Advanced feature request to Canon People - where to ask for?

<p>Hello,<br /> <br /> A thing I do often is to switch from 'Av' to 'M' - doing so I usually have to turn the wheels on 'M' much to come close to a setup which is needed in the actual situation.<br /> <br /> I would like to press the '*' and hold the exposure in 'Av' and turn to 'M' while '*' is holding the exposure - this should set the 'M' to this values, so that I can continue on the real life situation.<br /> <br /> EG Having done some 'M' exposure a day ago on f 1.4 and 1/80 and currently being outside in the sun at f 16 1/200 - The change to 'M' would cause to be at 1.4-1/80, but pressing the '*' before changing to 'M' would cause 'M' to be (pre)set to f16 and 1/200. So I'm more near to what I need 'now'.<br /> <br /> This probably could be set on/off in a custom function. (Also the other way round from 'M' to 'Av' could be done (of course also valid for Tv)).<br /> <br /> I don't know where to send this idea to Canon - So I hope some one of them are listening here also and this may is taken into account one day.<br /> <br /> Thanx Axel</p>

<p>So you want to meter in a semi-auto mode (Av) and somehow transfer the aperture and shutter speed (& ISO I assume) when you switch to M mode? It's not a feature I would use but then 75% of the features on modern DSLRs are not used by most photogs. Ah dunno, wouldn't it just be easier to start in M mode? Also, you might wanna make your suggestion directly to Canon corporate. We don't have much influence on Canon product design.</p>

<p>Yes, that is one feature I have wished I could do many-a-time ~ to transfer shutter/aperture values quickly from any of the Creative Modes instantly (like with a press of a button) to 'Manual mode' for further creativity. If this button also changed the camera to instant 'Manual mode', that would be an added speed advantage. I'm sure I would use this feature Canon!<p><p>PS. I'm sure all the big companies have people that scour sites like this for 'real feedback' on customers reactions and wishlists ~ not that Canon has given us a dedicated MLU button, despite years of people crying out for it ...or will they...someday?</p>

<p>Thats actually a fine suggestion.</p>

 

<p>Actually my old Pentax had a similar button. It didn't remember the previous exposure used. Instead it would briefly switch to program mode to set an exposure in manual. Its a lot faster then turning the shutter dial to change from a 1 second shutter to 1/250 shutter speed. On the Pentax I would set the aperture (using the aperture ring on the lens, very fast), press the button, and then adjust the exposure to my liking.</p>

<p>Another thing I would like is having a split prism view screen available as an option for all Canon cameras. </p>

<p>Perhaps <a href="http://www.digitaljournalist.org/">http://www.digitaljournalist.org/</a> Tech tips by Canon's Chuck Westphall is a good place for suggestions like this. At least I don't know a better place.</p>

 

<p>The trouble is I'm not sure they take any notice. People have been asking for better access to mirror lockup for years with no affect.</p>

<p>I guess we could call it a "Manual Override" - but, personally I either shoot in M (with a hand-held meter even) or Av. I have never had the *need* to constantly switch from one mode to the other.</p>

<p>[[People have been asking for better access to mirror lockup for years with no affect.]]</p>

<p>Well, they did add the custom functions to the dial.</p>

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<p>People have been asking for better access to mirror lockup for years with no affect.</p>

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<p>Actually that's not true. Access to MLU has improved. Just press the Live View button and the mirror locks up. And it's a dedicated button on newer DSLRs like the 7D and 5DII. Kinda makes sense to "bundle" MLU with LV as the optical viewfinder blacks out.</p>

<p>I guess if you don't want to use LV and prefer flying blind, you'll have to menu drive for MLU. However access to old skool black out MLU has improved, albeit still no dedicated button: you can save fav settings like MLU in user memory slots on the command dial (C-1, C-2, C-3); save the MLU option in the custom user menu (less menu driving) or use the self timer to invoke MLU. So no dedicated button labeled MLU, but access to MLU has certainly gotten easier and with increased options.</p>

<p>I'm guessing Canon probably prefers a more "layered" approach to invoking MLU to avoid problems with tyros pressing a dedicated MLU button and wondering why their VF went blank. Also, MLU is rarely used by most photogs. </p>

<p>If I were to present a feature wish list to Canon, I'd like shiftable DEP mode and ECF back. Also, I'd like to defeat NEVEC during flash metering.</p>

Wouldn't using exposure compensation in Av be a quicker method to achieve the same effect? If you're in Av and switch to M, it's likely because you want to keep the aperture fixed and change the shutter speed, right? Please correct me if I misunderstand...

