Setting up the Panasonic G7 Part 3 Custom Menu

G7

The Custom Menu  (Manual Page 381) is the repository for a miscellaneous collection of items. I will mention here those which I  think are not well explained in the Owners Manual.

Cust Set Mem  (Page 128) The G7 allows up to 3 Custom Modes to be set.  This is a useful capability. The procedure for setting or changing a Custom Mode is well described on Page 128-129 of the Manual and is straightforward.

A Custom Mode registers all settings in the main menus (except Setup), Q Menu, Fn buttons and the Mode Dial. Other exceptions are listed on Page 126.

Settings for the Drive Mode and Focus Mode cannot be registered to a Custom Mode as they are controlled by set-and-see modules.

Individual preference will determine how the Custom Mode system can best be used.  My practice is to have settings for general hand held photography as my personal default for PASM shooting. I have a custom Mode for tripod work with slow shutter speeds and another Custom Mode for hand held sport/action work. Other possibilities might include macro/closeup and studio/flash.

Custom Modes can be edited at any time.

Silent Mode   Page 212.  This is useful for those occasions when silence and discretion are required. The E-Shutter is engaged, beeps, flash and AF assist lamp are switched off.

AF/AE Lock and AF/AE Lock Hold    I covered these in Part 1 of this 3 part series.

Now follow four AF features,  the first three on  Page 162:  

Shutter AF   When ON, this sets the operation of the shutter button with which most people are familiar. Half press activates AF and AE, full press fires the shutter. I set this ON.

Half Press Release  This one is a bit un-nerving.  The camera evaluates AE, achieves AF and fires the shutter when the button is half pressed. If nothing else this feature shows off the camera’s operating speed.

Quick AF    When ON the camera tries to focus all the time, even without pressing the shutter or any other button.  I don’t find this useful and it eats up batteries.

Eye Sensor AF  Page 58    When ON the camera will attempt to focus when you look in the EVF. Again I don’t find this useful as it has the AF system working when it probably does not need to.

Pinpoint AF Time    Page 159   Panasonic cameras have a Pinpoint AF feature, selectable from the Autofocus Mode. This can be useful for  precise selection of AF target, for instance picking out a bird in a tree. AF in this mode is bit slower than the regular 1-Area variety and the AF process is accompanied by enlargement of the focus target area. This setting controls the amount of time for which the enlarged target area appears automatically.

I set Mid which is about 1 second.

Pinpoint AF Display  This allows you to choose whether the enlarged display is Picture In Picture or Full Screen. Personal preference will decide.

AF Assist Lamp  I don’t know why Panasonic continues to bother with this. AF in low light is so good the assist lamp is never needed and is anyway intrusive to subjects. I switch it OFF.

Direct Focus Area  I discussed this in Part 1 of this setup series.

Focus/Release priority  Page 164     I see no point in firing the shutter with the picture out of focus so I always set this to FOCUS.

AF+MF    This is a handy feature of mirrorless cameras including the G7. Set AF+MF to ON. When AF is obtained and locked with AFS, (half press the shutter button or press the AF/AEL button if configured for AFL). While holding the shutter button half pressed turn the focus ring on the lens.  The camera switches to Manual Focus with peaking and PIP display for fine tuning of the focus position. When you are happy with the focus depress the shutter button fully.

MF Assist   Page 169   This can be set to activate by turning the focus ring on the lens or by pressing the AF Mode button, which by default is the left cursor button. I always set this to the focus ring on the lens as that seems the most natural thing, however some lenses lack a focus ring.

MF Assist Display  This can be PIP or Full. PIP is OK, but as always with Panasonic you get a lot of choices whether you really need them or not. By the way you can change the degree of magnification of the enlarged display by turning the rear dial while the display is active (with arrows on 4 sides) Also you can change the position of the MF box at this time. These little niceties might be useful for someone doing a lot of manual focus work as for instance with closeups.

MF Guide  This is an analogue display which unfortunately does not indicate actual distance but does prompt the correct way to turn the focus ring.

Peaking   Page 170   This is a very useful feature which improves speed and accuracy of manual focus. It is well implemented on the G7.  As ever with Panasonic you get lots of options. After experimenting with these I have settled on a Detect Level of HIGH and Display Color of  LIGHT BLUE.  I leave Peaking ON so it is ready to function when required.

Histogram     Some people just love their histograms and Panasonic caters for these folk. To activate the histogram set [Histogram] to ON in the Menu. This will bring up the histogram with a yellow bounding box and 4 arrows. Now you can position the histogram with the Cursor Keys. Half press the shutter button to return to shooting status. Repeatedly press the Disp button to scroll between various live view screens some with and some without the histogram.

That is all fine but the G7 has Zebras for still photo as well as video. I find the Zebras a much more useful way to determine if highlight overexposure is imminent as they can be set to a predetermined level and indicate which part of the subject is affected.

I find the histogram clutters up the live view screen and is more difficult to read than Zebras, so I leave histogram OFF.

Guide Line    As usual you get plenty of choice. The options are “rule of thirds”, “union jack”  and “single horizontal/vertical”. The latter can be positioned anywhere with the Cursor Keys while the lines are yellow. Press the Disp button to center both.

