User Guide: Custom Modes

Introduction to Custom Modes

A custom mode is a complete snapshot containing all of the camera settings and configuration parameters. Custom modes can be used to pre-configure the camera for a specific shooting situation (like "landscape", "portrait", "low-light", "birds-in-flight", etc.), and allow you to have quick access to these configurations while shooting. Custom modes are stored on the CF card itself, and up to 16 different custom modes can be stored in each card. The number of custom modes however is unlimited, due to the fact you may use multiple CF cards each containing up to 16 of them.

Some Notes On Custom Modes

Every time you move the main dial to a scene mode where a custom mode has been attached, and every time your camera powers on, while the main dial is set into a scene mode where a custom mode has been attached, 400plus must wait for the camera to initialize the scene mode and then apply the attached custom mode. This process requires some time, hundredths of a second in fact, but under certain circumstances your camera could take a shot before the custom mode has been completely applied, thus resulting in a shot being taken using the scene mode underneath.

For this reason, it is advised to wait for a second after moving the main dial to a scene mode where a custom mode has been attached, before taking a shot. Likewise, when waking up the camera from the auto power off state, do not keep the shutter button pressed down until a shot has been taken; press and release the shutter button instead, then press it again when the camera is fully awake, to take the first shot.

Creating Custom Modes

To create a custom mode, first set your camera into one of the creative modes (P, Tv, Av, M, or A-DEP) and configure it to your liking; now enter the custom modes page in the menu, select one of the custom modes, and just press SET (or enter the sub-menu, and then select "Save" there). Repeat as many times as needed, and save up to 16 custom modes.

Using Custom Modes

To create a new custom mode, set your camera to one of the scene modes ("AUTO", "Portrait", "Landscape", "Macro", "Sports", "Night", or "No flash") that you want to use as a custom mode; now enter the custom modes page in the menu, select one of the previously saved custom modes, and just press SET (or enter the sub-menu, and then select "Assign" there). Your scene mode is now acting as a custom mode. Notice that you can assign any custom mode to any scene mode, so up to 7 custom modes (from the 16 available) can be assigned at the same time.

Changing Custom Modes

Once a mode has been assigned, you can easily update it: just set the camera to the scene mode where that custom mode is assigned, then change any parameter in your camera; now enter the custom modes page in the menu, select the current active custom mode (it will be marked with an asterisk '*'), and just press SET (or enter the sub-menu, and then select "Update").

Reverting Scene Modes

To revert a scene mode back to its original behavior, set the camera to that scene mode (the assigned custom mode will automatically be recalled), enter the custom modes page in the menu, select the current active custom mode (it will be marked with an asterisk '*'), and select "Unassign" in the corresponding sub-menu).

Notice that this action does not delete or change the custom mode at all, it just unassigns it from the current scene mode.

Renaming Custom Modes

From the custom modes page in the menu you can rename any of the custom modes using the following procedure:

• Select the "Rename" option in the sub-menu for any custom mode.
• Use UP / DOWN / LEFT / RIGHT buttons to select a character.
• Use the DISP button to toggle between lowercase characters + numbers and uppercase characters + symbols.
• Use the JUMP button to change the case of the selected value on the name (bottom line).
• Use the SET button to copy the selected character to the name, and advance the cursor to the next position.
• Use the front (main) dial or the ZOOM IN / ZOOM OUT buttons to move the cursor within the name (bottom line).
• Press the AV button to save your changes and return to the previous menu.

Notice that there is always a character displayed on the left of each custom mode. This feature may come handy when you want to copy custom modes to and from multiple CF cards, and need to know the file-name for each of your custom modes: the character on the left of a custom mode matches the last character n the name of the corresponding file created in the CF card.

Configuring Custom Modes

When a custom mode is assigned to a scene mode, you will normally expect 400plus to load most parameters from the custom mode, but not all of them. For example, it is quite unlikely that you will want to have the menus ordered differently for each custom mode; you will probably want to be able to retain the order of the menus across custom modes.

This sub-menu of the settings page at the menu, you can select which parameters will be loaded from a custom mode when it is assigned to a scene mode:

Item	Description
Camera	Camera's shooting parameters: shutter speed, aperture, ISO, ...
400plus	400plus' own settings: language, scripts, buttons, ...
Menu order	Order of all items within menus.
Settings	Some rarely changed settings: language, video system, ...
Image	Image related settings: RAW/JPEG, quality, ...
Custom Fn	Custom function (C.Fn) settings: mirror lock-up, long-exposure noise-reduction...