AEL/AFL on E-P1

[Terry]

I posted this on DP review but it looks like it is going to fall off the front page with no responses....any one here want to share?

I've had a lot of different cameras and my best set up turned out to be the way I customized my D700 for focus/exposure/shutter release. In this set up I would use the AFL button (one press don't need to hold) on the back to achieve focus and then the shutter button only did exposure and release. Works great especially if you like to focus and recompose. Once you get the hang of it, you can work really fast and accurately.

After about 10 days with the E-P1, I haven't quite figured out a good configuration where I take advantage of or even use this button.

Would you be so kind as to share your focus and exposure routine and how you use this button on your E-P1.

thanks!

 

[Greg Seitz]

Hi Terry,

I just picked up an E-P1 yesterday and configured it exactly how you described since that's my preferred shooting style as well. Here's how you do it:

Go into the menu and select the menu with the gears *. From there, in the *B menu select AEL/AFL. Within that menu you can configure each of the 3 focus modes. For each one that you want to use the AEL/AFL button to perform auto focus set it to Mode 3. This will map the AEL/AFL button to focus and the shutter button half press will now lock exposure instead of focusing.

Hope that helps.

Greg

 

[Terry]

Awesome...off to go set the camera. I don't think the writer of the manual and I gel very well. I looked at the manual a couple of times and didn't figure out that little table.

Your post just reminded me that I spaced out on making the RAW files available. I will go and copy them to my iDisk. I will then send you the link.

Terry

 

[Mike Hatam]

Thanks for the tip Greg. I've been trying to figure this out as well, as I set my Canon bodies up the same way that Terry described, and prefer this way of shooting.

Mike

 

[Terry]

OK,
Now the other one I learned yesterday that is quite useful is the spot metering. There are actually three varieties and it takes out the step of setting exposure compensation. So, if you have it set to spot meter the shadows and then meter off of a dark area of the scene it exposes that as a shadow not as "neutral" opposite if you have the spot meter set to highlights. I tried it a bit and find it worked quite well and the LCD will show you the changes. For example: if you are in the highlight version and you point the camera straight ahead in a mixed scene and the sky is going to blow and looks white then point the camera to the sky and you can see it turn back to blue on the LCD. IMHO worth playing with.

 

[volkerhopf]

Awesome...off to go set the camera. I don't think the writer of the manual and I gel very well. I looked at the manual a couple of times and didn't figure out that little table.

Your post just reminded me that I spaced out on making the RAW files available. I will go and copy them to my iDisk. I will then send you the link.

Terry

Hi Terry, I am getting the E-p1 as soon as it becomes available in Australia, but I would like to try the raw files in my favourite Raw developer RPP beforehand. Would it be possible to get one or 2 raw files from you?

Best regards
Volker

 

[Brian Mosley]

Hi Terry, the great thing about having the E-P1 with you every day is that you can experiment with the settings - keep playing and there's a heck of a lot to discover! I'm still learning :thumbup:

When you have stuff to share, please consider adding to our running E-P1 Team Review Diary here :
E-P1 Team Review Diary

Kind Regards

Brian

 

[mod2001]

Hi Terry,

I just picked up an E-P1 yesterday and configured it exactly how you described since that's my preferred shooting style as well. Here's how you do it:

Go into the menu and select the menu with the gears *. From there, in the *B menu select AEL/AFL. Within that menu you can configure each of the 3 focus modes. For each one that you want to use the AEL/AFL button to perform auto focus set it to Mode 3. This will map the AEL/AFL button to focus and the shutter button half press will now lock exposure instead of focusing.

Hope that helps.

Greg

you're genius :thumbup: it works

btw, is it possible to turn off the AF-beep?

Yogi

 

[Joan]

Hi Terry,
A little OT, but have you got your G1 set up to do this, too? I'm trying to figure out how I'd go about it ... still need to RTFM. :ROTFL:

 

[volkerhopf]

Hi Terry, I am getting the E-p1 as soon as it becomes available in Australia, but I would like to try the raw files in my favourite Raw developer RPP beforehand. Would it be possible to get one or 2 raw files from you?

Best regards
Volker

Hi Terry,
Thank you very much for the files! I will try them out in RPP and will report my findings when I am finished.
Best regards
Volker

 

[Terry]

Hi Terry,
A little OT, but have you got your G1 set up to do this, too? I'm trying to figure out how I'd go about it ... still need to RTFM. :ROTFL:

I haven't found a way to completely disable focus in the shutter button like the method above. Here is what you can do:
Set the AF/AE lock to AF lock.
Set the lock to hold
When you want to focus press the AF/AE button. It will then hold focus and the shutter won't change the focus.
However, when you go to take your next shot and want to focus again, the first press will "unlock" your previous focus and you can then refocus.

If you don't set the lock to hold, then you have to physically hold the button while you do the other step. This is pretty annoying.

So, I don't really use AE/AF as much on the G1. But don't worry I don't love it any less

 

[Joan]

Thanks, Terry, this now makes sense!! I was using it to AE lock, but the viewfinder changes continously and sort of screws up my brain when I try to recompose. Your way sounds better.

 

[durrIII]

Terry and all,
I just picked up my E-P1. I bought the 14-42 kit and a 17. I already have a VC 35VF. Anyway, my question is, while I am waiting for the battery to charge, what other changes to the default settings did you make? I like the idea of the AF lock, so that is one.
thanks,
Durr

 

[Terry]

The first thing you need to do is go to the wrench in the menus.
Next turn the gear menu display to on. All of the important menu items for customization are all in the gears and they default to off.

