFlash card, which erases all files (even protected ones).
• Custom Functions: Sets a variety of custom camera functions for individual camera users (see below).
• Clear Settings: Resets all custom settings to their defaults.
• Register Camera Settings: Saves the current camera settings, for recall in Custom (C) mode.
• Sensor Clean: Locks up the mirror and opens the shutter, allowing you to clean the sensor of any dust.
• Firmware Ver.: Reports the camera's current firmware version and allows the user to update it.
  

Custom Settings Menu:

• C.Fn-01 SET function when shooting: Assigns a function to the rear-panel SET button.
  • 0: Default (no function).
  • 1: Change Quality.
  • 2: Change Picture Style.
  • 3: Menu Display.
  • 4: Image Replay.
• C.Fn-02 Long exp. noise reduction: Enables/disables black-frame subtraction noise reduction.
  • 0: Off.
  • 1: Auto noise reduction (for exposures one second and longer if noise is detected).
  • 2: On (all exposures one second and longer).
• C.Fn-03 Flash sync. speed in AV mode: Useful to avoid overly-long shutter speeds in aperture-priority exposure mode.
  • 0: Auto
  • 1: 1/200 second fixed.
• C.Fn-04 Shutter/AE lock button: Various options for the AF/AE button.
  • 0: AF/AE Lock
  • 1: AE Lock / AF
  • 2: AF/AF Lock, no AE Lock
  • 3:AE/AF, no AE Lock
• C.Fn-05 AF assist beam: (With compatible speedlite only, no AF-assist on camera body.)
  • 0: Emits (on dedicated Speedlite)
  • 1: Does not emit.
• C.Fn-06 Exposure level increments: Affects shutter speed and aperture increments, but not ISO.
  • 0: 1/3-stop.
  • 1: 1/2-stop.
• C.Fn-07 Flash firing (PC terminal): Disable PC-sync terminal if you want.
  • 0: Fires.
  • 1: Does not fire.
• C.Fn-08 ISO expansion: Enables L-50 and H-3200 settings.
  • 0: Off.
  • 1: On.
• C.Fn-09 Bracket sequence / Auto cancel: Sets the order of the bracketed exposures when auto bracketing is active, and whether auto bracketing cancels after the exposure series or not.
  • 0: 0, -, +/Enable.
  • 1: 0, -, +/Disable.
  • 2: -, 0, +/Enable.
  • 3: -, 0, +/Disable.
• C.Fn-10 Superimposed display: Controls whether or not active AF points flash red in viewfinder when shooting.
  • 0: On.
  • 1: Off.
• C.Fn-11 Menu button display position: Controls which menu screen you see when you press the Menu button. ("Top" means the size/quality option.)
  • 0: Previous (top if power off).
  • 1: Previous.
  • 2: Top.
• C.Fn-12 Mirror lockup: When mirror lockup is active, it takes two shutter button actuations to take a picture. The first locks up the mirror, the second release the shutter. Handy for minimizing camera shake during long exposures on a tripod. (Really only makes sense if you're also using a remote release.)
  • 0: Disable.
  • 1: Enable.
• C.Fn-13 AF point selection method: Normal mode requires you to press the AF-point selection button before changing the AF point. Direct modes change the AF point selection as soon as the appropriate control is actuated.
  • 0: Normal.
  • 1: Multi-controller direct.
  • 2: Quick Control dial direct.
• C.Fn-14 E-TTL II: Controls exposure algorithm for flash exposures. (Requires compatible shoe-connected flash system.)
  • 0: Evaluative.
  • 1: Average.
• C.Fn-15 Shutter curtain sync.:
  • 0: First curtain sync.
  • 1: Second curtain sync.
• C.Fn-16 Safety shift in AV or TV: If subject brightness lies outside the range that can be achieved with the current user-set aperture or shutter speed value, the camera will automatically shift it to the closest value that will produce a good exposure.
  • 0: Disable.
  • 1: Enable.
• C.Fn-17 AF point activation area: When enabled, in AI-Servo AF mode, six additional AF points become active when the center point is selected. This improves tracking of erratically-moving subjects.
  • 0: Standard.
  • 1: Expanded.
• C.Fn-18 LCD displ -> return to shoot: Normally, pressing only the shutter button will return the camera to capture mode from playback or menu operation. With the feature enabled, pressing any of the *, AF/WB, AF Selection, or Metering/Flash comp. buttons will also return to shooting mode.
  • 0: With Shutter button only.
  • 1: Also with * etc.
• C.Fn-19 Lens AF stop button function (only on super telephoto lenses): Controls the operation of the AF stop button found on some super telephoto lenses.
  • 0: AF stop.
  • 1: AF start (AF operates only when AF stop button is pressed).
  • 2: AE Lock while metering (when button is pressed while metering).
  • 3: AF point: M -> Auto / Auto -> ctr (in manual AF point selection mode, button switches to automatic AF point selection from manual).
  • 4: One Shot <-> AI Servo (on One-Shot AF mode, button switches to AI Servo AF mode only while held down).
  • 5: IS start (with the lens' IS switch on, Image Stabilizer operates only when button is pressed).
• C.Fn-20 Add original decision data: Appends original data verification to the image files. Canon's optional Data Verification Kit can then be used to verify that the image data wasn't modified after being captured by the camera.
  • 0: Off.
  • 1: On.
• C.Fn-00 Focusing screen: Adjusts in-camera exposure correction for different focusing screen types.
  • 0: Ee-A (Standard screen).
  • 1: Ee-D (Precision matte with grid).
  • 2: Ee-S (Super Precision matte).

 

mp = 1; cb_border = 2;