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<p>Wouldn't using exposure compensation in Av be a quicker method to achieve the same effect?</p>

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<p>Ed, he wants to be in Manual so he can lock <strong>both </strong> the aperture and shutter speed after using Av to determine what they should be.</p>

<p>Keeping the camera in Av, with or without EC, will continue to change the shutter speed as the subject is reframed.</p>

<p>Axel, I would find that feature very useful and have been suggesting it wherever possible to Canon for several years now. I often shoot Av as a first approximation and adjust EC wherever necessary to achieve the final shot. However, in difficult metering situations, I frequently shift over to M. It would be great to do that somehow on the fly, rather than mentally noting the settings in Av and then dialing them in after switching to M.</p>

<p>I would also LOVE (and be willing to pay a bit extra for) another wheel -- two wheels behind the shutter button, the first being for aperture and the second being for shutter speed. The wheel on the back would be for EC in the automatic modes and the jogging of aperture against speed in the M mode. This way there would be consistency in what each wheel does from mode to mode, making the user interface FAR more intuitive.</p>

<p>Just a suggestion: The best way to make these sorts of suggestions might be to make them to Nikon also. Nikon sometimes implements changes that Canon follows.</p>

<p>I recently got an EOS 30 film camera. ECF is fun and it works decently well for me who wears glasses. I don't think it's precise enough for single focus points, but I think the old tech was accurate enough to match well with the 7D's broader AF zones. I want to see ECF on the digital bodies.</p>

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<p>“I would like to press the '*' and hold the exposure in 'Av' and turn to 'M' while '*' is holding the exposure - this should set the 'M' to this values, so that I can continue on the real life situation.”</p>

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<p>In fact I'd like to see this as an option <strong>without</strong> the need to hold down any other button – that's how switching from auto to M should work by default!</p>

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<p>We don't have much influence on Canon product design.</p>

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<p>Speak for yourself. I personally suggested a few times here that the Canon digital cameras should all show 100% of the image, and now they've implemented that on the 7D!</p>

<p>Of course, this was coincidence, alas. I'd have to agree that they don't seem to pay the slightest attention to this or any other public groups on the internet or elsewhere. I'm not speaking just of Canon either, unfortunately.</p>

<p>I only have two requests: (1) a decent viewfinder; and (2) a decent 30mm lens</p>

<p>(you can probably guess I use a crop format camera)</p>

<p>Might be a nice feature. The (to me) more annoying part of manual control on my 40D has apparently been noticed by Canon and fixed on the 7D. I work in Av mode about 70% of the time, so when I switch to manual I keep having problems adjusting to controlling the aperture with the rear instead of front dial. Why front dial isn't the default or at least selectable in the menu has always been a mystery to me.</p>

 

<p>Thank you all for your feedback.<br>

@ Sarah: Yes the Nikon idea was already in my mind ;-) - So all what I learned here is that there is really no determined address to talk to - As a camera developer I would create that and collect all the needs - listen to the customer seams a essential thing to me. (And somehow it was done for the 1D I think)<br>

Having all that answers I'm back to a thing which could help in a larger scale - having a camera interface which allows your own scripting. The mentioned change should be simple to write. Having that possibilities developers could create and offer solutions, like already the plugins are doing on the Photoshop and similar SW.<br>

This will come one day, I'm sure.<br>

Regards Axel</p>

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<p>I agree with Martin that the camera should remember the exposure settings by default when switching from Av to M.<br>

I can see that for a large technology company like Canon it is more efficient to get user input from a select number of product testers for which the company has established channels of communicating back and forth rather than from monitoring some type of anonymous bulletin board. You ask 100 people for feedback and are likely to get 100 different responses with little information how they use the product. Perhaps more importantly, you probably would get mostly complaints but little feedback about what actually works. But that is equally important for the product developer. What could be a bad feature for 10% of users could be a great feature for 90% but it's only the 10% that would voice their concerns. Also, the product is desgined for a defined target user group and the anonymous feedback may not reflect this group. Same for large software companies. I don't think Adobe listens to its software users, at least they have not listened to me when I tried to tell them about obvious bugs in their software!</p>

<p>Actually if they had a button to activate/deactivate AEB that would be nice. Push the button and it turns AEB off so you can shoot normally, push the button again and AEB turns back on with the same stops between the exposures. While you're at it allowing more than 3 exposures for AEB too.</p>

<p>A flash priority would be cool. I don't have a better name for it. It would be like P mode but you'd be able to set the parameters it would work in. Say you have an f/2.8 lens on camera and you're using flash, but you want more depth of field than 2.8, so you set the parameter of f/3.5 as a maximum aperture. When you step into more light the aperture would stop down as needed.</p>

<p>A straighten tool for DPP would also be nice.</p>

<p>@Peter: You raised an important point - and - yes - I think there is a truth in it.<br>

Thanx Axel</p>