Take your pick. I use the “single horizontal/vertical” lines positioned to intersect in the center of the frame. This is handy for determining if vertical subject elements in the center of the frame will be vertical in the photo.

Center Marker  I leave this ON as it helps me identify the frame center quickly.

Highlight  I don’t quite understand why this is in the Custom Menu as it is a Playback feature. When ON, overexposed highlights will flash with the “blinkies” in image playback. I set this to ON but the feature has largely been superseded by……

Zebra Pattern    (Page 220)  which tells you before exposure about imminent highlight overexposure allowing you to apply Exposure Compensation to prevent highlight blowout.

There are two Zebra settings. This allows you if desired to set one for highlights (trial around 95-105%) and the other for, say, Caucasian faces (trial around 70%).

I just use Zebra 1 set at 105% to prevent highlight blowout with RAW capture. If you regularly use JPG capture,  trial a lower setting in the 90-95% range.

You will need to conduct your own experiments to discover which setting works best for the typical subject brightness range where you shoot,  the amount of tolerance you have for highlights at or near clipping levels, whether you shoot RAW or JPG, which Raw converter you use and which Photo Style you prefer.

I realise that all sounds a bit complicated but once set up to your preference Zebras are very useful.

Monochrome Live View  This allows you to preview what a subject might look like in monochrome. The picture is still captured in color.

Constant Preview   This is one of those Panasonic menu items which produces enquiries in user forums.

Constant Preview only works in Manual Exposure Mode, M on the Mode Dial. It gives a live preview of the approximate effect of changing  aperture or shutter speed or ISO sensitivity. See also the +/- EC analogue readout beneath the live view image with bars to the left or right of center indicating under or over exposure.

Auto ISO is available in M Mode.

Turn constant Preview ON for general available light photography, OFF for studio flash photography.

Expo Meter  I think Panasonic should delete this. It is a large intrusive display of aperture/shutter speed exposure equivalents which camps all over the lower half of the image preview. If you set it to ON but don’t see it, press the Disp button a few times. I set it OFF.

LVF Disp Style and Monitor Disp Style   One of the advantages of mirrorless cameras is the ability to configure the EVF (called LVF by Panasonic) and monitor to look exactly the same, facilitating a seamless segue between them.  For both you can have either “Monitor” style or “Viewfinder” style.

Monitor style gives a larger preview image but camera data is displayed over the lower part of the frame interfering with view of that part of the subject and making the data difficult to read depending on the type of subject which lies behind it.

Viewfinder style provides a smaller preview image but camera data is displayed on a black bar below making it easier to read in all conditions.

For me this is a no contest, I always set Viewfinder style because I habitually monitor aperture, shutter speed, +/- and ISO when making photos.

Monitor Info Disp  If you set this ON and press the Disp button repeatedly, a full screen info display will come up with 17 types of data which are not user selectable. This could be useful to see what settings are current for a variety of parameters. 

It can also be used to alter values of the displayed parameters. If [Direct Focus area] has been set in the Custom Menu it is first necessary to press whichever button has been assigned to Q Menu, then the Cursor Buttons can be used to navigate around the [Monitor Info Disp] screen.

Rec Area   This displays either the still photo or video angle of view and aspect ratio.

Remaining Disp   Displays either number of shots for still photo or time for video remaining on the memory card.

Auto Review   Page 45    This determines whether or not you want the camera to display an immediate review of each shot taken and if so, for how long. I always switch this OFF.

Fn Button Set, Q Menu and Dial Set were discussed in Part 1 of this series.

Video Button  Those who do video will obviously set this ON.  Users who never do video can set it OFF to prevent inadvertent activation. Unfortunately the button cannot be reprogrammed.

Power Zoom Lens  Pages 228-229  I think the Manual is clear enough on this.

Eye Sensor  Page 58   As is sometimes the case with Panasonic menus, the number of options available leads to a complicated decision making process.

Switching between the LVF and monitor can be made in several different ways.

One is to use the Fn5 button, the default function of which is LVF switch. But to my mind that is a waste of that button as there are other ways to switch. So I recommend using the Fn5 button for something else.

In the Menu under the [Eye Sensor] tab you get [Sensitivity] and [LVF/Monitor Switch].  I recommend setting the Sensitivity to LOW.  If set to HIGH it is excessively sensitive of anything which comes near the LVF.

Under the [LVF/Monitor Switch] tab you have [LVF/Mon Auto], [LVF] and [MON].

I think most users probably set [LVF/Mon Auto]. This way you can have the monitor facing outwards. Signal goes to the monitor until you bring your eye up to the LVF when signal switches to the LVF and the monitor switches off. Having both on simultaneously would pull excessive power.

That works fine.

However I set [MON]  This way the Monitor is active when turned outwards. But when I turn the monitor inwards the LVF automatically switches on. That is how I use the camera. I mostly view on the LVF and prefer to turn the monitor inwards for protection, when the camera is in use and when it is in the carry bag.

Take your pick.

Touch Settings I discussed these in part 1 of the Setup series.

Menu Guide   Page 106  This determines which screen will be presented when setting the [Scn] or [Creative Control] Modes.

Shoot W/O Lens  Set this ON. It can sometimes be useful to fire the shutter without a lens fitted.

That is the End of this 3 part series on setting up the G7 camera.