Numbers at the bottom of the screen show you the current setting for all Custom Functions. The top row of numbers represents the Custom Functions, with the currently selected function indicated with a tiny horizontal bar over the number (9, in the figure). The lower row shows the number of the current setting for each Custom Function; again, 0 represents the default.
For Custom Function 11, you instead see a dash, which is Canon’s way of letting you know that this menu option controls more than one camera setting (thus there isn’t one single default setting).
❯❯ Scrolling from one Custom Function to the next: Press the left or right cross keys or tap the left or right scroll arrows at the top of the screen. You can see the arrows in the right screen in Figure 1-14.
❯❯ Changing the setting: You first must activate the menu by pressing the Set button or tapping one of the available setting options. The screen then changes to look similar to the one shown on the left in Figure 1-15, with the currently selected option highlighted. To select a different option, highlight it by tapping it or pressing the up or down cross keys.
If you see up/down arrows on the right side of the screen, you need to scroll the menu screen to view all the available setting options. To do so, tap those arrows or press the up/down cross keys.
To lock in your setting and deactivate the settings screen, tap the Set icon or press the Set button. The screen returns to its inactive state, as shown on the right in Figure 1-15. The setting you selected appears in blue and the row of digits at the bottom of the screen reflects the number for that setting. A blue number indicates that you chose a setting other than the default.
❯❯ Exiting the Custom Functions submenu: Tap the Menu icon in the lower-right corner of the screen or press the Menu button. Press Menu again to exit the menu system entirely and return to shooting.
FIGURE 1-14: Choose Custom Functions from Setup Menu 4 to access additional customization options.
FIGURE 1-15: After you select a setting (left), the initial menu screen updates to reflect your choice (right).
Customizing the Touchscreen
Your camera’s touchscreen works much like the ones found on smartphones and other touch-based devices. When the touchscreen is enabled, as it is by default, you can simply touch the monitor to choose menu commands, change picture settings, scroll through your pictures, and more.
How you touch the screen depends on the task at hand. Here’s a rundown of the names assigned to various touchscreen moves, or gestures:
❯❯ Tap: Tap a finger on the monitor. (Figures and instructions throughout the book indicate exactly where to tap.)
❯❯ Drag: Using light pressure, drag your finger across the screen. On some menu screens, for example, you can drag up or down to scroll through a list of options.
❯❯ Swipe: Drag one or two fingers quickly across the screen. You use this gesture, known in some circles as a flick, to scroll through your pictures in playback mode, just as you do when showing off your photos on a smartphone.
❯❯ Pinch in/pinch out: To pinch in, place your thumb at one edge of the screen and your pointer finger at the other. Then drag both toward the center of the screen. To pinch out, start in the center of the screen and swipe both fingers outward. Pinching is how you zoom in and out of pictures during playback.
❯❯ Adjust (or disable) the touchscreen response: You can choose from three settings, accessed via the Touch Control option, found on Setup Menu 3 and shown in Figure 1-16. Standard is the default, setting the screen to respond to a “normal” amount of pressure. Don’t ask how the Powers That Be decided what that pressure level is – just know that if your normal pressure doesn’t evoke a response, you can change the setting from Standard to Sensitive. Choose Disable to make the touchscreen totally inactive.
❯❯ Silence the touchscreen: By default, the touchscreen emits a tiny “boop” with every tap. If you find that annoying, choose the Beep option, found just beneath the Touch Control option on Setup Menu 3. The option that keeps the boop silent is Touch to Silence – silence indicated by a little speaker with a slash through it. The Disable setting turns off both touchscreen sounds and the beep the camera emits when focus is achieved.
FIGURE 1-16: Control the touchscreen response through this menu item.
To keep the monitor in good working order, follow these precautions:
● Don’t use force when adjusting the monitor position. Although the monitor assembly is sturdy, treat it with respect as you adjust the screen position. The monitor twists only in certain directions, and it’s easy to forget which way it’s supposed to move. So if you feel resistance, don’t force things – you could break the monitor. Instead, rely on that feeling of resistance to remind you to turn the screen the other way.
● Use only your finger to perform touchscreen functions. Use the touchscreen, use the fleshy part of your fingertip (not the nail or any other sharp object), and be sure your fingers are dry because the screen may not respond if it gets wet.
● Don’t apply a screen protector. Canon also advises against putting a protective cover over the monitor, such as the kind people adhere to their smartphones. Doing so can reduce the monitor’s responsiveness to your touch.
● Watch the crunch factor. Before positioning the monitor back into the camera (whether face in or face out), use a lens brush or soft cloth to clean the monitor housing so there’s nothing on it that could damage the monitor.
● Clean smart. To clean the screen, use only the special cloths and cleaning solutions made for this purpose. (You can find them in any camera store.) Do not use paper products such as paper towels because they can contain wood fibers that can scratch the monitor. And never use a can of compressed air to blow dust off the camera – the air is cold and can crack the monitor.
Viewing Camera Settings
Your camera offers several displays that present the current picture-taking settings. The next sections explain the displays that are available during viewfinder photography. See the later section “Switching to Live View Mode” for information about displaying similar data when you use Live View, the feature that enables you to compose photos on the monitor instead of through the viewfinder.