There are a lot of different info screens that are tempting to turn on (hitogram, gridlines, etc). If you want to be able to use the manual focus enlarged view with manual focus lenses, you want to keep the number of info screens to a minimum or you will end up having to make a lot of button presses.

The level function is very useful. Worth enabling.

Gradation gives a lot of noise problems. Leave it at standard.

There are two buttons that you can set for "custom buttons. Seems like most of us have set the Fn button to toggle between AF/MF.

The other button, the left arrow button, on the four way controller, I have set to exposure to quickly get to spot metering. Conversly you could set the AEL button to do spot metering. (when you get that far go back to the top of this thread). It doesn't address spot metering but the use of the AEL/AFL lock button.

You can decide which dial does what for example in aperture priority I have the aperture change done with the top scroll button and the exposure comp on the wheel of the four way controller. Similar setup for shutter priority.

There is so much you can customize. I'm trying to strike a balance of keeping it simple and learning all it can do.

 

[durrIII]

Terry, that's just what i wanted, a starting place. Now I can get to work with the manual and customize it to my style. Thanks so much. I really think I am going to like this little camera. I have to order an adapter for my 35 Cron and 50 Lux. Thanks again. Durr

 

[tashley]

My little tip, when working with M mount lenses using an adaptor and MF, is to....

FIRST turn off all but the 'zoom' option in Menu>Gear Logo>D>Info Setting>LV-Info

This means that there's only ever a max of one press of the info button to get you to the zoom MF focus screen from whence you press OK to zoom.

SECOND when you then use the OK button to zoom in, and have manually tweaked your focus ring to get optimal focus, it's annoyingly out of finger range to have to press OK again to get back to the non-zoomed view for framing. Your right thumb is high on the camera holding it steady while you zoom-focussed with your left hand and if you change grips so as to have a spare finger or thumb to re-press OK to cancel zoom you are in danger of changing the camera to subject distance.

So instead, cancel zoom by using your right thumb to press Play button twice in succession without changing your grip. It's much easier than the OK button!

Phew, there we go.

BTW if anyone has a Leica 50 lux with adaptor, you must, must, must use it on the Pen. It shows you what the sensor can do in a way that you'll not see with the kit zoom which IMHO is weak. And if the shutter speed is faster than 2x focal length, try turning off IS. The results are usually sharper.

It is a great camera, capable of very mediocre results if not used well!

Tim

 

[Terry]

Thanks Tim,
Good thinking there that works. I hope they do a firmware update to use the halfpress back to regular view like the G1. I find it hard to take the picture in the zoomed view and was struggling a bit with that button push.

For the next camera hardware version I would hope the mode dial would let you make a custom setup for manual lenses - how can they not have a C1, C2 etc.

I'm not sure I've grasped Oly's version of a set of custom settings where if I've read it correctly you actually have to hold a button in the whole time

 

[Terry]

Tim. I've been thinking about your IS "off" comments.

Do you think that you are very steady from shooting the M8 and that is fooling the IS system?

Have you gone in and set the focal length of the lens in the IS system?

 

[tashley]

Tim. I've been thinking about your IS "off" comments.

Do you think that you are very steady from shooting the M8 and that is fooling the IS system?

Have you gone in and set the focal length of the lens in the IS system?

Hi Terry,

I'm not really very sure about this because I haven't tested it scientifically but I have noticed that the camera produced some really wow files (i.e. perfect at 100% rather than just at 50%) for me for the first time when I used the Lux on a tripod with MF. Yesterday I strolled around London for a while with the kit zoom and when I got home and looked at maybe fifty images, many were very nice but none was as perfect as I mow knew they can be. So I went for another much quicker (so smaller shot sample) walk with the Lux and found that more of the shots were really sharp and that those that were tended to be at higher shutter speeds - with IS off.

Now, it is often hard to know if slight lack of sharpness is due to a soft lens, a mild mis-focus or slight shake but my strong feeling (which I will today try to verify) is that the IS system pretty much always gives you a tiny shake, maybe one pixel blur, but most often saves you from a bigger shake.

So if you want to get the really best shot my strong suspicion is, shoot with a fast shutter and no IS. BTW when I had IS on I did have the right focal length set.

I really will try to test this in more detail today - going for a longer stroll with the Lux!

BTW I really hope the first firmware update has zoom focus and quit zoom focus assignable to the Fn or AEL button or better still to a hybrid with what you've suggested elsewhere - i.e. have metering assigned to the AEL button and then zoom and quit zoom to shutter half-press.

I agree with you about the My Mode stuff. You do have to keep the Fn button pressed and it's daft.

Other gripes: why did they not include a lens hood, which is vital and which needs a weird thread size that no generic fits? My guess is that they're not simply mean, but that they don't want any shots circulating of the Pen looking larger or less beautiful during the honeymoon!

All in, I think I like it a lot. I certainly really love the way it feels and the results it can produce: I'm not yet convinced that the systems design of it makes those results easy enough to get at!

What I do know is that it is re-lighting in me the joy of carrying a camera all the time and getting those off-beat, opportunistic shots that nine months of medium format gear have sucked out of me like a Dementor!

Best,

Tim

 

[tashley]

I just tested as follows: 50 lux in manual mode, handheld.

First series of shots on a window and brickwork about 200 metres away. Five shots with IS, five shots without, F4 at 1/400th. There was no discernible difference between the IS and non IS shots.

Second series F 2 @125th on a newspaper about 1.24 metres away. Five shots with IS and five shots without. Every shot without IS was better than the best shot with.

Now to work out which shutter speed to focal length ratio determines when we should turn IS on! I'll try it at 1/50th next.

Tim