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| Recharge Here LX100M2 |
The Custom Menu now has five submenus making it easier to understand and navigate.
As in the previous post I will only mention items about which I think I have something useful to contribute beyond that which you can find in the Operating Instructions.
Exposure
ISO Increments Both aperture and shutter speed can use 1/3 EV increments so there is little point using ISO increments smaller than 1 EV step.
Extended ISO The standard minimum ISO setting and the lowest setting which the camera will make in Auto ISO is 200. Extended ISO allows ISO 100 to be set. I have yet to conduct tests to see if there is any advantage in allowing this. In some previous Lumix models using the 4/3 sensor, ISO 100 introduced some color artefacts.
Exposure Comp Reset If you use the exposure compensation dial then the level of compensation is whatever you see on the dial.
But it is possible to allocate EC to a Fn button. In that case you might want to set this item to ON. This will ensure that EC resets to zero when you switch off the camera.
Focus/Release shutter
AF/AE Lock button function People have different ideas about the best way to use this button. You can set it for AE Lock, AF Lock, Both or AF-ON. I use it for AF lock. This is handy for street and documentary work when I want focus to stay put for numerous exposures while people move about in the frame often between the camera and the initial focus point.
AF/AE Lock Hold Set this ON so the usage above will work.
Shutter AF This is just the usual function in which AF is activated with a half press of the shutter button. But you can disable this and allocate AF-ON to the AF/AE Lock button. This is the back button focus which is more often used on sport/action rigs.
Half Press Release Switch this off or it will drive you mad.
Quick AF This is an effective way to burn up battery power for no particular benefit that I can see. Likewise Eye Sensor AF.
Pinpoint AF setting I set Mid time and PIP display. But this feature is more useful for bird photographers with long lenses.
AF Assist Lamp Turn this off. It is annoying and not required.
Direct Focus Area On the original LX100 without a touch screen I always set this ON to move the active AF area. But with the Mk2 you can set this OFF, use the touch screen to move the AF area and regain the normal functions of the Cursor buttons.
Focus/Release priority I see no sense in the shutter firing if the picture is not in focus so I set this to Focus for AFS, AFF, AFC.
Focus Switching for Vert/Hor I have this ON. The camera will separately memorise the last used AF area position for landscape and portrait orientation.
Loop Movement Focus Frame This is described on Page 188 of the Instructions but I can’t seem to get it to do anything.
AF Area DisplayYou want this ON to see where the camera will focus.
AF+MF Lumix cameras allow you to autofocus then adjust focus manually if desired without having to change focus mode. Set AF+MF ON to enable this and allocate MF Assistto the lens ring. The lens ring will zoom until AF is acquired when it will switch to manual focus, with PIP (picture-in-picture) and peaking if desired. This is a very sophisticated system which I rarely use because I find autofocus is mostly more accurate than manual focus.
Operation
Fn button Set and Q Menu See next post.
Control Ring That’s the one around the lens barrel. There are several functions which can be assigned to this ring but beware, the ring moves smoothly and is easily bumped while handling the camera. I leave it at Default which is step zoom with continuous zoom on the zoom lever. I often like to zoom in steps but sometimes not. If you set the ring to exposure comp or white balance for instance it is all too easy to bump it off the desired setting and be unaware of having done so.
Video Button If you never do video it would be nice to be able to assign some other function to this button, but you can’t.
Touch Settings I use and recommend
* Touch Screen ON That allows the functions to work.
* Touch Tab OFF. This refers to the little flyout soft Fn buttons on the right side of the screen. Having these active will drive you mad as they are too easily bumped.
* Touch AF, I set AF. This works when you are viewing on the monitor screen. I like to leave the shutter button half press for AE.
* Touch Pad AF, I set OFFSET. This works when you are viewing through the viewfinder. The AF area position is easily moved by dragging the right thumb on the monitor. This system favours right eye viewers. I am a natural left eye viewer but trained myself to view with the right eye because of touch screen systems like this one. Obligatory left eye viewers might want to explore use of the Direct Focus Area function on the Cursor buttons.
Monitor/Display
Auto Review Switch this OFF to speed up operation.
Monochrome Live View This who like to make monochrome pictures can preview the appearance before pressing the shutter button.
Peaking This is to assist manual focussing. I have it ON with the Detect Level High and color blue. However I am not entirely convinced of the value of peaking which often appears to show large areas of the frame as being in focus.
Histogram I think the histogram just clutters the screen and is distracting. I find the Zebras a much more useful guide to highlight rendition.
Guide Line I find this very useful for deciding whether I have my verticals properly upright in the center of the frame. I use the lowest of the three options with the horizontal and vertical lines running through the center of the frame.
Highlight This feature should probably be located in the Playback menu. If highlights are overexposed they will flash the “blinkies” in playback.
Zebra Pattern Zebras are very useful for stills photography to determine before pressing the shutter whether highlights will be blown out. Some experience and experiment is required to make the most of this feature.
I use Zebra 1 set to 105% for Raw capture. I advise users to run their own experiments to determine which settings suite them best.
Expo. Meter More visual clutter. OFF.
MF Guide ON
LVF/Monitor Disp. Set Lumix cameras including the LX100 models allow extensive user configuration of the EVF and monitor. I set both to “viewfinder” style with camera data displayed on a black background below the preview image. This always gives me a clear view of the subject and the camera data and provides a seamless transition from EVF to monitor as both look the same.
Monitor Info.Disp. If this is ON the monitor but not the EVF can display a screen with a group of settings which can be adjusted by selecting one of them by touch. Press the Disp button repeatedly to bring up the screen. It is just another way to access control to a set of functions. I never use it.
Lens/Others
Lens Position Resume If you want the lens to zoom to the last used position set this ON.
Lens Retraction For many years Lumix cameras annoyed their users by retracting the lens about 15 seconds after pressing the Playback button. So if one was in the middle of a shoot the lens had to be zoomed back to the previous position and refocussed. Set Lens Retraction to OFF to prevent this.
Self Timer Auto Off Set this to ON to ensure the self timer automatically cancels when the camera is switched off.